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Have a scary, but safe Halloween!
It all started as a normal engagement session.
I met Julie and Don in the early afternoon at the Meadowlark coffee shop. We fueled up with caffeine and then embarked on a photographic journey on a nearly perfect October day. The sky was clear, but the early fall day kept the sun from being directly overheard and harsh.
The first stop of the day was Nine Mile Prairie, a 230 acre tallgrass conservatory. Julie had suggested this as a possible location and since I had never photographed a session out there before, I was game. We wandered around for awhile, but due to the lateness of the season, we were having trouble finding really pretty, green locations. Undeterred, we grabbed a few shots while discussing the ferocity of wild badgers.*
Having safely escaped the prairie, we decided to venture far south to Wilderness Park in hopes of better scenery. We made a brief, but uneventful stop for a few more photos at a small lake in Air Park along the way.
It was in Wilderness Park where, as they say, the story turns.
The three of us vanished into the trail system with nary a worry of the fate that awaited us. We got a few more shots right away and then decided to venture farther in. If this were a movie, this is where the ominous music would begin to play and the audience would be shifting in their seats as they tried to figure out which of us would be picked off first.
Our plan seemed simple enough.
There’s a big, cool bridge deeper in the park and our thought was to get some photos on it. The problem with this plan was a hitch that we were, at the time, oblivious to: The bridge is closed.
In fairness, we discovered later that there was a sign posted. The sign just didn’t happen to be posted on the trail we elected to take.
The thing about Wilderness Park is that, well, it’s kind of wilderness-like. Trails crisscross every which way and some of them merely loop around. I won’t come right out and say that the people who mapped out those trails were drunk at the time, but I think that possibility should be considered. If you’re just out for an afternoon of hiking, this is no big deal. If you’re lugging around 20 pounds of camera gear and you’re on a bit of a tight schedule for shooting photos, this is slightly more of a concern.
Upon finally reaching the bridge and finding giant chain link gates blocking it off, we decided to cut our losses and take a short cut back to the bike trail. Unfortunately, thanks to the previously mentioned crisscrossing and winding trails, there is no such thing as a “short cut” unless you have the ability to fly.
The trail we were on, if stretched to a straight line, seems like it would have taken us 3/4 of the way to Canada. Not wanting to risk actually winding up in Canada, we decided to forge our own path. After all, we knew where the bike trail was supposed to be.
In the end, we bushwhacked a path that makes me glad we weren’t on an episode of Mantracker, because he would have had no trouble following it even if you blindfolded him, tied both hands behind his back, and smashed him over the head with a 2×4. However, our efforts paid off and within about 5 minutes we were back on the bike trail.
Finally back at my truck and surprisingly hot and tired for a 62 degree day, we decided to go downtown, where sensible people go for photography.
All I can say is, if their wedding day is as weird and fun as the engagement session, we’re going to have a blast taking photos.
*I should note that, to my knowledge, there have never been ferocious wild badgers in Nine Mile Prairie. However, we did find a location that, were I a ferocious wild badger, I’d probably hang out and wait for unsuspecting photographers.
Recently, a wedding photography forum featured a discussion sparked by a wedding shot list.
The “shot list” is a checklist of the people and events that need to be photographed on your wedding day. Your photographer uses this as a guide to make sure nothing gets missed.
A typical shot list will include things like the order of people to be photographed for the formals (bride and groom with bride’s parents; bride with groomsmen; groom with grandma, etc.). Sometimes it includes details, like the rings or table settings.
The list that inspired me to write this was not a list like that. It was a list sent to Earth from the planet Micromanageria.
To call this shot list “unusually specific” would be like calling King Kong an “unusually large” ape. This list even went so far as to outline desired candid shots, as though the meaning of the word “candid” was something it could redefine on a whim.
To be fair, I don’t think that the poor bride who authored this monster knew she was creating the “shot list from hell.” I doubt she intended to create nightmares and possible future therapy sessions for her photographer. Unfortunately, though, this sort of ultra-specific vendor management is becoming more common.
We now live in the so-called Information Age. This also means we live in the age of information overload.
Change your status on Facebook to “engaged” and watch how quickly your sidebar ads fill up with wedding related junk. Web pages and magazines inundate you with tips and advice about how to have the “perfect” wedding. Countless articles written by experts advise you not only about how to select your vendors, but how to take charge of them.
I’ve read a ton of articles about wedding photography. A lot of them tell you what you “must” look for in your photographer and what you “must” make sure they do (or don’t).
Almost all of these articles make a reference to, if not outright include, the Shot List.
Then, if you’re a newly engaged couple, you’ll probably be looking at a lot of wedding photos during your search for a photographer. You’ll see hundreds of beautiful images that you’d be delighted to have something similar to in your own album.
You’ll also hear the stories of wedding catastrophes. Many of these stories imply that it all could have been avoided if the “right” vendor had been hired, or if the bride and groom had taken more control.
How someone comes through all of that without turning into a micro-manager of every single second of their big day is beyond me. That sort of pressure would create a bridezilla out of anyone. Maybe “photo of the bride having a nervous breakdown” should be added to the shot list.
One issue with some of the helpful advice out there, and the micro managing mindset it creates, is that you might inadvertently end up treating the professionals you hire as though they don’t know their jobs. This might lead you to more disappointment than you’d think. If you’re not careful, you might strip away the very creative talents you hired your vendors for.
The thing about weddings is that they are dynamic and fluid. This is what makes every one of them unique and personal.
Maybe you know when things will start. You rehearse the ceremony so everyone knows how to come in and where to stand. You expect there will be toasts. And a first dance. And a bouquet and garter toss.
Your photographer knows these things, too.
Chances are this isn’t his or her first wedding.
What you can’t prepare for is Uncle Larry falling asleep and snoring like a helicopter during the ceremony. You can’t predict that the flower girl will unexpectedly sit down in the middle of the aisle and dump her basket of flowers over her head. You don’t know that mom and dad will become unexpectedly reminiscent of their own wedding all those years ago and snuggle up together on the dance floor.
These are the unscripted moments. These are the moments that make the day yours.
These are the moments that get lost if you’ve got your photographer scrambling to create “candid” moments on a shot list.
I’m not saying you should ignore creating a shot list. The list is actually very important. Your photographer won’t know how important it is that you get a photo of you and your great aunt (or even who she is) if you don’t make a note of it. (Hint: it’s helpful to make someone available to point people out to your photographer.) The list is also vital for making sure no one is missed during the formals session.
But resist all urges to get ridiculously specific. You don’t need to say that you need a shot of “the bride looking lovingly at the groom while he’s looking somewhere else.” Leave that moment, if it happens naturally, up to your photographer. Maybe some moment that you saw elsewhere just won’t happen at your wedding. That’s OK. As long as your photographer is free to be “in the day,” there’s a good chance that other special moments will happen and be captured.
And you’ll be happier because you won’t be trying to manage everyone. It’s your special day, after all.
You shouldn’t be working.