You might not know this, but I am not only a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom for all you computer illiterates), I do indeed work. Kind of. I have a photography business on the side that helps keep me sane, as well as add a lot of stress.... "How does that work?" you ask? Well, I needed something else.
Being a mom is the most rewarding job and purpose I have ever had, and it is something I wanted most in life for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't trade it or change it for anything..... but... Yes, there is a but. I needed something for me. It's so easy to get lost; lost in your kids, lost in your house, lost in the responsibilities of life. Life can just become monotonous and for a personality like mine, the monotony becomes overwhelming. So I needed a hobby; something to call my own, something to bring variety and excitement to my life. A new challenge.
And photography was the answer! I have been learning and growing as a photographer for the past while, taking courses, taking pictures, learning the business end of it, and now seeing where it takes me! The reason for this post isn't even to introduce that part of me, especially since most of you who read this already know that, but it is to talk about what I'm like as a photographer.
I just did my second wedding this past Saturday, and I'd have to say I wasn't excellent. For starters.... I almost don't even want to admit it..... oh geez... I forgot my camera. Nope, you didn't read that wrong.... the photographer forgot the camera! What the heck?! It was sitting in my garage, waiting for me to grab it. Chris and I had been trying to cram the step ladder into my car, I had the tripod, many bags, lunch, water, snacks, etc... all to haul to the car, and in the midst of it, I forgot the bloody camera!! So I sheepishly knocked on the door to let the expectant bride know the bad news, only to be greeted by her lovely mother who remained dead-pan as I told her my plight. If I wasn't feeling bad enough already, that definitely made me feel worse! So I raced a train on the way home, in order to save every possible second, praying I wouldn't get a speeding ticket. Luckily I didn't.... unluckily, the train had stopped on the tracks for the way back, so I had to take a detour, adding a good 5-7 minutes onto my trip - precious minutes I didn't have. But I made it back to the bride's house in 15 minutes, greeted by smiling faces; they could have bad-mouthed me the whole time I was gone, but they were nice when I walked in the door, and I'm glad! That would have made for a rough day if I felt like there were ill feelings towards me :(
On to the ceremony.... it went pretty well, I only made a couple of minor errors..... like not knowing the groom was walking his mother in because we didn't practice that at the rehearsal... or like not getting a 'great' shot of the bride walking down the aisle... it was a REALLY short aisle!! I took 3 pictures of her walking down, and none of them are fabulous... what can I do? I hope the rest of the awesome pictures will make up for it.
There are so many details to remember as a photographer, and it is A LOT of work, a lot more work than I thought it would be. It might seem like an easy job, but when you're not using a 'point and shoot' camera, and not just shooting on automatic, you'd be surprised how much you actually have to know! There's a reason you can take full 10 month diploma programs in college! So for those of you who don't know about the settings, this will seem like Greek to you, but I accidentally left my ISO on 1000 for some of the pictures.... yes I did.... what is wrong with me?? UGH! We had to do indoor pictures due to weather, and I was shooting from up on a balcony looking down. The flash didn't look great in the pictures, so I didn't want to use one. The only way I could do it was to turn my ISO up.... well, for the next bunch of pictures that I could have had my ISO on 400, it was on 1000. I was looking at the pictures afterwards and wondering why they were looking kind of grainy... well that's why. Sigh.... I gave this couple a stellar deal, and I went above and beyond in capturing beautiful, fun, creative, and timeless pictures. I hope that will override any disappointment they might have.... and I really hope they don't have any disappointment at all!!! I'll post pictures on my FB group tomorrow :o)
And photography was the answer! I have been learning and growing as a photographer for the past while, taking courses, taking pictures, learning the business end of it, and now seeing where it takes me! The reason for this post isn't even to introduce that part of me, especially since most of you who read this already know that, but it is to talk about what I'm like as a photographer.
I just did my second wedding this past Saturday, and I'd have to say I wasn't excellent. For starters.... I almost don't even want to admit it..... oh geez... I forgot my camera. Nope, you didn't read that wrong.... the photographer forgot the camera! What the heck?! It was sitting in my garage, waiting for me to grab it. Chris and I had been trying to cram the step ladder into my car, I had the tripod, many bags, lunch, water, snacks, etc... all to haul to the car, and in the midst of it, I forgot the bloody camera!! So I sheepishly knocked on the door to let the expectant bride know the bad news, only to be greeted by her lovely mother who remained dead-pan as I told her my plight. If I wasn't feeling bad enough already, that definitely made me feel worse! So I raced a train on the way home, in order to save every possible second, praying I wouldn't get a speeding ticket. Luckily I didn't.... unluckily, the train had stopped on the tracks for the way back, so I had to take a detour, adding a good 5-7 minutes onto my trip - precious minutes I didn't have. But I made it back to the bride's house in 15 minutes, greeted by smiling faces; they could have bad-mouthed me the whole time I was gone, but they were nice when I walked in the door, and I'm glad! That would have made for a rough day if I felt like there were ill feelings towards me :(
On to the ceremony.... it went pretty well, I only made a couple of minor errors..... like not knowing the groom was walking his mother in because we didn't practice that at the rehearsal... or like not getting a 'great' shot of the bride walking down the aisle... it was a REALLY short aisle!! I took 3 pictures of her walking down, and none of them are fabulous... what can I do? I hope the rest of the awesome pictures will make up for it.
There are so many details to remember as a photographer, and it is A LOT of work, a lot more work than I thought it would be. It might seem like an easy job, but when you're not using a 'point and shoot' camera, and not just shooting on automatic, you'd be surprised how much you actually have to know! There's a reason you can take full 10 month diploma programs in college! So for those of you who don't know about the settings, this will seem like Greek to you, but I accidentally left my ISO on 1000 for some of the pictures.... yes I did.... what is wrong with me?? UGH! We had to do indoor pictures due to weather, and I was shooting from up on a balcony looking down. The flash didn't look great in the pictures, so I didn't want to use one. The only way I could do it was to turn my ISO up.... well, for the next bunch of pictures that I could have had my ISO on 400, it was on 1000. I was looking at the pictures afterwards and wondering why they were looking kind of grainy... well that's why. Sigh.... I gave this couple a stellar deal, and I went above and beyond in capturing beautiful, fun, creative, and timeless pictures. I hope that will override any disappointment they might have.... and I really hope they don't have any disappointment at all!!! I'll post pictures on my FB group tomorrow :o)
3 comments:
Well... that's amazing but frankly i have a hard time visualizing it... I'm wondering what others have to say....
Aww, Mandi...weddings are SO tough to shoot! My mind never shuts off when I'm shooting a wedding that I tend to forget to do a shot that I was super excited about earlier, or I forget to double check my settings on my camera! I'm sure the photos turned out great - can't wait to see them!
I totally am the same Erica, that's why I have a list with me. Even with it, I couldn't get some shots because of weather :(
I wonder who wrote that first comment....
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