Winter weddings however, add a whole new angle. Especially when the bride is sick and can't spend much time outside. All of a sudden you've got a truck load of lights & extension cords to add to the already full truck load of stuff to take to the wedding.
My normal spring, summer, fall wedding pile consists of an old piano bench (light weight and perfect for 2), 4 foldable stools of varying heights, 2 small iron stools (really they are decorative plant holders), a tri-pod, a remote, 3 flashes, 2-3 cameras, several different lenses (wide angle, zoom, etc), a million rechargeable batteries for both the cameras & flashes, a towel, baby wipes, water bottles, an unbrella (you never know), a sun/reflective shade, a sheet of clear plastic, bobby pins, safety pins, a light sphere, & a bunch of cf cards. So you can see why adding 2 big studio lights and extension cords can be a big deal...& I'm very glad that I have an expedition that can fit it all in!
So Saturday off we went in my crammed full truck to Goodfield to shoot Megan & Fred's wedding photos. Poor Megan was on antibiotics and just that morning started feeling better. We started at the Fellowship Hall by unloading everything and getting it all set up and plugged in. Kinga and I always show up about 30 minutes early to do some test shots to make sure everything is ready before it's time to start running through the photo list. Just in case there's a problem that gives us the time to get it worked out...just in case. And sure enough there was a problem. My never failing awesome studio lights that I LOVE would not fire. We tried everything. I even googled it & phoned a friend. I was thinking maybe it was a communication problem between my camera's mounted flash and the lights but after messing around w/them and unplugging and replugging and turning everything off then back on they finally started to work about 5 minutes before we were starting. Okay, I'll admit it, at this point I was getting a teeny bit stressed. Turns out they were just so cold they needed a little warm up time:) I'm always so glad for that extra 30 minutes because there's usually something that will not go according to plan and that time is when you either figure it out or go to plan "B" which would have been using my external flashes as slaves to my camera mounted one. Yes, you always need a plan "B".
Anyway we got the shots we needed and then loaded up the lights and stools & headed off to Eureka courthouse which is closed on Saturdays but if you know the right people and are from this tiny friendly town they may just open it up for you:)
To get this cool shot of the wedding party looking over the balcony...
It takes a wide angle lens and being willing to mop the courthouse floor w/my sweater:)
We got some AMAZING shots there! We hauled the lights in to get the formal shots because they are absolutely necessary when it comes to getting the correct exposure.
But the pics I love the most are the ones w/just natural light. Those pics just tend to capture the "feelings" of the day.
I take back everything I've ever said about indoor wedding pics!
These pics are some of my all time favorites, and from a winter wedding no less!
