I have to say, I’m pretty confident with my skills as a photographer, but I still get a little butterflies, especially before a wedding. Because I know how important every image I create will be. I like to think this helps me push myself and stay on top of my game.

Of course I’ve photographed events before where even an 89 year old grandma with an iPhone could bust out a dozen good photos and this was very much the case for Katie & Shawn’s wedding. As the day started I just couldn’t help but fall backwards into amazing photo ops.

At one point during the ceremony I literally felt like I needed to do a double take after looking at a couple of shots I took. It was like a royal wedding; Katie in an spectacular dress, the gold plated wall behind the alter at the Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano and the Shawn in his Air Force dress uniform. And I hadn’t even seen the finishing touches put on the reception area yet.

I was briefly afraid as images were almost coming to easy and I knew there were probably hundreds of other professionals who would have bent over backwards to photograph this wedding, which was one more reason I was really touched that Katie had asked me if I would shoot her wedding before she really even had the wedding date set.

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Don’t forget to like or follow me Facebook / Twitter /Google +

 www.VincentDavidJohnson.com

That being said, their penchant for making sure every center piece is measured by the exact radius of the table and rooms are at a perfect temperature to stop flowers from wilting, doesn’t just remind me of my German mother, it also means they have a tendency float around like helicopter parents at a cement play ground. Which in quite a few cases means they end up in the background of more than a few of my photos.

I should have removed the thermostat from this photo as well as the wedding planner who stayed behind the bride after opening the door.

Don’t get me wrong, your wedding planner should be on top of their game as the ceremony starts, but planning a wedding to be great is all for naught if your photos & video get photo bombed on accident by the people you hired. When I work with a second photographer, it’s almost like watching ballet. We move in unison, knowing exactly where to stand so we do not end up in the others image. Same can be said for the videographer.

So to all you wedding planners out there, I look forward to seeing the magic you help create at the next wedding, but realize if you can see the lens of the photographers at your event, chance are they are screaming inside “PLEASE MOVE!”

Wedding planners are always hovering as the bride walks down the aisle.

Where’s Waldo? Sometimes I can actually move in a way that hides the planner. See next photo.

Before Photoshop, this was how you took unwanted things out of your background. You changed your angle.

Well chances are it’s happening and in most cases it’s not your photographer’s fault. The 35mm film & digital SLR camera take photos with an aspect ratio that prints out fully when on 8×12 paper, but losses between 15-20% of the image because it must be cropped to fit into an 8×10 print (see the comparison below).

The difference between full frame printing & 8×10.

Considering 35mm film & digital cameras have been the dominate camera format since the 1960′s, I’m not sure why the 8×12 hasn’t taken over from the 8×10. The good news is more and more printing labs are offering 8×12 and other options large & small to fit full frame. A short list of the most popular full frame sizes are shown below. If you used me as your photographer, you’ll be happy to know beyond being able to order full frame prints, you’ll have the option to get frames custom made to fit your full frame prints. (Orders can be placed here http://vincentdjohnson.zenfolio.com/)

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One of my favorite things I have discovered on the internet has to be TED Talks. If you haven’t found them yet, please check it out. They’re like a college lecture series made up of people with unique experiences from all walks of life, sharing ideas and knowledge. It has included people like Bill Gates talking about energy, to parents talking about raising their children. They are usually between 5-15 minutes long videos. And while you couldn’t possibly watch them all, you will always be able to find something that is interesting.

In the spirt of Valentine’s Day, the TED Talk to day is about keeping things passionate even after you’ve been together for a while.

Happy Valentines day.

Vincent D. Johnson

I will sometimes post up photo albums on my Facebook page titled “Because I Don’t Always Shoot Weddings” to showcase the fact that I didn’t start my photography career off shooting weddings and its not the only thing I do. And while I try to keep the images on this blog strictly wedding related I had to share a few from an assignment I had Friday night for the Chicago Sun-Times.

The reason I bring this up and why I think its relevant to wedding photography is because if you are hiring a photographer that says they do photojournalistic style, it helps if they have a background in actual photojournalism, like myself and many of the photographer that are members of the Wedding Photojournalist Association.

My assignment took place at night, in 50 degree weather, with light rain and a sideline that was 2-3 inches of mud. I had to shoot young men who are often just months away from playing on nation TV at the college level, in a game that moves up and down a field that is longer than any church aisle I’ve ever seen and I’m expected to have reactions from the fans as well as the on field action they are reacting to and it all has to be shot, edited and uploaded by the end of the game. The photos below aren’t the game action photos I uploaded to the paper, but are a collection of images I made documenting the field and the mark it left on the players.

I say all this because when it rains at your wedding, or the lighting isn’t perfect and multiple things are going on at once. You want somebody who knows how to work in that, not just a photographer who says they shoot photojournalistic style.

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