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A Complete Wedding in Review

Lesson 2 from: Wedding Photography

Marcus Bell

A Complete Wedding in Review

Lesson 2 from: Wedding Photography

Marcus Bell

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Lesson Info

2. A Complete Wedding in Review

Lesson Info

A Complete Wedding in Review

I wanted to tell you a bit of a back story about this wedding okay because the wedding wass and fischel would I want to say the most important thing is people make a wedding it doesn't matter where you are in the world weddings are special weddings bring communities together weddings bring people together to celebrate life now so it doesn't matter where you're photographing I have an amazing array of clients some very well off in many that are h and every one of them are amazing and beautiful some of the locations a magic others are just really really simple and basic but it doesn't matter where I'm photographing a water photographing it's those people that can't the moist and it's those people that make a wedding and it doesn't matter about the backgrounds when you keep that in mind because the wedding that I'm going to show you is a majestic beautiful place it is like in tuscany it was a dream wedding but the most special thing about it was this these two incredible families and this...

amazing couple I got to meet them about a year earlier and I photographed fiona's sister's wedding and it was just an hour outside of my home in a beautiful place in the world mulaney in brisbane where this image is taken and you know like uh this family just mean something special to may you know they invite me into their lives and really opened up and I felt like another son I felt like an extension there and that's like the coolest feeling and when fiona and richie saw that you know her sister's wedding photos they knew that they have me and the reason why fewer richard go married in italy is because there was a personal attachment they life live in england richie's english but has x cried incredible italian heritage and hopefully we'll share some of those stories over the next couple days but you know what was beautiful is that they chose something special to them and just end up being in a majestic place so let me show you a little slideshow wait it's in my way so wait makes it easy get it on get it off feelings in my heart way to you defense in my way wait wait you're scaring me wait so I've got to think at him at the street that he spent about half a day like putting that that's larger together so I think you have them and they're going to think triple scoop a cz well for providing the music you know we've always used triple scape music and but also to like you know like you don't need to spend half a day creating shar like you know we use animal every other day you know because that's how the couple's first get to see their images so yes so it's that's how we how we how we doing now let's go in and have a look a few things before we do it this way I want to just talk a little bit about shooting stars so I want to get a picture in my mind about exactly what like I do on a wedding day is that over the last ten, twelve years or so I've tried to perfect every style that have outlined here and it's bean really great that I've been able to do that on ditz mean have so many benefits so for instance like I said like you know I'm more of an introverted person you know I would love to hide in the corner just observe what's happening and just sort of sneak lee take those incredible shots but what happens is that I'm drawn into these families these families lives and just ever so gradually like I come out of that corner and I start interacting with them because it's just amazing environment that what a wedding date it comes so then I can start thinking about fitting into stuff talking about doing some portrait's and things like what that when the time is right but I guess my safety blanket is the father generalistic sort of style so what happens is is what happens is that the, uh I'm just wondering what's happening is that like what I wanted to say was that you know each and every one of us including me sometimes we have fear you know we have we feel uncomfortable talking to people strangers you know and that's where like photo journalistic stall you know really helps and I think if you can perfect that it means that if everything else is going wrong on a wedding day and everything is not going as you planned it you everything's very rushed you know sometimes like you know you might be with the bride for an hour and a half for the prep you know but she's still getting ready and you're gonna leave in two minutes you know, one of the things that I know said I have the confidence and I believe in myself that I can get some amazing shots over that air and a half where they're getting ready and then all I need is as team units to get a one beautiful portrait off that bride and when you've got that confidence then you just relax everyone else relax you know, if things were going wrong liken you know and like things that timing and and things like that the worst thing you can do is mentioning the bride's feeling it but this is her wedding day I remember one time me and adam was shooting us you know, a wedding in sydney beautiful bride, no videographers we're always in their face and are running terribly late and it's no fault of the broad at all but the videographer got right up to her right in front of the face and said when are you gonna get ready? I've got to god and oh my goodness I couldn't believe what I just heard you should have seen the difference in that bride she said get out of my face and from the rest of the point of the day like she didn't want anything to do with that guy and then it was up to me now to come in and defuse the situation and that's what you gotta do it seven times on a wedding day say you're going to be the strength and I just came and said don't worry it's all right with a plenty of time now in the back of my mind I'm going I won't tell you the exact words you know is it like and I know that were pushed to every limit but you know what? I know that even if I was able to get ten minutes then every one of those shots were going to be terrible because she just wouldn't have it but if I've got thirty seconds and her eyes just sparkling you can see his soul then it's magic doesn't matter how long you got and then having all these stars is that it means that you can swap and we've and that's what I do on a wedding day is that I'll just one minute I'll be fighter generalistic sort of in the corner just watching and at the right time oh, come in and say, hey, you know, let's do a beautiful classic portrait or let's, you know, there's something really creative and one of the things that I guess, you know, like you see in the war with the wedding scapes, you know, I really classify that as creative editorial because I've already pre thought about a location and at this beautiful scene, I've already thought about lot in composition and everything like that, but when I've got the couples that I just let them be, I just let them pose themselves. I don't even I just say, you know, when you go over there let's, just go hang around on those rocks looks so in this image over here, they've just posed themselves is that that's all them you know, I already pre thought about how amazing this place would be, but what I find is when the milk real magic happens is when I'll be just let the couple just do their thing and will demonstrate that tomorrow, you know, and we'll go through these styles and, you know, and we'll say, ok, let's, walk from photo journalistic too creative editorial or, you know, there's something more classic portrait or a formal portrait and things like that, and so the more that you can actually go ahead and really understand each of these stars and perfect yourself the more confidence that you have and when you get that confidence then you just relax you know, like I still get nervous sometimes and I'm going to a wedding you know and always something's going wrong but you got to face those challenges and just know that what we're doing and so maybe over the next couple days if people write in and you guys my iras well and say hey, you know, we have this challenge sometimes it's always comes up what can we do? You know? And uh and we can talk about it which we grind so what I'm going to I'm going to go through this wedding is like twelve hundred images and all more it's like eighteen hours of coverage can you believe that? Man? These guys knew howto ropati it was unreal, like it was like, but it was a highlight and you know what? I wasn't exhausted one bit maybe at the end and then and I had a deserved a well deserved beer and what was great, you know what? It was like six o'clock in the morning the sun was coming up and I was sitting with matthew and this is, uh you know, if you're his brother in law that I photographed a year earlier and were just having a chat you know, I mean, it was unreal, you know? And then he went off to bed and and then I went up to bed and you know, it was exhausting at that point yeah, somebody had asked earlier already how many photographs you take at a wedding so is that the number that you said twelve hundred is that seventeen, eighteen hours is a lot of cover it is and you know what? More often than not I'm going to produce about six hundred or four hundred eight hundred images depending on the coverage so, you know, like I mean in eighteen hours that's like nearly two weddings you don't I mean so there's like twelve hundred images um probably take about thirty, forty percent mohr images than that, you know? And then I'm selecting out taking at the blinks and the things like that and and you'll see this tomorrow. Now, look, I'm no way like a machine gun shooter but also to I'm not there one person to go just click got it that's it you know what I like to do? And I guess this is the way I learned from one of the great photographers industry there is that, you know, sequence it out, you know, he told me about doing like a six shot challenge continually, so yes, I like said producing around twelve hundred images and you know, like taking, you know, maybe twenty, thirty percent more than that and I just take out the blinks things that just didn't quite work, you know what I mean? And one little tip it right is that sometimes when we're doing a shoot is we've got the couple and we're thinking ahead, man, this is going to be amazing and then we do it and it's terrible now the most important thing you do right is that you never let the couple know that ever, ever now they're never ever going to see the shot, right? But the most important thing is is that we're doing this, you know, this might be your second wedding twenty wedding or one thousand wedding it doesn't matter, you know, the couple this is their first wedding, you know mean, so soon as you say, like, yeah, now that's not gonna work, they're going to immediately think that they're the problem because they look at you as the professional and that you're amazing and all that so obviously it's to him so it's, so important to just go ahead and just know exactly what you're saying, you know, to the climb, so I'm going to try to just drag this across here we go, we're good well, I'm gonna be talking to the screen, so let me just well, all right so uh so we're just viewing these images as some nails and occasionally oh just open went up so let's go through like so it's early morning um probably about ten o'clock in the morning I'm staying down the mountain so we're about an outside out of luca and what I do is I'm studying tio prep I'm doing my own prep but it's sort of chief all because these images that I'm taking what's actually trifle because these images I'm taking is getting my I am I'm starting to feel the day, but I'm also looking for potential locations and this is what I guess they become scene setters so images that ad depicting the environment where the wedding is so the couples end up loving one or two a days you know? So here we got, you know, half a dozen you know, twenty images um then I get arrive at the the villa and they've got it just to themselves, you know, it's this beautiful villa, I'm starting to look around and starting to get a feel for the place at the same time, I know they're pretty much I'm confident that ninety eight percent of the people that are staying there I guess and so like I'm just smiling saying hello and starting to, you know, interact, you know and and if I say something, I know that I could just photographed them you know, you know and then also start introducing myself but I came across like, uh this spot and it's just gonna drag this screen over so this will happen over the next three days is that we'll improvise and so I saw this really cool angle now this is shot like on a fourteen mill so it's a fourteen to twenty four and I just had like, the idea that, like, I would have the couple walked through here you know? And you know, maybe a four location shot or, you know, I probably sort of directing that way or we'll just know if that happened and what would I didn't realize that the time is that this whole area would actually be the ceremony, you know, so what's important is that is that you have backup plans and then you have backup plans and you have ideas and it's what, like I'm doing with, like, you know, with the with the print okay, so then continued, like, just scouting and then you notice here that I started doing some detail shots noticing this point and then what happened is that I'm listening and I'm listening to the environment that I ended and I came across, you know, one of fiona's uncles and talking to fiona as well and he just mentioned it was this beautiful like and I had time s o we walked up there just five minutes together and families you know, beautiful spots on dh so this is where I found this location I was just looking for this pull of life now I knew their chances are that light would be totally different in the afternoon and so if you're doing prep which I also encouraged to do the day before just know that the light is going to be different so you need to meet to adapt so then what I do is that I noticed you're starting to get ready, eh? So I just sort of taking a couple generalistic shot ls and details now the details are very, very important part of the day because it really becomes an extension off the broad and groom who they are, why they've chosen something now sometimes like the table settings may not mean something, but definitely the dress probably does mean something you know like what bride doesn't envisions address you know, in the shoes some people are fanatical about shoes and as a guy I've got to learn all the planes so don't tell my friends so the payout me out, you know but like uh, you know what I just notice is that like, I already being introduced like to the bridesmaids and I noticed that they're doing the decorations and they're doing the details or, you know, and so fiona had a huge involvement in the details and so she bean designing it thinking about and saying we're going to put these together and it was a group effort you know sometimes you know like, you know you might get a wedding and it's all done by the planner but here they've taken control and it was amazing sometimes you know it's just really really simple ideas like here like the head like just herbs and apart um you know, like little power pop sticks for for names and things like that and it just looks incredible says sometimes like you might see some of my weddings and you think, oh, man, these guys have got a huge amount of money, you know? But they died you know, it may not even be about the money it's just might be just so ah personal thing that they want to do and they want to have their artistic flair on their wedding day. So what I do is that which is actually getting ready in a villa like a very smallville compared to this one just up the road like five minutes, you know? I'm not even that and so I drove up there sold out having breakfast so a couple little you know, for a journalistic moments in court eyes then what I did is I came back and now we're at about like you know, eighty three images already and I started photographing the details now this is actually the time that I was supposed to stop photographing this was my check in time, but you can see up to this point I'd already bean producing like eighty three images and because I do that like I said to get my eye and I start early, you know, I'm capturing the environment that we're doing, so let me just, uh, one second, I just want to just bring up the stomach now so we can just see them just a little bit bigger any questions out there? So really you're basically what you're saying? Yep studying, you know, earlier than the wedding starts, so, you know, like, you know, maybe get their stop photographing, like, a narrow before, you know, I mean, or half enough before, you know, I mean, and start thinking about locations for the day again, but we'll go through like a preparation, so which is called any other questions? Yes, just so you know, marcus, I know you're new here too creative life, but there are always questions case you have any questions about there being questions, so, uh, shalom bronner had asked, how do you choose the right song? And when you're shooting and looking at all these images, are you are you picturing the music that goes to this as faras how well you know the bride and groom and what you think is going to apply to them okay, so choosing the song you know um I love music you know, like and it's one of the coolest parts after getting here I realized I mean seattle you know, like I grew up on this music you know, like in the nineties and you know, even now love it, you know me and so I just have ah really philly united, you know, music and I just sort of noise songs and I love a whole variety of different song on dso then like, you know, depending on what we're doing and we have ah license in australia where we can use commissioner music so sometimes, you know, we're using a commercial song for the client for private but anything other than that we'll use triple scape music and we just go through their library in and sort of get a feel for maybe like in a motive this in the song but something still a bit big obviously not sad on debts how I would choose a song to just go with those images and you know, like you just get a feel for sing a song and, you know, that's going to go with that wedding and it's also sometimes saying with these techniques like these are pre sets that we use that like it's good vintage times that we've developed over the last three four years and just perfected and and so it's work so much for this wedding because it was just lend itself to it and so we'll get it that's how when we're like processing the whole wedding we'll just get a feel for that wedding and use those techniques accordingly as well what was that all right so then I just keep going through and so you know it's not like we're here and then I'm just sort of again starting to think about details but at the same time I step straight back in tow a very photo generalistic nature you know I'm just sort of capturing like the girls just laughing you know, having fun and just thinking about you know what they're doing I'm also listening you know, I'm listening to what's happening around me and I think you know, like I was doing a detail and ahead this laughter you know and so I was drawn to that you know whenever he'd love to run to it well, you know like not literally but just get to it because this obviously something happening or take the broader party oh we'll take the moment dad to get those shots so you need to be now multitasking now in my life this is the only time I can multi task is on a wedding I'm a guy I have lots of flaws you know and like it's how hilarious you know what I learned at weddings like it goes in one eat at the other because you know what I love receptions you know you hear the most amazing speeches and over the years like I've got given the most amazing gems from these fathers that have been married twenty thirty, forty years with their wives right? And they're telling you is that of any remember money which I'll tell you but all these amazing things that you're supposed to do you know tio have a great relationship and I forget them always like never you never get to have the last word always let it be you are and I always forget that and then I think I shouldn't have said that and then maybe an argument goes on for another half an hour and I slept myself anyway so one of the things that I heard is that if you're um your wife asks you what you think that you answer what do you think honey you do not go yes you did not go no guys you did not have an opinion all right? This is what I've been told this is like being handed down and so it's really important okay, okay let's go back and continue on our wedding journey and like I say, we'll come back to this wedding you know continually so it was just sort of really following what happens now. I already knew that I wanted to get some shots of richie and just sort of go through and I knew how to get there. That was the most important thing that's a reason why I traveled up there and I end up getting some nice shots while I was there, but now I'm going back for really on my time sheet that I'm keeping too is that I know that I need to be here a same time like time she said to be adaptable, you gotta use on dh feel it, you know, if you should be somewhere and it was a bit of a break and I knew that I should go up and get a couple shots of richie, you know, getting ready and dressed, um and one of the not so much a waiter, but one of the things that definitely wanted was richie in his boxer shorts, you know? I mean is because I took a picture at his brother in law's wedding with the boxer shorts and they just loved it because the bonds on these and so it's australian icon and so one of the things that is it immediately I came back and so the little flower go just interacting and down and do you notice like, I'm actually got down on her level all right, so I'm down there I'm not shooting from the top, you know I'm getting down low and it was just again like a sequence and you know what? I'm just gonna go back so this is my first shot I'm a pie and I'm thinking marcus, what are you doing? Get down line you know and then just notices sequence and then it's that shot that I love you know? And I guess what I work it is that I'm thinking it's going to be a moment there you know? And sometimes when nothing's happening I'm willing it I'm willing it I'm going come on it's going to be a moment you don't mean some always constantly thinking I'm always constantly you know, waiting so and I love that one as well I just loved her, you know, looking up on ben that interaction marcus yeah do you ever actually coach them never come never you know about our encourage like the location there sitting to get ready like never like like I have definitely I try to explain here when I'm just gonna get back. All right? I'm gonna make a lick of myself I go on seen in its logo she don't do anything, I just come like that and like and said she's going like that and she's just like we just had this interaction you know, I mean so it's not like a photo journalistic moment, you know, because I was interacting, you know, me it's sort of like maybe like any formal candid well things like that but when I came back teo teo here on down where it came back immediately and it is and this is one of the biggest guys I'm going to try to teach and I don't know how well bay but is that like, I just sort of set down and I was quiet all of a sudden it was like I wasn't there and this is one of the skills that I've realized that I've developed and don't know how exactly have developed it um and maybe how to teach but I just I just there and it's like people just don't even realize I'm there and so I might be just like, you know, like two feet away taking these incredible moments and these amazing things are happening and they don't even feel that I'm in their space or that I'm actually photographing and that's way like here and you know what it is because like I did the stupid thing with, you know, like, you know, in port if ice or something like that and just indirect with a girl before that led to that moment here where I could just sit on the floor and should forget about me she knew that I wasn't a threat, you know that I was just fun, you know, just going by my own business and the little things that you know we're going to try to you know, go through over the next couple of days so it's sort of, you know, go down and now this is where like I just love this whole sequence and I'm just gonna come up and so you know, I was just getting a hit head on you know, I'm going to take those shots and follow through but all of a sudden the bride's maids came out and already and just going through these images it just this moment just developed there was this energy and it just build and everyone overcome with emotion and I just love the mom their reaction the bridesmaids this all special people to fiona you know, incredibly special and sometimes we forget that a voice I wouldn't be there you know means so everyone's but you know, I just love this shot this is fiona's sister and I think she was about six months at the time pregnant, you know and this is her mom just feeling a belly, you know? And I just I just love that you know, this is life and it was another story within a story and so I remember like it's not just just because it's about the broad and green it's a wedding day is so much more than that. You know, what happens is that you look at yourself all the experiences in your life shape who you are. But where did those experiences come from? All the people that are around j that you grew up with when you're a little girl or, you know, little boy, you know, you experience that, you know, and it's shaped who you are and wanna be, like what your grandparent's gave you and your dad's wisdom, you know, all of those things. And so if you look at an individual, this individual has this amazing community around them that have shaped their life, and then the groom is exactly the same has this incredible community that has shaped them, and each and every one of those people in that community is an individual. And so when it comes to a wedding day, this is what's so amazing that you have two communities coming to give us one and each and every one of them has their own story to capture and also toe and interact with the couple and that's, where everyone's at the wedding day is important and it's a great opportunity. So this is what I used to go out when I was first going into photography and looking in the street and seeing these interactions with people and I love the story telling, you know, my idols like henri cartier persona and eliot oh, it like the magnum photographers from that ear like you're in the fifties and sixties this is who inspired me, you know? And and I see this at weddings, you know, there's a direct correlation between what they did back then to what I do now, you know, and that continues to be that, you know, like a photographer that I just absolutely love and this is james notch way and I got to meet him a few months ago in australia and I was like a little girl it's, almost embarrassing thing if you go into my instagram like, you'll see this photo of me with this being bombing smile and he looks all nervous because I just said to him what an idaho is and and I'm so looking for do your talk tomorrow and he sort of goes, I better go and brush up on my talk, you know, and like and he's but if you're going to do one thing and I'm going to give you guys homework one of the home this is your first time way is that you have to watch a documentary called war photographer now is sometimes hard to watch, but he is this incredible photographer this incredible human being that is walking around with a camera in these just harrowing scenes and being invited into these people's lives and his document in them, you know, where a whole village of man is coming back in caskets and that the grieving families all around and he's just documenting that see the thing is is that he was invited to be there and so they forgot about it, and nets at a wedding is exactly the same is that you're invited to be there, and as long as you're doing all the right things and being respectful off your environment is that people would just let you do what you're doing is that they know that you're being something great and that you're not threatening and that's one of the great things about so that's your first time with you were so watch that. All right? So we're going toe mosey on now remember I said, I just got back just a little bit, so, you know, I was still getting ready, you know what I mean? I wasn't a ll concern because I think we still have plenty time. But, you know, I thought, like in my head, like, the bridesmaids now got nothing to do too much, they're ready so one and I did some portrait's off them so just quickly grabbed them, then I did some individual portrait of them as well because had the time to do it you know that sometimes, like, um if I dying, I want don't have the time like we just don't get them done it's okay, but like, I have a mental shoot list that I'm going through and physical shitless that I'm not having my bag, and I just think about things other things like I have is like a little look book, and it reminds me are family photos, you know, because it's some many things happening around, so I just look on my phone, I'm a little book and say family first photo with the dad or something like that. So good it's a nice reminder. So what happens is the, uh, riches granddad turns up, um, no, I met them the day before, you know, having a rehearsal dinner. I went along, um, you know, and it was great, and I also know it all began to know how important richie's granddad was to him when I really, really knew was when richard was up doing his speech and that's what I love about the speeches at the reception is that you get a amazing insight into their lives and that's where I feel so blessed like and this is where all the connections happening it's sort of like, you know what it is like you're writing a novel you know all the way through and it's the ending and it's what blues everything together you know is the speeches for may you know it's it's just incredible but man like I also when I was doing street photography and I come across someone like ice carry stick is this I'll just sort of say bring him up so larger than life like look at his face you know, like what a face to photograph and I was like a like a little kid in a candy store you know no main like I'm going can I photographed going kind of photograph you know like that but that's what I was thinking inside you know it's so excited and I said, look, I obviously went about it in a a slightly different way and which will see over the next couple days but I said, hey, do you mind I would just love to take a portrait of you you know? Do you want to do you mind taking a seat before you know it's actually I've already got the sea already there and I've already angered it to the light that I wanted him facing because I was doing that for the bridesmaids and I thought watches something and so I started thinking right is that always reserving this shot for richie and fiona because now it was it was a location and I'm going to just bring up one of the images that I just knew that was in lioce and so we've got something in the foreground we got this beautiful light coming through this what you know window and and so everything's perfect and so it was actually reserving this for but even for a portrait of few owner and well fiona and richie later on after the ceremony anyway I got so excited I thought man, this is incredible incredible guy I'm just gonna do it right now and I just tried different things you know and uh but I'm very, very quick and I'm very, very soft in if I'm directing like I'm saying oh, you know, do one doing this you know like uh oh you know that was beautiful you know? Thanks for that and then also the thing I'll do is that I'll let them think that we've finished during the portrait and then I'm a lot still is because often that amazing shot will just happen just moments afterwards when they relax I think they're not getting photographed anymore they're already in that location and he looks out and that's the shot you know and then you know like one of the things and you probably hate me tomorrow do this when we're shooting is ok just one more shot just one more and then ten minutes is probably going positive taking another fifty shots you know um but then you know like and then I came back into the original a sick mind so we've gone from him and we've just gone from here so there and notice then you know he looks at his watch and I record that so all these little things in upping significant way go through now you're still getting ready but then again going back to far a journalistic mind she just notices him and look how excited she is look at the touch everything and then what happened from here is that I my mind is just going a million miles an hour not only am I seeing what I'm photographing in front of me but I'm also still thinking about location about opportunities like now I notice like the doors open and the chance there now this is where he actually just goes and sits down himself and so then he just looks at the camera but just look what's happening behind you know like so I go on ahead and adjusted the doors have closed them a bit I've noticed it's a great angle normally I would go into the rain you know what? She's getting ready but I thought man, this looks beautiful and then I'm just sort of capturing her getting into a down and amusing that same angle then I go in everyone sort of extorted and again it's just hysterical the mom you know and it's just a continuation of the story now this is like a like a photo journalistic portrait you know, so I'm still in for a journalistic mind and so I've sort of categorize virgins like like both those moments and portrait ce so this is really good and important from a point of view when we actually socially the pre green, you know, have arrived early at the ceremony, but things could be happening a million miles an hour you might not just get a chance to be able to, you know, do a portrait of him, but I know that I can name resort into a photo journalistic portrait and just get him off god when he's chatting to someone who doesn't even realize I'm photographing and get a nice, beautiful portrait off him so you don't have to think of a portrait as that it's set up ever you know, I mean and it's a sort of certain things that we can talk about, so I'm not just sort of quickly just get along just a little bit because there's, just so many beautiful moments again, I just set up some once the footage of this I thought, ok, she's ready now, there's a lot happening with conscious of time now I'm always conscious of time now, but it attributed some portrait I take it to the light that I wanted to take her I've already pre thought about where I wanted to take a, um I knew another doorway where I could you know replicate something now I wanted to be different to what I did with the granddad so it's not the same getting the broader party azzan the bridesmaids together then I just see things year a header in the doorway and I just wanted to get a full length but then I'm not its this beautiful reflection in the mirror and so that some of the guys end up in my favorite shots and it was something that I saw and observed as I was doing another portrait some always looking you know yeah I've got concept in my mind but I'm always not knowing myself to those concepts that's what's really important it's like keep your mind open all the time for opportunity and that's why I'm saying there's never ever any down time even if you think like you know there's nothing happening and if you ever have a assistant and they're off with the fairy slap him you know get them back on focus you know I mean that actually saying but yet and obviously the dad comes in you know and I love a dad like you know he's just such a great guy and you know and like mice weddings I'm getting offered a champagne you don't I mean and I guess I nine it's all right I've got a big day ahead uh ok then I think richie and a here that richie's have arrived so I know that like I need to go out and do it because it's on my schedule so andan conscious of that schedule like I said so I just start doing some portrait of richie immediately because I knew it for time I really thought about some locations it was a chapel they're beautiful chapel they weren't allowed tio get married in that chapel but we were allowed to take some photos um so I started doing these this is richie quite a handsome guy and what about the shots I did now I'm always working that shot so I'm trying to build up to something you know? And I'm thinking, you know what what I should do is probably shoot horizontal get and really really low and, uh and then just go through and then what happened is his mom so don't tend up and how often like, you know, like we could be there and we're concentrating on this image and this is someone's coming and did this no, I didn't know it was his mom immediately and so what happens is I just think this is amazing some photographers I know and I've seen this happen and say, hey, you're in my shot sorry I was doing a shot here, but for me I knew quite a bit about rich's mom there was she told me and she hates the camera she hates it with a passion, she said. He said she just was so uncomfortable and she's going, what are you doing? You know? And I'm just getting my photo done, but before that there's this beautiful exchange chatting and then they turn and say, look, marcus isn't actually, and to that point, she didn't realize so because now, like she's seen me, I've immediately going outside and said, hey, let's, get a quick shot and look at his face like so excited and there was like that she realizes now she's getting a photo tech and and look she's uncomfortable it's a huge difference. So I took an opportunity where I saw it just to get a very, very simple shot, you know, it's just, you know, white like a snapshot still, but look a tw, the life in her face in her eyes, the eyes always tell it or, you know, and then what was great always see for opportunity, I see this great line, I'm able to do this shot of richie, I think again, what could I do? I think about another shot I'm looking at the composition and everything, and then I used the frame doors, and so I'm constantly building on a shot, so and I'm going from photo journalistic two two portrait you know, and we're only halfway we're not even at the ritz ceremony, and we've got already so many relationships, so much of a story and all of those shots, you know, just means something to fiona ritchie. So going ahead, just a little bit out of the twelve hundred images that we showed feeling in richie, they selected four hundred as it all time favorite shots that we wanted to go into an album and so that's sort of the percentages that we work with its about at least a third, that every one of those images s so important to them, you know? And so why I'm thinking creatively, I'm just building the shot, and I'm showing them because I'm letting them select the shot that means the mice, because one of the things that I've learned and member, that sequence of the honor and one at the very start that you know, of her dad, that there was about twelve, so images in that sequence that told that whole story, but there was only one image for the arm that was the most important that was her defining moment and so that's the thing I'm letting my clients choose the defining moments, and I'm not thinking as a photographer, I'm removing myself from that process and allowing them to choose.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Wedding Day Gear List
Keynote Part 1
Keynote Part 2

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Marcus is so passionate about wedding photography. Truly inspirational, definitely worth watching. He's really made me appreciate the value of wedding photography. To be honest I haven't found the sections were he shoots the 'pretend wedding' particularly good. But there is so much more in terms of the raw emotion and sentiment to be taken away from this course. You really will see wedding photography as a true art form after watching this.

a Creativelive Student
 

Marcus Bell is one of the best photographers in the world. I have really enjoyed watching this workshop. His way of teaching is simply the best. i Have admired his work for years and was able to meet him in person at WPPI Las Vegas Thank you Creative Live.

Student Work

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