a bride having some fun at her wedding reception
Photography is a serious business. When it is done as a profession it seems that there is always pressure on you to get that perfect shot no matter what the conditions. Good photographers are serious and take their job seriously, but that does not mean that you can’t have some fun while doing it. This is a lesson that I was reminded about in a recent photography session at the Crowne Plaza Houston River Oaks hotel. You can read more about the event in my post ‘Photo Shoot – Crowne Plaza River Oaks Hotel, Houston.’ As part of the day I was photographing the lovely Thea in her beautiful bridal gown from Maison de Mode in Rice Village. We were set up in an area in the lobby of the hotel. There were loads of things going on around us; people were passing by, some people were watching us, there are all types of noises, and other types of activities. I was taking fashion style portraits of her in an area with sofas and a mirror and table lamps. I mention these details because as a photographer you have to keep all of the elements of a shot in mind. I was thinking about how I would use the environment to create the best image. With all that was going on I really had to concentrate. I was working with a person, posing her, moving around, looking for odd things in the background, like these metallic balloons that I had someone remove. You are also thinking about the lighting and the technical aspects of the camera. It was not an easy photographing situation by any means. There was also a time constraint. So I was concentrating and I was serious. There were others from the Red Photo teams around and Jeana, our client, from the hotel. Towards the end of the session a few people in my group noticed that Thea was chewing gum. So they asked her to blow some bubbles. Then they asked me to photograph her doing this. Now my first impression was that I am not a snapshot photographer. But I went into the spirit of the moment and recorded a few images for the client.
The following day when I was going through the images I came upon the bubble blowing ones. At first I did not think much of them, but the more I saw that image the more I realized that I liked it. It is fun and silly and very real. That is when the idea came into my head that you have to have fun when you are photographing. I do not mean just the joy that someone gets from being creative, or producing good work for a client, but letting your clients and you be real and enjoy the moment. I see that at many of the weddings that I photograph so many people are stressed out instead of really enjoying the day and those special moments.
I learned a good lesson from this experience and I hope that you will too. Don’t get so close into the trees that you never see the forest. Take a mental and creative break from time to time and just let yourself have some fun. It worked for me and it will work for you. Now go out there and do something silly.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
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