I love shooting weddings.  I love the people I get to work with.  I love the challenge of creating and capturing images of a very special day in a couple’s life.  Each wedding brings with it a life of its own and to embrace that is something that is fun but can also be challenging.  I believe that there are people that think shooting a wedding is just a matter of walking around with a camera and snapping a few shots.  Sure that works if you are a guest and maybe you have a handful of nice shots to pass along to an appreciative couple.  But really a wedding day can be a log and tiring day.  It takes its toll both mentally and physically.  Just image that often for 12+ hours you are constantly looking to see if something happening, is there a special moment about to occur,  how should I shoot it, is there a good place to shoot a portrait and if so how am I going to shoot it?  Then there is the standing, running, squatting, kneeling, etc.

One of the hard things that I think people don’t realize is that pretty much no matter what, if you are a couples wedding photographer, you have to show up and give it everything you have.  I am writing about this because I was reminded of this just last weekend.  Last week on Thursday night, I felt like I might have torn a hamstring in my leg.  The trick was I had to shoot a wedding on Saturday.  Friday as I hobbled around a friend asked me are you going to make it.  My reply was, “Do I have a choice?”  I mean I am sure people will understand if you are a bit slower but can I use that for an excuse to not produce my best work for them.  I know for me it is not an excuse.  I don’t know maybe it is just me but to me a wedding day is such a special day that I feel you can do nothing less than give it 100%.  Most of the time I am healthy but I have had to shoot when feeling deathly ill, or with an injury.

Lucky for me my leg felt pretty good on the weekend, I hobbled about a bit and it hurt from time to time when I got down to try and get a shot.  I am glad that I was not too hampered by my injury and I was able to get good shots for Tracy & Tom.  That is despite the fact that Tom made me power down a beer before the ceremony, so if some of the shots look a little crooked.  Ha ha ha…  In any case, they had a beautiful wedding and everyone had a great time.  So for those who think they want to be a wedding photographer, remember there is a great responsibility you have and always the show must go on!

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