Every wedding provides exciting available light photographic opportunities. The bride had walked down this
aisle only minutes before the photograph was made. Yet in her excitement and anticipation, we doubt that
she remembered any of the details. This isn’t a photograph likely to be ordered as an 8 × 10 print for the
wall, but it’s a scene-setting image that will blend with others from the day to tell the story. © 2005 Barry
Staver.
162 Better Available Light Digital Photography
set-up photographs at each event. Some photographers even
worked with a checklist! There was no deviation and every
bride’s wedding album looked like the next. These traditional
posed photographs included the following:- Bride and her mom before the wedding, either adjusting
the veil or applying lipstick. This lipstick image was often
taken into a mirror, showing both front and back of the
bride’s dress. - Groom, generally looking at his watch, in feigned anticipa-
tion of the big commitment he was about to make. - Bride and her dad, frozen in time by the fl ash exposure, as
they began the walk down the aisle. - One, and only one, photograph of the actual ceremony. It
was taken from the very back of the church, with camera
mounted on a tripod, and the exposure was quite long,
because most church interiors are dimly lit.