Weddings are a lot of fun - but here's the thing, there's always so much going on!
A little background before I dive into my little story: The very first wedding I photographed was in December 2015 - at the time, I was a newbie photographer. Photographing a short day of maybe 3-4 hours was no problem at all, or so I thought. I continued shooting weddings solo into the next year. I shot maybe 3-4 weddings? Hey, I was a full-time student at McMaster University, and a few weddings over the summer was manageable! Fast forward to 2016 and 2017 - work was slower, but by the end of the year, I had photographed maybe 20 events - I was learning LOTS! I worked as a second shooter for another photographer, and this really developed my confidence in working weddings.
In 2018, I was accepted into the Summer Company program through the City of Kitchener - and by the way, if you're an entrepreneur of any sort, you want to check that out! I'll actually make another blog post about it soon! This course was SO USEFUL! I learned a lot about the business side of being a wedding photographer, and thankfully, I was able to book so many weddings that this summer, in 2019, I am booked back-to-back! It's so crazy to think that hard work during one summer alone prepared me for an entire year really. But anyways, great program, stay tuned for a blog post about what I learned!
So, back to what I was talking about before: I'd been photographing weddings solo, but now that I'm super busy during this upcoming wedding season, and that I'm having a variety of different types of weddings, it's so helpful that I have Marcello join me for these weekends.
The very first time Marcello photographed a wedding with me was in November 2018 - we joined Jess and Brady in Mexico for their little getaway to paradise. Before this, he had joined me for a few engagement sessions and I realized that he was such a help to have.
For one, we have very different personalities:
At weddings, I tend to play the role of directing, and posing, and letting you and your hunni have your moment, I guess you could say I'm very mellow, and unobtrusive to your day. I take on the role of seeing all the pretty details of the day, and trust me, for most of the day, I will fawn over your dress and magical moments involving bubbles and sparklers :P
Now, Marcello plays another very important role, which I only recently realized is key for photographing weddings. While I'm busy with capturing what's on my mental list of photos, Marcello will point out other moments between the couple and their friends and family. Here, I'm referring to capturing little things that happen throughout the day, that I may not have an eye for: for example, capturing the silly side the groom has with his buddies or scouting out the next great backdrop. Marcello has an eye for things that are happening around me, which I may not notice simply because of my personality, or lack of familiarity.
An extra pair of eyes... and hands! ... and cameras!
One of the biggest advantages I have from a photography standpoint is that I have another professional and friend I can collaborate with on wedding days. If for example, I am busy with bridal portraits, Marcello might take over groom portraits, or location scouting while I'm busy. I have often found myself at a disadvantage that I'm unable to do numerous things all at once, but knowing that I have another skilled professional who can take care of things like taking detail shots, scouting out areas for photos, or even setting up lighting equipment for me while I'm busy with the couple is very reassuring - this also helps us deliver our best work to our couples!
And let's not forget about his ideas throughout the day. Because our personalities and interests are so different, we have fun with collaborative ideas that we may not have tried before. In fact, at every wedding, we try to capture one UNIQUE shot that we have never captured before. And capturing events from different perspectives and vantage points adds a whole other layer to the story we're telling.
And, we all just want to have fun :)
Burnout is real. Photographing a lot of weddings can mean that I may lose inspiration through the season - I would hate for this to happen, but the impact of having another professional with me is HUGE. My job becomes easier, more fun (for both me, and our couple!), and because of that, I can deliver some of my best work!
If you're getting married soon and you've booked us for your wedding, prepare to have a fun and stress-free day! Oh, and if you wanna grab a beer at Grain and Grit, holla! We just recently bought a membership to the brewery! (Post coming soon!)