Clara & Chuck - Post-Wedding at Nelson, NV

Another great couple with an idea I hadn't yet done before: Ghost town! We all do a few shoots at ghost towns at some point, and this was fun. Clara was very creative and had many ideas already pre-planned, but there were lots of add-on ideas and I made several requests. My personal favorites are the haystack shot and her alone walking down the street.











After a brief stop at the Vegas sign, we went out toward Nelson, NV.














Did I mention they were extremely playful, perhaps a little more than usual?






One of my favorites:














My other favorite:










We had parted ways and were leaving Nelson, when I thought of an idea. I think (but don't hold me to it) that they had mentioned being in the headlights of a truck on a shot at some point, but we hadn't done anything like that in Nelson. At a corner where the 165 meets the 95, there was a large area of flat gravel. It was night by this time and freezing outside! I set up flashes near the headlights of the truck and elsewhere, then had the bride & groom freestyle in the front. This is one of my picks from that:

November 30 wedding for Djay's Entertainment at Texas Station

The bride was great, nervous but very willing to talk. The groom was patient, playful and had a good sense of humor. I spent a lot of time in the bride's ante chamber, talking with her and getting some laughs so I could catch the smiles. I almost felt like her confidant before the ceremony began. Even though I only shot with them for about an hour, I think there were some nice photos, including some possible portfolio pieces and one or two shots that I haven't tried before.

I was obviously in a black & white mood when I edited these photos. I also threw in a formal shot, something I do plenty of but rarely show.

Small business shoot on Friday, and family shoot on Sunday

November looks like the month of small jobs: I did a birthday on the 1st, a few property photos on the 4th, and now a business shoot on the 14th for a local artist who paints family trees, plus a family shoot on the 16th at a local park. The weather forecast is great this week for outdoor shooting, perfect temperatures and nice days.

This is also the first significant break I've had from weddings since I bought my 40D. I sent it in today to see if the back focus issues can be resolved, plus it needs a few other things taken care of.

More reading and experimenting

I like John Hedgecoe's books; so far I've read one I borrowed from the library, and two or three more while I was sitting in a local bookstore. I find that his methods of breaking down color, form, shape, tone, etc., are clear and easy to understand. I have been experimenting again in my free time lately, trying to take photos and then analyze what's good and what's not about them. Without a model, I've resorted to nature as my subject again. Nature has two advantages over models: It costs nothing and it's always there when I need it.

The benefits of off-camera lighting

When I started doing weddings I was already using off-camera lighting, just not to the same degree as I do now. I use them for almost everything, candids, formals, receptions, kiss shots, ring shots, detail shots, cake shots...sometimes even parts of the ceremony (if it's allowed).


I've recently been using a setup that seems to work well for the dance floor: 3 strobes off camera, 1 or 2 bare and the other(s) with umbrella or brolly box for fill. By just walking around the floor I can get many different kinds of shots, with rim lights, hard light, soft light, etc. I think that this lighting style gives a more romantic feel to the photos than my earlier work, where I used more plain and simple lighting, and all umbrellas. I'm going to give Bruce Dorn's approaches to off-camera flash a shot in the future and experiment with more systematic placements. There's a lot of freedom to be explored with this equipment.


Cake cutting also works great with off camera flash: I can get consistent, well exposed images of everything important, from the cake to the faces and hands, and the cake being smashed into faces with hands.


Sometimes detail shots are made much more interesting with side or back lighting. Another use for off-camera flash.

All wedding photos finished, some posted in portfolio

I have finished and sent off all the photos from all the weddings from October at long last. However, one of my recent conversations with a very experienced local wedding photographer has combined with my concerns about the path I'm following with my wedding work, and I am seriously considering a change in direction.

Some ring-related shots from the various Oct '08 weddings: See if you can figure out which one was taken at a drive-thru chapel!

Two more weddings Oct 17 and Oct 19

What a long month October was, no less than eight weddings. It's good to be busy, but I'm also grateful for the small breaks I get.

In-Depth samples from Oct 19 Wedding

This is my first start-to-finish assortment of wedding photos processed specifically for my blog/portfolio.

The couple didn't really want any photos of them getting ready (not everyone does), but I captured just about everything else. This was one of my favorite weddings thus far. The bride picked out the colors for many of the details, including the bridesmaids' dresses, boutonnieres, bouquet, and overall theme. Every time I would tell the groom how nice this or that was, he'd say "it was her idea..."

Starting with the singer for the ceremony...



Along with a few details just before the ceremony begins





The groom waiting for everything to begin



The ring bearer and flower girl, not knowing what to do when they're supposed to walk the aisle - the boy finally understood, but no amount of coaxing was enough for the girl. She had to be carried.



The bride with her father



Bridesmaids in autumn colors



The bride, during the ceremony



Holding hands, and the kiss





A quiet walk down the aisle, and out to drive a little deeper into red rock for formal shots





Some shots among the desert scape before the reception









Time to go inside and begin the reception. First, a few details, guest book and the cake





First dance



Then, others join in



Time to cut the cake





The bouquet toss



And the grand exit with people surrounding:



They weren't allowed to throw rice at this particular spot because there was a major pest issue with birds, and so the scene had to be recreated behind the building.