Article by Mike Larson
It’s easy to get the standard shots, especially when you are getting the bridal portraits. You go through the list in your mind of the combination of the bride’s requests, as well as your own personal order of shots you routinely do. You try to mix in something new, but often times there can be a time crunch. You end up having only have a limited time to get the necessary shots with all eyes are on you looking for direction and the coordinator is giving you the countdown, “Five minutes left!”
This may not always be the case, but, when it happens, it’s easy to revert to what you know at this point and to just get the safe shots. However, many times we don’t have the extra time outside of weddings to practice with a bridal party to get some totally different shots. What I try to do is to break up the time I spend with the bridal party. I spend 50-60% of the time getting the shots I’ve done before, and 40% of the time on trying something new.
At this particular wedding, I decided to have the bridesmaids circle around the bride holding hands, and then, like a carousel, move around her. Next I had the bride move in the opposite direction, looking directly at me. I dropped my shutter speed to 1/20th, and shot rapid-fire, trying to get the movement just right. 70% of my shots were useless, with way too much motion blur. However, I nailed a few of them and they became some of my new favorite images!
Mike Larson is a wedding, portrait, and art photographer in Southern California and Hawaii. He has recently been featured in Rangefinder Magazine. You can find more information about Mike, his photography, and his seminars at www.mikelarson.com.