Available light photography at weddings 165
the cake, stop, look at the camera, and smile. We’re not
sure how many fi ngers have been nicked over the years as
couples kept the knife cutting and looked up toward the
photographer.
- Of course the following photograph in the album showed
the couple feeding the cake to one another. Yes, the couple
was asked to get the cake right to each other’s lips, and
then stop, holding the pose.
- The wedding-day interruption continued when the photo-
grapher posed the couple on the dance fl oor at the begin-
ning of their fi rst dance. All mood and intimacy of the
moment was lost during the creation of this photograph.
- Other traditional wedding “must-have” photographs
showed the groom removing the bride’s garter from her
leg and the bride posing with the bouquet she’s going to
toss to the unmarried women at the reception.
- Let’s not forget the traditional posed group portraits,
usually taken at the church altar after the ceremony. These
included the bride and groom, the bride and groom with
wedding party, and then with their respective families.
Variations saw the bride with her bridesmaids, the groom
with his groomsmen. Really daring couples had the
photographer photograph the groomsmen lifting the
bride completely off the ground and holding her in their
arms. The bridesmaids were then photographed as they
surrounded the groom. Sometimes the last two poses
looked out of place at the church altar.
The new wedding photography
Fortunately for brides, grooms, and photographers everywhere,
wedding photography has changed. Dramatically. In fact, with
the integration of cameras into cell phones and the proliferation
of small point-and-shoot digital cameras, some wedding photog-
raphy has gone out of control. The pendulum has swung to the
far end from the traditional list above. Wedding guests are stand-
ing up during the ceremony to take snapshots, and as the fl ashes
fi re in the darkened church, the mood of the ceremony is some-
times lost. In some cases, the number of fl ashes fi ring reminds us
of the paparazzi scene around celebrities. Speaking of celebrities,
did you know that some of them have installed metal detectors at
their weddings? All guests are screened, and cameras—specifi -
cally cell phones with cameras—are taken away before the guests
can enter. This prevents unauthorized and “bootlegged” photo-
graphs from being taken and distributed. Barry may be amazed
that so many people would fi nd celebrity weddings this interest-
ing, but Joe agrees with Scott Adams, who says, “You can never
underestimate the stupidity of the general public.”
