Lessons

Lesson Info

Introduction of the Wedding Day

I'm very excited about what we're going to do today and today believe it or not is probably the most important sequence of anything we're going to do. The fact is photographers tend to focus on I want to get the best fight alone portrait's and I want to get the best bride and groom portrait's truth be told that's not what really sells at least and not wedding. Most brides and grooms are only going to take a limited amount of portrait of themselves. However, the things that do sell is the family, the things that sell themselves it's the family so today we're going to break down every possible combination off what families are with weddings and I think photographers tend to take that for granted they don't think about the big picture, they don't think about what could be and think about well, if I was playing this role of the bride's brother in the wedding and I'm married and I have children, what would I want? So you're going to see me break it down, but I'm going to kind of explain it ...

to you right now because most photographers they see family images is a disruption, they don't see families something that they could make money off of, they see there's something that you want to get through, I don't want to get through families, I want to make that process a whole we talked about connection yesterday now I have a much bigger chance than I've ever had before I don't want to connect with just a bride and groom those on ly two individuals I want to connect with the parent so I want to connect with the grand parents I want to connect with the brothers, the sisters, spouses theo kids anybody I come into contact with because they are all individuals who could be potential clients so give you an example most photographers will do an image of the bride and groom with their parents and then no throwing the brothers, sisters, spouses, kids and then they do a big group picture of everybody there's no connection there and of course there's no money there you have to look at things that you would want if I was the bride's brother like I said on I was married and had children were all dressed in formal wear that's a big opportunity and I want you to think about that you go on a cruise today you take ah family portrait on a cruise it's probably one of the worst portrait you've ever had taken off you do you buy it? You do you're dressed up, you're dressed to kill it doesn't have to be great opposing is improper you look huge, you're doing this wrong that one but you buy it why aren't we doing that at weddings so if I have that situation where it's me and my wife and my daughter and son I'm going to do a family picture of the bride's brother with his wife I'm going to do a family picture of the bride's brother with his family I'm going to do those kids alone I'm going to do those kids together I'm going to do those kids with the bride's parents who were their grand parents because anybody out there is watching your all too young to have grandchildren, but if you have grandchildren, you know that your grandchildren in the most obsessive thing if you have children, you know that your parents like your kids more than they like you, so the fact is they're going to spend money on no situations it's about connections today I don't know if we have a grandfather or grandmother whichever maybe we look at it and say, ok, this grandpa let me do the bride with grandpa and let me do the bride and groom a grab part let me throw grandpa and some big family picture and everybody he looks really tiny there it's not about that it's a about connecting a story grandpa is the matriarch at this point, so I'm going to do the bride alone with grandpa because naturally that should be done I'm going to do grab part with all of his grandchildren I'm going to do grant par with mom because that's three generate but that's a father and his daughter that's important that's something that mom's always going church I'm gonna do grandpa, mom and the granddaughter three generations I'm going to do grandpa by himself. I'm going to grapple with the bridegroom. I'm going to grab part with his brothers and sisters. If they're around, I'm going to grant park. Would all of his children I'm going to do grant park with anybody are passively can because in the end, it's about telling a story will the bride by all those photos? Probably not, but well, mom, mom will be interested on grandpa or grandma, right? If she was around would be interested in an album photo cell themselves. I'm going to do all the combinations that I possibly can photographers get lisi let's store everybody in one group if you take one big group, what do you sell? You sell one image. I don't want to think that way give you an example if you've ever been in the wedding and you've been in a family photo, you probably already know that you may not like your spouse's side of the family. They may not like you and I going to put that image up. Probably not. So what I'm going to do at that point is break it down. I'm going to do the bride and groom with the aunts and uncles on the bride's mom site that I'm going to do the bride and groom with the ants. I'm sorry with the bride and groom with the cousins on the mom's side, then I'm going to repeat it on the groom said, why do I separate them? Because I have an opportunity to sell four photos, people say, but what about the aunts, uncles and cousins? I have a way around that I tell the families when I go, can we do one big group b like I'd love to do that, but with the bride and groom kid is they built an album, that's, all customers with several storytelling images, so we want to break it down into individual groups rather than spread it out wide because if I put it in one group, what happens now? If I see that the aunts and uncles, their and their children, why not do a family image of them two at a separate time throughout the day because the more images I put up the more I sell photographers told me all the time I try to sell my images online but I can't do what I don't make any money doing it you're not making money because your images of bad you're not making money because you're not putting the right images up like I said you go on a cruise should go on a vacation you get an image taken you usually behind take a cz many images and you can include as many images you can take the total coverage because nobody is buying an image of someone dancing from table thirty five they're buying an image where they look good they look shot so that's one of the reasons I stuck proposing because I knew that it was going to bring tremendous value now when it comes to bridal party I see photographers really over focus on this situation they take fifty one hundred images of the bridal party and that's great the problem is the longer on there the longer than bridesmaids and ushers think I'm taking I need to condense this and not think about blanks and amount of images I think about making it fun I have to create things fast I have to create things efficiently and it's not about just posing the bridegroom in the middle all the ushers on one side all the ladies any other that's boring that's plain anybody could do it it's about creating unique bods and posing every single person, whether it's a family image, whether it's a bridal image, too perfection so today we're going to cover that now, here's one of the biggest things we spoke in depth yesterday about lighting now I can make it really hard by choosing to light by the window, which isn't that hard from may, but I can make it really easy by flattening, and I have all this beautiful window like coming in that I can use so that's going to be one of the things we focus on is both dynamics. I'm going to sew show you simple and traditional and flat, and then I'm going to show you more complicated by the window, but it's not just about posing people where they're standing their arm around each other standing just like this and get it. This is boring it's about creating a dynamic it's about creating a story. How many images is the bride going toe by of her and her dad, where they're just standing there holding each other she's pinning on her flower the's were all great things, but they're not realistic. The idea is for you to make the story unfold and make the connection so one of the things that are commonly here you're going to see I make them very tight, I make them very loving I may hear from someone well that's not us but that's ok that's ok because the fact is what did I say yesterday I'm not here to show the world as it is I'm here to show you as I wanted to bait my job is to make that connection and when a bride says no I really don't get along with my brother I don't want any pictures with him none doing okay what do I tell her? You need to take this image you need to take it for your parents and you need to take it because it may not always be this way let me get one quick image when we get it out of the way and make it happen today we're going to deal with the ultimate headache we're going to deal with mom and dad of the groom who were divorced and dad is remarried and mom is pissed off okay? Nobody likes this situation but it's all in the way you put it together. There is one thing which I'll talk about later that's important to this scenario and that's making sure that mom know she's the most important in this scenario I never want to make mom feel bad about it and that's one of the reasons that when you're doing all of your pre interviews I spoke about before yesterday that we keep getting information, we have to know the family dynamic one of the things I say to my clients is I want to know everything about you I want to know who you like who you don't like who's near who's dear who's important what you want me to do when uncle bob from table thirty eight comes up and once this annoying family picture that you don't want how do you want me to handle it? I go through every step process and I will even tell them I will talk to you his individuals because I'm not prying but I need to know are there any bridesmaids or any ushers or anybody that you don't really care for that you're having in your bridal party based on obligation rather than one and you would say why would you ask something like that I'm asking him in private because she may hate a sister do I want to put her in an image where they're all cuddly and different things like that to make her uncomfortable my job it's a photographer people think I just press a button and I posed no no no no no nothing like that I am more psychologist that I am photographer my job is to control people's emotions the day of the wedding and keep them happy if I keep them happy they remember it is a pleasant experience they remember it is fun they like me therefore they'll recommend me therefore they want to use me now the session we're about to do I have roughly an hour and a half to do it. I got to be honest, I could do it fifty times during the course of that hour and a half, but I want to explain the thought process and that's why it's going to take so long? This whole process probably takes me up about ten to fifteen minutes tops because again I know what I'm wanting to do. I'm not just going to take a bride and groom bride and my dad looking at the camera and an ad mom and I don't want it to be stiff and you may say, what if the families aren't that close? My job again is not to show the world as it is, but what I wanted to be and the fact is one of them mom, I'm so although the daughter may not be like a lovey dovey, the fact is most people I know I love my kids so much I want to eat them, I want to hug them and squeeze them and not let them go that's what I want to push right and my images right now this moment during this sequence I want a patrol I wantto control that love I want to make it emotional now today is going to be a challenge the bride doesn't know him on the bride doesn't know her dad she doesn't know who her sister is, she don't know her grandparent's, we don't know who any of these people are. So this is part of great photography because I need to control that emotion the way you talk to them, the way you make them feel the way you put things together, the little comments that you make. We spoke about yesterday in the person, actually, I believe facebook me last night about being introverted. This is not a time to be introverted. This is a time to be in control, and I love the fact that this person told me that they about that way because it means that they want to escape out from under. You have to put on a stage show right now, and you have to control it. So one of the key things is making sure that, you know, people's names I can eliminate the parents named I want to call my mom. I'm going to call dad dad, and I'm going to call the wife whatever her name is mom, god and the beautiful miss trina, you know, at this point in going and bring her over, you know, make it work that wife so that we clarify who's who who is the most important. I'm going to talk to the bride about it and I'm going to say kate dad's very married how do you feel about what she's okay, I tolerated all right? I'm going to put her in a couple family pictures just because I wanted god not to be upset we have to think about dad's feelings and emotions here, especially since he's paying for part of this, you know? All right, fine, I'll deal with it, but I promise you, your mom will be the first lady I am going to make her feel spectacular, so I'm going to go over those details I'm going to go over every little fine thing, so again, control, control control. So now what's, I set up, I made the decision, I'm going to go here, obviously I have to stage by coming in. So with the stage right here, I'm using basically at this point ah, pro photo, right? Which is a beautiful day light like all right now I know that it's a little bit hotter than I want to be, I could turn it down, it can dial it down, it could use the window, I wouldn't use this powerful alike, but if I am going to use it right now, what does that mean in terms of lighting? I need to get both subjects going where towards the light. So for the first sequence, I'm going to do what I want to make sure that I bring my subjects, they're going to be close up sequences I always want to try to keep. My subjects is far away from the background as I possibly can, because the further I can get them away, the more the background starts to soften up. I don't want to see these rigid lines going through their head now, to be honest with you, I'd probably shoot towards the window again or in that general direction. I'm not going to do that today because it doesn't make for the best video in terms of creative live audience, but I go there because it's less noise, I love that flow. But now the key is I want to make sure that I don't get this in focus, so I see photographers and the sequence use a twenty four to seventy lens. I'm going to use his longer lenses. I can get and go from there.