Lessons

Lesson Info

Student Shoot: Exterior Bridal Party

So I don't know however you feel like you want to shoot this interested because um what the weddings that I shoot normally we have you know, do you have what in parties as well the bridal party right now and you're saying that you shoot that all in fifteen minutes yeah um so I'd be interested to see kind of what you would do with them in that ten minutes I normally have a hour tissue you know, four months of the bride and groom plus the wedding party so and that and that's interesting uh and very true when it wass a few years ago when I wasn't doing the really high end weddings this was dictated when I started doing high in weddings when I started doing nothing but these high end weddings the clientele don't want oppose um when I talked about it yesterday that uh, high end clients tend to be leaders instead of followers um they're also of the mindset that when it comes time to posing and doing forms they said he looked this is just another day in our beautiful lives were wealthy uh we'...

re well known whatever it might be just documented and make this very minimal in terms of post stuff on and that's the nature of the beast so I am told by them I don't really want to pose as a matter of fact joe, this was j lo right, jennifer lopez, when I shot her wedding says, get the portrait of me on the fly and I said, well, okay, but can I pose you? Maybe for a minute? And I did. I posed her for one minute on that and there they're so used to being in studio, being photographed and that's the last thing they want to do on their wedding. So I had to learn and adapt to the fact that they want no more in five, ten, fifteen minutes doing these portrait, and we're finished. Joe, I just want this to be a party. You know what? Get get it while I'm doing this or that. And grab a portrait of me, you know, I mean that's so that's how? I kind of evolved into doing it this way and it's because it's dictated to me and years ago, it wasn't I had an hour just like you. And then I would like to make it all perfect and make sure that their home turned the right way. Bouquets that belly button, you know, turn. If she was a little heavier, turn to the side, have someone blocked part of her body. I mean, I know all the rules. I just don't have that time anymore. I don't have that luxury, you know? So I've had to learn a jam through this. You want to set up what you would do, and I'm gonna tell you what I would do if I could have, uh, all the students to be the bridal party real quick. Can I get you guys to put down cameras for a second and let's put the bride and groom in the middle here? Okay. That's just gonna be you going, tio. Okay, now, let's, just assume this is the bridal party or family members or something. Here's. A really quick way to deal with how I put them together. Are you ready for this it's? Very fast. Okay. All right. Uh, I want you guys to stand where you're comfortable, just stand around the bridegroom. And the reason I say that typically, obviously, you know, his family would be on his fat on his side. Yeah, you're like the father. Don't forget that. Um, and the reason I say that is what if uncle henry and aunt harriet hate each other that's what? I know beforehand. So yeah, but let's say that you don't really deaths like a hush hush thing in the family, no one talks about it. But I put them next to each other because perfectly photographically they're just the right heights and the way they fall down it's beautiful and you have stiff expressions or even aunt might say I don't like this guy so much I'm moving myself if I say stand where you want to they plop themselves around and do you think that these people have never been to weddings before? All of them have so they know what I'm about to do is do the formal shot okay, so the first thing I would do in something like this and my my primary shooter would make this a very formal shot by setting it up look, cheat yourself a little bit this way cheat yourself in that way right right, right and come in here do me a favor, right? Because a lot of times what? What about my arm do this grab your right harm yeah put it through here you know, you're right yeah that's what I'm talking about I'm liking that liking that that's nice now I don't like seeing your hand here so if you move to her back that's that's great just like that so I would make some adjustments based on this thing uh and click there's your formal shot okay, so if this was the wedding party what I would do now is ok I need you guys to relax for a second just take a deep breath yeah just work it all out ok, I need you to you know come on you like in this woman that's what I'm talking about man hand in pocket is good you already have in hands in pocket that's nice that's nice. Okay, relax lena yes and that's your best mate and then you like her some click there's one shot. Did you see that? She did that naturally. I would have been all over this like a cheap suit because while I'm talking, I'm talking usually from right here and when she grabbed her clique that was my shot. That was my shot right there. I didn't direct it. I didn't tell her she had to do that. It was just you know that's your best friend love her a little and you guys hold hands coming you get you're married now my god click um but do you see? I also come with a bit of sense of humor my the way that I directed this is with a lot of fun and spring in the voice it's going to be fun and the minute they see how quick this is and how fun it is, the more they relax because what they're used to is what an hour standing there when everybody's at cocktails man he wants to drink look, I'm telling you he wants to drink, but click do you see? So when I I would say that to him you're like one of them a glass of wine, don't you? Oh my god! Okay, click she laughs she laughs she laughs, did I ask him to laugh? No, I in her act the whole idea of the pitch, everything is about me, my clients, the people around them and interacting with him to get responses there that I want to be seen as a human being that's part of this gig and not the vendor on, and that again gives me access it's all about getting access to who they are and that's only by permission and the only way someone will give you that if they trust you, that they open up to you. So I always come with a sense of humor like but he's relaxed this's the weights on his back, legs, hands in his pocket when you go into, say, the ten minute, fifteen minutes with just the bride and groom, do you have a standard shots or are you just help, however, that it remember, I don't know where the light is until I get there sorry, not shots, but poses yeah, I'd have not anyone even not even I mean there's some things um that I know if I go to the same venue where I've been twenty times already I know that one shot on the ridge as the sun is setting I'm gonna go get they've seen it in my portfolio they might want the same thing and I will remember make notes when I hear the bright said I love that shot done so I make mental knows that she liked that photo that she saw in my portfolio of them walking up the walk on the side of the cliff over the ocean with the sun setting she dug that okay note jo take that shot so I will duplicate it absolutely and does it bother me that I'm duplicating shots absolutely abacus each time it's for a different client so for them it's a brand new shop it's theirs right so I'm fine with that doesn't get repetitious sometimes yeah so I try and do something a little different every time I try and bend it a little different a different angle from down here I'll try a little something something that just changes it up just a hair but yeah this is a motley crew look at him I don't know what uncle henry stinking click click all these things all that you see me doing right now is exactly what I do at a wedding I interact and I say you know what's up what what's this thing you know and they all respond back and the laughter's the smiles are all real instead of like okay everybody I want you to smile come on you love each other come on I want you now it just isn't the same as if I were to interact and actually communicate with them is your other shooters setting it up and you get to be candid so check it s so I've told rich how to do this so rich is the one doing it and I am remember second shooter right so I'm on the side grabbing shots of other things the little kids sitting on the floor having old tantrum that's my shot the little doggie I got nothing but legs and a little dog that's proud in his tuxedo that's my shot he now interacts with the kleins the way I used to but this is what I taught him to do and he's totally a people person and he's able to do this so he and iraq's witham sometimes she reaches over and fixes a little something he whispers something in the groom's ear there's been times where the groom justice so stiff and he says, dude man you gotta unwind a little you know I mean there's a way to yeah I see that uh yeah but there it's all about interaction and I know there are people that don't interact you know and a purist photo journalistic way you're not really gonna and my dear for dennis reggie is that I don't know too many people and get away with the way he shoots but he shoots exactly that way and it's completely hands off. I mean, obviously he does some formals but it's a small amount but he does not interact with clients and for me I have to because it's my personality it's just who I am that's how I get access to them all right, when this is done, when I was doing the posing and now when richard wow that's it that's what I hear from them that that's it because he's ok, now you guys can go drink that's what I say and you go that's it oh, wow! That was so pain free I said yes! And guess what? Who am I speaking to? If this was the bridal party and that's her best friend who's not married that's another friend who's not married. I'm talking to prospective clients, right? So if they just saw me do what I did and it was pain free and they saw my personality that I gotta have this dude on my my wedding and I get so many referrals from the gigs that I do that I absolutely shoot groomsmen, bridesmaids weddings after that, what we gonna ask you did bridal party in different locations now it depends on what they want to do because if they if I do have some time and this is this maybe beforehand so right here for me is this my fifteen minute thing there will be a time where the bride will say to me uh do me a favor you know what I really like the other side of the building with the steps can we go on that I adjust to everything she wants she's the boss that day I'm dead serious so you know there there are a couple of times in l a there's so timeline oriented that will freak out if you don't go according to their timeline it's not their gig it's it's hearse and it's his uh question about just opposing general with bridal party you see sometimes we have like it's like different post do you have sometimes we have like the barter parties do one pose is that of a different pose as a kind of well I did write so what I do is rich may set up a proper traditional portrait right and just positioning everybody bouquets are all that belly button all the same way the boot in ears look all lined up it's all good and then I jump in I will break it up so that's another pose right here my way and it takes me two minutes to do what I just did break it down unbutton the jackets hand in pocket lean on his shoulder were finished so that's that's it for us remember, my clientele is not gonna have a book with a ton of formals in it they're gonna have a book with one of the bridal party one with the parents one with the parents and the siblings and grand parents the best man and maid of honor only with them and the two of them done literally they have no more in their book than that. Most of my books have stories to it it's all about the moments and a little bit of the formals very little bit so I don't go through the routine of making a whole lot of noise about formals so how do you handle shot lists? When do people give you shot lis right so here that's a great question shot list in the interviewing process in my pitch when they are interviewing me I'm interviewing them because as she's flipping at some point she gets the graph e book to look at as she's flipping through and she realizes this is ah, just a handful of formals uh jo jo I don't see a lot of formals in the book and I don't see any on your wall and none of the prints you showed me had formals, innit do you do for mel's? I said, oh yeah, absolutely and uh your idea of how many do you have a shot list? Yeah mom put together about three pages about one hundred fifty of them uh you know what? I may not be the right photographer for you because again what I don't want to do remember I actually go on a wedding that make me happy, right? I'm not really there to make you happy trust me because if you hire me you will be happy to get it so I will gently suggest no that one hundred fifty set ups is too much for my style of shooting now suppose this happens they get that and there is no shot list until I get there and mom comes out and drags out three pages of shot list I absolutely will do them absolutely will do them the last thing I'm going to be is a cog in the wheel and just mess it all up and stress anybody out but who's doing my formals hafun rich enjoy yourself I'll be at cocktails yeah so my primary shooter is on the hook with my assistant who now has the shot list and a sharpie and she will check off every shot as he's hollering out names and we've done that more than one it's so do I do them absolutely do the clients know ahead of time that that is not my forte that's not the strength of what I do they do by virtue of me showing them books devoid of a whole bunch of those kind of pictures so if the question gets raised where the formals my next question is how many you expecting how good are we good any questions from that end because I know we're rapping in the in a break in a second yeah go ahead would you like to take a question before me right well sure okay let's see go ahead like that one I'm for every bamberg is one and they have a wedding coming up and the brightest five one and the groom is six six how would you handle posing for this in formals and group shots room have a seat your six six okay you guys are out for a second it's just the bride and groom lean on a shoulder there you go groom is six oh yeah he's six six he's no longer six six she's taller and he is and if he is six six he's going to match her right now on the way seated you know what groom lean forward elbows on niece just relax okay put your hand on his shoulder you love him bam there's my shot okay that's what I would do very simple really quickly we're done that's it right there natural six six no longer it's really cute post two they did that I did nothing okay suggestions right so remember what you're seeing when I do these things I suggest something just really quickly you know lean forward put your elbows on your knees that's kind of thing you hand on his shoulder that's all there needs to be done there's not a whole lot of okay now I need you to do this drop your shoulder a little bit more do this a little more it by the time you're done they're like this you know uh what in their mind right I mean they really if if you try and fordham form them like putty they in their minds they really start feeling stiff because you're really directing them in situations and positions that they're not totally used to right so a lot of times I will do this to the bright rather than say to her say honey do me a favor stand like this for seven right show them show them how you want to have them stand instead of trying to direct him and move them around you show them how you want her to stand show her how you want to understand but you know hey give me a little attitude throw your hips out come on joe can do this stop it don't laugh at me you know say alright now do this way come on me little attitude I want attitude that's it so that you know it's really fun and again what am I doing when I do that am I being silly a little right but am I being human? I'm right there with him I'm enjoying it as a cz dumb is it might feel to them I'm showing them I'm I'm willing to go down that road with you okay, I'm gonna be right there with you he's like really not so convinced of that right now click but do you see what I do the minute I say click just imagine that my cameras in my hand right so I interact like that and they look at each other and they laugh because I just made a joke man that's a shot for me without me telling okay look at each other I want you think of something really funny and I want you to laugh right now yeah okay all right but you go ahead do you focus? Yeah, yeah I have the question was do I focus and recomposed yeah, you know, if I have shallow depth of field I need to right here in programme mode right now I'd say four hundred eso no, I don't need to right it'll be fine, you know f five or so that sharp enough so if there is there's not theirs fine, they're on the same plane basically right uh so I'm good if I'm shooting wide open yeah, now I'm now I'm playing around so I locked the center focus point on my cannon fifty mark twos for you that don't know this and you have that camera is the on ly focusing point that his crosshairs, the outside ones, they're all single, right? They all have, and so they search mauritz harder to get a sharper image. If you use the focus points on the outside inside one best its crosshairs. Do you also know where to focus? If you're if you're trying to get sharp and you have, ah, uh, kind of a shallow depth of field, always one third into the image, one third, so if you have, ah layer a group of people and this stacked up behind let's, say, the whole wedding party in this thirty people involved and you're on a ladder, you don't focus on the first row or the fifth row, right? You don't focus in the middle, you focus one third in one third in from the front, and then the front will be sharp. The middle will be sharp and the back will be short and again, depending on your f stop.