Southern Style in the Great Northwest

A wedding in more then a special occasion, it is a window into your personal life and culture. I can honestly say that no two weddings are alike. Each has it's own rhythm and flow. Though each wedding does consist of some basic traditions, exchange of rings, first dance, cake cutting, etc. everything else becomes a measure of what each couple is about. This wedding is a prime example of how incorporating personal and family history can make for a memorable event. For example, many family members came from New Orleans and brought with them special traditions that aren't always seen here in Western Washington. The most obvious one being a "second line." At the end of the reception the bride and groom lead a processional of all of the wedding guests in what can only be described as a parade. The bride held a parasol and the guests waved brightly colored handkerchiefs. This was my first experience with a second line and it made for some terrific photos. The parasol was decorated by the brides aunts as well as a broom which the bride and groom jumped over at the end of the ceremony. Jumping the broom is a tradition that pays homage to how marriage rights were preformed by African-American slaves. These personal touches (and hundreds of hand made favors- each baked, boxed, and wrapped in colorful ribbons) spoke volumes about the love and cooperation these families share.

(Tip for all aspiring photographers, more then any other piece of equipment you can carry in your camera bag, your best tool and one I use more then I like to say, is a step ladder. Nothing makes a photo more boring then shooting it from eye level. The photo above was shot from a ladder to add more visual interest.)

As I said in my intro I want to tell you a little bit about the weddings I shoot as well as some technical stuff. Below is the photographer mumbo-jumbo that I hinted at.

Now first I must admit, that it never hurts to photograph beautiful people. The groom photographed here with his Father pinning his boutonniere, was no exception. If you are an novice photographer, let that be your number one rule; Only photograph supermodels, athletes, and professional lifeguards.
If for some reason this isn't possible may I suggest a way to make anyone look as perfect as the groom shown here? Great lighting.
(Warning-technical content)
For this shot I positioned two strobes in the scene. One at 45 degree angle to my left and the other 90 degrees from me to illuminate the background. Both had white diffusion umbrellas, since they are often the most handy way to modify light in a pinch. The next step is to simply let things happen and be prepared. For this next shot I took a completely different approach.

This image of our bride is shot with a 50mm lens at f3.5. I was standing on a chair over the shoulder of the make up artist and leaning down nearly on top of both of them for the close up. The bride had shown me a selection of images she had seen in magazines that she really liked prior to the wedding. The one thing that all of her magazine photos had in common was shallow depth of field. So knowing this, and realizing how small the brides' room at the church was- even without the entire wedding party standing in it, I knew that I had to use the nearly non-existent available light. I took several versions of this shot since I was stopped down to 1/20 of a second and balancing in my tippy toes above the bride and her make up artist. For me sharpness is everything. I'm honestly just glad that no one bumped my chair!

Here are a few more images from this wedding that I think you'll enjoy. From left to right: Bride and Groom's First Dance, A candid of one of the groomsmen dancing, and The Bride and Groom Cutting their cake.

Finally, I want to publicly thank the father of the bride for helping me lug my equipment up and down the stairs, in and out of the church, and for just being one of the kindest men I've ever run across! My assistant who normally acts as my personal mule was absent during this wedding and I was obviously doing the job of two people. Your help was greatly appreciated!

Welcome to Irene Jones Photography!

Over the last year the demand from clients and peer pressure from other photographers to blog has been overwhelming. The resounding chorus had been, "You should start a blog and talk about all the weddings you've been to!" At first I resisted, wondering if anyone would want to hear about it, but time and time again the first question people ask me upon finding out about my work, is "so have you met a lot of Bridezillas?" The simple answer is "yes" but contrary to popular belief most weddings are far from the nightmares you see on cable tv. Some are chaotic, others rife with conflict, poor planning, and familial skirmishes- because let's face it, every family is weird. As an outsider, I am privlidged (paid in fact) to whitness and capture these events minute by minute. I have a unique perspective on the institution of marrige, and it is that very insight I plan to share with you here; while shameless plugging my business and showing off the fruits of my labor of course. Additionally I plan to "geek-out" about tricks and techniques that have worked for me on the job, just in case anyone wants to know. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.