One thing I really like about shooting weddings is the variety – I get to shoot many different styles. This variety is most often defined by the client, as each client has a different expectation in what they want from the photographer.

Some clients want traditional pictures – posed pictures of themselves and the family. This presents a challenge in the form of working with people, particularly in dealing with a large group. You deal with multiple personalities within the group, ranging from those that want to get as many pictures as possible of different groupings, to those that see the “picture taking” as mainly an annoyance or something that has to be endured. It’s more a practice of dealing with people than it is the camera, so you need patience and the right personality to handle the full range of situations.

On the other end of the scale is the client that wants the day documented from an artistic perspective with candid, natural pictures. The challenges change drastically with this type of shooting, and although it’s more difficult than posed stuff in more ways than one, the payoff can be well worth the effort.

I’m delighted when this type of client comes along, as happened on Saturday. And they don’t come along as often as I’d like. This is either a person who has analyzed your work and is willing to place a great deal of confidence in you, or has a great deal of confidence that things will just go right (fingers crossed!). When the situation presents itself, you sometimes have to change gears suddenly – with this example I wasn’t absolutely sure of the goal beforehand, as I’d only chatted briefly with the client for a few minutes earlier that week on the phone. In contrast to traditional wedding photography, this style requires an odd combination of skills on the part of the photographer – a good technical knowledge of how a camera works along with a somewhat more artistic eye that can see a moment as it happens or anticipate it before it happens.

Of course, even when you’re given the opportunity to document an event like this, you still cover all the bases. I still concentrated on some posed shots, because someone in the group, inevitably, will expect to see some traditional pictures. You’re dealing with the expectations of not only the couple, but the parents and siblings as well.

In other news… there’ll be another session web site online within the next day. This was supposed to be a weekend off – I’m not sure what happened.

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