THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
My first two wedding shoots were entirely by accident.
I went to both of them as a guest and ended up being the surprise photographer. It was a surprise to me more than anyone.
This was at a time when I was not ready to be a wedding photographer.
The first happened around 2006. I showed up to the church and one of the Bride’s relatives tossed me a point and shoot camera and asked if I would mind taking the wedding photos. I have no idea what led to this situation. I don’t know if they hired someone who didn’t show up, or if they forgot to hire anyone in the first place.
The crazy thing about that wedding is that there was another guest there with his own camera who decided he was going to shoot the wedding. I didn’t know who it was, so I thought maybe he was the actual wedding photographer. NOPE. It was another guest’s wedding date. This guy barely knew the Bride and Groom, but decided it would be a good chance to beef up his portfolio.
I never saw those wedding photos, so I have no idea how well I did.
My second wedding shoot happened 10 years ago today. Again, I went as a guest. I brought my Nikon D7100 and chose to take some photos for myself. There were some of my closest friends and I knew they wouldn’t mind as long as I didn’t get in the proper photographer’s way. (If you’re at a wedding, this is a hard and fast rule. Do NOT stand in the wedding photographer’s shot. You can ruin someone’s wedding photos.)
Well, it turns out that the actual wedding photos were never produced. So my shots ended up being the only wedding photos. The problem is that I was still very amateur at the time. My shots were mostly okay, aside from some dutch angles. But the editing on them was horrible. This was about five years before I learned that you’re supposed to hold onto your RAW files from old shoots. So I am unable to properly edit the photos. This is a big regret. Note to new photographers- ALWAYS hold onto important RAW files.
Below is the only shot which I consider to be reasonably well edited. Not great, but it isn’t obnoxious. And in the end, it did a great job of capturing the moment, which is the most important part.
For more current examples of my wedding photography, click on “PORTFOLIO” above and there is a “Weddings” tab.
