This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Can’t go wrong with ice cream.

Or back alleys.

I can’t always make a “street” photo at an engagement session or wedding, but I sure do like it when it does happen.

Congratulations, you guys! Until September!

The yellow wall. You have to do it.

And somebody left us a heart. How convenient!

Also, y’all, they bought me Chinese food. In case you were wondering how to really tug on my heart strings. Congratulations!! I’ll see you guys in October (and, you know, like a bunch before then.)

The other day, the people I was meeting with asked me what bothers me about other photographers – their images or the way they conduct themselves. Everyone (or nearly everyone) I meet with is hiring a photographer for the first time, trying to determine what is important and what doesn’t matter; how much they need to spend to get the images they want, without really knowing what they want. So really, this is a great question, assuming they actually like me and my images. So here we go – things photographers do that bother me, with hopefully enough respect:

It goes without saying that professional photographers should act the part: be dressed appropriately, take quality photographs, conduct themselves like business people, not doing anything illegal or unnecessarily dangerous or disruptive and generally act like professionals.

Processing – anything but “classic”

(By the by, this is a list of things that bother me. It’s a matter of personal taste in some cases. /disclaimer) Piss-yellow skies, overexposure, black and whites with no black and no white – processing is the last creative choice we make with our images. When I process mine, I do it so they will look good forever. It’s important to me that the images I’m creating for my clients can be hung proudly with their parents’ and, maybe on down the road, their children’s wedding images. “Vintage” processing, weird saturation effects, one part of the image in color and the rest black and white… these are trends and they are not effects photographers are going to employ 10 years from now. That means your images are going to be dated. For some folks, that’s fine – they enjoy the look and I don’t begrudge them that. But it sure as heck bothers me personally to see perfectly good images manipulated so much.

Tilt-shift lenses, camera tilt, flowers in focus with the couple out of focus and all those nit-picky things

These things are even more subjective. Sometimes using a tilt-shift lens is a sensible creative choice and there are plenty of photographers who employ it well. Unfortunately, for the rest, they are ruining what might otherwise have been a great image. Tilt-shift is the vaseline-on-the-lens of our day. It’s popular now and it’s going to be out of fashion soon enough… you can already see what we might call the “pioneers” of tilt-shifting heading out of the arena, even as us mere mortals struggle to make something useful. Every now and then, the tilt-shift lens is a freakin’ amazing tool, but most of the time it’s a weird distraction.

Camera tilt. I super hate camera tilt. Seriously. I really don’t consider myself that OCD, but horizons have to be straight, or I start losing it. I probably spend more time correcting straight lines in my editing than just about anything else.

Flowers, hands, feet, etc. etc. in focus, with the couples’ faces way out of focus. Drives me nuts. When I see this done in a way that makes any sense at all, I absolutely flip out, because most of the time it’s outrageously annoying.

“Creative” photos taken at the expense of flattering light/angles, etc. So this is sort of a whole ‘nother ballpark. I see many photographers go after the “creative” shot – interesting angles, unusual composition, great use of color, generally fascinating images… but the bride and groom look fat, or bored, or you can hardly see their faces, or the couple is so small you can’t even tell who’s in the picture. This, to me, is a failed image. If you have a brilliant composition but your clients look bad, they’re not going to want to put it on their wall, full stop. It’s important to me that, even when I’m making a more artistic image, I still have my clients in flattering light, and posing them so that they look their best. Otherwise, what is the point?

Above all, any of these non-traditional photography devices used specifically for family portraits makes me spaz out. There is no way any family wants a 45-degree tilt on their photos. No one is going to frame that and Grandma is going to throw a fit about it. (Or silently stew, depending on your family.) I give a pass to unsuccessful creative attempts *every single other* place in the wedding but freakin’ family photos need to be clean, pretty and flattering.

The shot perfection - unobtrusiveness spectrum

And now we come to something that is completely a matter of taste. I was at a photography conference a few months ago, where one of the speakers was discussing a few parts of the wedding day. To my discomfort, he was telling a story of how he got the bride and her mother near this great window light, and then proceeded to ask them to hug and smile at each other, adjusting them as he went. This particular photographer was directing a moment, not capturing something genuine and spontaneous. For some, that is fine. For others, this would absolutely destroy their wedding day, as their photographer is constantly inserting themselves and making their presence known.

This is a spectrum I talk about with most of the clients I meet. On the one end, you have a photographer who sets everything up – first dance should be more or less in this spot, mom should make sure to look up to the left a lot during this speech, if your cousin could just step a little away from that column… the tradeoff, of course, is that your photos will almost certainly be more perfect. Everyone will be in the absolutely best light; they will always be at the most flattering angles. And your entire wedding day will feel like a movie production, with you as the lead actors. On the other end of the spectrum is the photographer who doesn’t even set up lights because the flashing is distracting, or doesn’t “do” family pictures or picks one spot during the ceremony and stays there the whole time, so as not to be seen. The tradeoff, of course, is that you will be totally unaware of your photographer, and enjoy your day without distraction.

Most photographers fall in the middle. I fall pretty far to the unobtrusiveness side, particularly during the ceremony. Some photographers have no qualms about getting up on the very altar, and shooting back towards the audience. This of course means that all your guests were seeing your photographer take this photograph. The one time I felt I had to turn away a potential client was because he specifically wanted these kinds of images and that’s just not how I roll. When the groom gives his bride a knowing glance, when a bridesmaid claps excitedly, when mom starts tearing up – I will do my best to see and creative beautiful images from these moments. But I’m not going to script a wedding. I’m there to document, not direct.

I think that wraps up the big ones for me. Naturally, there are tons of things photographers do – at weddings and before/after – that drive me nuts, but these are the ones that really matter for clients. Some will want in-your-face multi-person teams wielding tilt-shift lenses and making everything a subtle shade of pink. Others are hoping to spend most of their day blissfully unaware that they’ve hired a photographer, and receive images that, while perhaps not particularly trendy, will hopefully stand the test of time. (Uh yeah, that’s what I do, just in case we were wondering if this was a commercial. It is.) Until the next time you feel like reading an enormous block of text on a photographer’s website.

They got started at their impressive suite at the Sofitel.

I love how putting on a wedding sari and accessories is a big family affair.

They we scooted to the National Museum for Women in the Arts for family pictures and some quick bride and groom photos.

With some awesome art. NMWA keeps their weird art in one tiny room, apparently, but fortunately for me, it was also the only spot with a window. Also fortunately for me, Liz and Ashwin were keen to have their photos taken in front of this sweet/weird thing.

Portrait work done, it was go-time!

Told you it was atmospheric. The lighting people did a beautiful job of isolating the mundap and bringing a beautiful red glow to the rest of the regal venue.

Part of a Hindu ceremony involves blessing the couple by throwing rice – always a fun moment to photograph.

Big thanks to Ayesha for coming out to help me with this wedding. It’s always great to have a talented photojournalist to provide a second set of moments and angles.

Liz and Ashwin honored both their religious traditions, with her father giving a Jewish blessing, and Ashwin breaking a glass at the end of the ceremony.

Also, what can I say? Cocktail hour in an art gallery trumps cocktail hour just about anywhere else.

Have you ever seen a dad more excited about the hora?

There’s nothing quite like wedding guests in crutches partying down.

Congratulations guys!

Liz & Ashwin’s rockin’ vendor team:

Planners: A. Dominick Events
Ceremony & reception venue: National Museum for Women in the Arts
Catering: Susan Gage Caterers & Rasika
Florist: Sidra Forman
DJ: DJ Blue of Bluebeat Productions
Officiant: Sree Aswath
Videographer: Liz of Dolce Studio Films
Furniture rental & additional decor: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Hair: George at Four Seasons Salon
Makeup: Carola Meyers

The weather gods were not with us the first couple times we tried to schedule this photo shoot, but we rallied post-wedding with some lovely spring weather. Susan worked everything out with Balloons Over America based in Westminster, Maryland. From what she told me and my experience with Mark and Melissa on the day of the shoot, they are an incredibly hard-working, generally awesome bunch of people.

It wouldn’t have seemed crowded in the basket if I wasn’t trying to take photos.

That would be 3,380 feet up in the air.

It’s surprisingly calm up in the hot air balloon. You’re definitely not prevented from just jumping over the side, if you were so inclined, but otherwise it feels strangely safe. It’s mostly quiet and you’re literally drifting through the air and just watching the scenery slowly shift. I had the thought it would make a lovely place to get married, though the quarters are pretty cramped.

It’s a really big balloon.

Mark performed a little first-flight ceremony, complete with champagne and a cork balloon.

Rock.

Doing “street” in the woods; it’s my shtick.

Congratulations guys! I’m looking forward to the wedding!

We started the day at the Courtyard Marriott Gaithersburg.

Big thanks to Julia for coming out to help with this wedding. She stuck with the boys when they took their bow-tie frustration to the menswear store and did the practical thing: get professional help.

They we all rolled out to the serenely beautiful Comus Inn. It was early April, so the bugs were mostly still hibernating or whatever it is bugs do. It was peaceful and warm enough and generally a really great day to get married.

(Here’s a note for photography nerds: this image was inspired by William Klein, who makes brilliant layers with faces. Highly recommend! Also, stealing from the past is awesome!)

Told you it was beautiful. The Comus Inn overlooks what I am assuming is the Sugarloaf Mountain, on this lovely little country road in what is otherwise the middle of nowhere.

This little guy is quite the show-stealer, as you will see below. I won’t even tell you what he did to provoke those laughs.

Susan’s beautiful purple and orange bouquet was wrapped in a family handkerchief.

They brought a bit of India in with decor.

Here’s the ring bearer crashing the show a bit. That guy is going to be quite the ladies’ man when he’s older.

He’s not doing bad with the ladies right now, either.

Forgive me, guys, but this is hilarious.

Congratulations Susan and Senthil!

Susan & Senthil’s rockin’ vendor team:
Getting-ready venue: Courtyard Marriott Gaithersburg
Ceremony and reception venue: Comus Inn at Sugarloaf Mountain
Caterer: Comus Inn and IndAroma
DJ: Derek Entrekin with Horizon Entertainment
Florist: En Masse Flowers
Officiant: Keith Hill (Richmond)
Cakes: Lilly Magilly’s Cupcakery
Videographer: Toy Box Productions
Tent rental: Capital Party Rentals
Hair: Kindle and Boom
Makeup: Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa
Susan’s beautiful dress: Justin Alexander
Senthil’s dashing suit: Hugo Boss
Bridesmaid dresses: Lula Kate
Groomsmen suits: Jos. A. Banks

Clancy came along for the ride. Bonus extra morning walk – score!

And we found some cherry blossoms after all!

A real bonus of getting up super-early for  engagement photos is that the metro is empty and you can play on the escalator without annoying half the city.

Congratulations guys!