The Luxury Of Time

As I was working through images from this wedding today, I felt that this image was one that illustrated a point I often make about needing adequate time for photos on the wedding day. I normally don’t post ‘wedding previews’ on the blog (they usually end up on facebook) – but wanted to share this today with a few thoughts.

This was one of those rare wedding day situations where I not only had a couple open to trying out creative things, but we had the a lot of TIME to play around and experiment. Very often despite my lengthy pre-wedding-conversation about the time needed for photos, you still end up with a pretty short window to work in. Knowing myself and how I work – I know I can get done what I have to in whatever time i’m given. But regardless of that, it’s still wonderful to have the luxury of time. The ability to stop – think – make mistakes – correct then – fine tune – and ponder different images on the fly.

This image was one which took a bit of set-up and trial and error, which we would have not have the time to work through on a tight schedule. It’s so rewarding to have these opportunities on a wedding day – both personally as well as for the couple. You may or not care for the final look of this particular image, but that isn’t really the point: it’s just indicative of a larger idea. This is also not the worlds most complicated shot, but we had a lot of time THIS DAY to think and create.

For me, I am always pondering and hunting for what I call the ‘Iconic Shot’ of the day. I go into every wedding really hoping to produce an image that will stick with me. One that I’ll will gravitate back to. One that as I shoot it, I KNOW at years end will end up in the ‘year’s best’ folder and slideshow. That single image that gives me the warm fuzzies as I shoot it knowing it’ll be hard to top that day.  For me personally – that is one of the most gratifying moments of a wedding day shoot: knowing I produced a special image that is extremely unique for my couple.

It was suggested to me once (by Jim Collins, a man I admire and respect), that I offer a special package where this time is worked in in advance ( as well as a wide format album to showcase them) . Where we actually go into the wedding KNOWING we will be working on, and have the time for, deliberately creating iconic images from the day. This is certainly not to say these moments do not occur during a ‘normal’ wedding schedule, but imagine how cool it would be to have discussed with your couple that concept in advance, and then truly  been allotted the time on the wedding day, without the normal rushing that can happen!

We shall see, perhaps this may show up in my 2013 offerings – but for now, I hope you enjoy this little preview

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