Hello everyone! I’ve been busy stacking up BTS footage across literally a dozen shoots the past few weeks.
(every folder with a star has behind the scenes video too)
Still, a very important thing to keep in mind is that BTS from real weddings should be the most valued insight I can bring to you here. No matter what… photos from engagement sessions, or workshops, or literally anything else will never be the same process as photos from an actual wedding day. The mindset, schedules, pressure, and natural limitations of the day will shape your decision making in a “make it or break it” kind of way.
1/8000s f/4.0 iso 4000 50mm
I have to work to remind myself about this. On the surface, it seems that photographers can more-or-less see the world in a consistent and repeatable manner in any given situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I’ve worked incredibly hard to learn what conditions are needed for me to do work I’m consistently happy with. It’s a process that takes a ton of self reflection, iteration, and time. After my first few years just getting used to the energy of a wedding day I realized that hyperawareness of client moods, and loads of positive re-enforcement are key. As much as I’m able… from the clients perspective… I maintain the energy that no problem is ever unsolvable, no problem will ever result in photos being ruined, and it’s always “easy mode” to photograph them. Of course, that’s not always true, but my attitude will make them believe that it is.
1/5000s f/1.2 iso 200
Clients mirror the energy you put out so, positive energy = positive photos. If you fixate on asking them logistical questions on the day (something I used to think was helpful – it’s not), or you tend to proactively point out dress or makeup issues etc it often adds up in a negative way. Throughout any wedding I try to solve problems for clients that prevent them from even being aware that they exist in the first place. This approach comes with a lot of un-credited attributions (and often stolen attribution by wedding planners), but I’ve learned to accept when that happens and move forward knowing clients will have a better mood, and in the end that means my photos will be better.
1/8000s f/1.2 iso 100 50mm
This wedding had alllllll kinds of examples where my problem solving was in overdrive because the weather was so unpredictable, the videographers were from a different country (and didn’t speak english), and their wider group of family and friends were very high energy & type A. They were also very concerned about a backup plan, or two.
Anyway, I’ll let the video itself do the rest of the heavy lifting in this post, but I hope you found this little rant helpful.
1/6400s f/1.2 iso 200 50mm
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