Ashley Plante of Analog Wedding is a film photographer whose approach is simple: to tell a client’s story in a way that is both genuine to who they are and to the day itself. It’s naturalistic and simplistic, and her couples love it.

[Read: Trend or Fad: Analog Film’s Comeback and Why We Love It]

“I am lucky to be an analog wedding photographer based in New England,” says Plante. “I document a lot of couples who get married with hardly any plans. It’s something I wish more couples would consider because it is SO beautiful for many reasons. In its simplicity, there is a glow between the couple of having made the right decisions across the board. Both with whom they married but also how they married. Just knowing the other wants to marry this way is, in itself, confirmation of their love. Getting married can be simple and still be breathtaking.”

In the case of Jocelyn and Luke’s elopement shown here, Plante says that “not everyone can start their wedding day picking mountain laurel from the driveway, but if you can I highly recommend it. Their wedding day was unique in that it was so genuinely old-fashioned.”

The couple chose to marry in their yard with only an officiant and photographer present. “She wore a pristine vintage gown and veil,” says Plante. “After vows, they walked to the city clerk to make it official. On the way home they stopped at the staircase in the woods for a portrait. Over breakfast he played piano and she sliced up the cake. If that isn’t romance, I don’t know what is.”

[Read: Film Photography for Beginners: The What, Why and How in Your Business]

Plante used photographed the day on 110, 120 and 35mm film (Kodak, Cinestill, Lomography, Ilford). “As a film photographer, I use a variety of formats and cameras to allow for different perspectives. I aim to use mostly Zeiss lenses to create a visual thread but I do love to include a few lo fi cameras with fixed lenses. I think this approach emphasizes the emotion of a wedding day or elopement. I use Pentax and Contax medium format cameras to lock down dreamy, crisp images and support with 110 and 35mm film to lean into the art that’s unfolding. I incorporate a lot of location scouting and timeline studying ahead of time to help me stay present in each moment. “

The post Analog Wedding: Ashley Plante’s Naturalistic Approach appeared first on Rangefinder.

When couple Brooke and Thomas’s wedding transformed from a 300-person country club blowout into an intimate 20-person backyard wedding, photographer Michelle Breiter was happy that they decided to keep the photography coverage the same. “It gave me time to explore the nuances of the groom’s childhood-home-turned-wedding-venue,” says the photographer who, with her husband Thomas, makes up The Breiters—a wedding photo and video duo based in West Virginia.

When Michelle asked bride Brooke what she’d like people to know about her wedding, here’s what she had to say: “We had never once considered Thomas’s childhood home a venue option until the pandemic was running rampant. Looking back now, I think we were crazy for considering any other location. There was something very special about saying our nuptials in the backyard where we’ve made so many memories prior. How sweet it was for Thomas to get ready one last time in his childhood bedroom, closing one chapter and opening the next in the place he’s called home for all of his life.

[Read: Capturing a Backyard Wedding During COVID-19 Pandemic]

From the photographer’s perspective, there were many wonderful and meaningful moments to photograph: “The light and architecture of the home really allowed for me to find photos that spoke to me. Every piece of the day flowed with ease and it felt like everything was happening exactly how it should have. I particularly loved the photos with the vintage car, the very car that Thomas took Brooke on their first date in.”

[“Jump in a Lake”: Photographer’s Prompt Leads to Creative Wedding Portraits]

Luckily, only one minor challenge presented itself during the day: “This was an all-hands-on-deck kind of wedding, but there was a slight hiccup when the sister of the groom was getting in the shower just as family photos were supposed to start,” Michelle explains, “so I switched the couple portraits with the family portraits and gave the sister permission to take her time showering and rest from all her hard work throughout the day. We had the couple portraits completed before the ceremony so they were able to spend their cocktail hour/reception time with their small amount of guests, instead of heading off to pose for photos.” 

When all was said and done, the photographer had many memorable images for the couple and credits some of that to the comfortability of the groom’s childhood home. “It allowed for everyone involved in the wedding to move throughout the day with the ease that allowed me to really capture candids that I love,” she explains. “The home had so many memories that were obvious through all the photos surrounding each room. It was the perfect place of for a closing of old chapters and the start of new ones.”

GEAR OF THE DAY:
Cameras and lenses: Two Canon Mark IV’s, one with a 35mm f/1.4 lens and the other with an 85mm f/1.4 lens.

Lighting: Natural lighting combined with on-camera flash. 

View more Weddings of the Week here.

The post Childhood-Home-Turned-Wedding-Venue Photo Ops appeared first on Rangefinder.

Newlyweds Geraldine and Bill had a wedding that photographer Eric Ronald says struck a perfect balance between the old and the new, between timeless wedding portraits and contemporary photo concepts. The icing on the (wedding) cake, was the venue choice—Addington Palace, an 18th-century mansion in London—juxtaposed with the couple’s “new school” elements of outfit, styling and decor choices.

[Read: Portrait Cast in Soft Light Became Stronger in Silhouette]

“This is something I wanted to take inspiration from with their photography,” says the Melbourne-based photographer. “On one hand, I wanted to create beautiful, romantic and timeless wedding portraits, and on the other, I wanted to play and experiment with some of the more contemporary and conceptual stuff that I enjoy creating so much. It’s not often that I have such an incredible venue so stunningly presented, so I really was like a kid in a candy store.”

Creative Solutions for Timeless Wedding Portraits

Most photographers can attest to the fact that wedding days are a constant barrage of the unpredictable. “My job as a wedding photographer is to navigate that and to create and capture beauty amongst the chaos,” Ronald explains. “In a way, the whole gig is about creative problem-solving, whether it be in the scheduling and planning leading up to the wedding, to when you have a camera in your hands on the wedding day, and finally when you’re locked away in a darkroom doing the edit. There are always problems to solve.”

[See More Wedding Day Moments: Timeless Reflection]

The trick is to first identify the problem because if you can’t see or anticipate it, then you’ve got no chance of solving it, Ronald explains. “For example, identifying the problem with scheduling a summer ceremony in the midday sun, seeing the horrible mix of color temperatures in the hotel room where the bride is getting ready, or in the edit, seeing what’s holding back an ‘okay’ shot from being an ‘awesome’ one. That’s where your love and dedication to the craft comes in to save the day.”

Timeline Challenges vs. Time to Play

According to Ronald, Geraldine and Bill’s schedule was tight. “When the planner first sent through their proposed timeline, I could see there wasn’t going to be nearly enough time for the portrait session,” he recalls. “To address that required some lateral thinking, and some sweet talking with the planner.”

In the end, he was able to squeeze out a bit more time, but still not as much as he would have liked. “The only other time I had was during the reception, but the problem with that was it would be nighttime and I didn’t want to settle with the usual backlit shot of the couple outside—although, in the end, I did that too!”

Ronald’s solution was to do a studio lighting setup that could be prepped during dinner and then he could just steal the couple away for a few minutes. “Because there was no time to fumble around with lights, gels, settings, posing, etc., I needed to pre-plan and visualize exactly what I wanted to do and then have everything set and ready to go so the couple could just walk in, pop a few shots and then walk back out again to enjoy their evening. I loved the results and it was unlike anything I had created before, which has since sent me down a new and exciting path in my photography.”

SOUNDTRACK IT FOR STYLE, MOOD AND EMOTION

Having a background and training in cinematography has significantly influenced Ronald’s style and approach to wedding photography. “Sometimes it’s a bit of a curse, if I’m to be honest, but I just naturally see things in a sequence of images, not just individual frames. My hope is when someone scrolls one of my blog posts, watches a slideshow and flicks through an album, they see a carefully considered and constructed narrative with a holistic approach. I geek out on that stuff. To enhance this experience further on my blog posts, I create soundtracks for all of my wedding blog posts—it helps add style, mood and emotion. It makes it more cinematic.”

[Read: Making the Music Match the Wedding Moment’s in Your Couple’s Film]

He edits the final sequence all together in Final Cut Pro using a range of sound effects and music. “There are whole lot of amazing sites to find this stuff, but I personally love Music Bed as it’s targeted specifically at filmmakers. You can easily find the perfect track because they have carefully sorted their music not just into genres but also into ‘vibes’ like ‘inspirational’, ‘delicate’ or ‘enchanted’, for example.”

PHOTO GEAR OF THE DAY

Cameras: (2x) Canon 5D Mark IV
Lenses: Canon 24mm f/1.4L, 50mm f/1.2L, 85mm f/1.2L II, 100mm macro f/2.8L
Lighting: Profoto A1, Profoto B10
Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Creative Solutions for Timeless Wedding Portraits appeared first on Rangefinder.

When Beth and Andrew recently exchanged vows at St. Mary’s Church in the seaside town of Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast in the UK, wedding photographers Emma and Rich were on hand to capture the intimate and abridged ceremony while practicing safe photo coverage. “There was plenty of hand gel and social distancing all around,” they say. “Not the easiest thing to do at weddings, which are usually the huggiest, kissiest, hand-shakiest events ever. Instead, we all shared big smiles and hand waves.”

[Read: Documenting Weddings in the Age of Social Distancing]

Safe Photo Coverage Prevails

Luckily, Beth and Andrew did not have to postpone or cancel their wedding, but they did have to cut it way back. Only 30 people were allowed in to the church due to COVID-19 restrictions but the photographers say the doors were opened up so folks could watch from outside. “We had to be aware not to stand in the aisle for the whole ceremony as people wouldn’t appreciate watching the back of our heads,” the photographers recall. “Fortunately, the weather was on our side so the spectators stayed dry, and we got to head to the beach on North Bay afterwards for some fun wedding portraits of Beth and Andrew.”

[Read: Navigating the Micro Wedding for Your Photo Business]

The photographers made sure to have extra masks on hand for not just themselves but for the wedding couple and Vicar as well, just in case. “We carried hand sanitizer gel for ourselves and the couple. We also used the hand gel that was available upon entering the church. We had to forgo the hugs and handshakes we would normally engage in on greeting people, but that was okay.”

At the time, the guidelines in the UK were for wedding guests to keep a 2-meter distance (6.5 feet) at all times, but since this wedding, Emma says that attendance number has been reduced to 15 people and is staying in place for the foreseeable future.

Safe Photo Coverage While Maintaining The Fun Factor

“We always work together when shooting set pieces (like group shots and portraits) and use the chemistry we have to encourage people to smile, relax, have fun and get the best from them,” say Emma and Rich. “We’ve been together 18 years and married for 11. We just have a knack for making people laugh. This is how we always work and the only difference at this wedding was that we couldn’t touch people or clothing!”

Emma says she and Rich asked the wedding couple if there was anything on the beach they most wanted us to capture. “They asked for some walking shots and some where they were facing the beach. They also love to partake in ‘thumb wars,’ so of course we had to capture that! It was a small wedding but big on love and fun.”

Gear of the Day

Emma shoots on Canon cameras, a 5D Mark III and a 6D, with a 24mm f/1.4 and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. “I swapped the 50mm to a 100mm f/2.8 when we shot in the church as I was right at the back,” she says.

Rich shoots on two Fuji X-Pro2 cameras, with a 16mm f/1.4 and a 35mm f/2 lens. “The Vicar usually doesn’t allow photography during the whole service, but changed his rules due to the pandemic,” Rich explains. “He allowed us to shoot at the front if we could do so silently, so I covered the front of the church with the Fujis.”

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Small Wedding Big on Love, Hand Gel and Safe Photo Coverage appeared first on Rangefinder.

It seems to go without saying that an outdoor wedding venue requires a backup plan. An elopement in a place such as Iceland, however, typically requires being open to several different photographic approaches and backup plans—like Plan B, C, D and beyond!

Take the elopement of couple Nelson and Joanne, photographed by Reykjavik, Iceland-based adventure guide and elopement photographer Stephanie Zakas of Zakas Photography. “It was snowing this crazy slushy snow and we got soaked,” she explains. “We tried to have their ceremony on the famous black sand beach, Reynisfjara, that the bride had her heart set on, but the conditions were so bad that the bride eventually said ‘Screw it, let’s just do it anywhere.'” That’s when the photographer’s backup plans—which she likes to refer to as Plan B and Plan C—were put into action.

[Read: What Does it Really Take to Photograph Adventure Elopements?]

[Read: How to Price Elopement Photography and Determine Your Value (No Undercutting!)]

Zakas proceeded to take the couple to a little inlet she knew of that also had black sand, but the group, in the end, couldn’t make it down to that area either, due to pounding wind and sleet.

“We were 5 minutes into the ceremony when I noticed how sad and uncomfortable the bride was, so my photo ops were limited,” she explains. “I know how to pose them, to keep them warm, keep their faces from looking strained, but in this case it wasn’t working.”

That’s when Zakas decided to get the couple back to warmth and they finished the ceremony on the staircase inside the hotel they were staying at. When the weather broke for about 10 minutes, they all ventured out to another part of Reynisfjara and started the ceremony again…until the weather blasted them again.

The following day, Zakas finished their wedding photos in a completely different part of the island. “What I’ve come to learn from these types of shoots is just the reality of eloping outdoors—you need to have backup plans.”

Zakas’s Backup Plans for Tackling Weather-Related Photo Challenges

“The weather here is so wild that even on days when it might be clear and sunny, the wind can be super dangerous,” says Zakas. To make things even more challenging, the weather changes so drastically so suddenly that it’s imperative for her to have a “back-pocket location itinerary” as an alternative. After all, nobody, including the photographer, wants to look back on a wedding and remember the “horror stories” that ensued instead of the happy memories!

“Sometimes the couple is bound to a specific location due to accommodations, guests, the ceremony officiant, and their plans after the elopement, like a nearby dinner or mini-reception—that’s what happened here.”

Zakas says she diligently scopes out the weather radars for a few days prior to the elopement day. Any further out, she admits, would just drive everyone crazy, as the weather will likely change 100 times by the time the special day arrives. “The night before, I check again as it is usually the most accurate report, especially if it comes down to large storms like blizzards and wind storms; then we usually have a few days notice.”

For this particular elopement, Zakas says everything looked calm the night before; no rain or snow in the forecast, just some clouds. “It took place on the South Coast of Iceland, about three hours away from where I live, and when I took off that morning to meet them, everything was awesome until about 10 minutes before I arrived,” she explains. “The clouds just opened up and this really wet, awful, half snow-half rain started pouring down. Time for Plan B—shooting at the inlet.”

Having the ceremony inside the hotel was Plan C. Zakas says it wasn’t ideal because the lobby was very small with one wall completely as a window that she knew wouldn’t look good—and there was no privacy—but in the end, it worked out. “We opted for the stairs. It was also backlit, but compositionally (and with the train of her dress), I thought it looked nice.”

A Slushy Iceland Elopement and How to Cope

For Zakas, shooting in the snow can be fun, but she says it really depends on what type of snow it is. “In the Icelandic language, there are 46 different words for the types of snow we have,” she explains. “In fact, there are 56 words for just the type of wind alone and so many more for the type of rain!”

She says that if the snow is hundslappadrífa—the big snow that is like dog paws that falls calmly—that’s the easiest to shoot in. “It’s easy to catch on the camera, it’s a lot of fun for my clients (especially my clients who come from non-snow climates and are seeing snow for the first time) and it builds really fast on the ground.” It’s also super wet, which is why everyone got so soaked so fast during Joanne and Nelson’s elopement.

For really any type of snow, Zakas adds, you have to keep the couple not too far from the lens, otherwise they might get buried or disappear in the background to the snow in the foreground. “If it’s snowing but there is a break in the clouds, I love to place the couple and play with the really ‘glowy’ light. If it’s really slushy, like in this case, I have to shoot fast and take breaks and make sure my lens doesn’t fog.”

Dealing with Dropping Temps During an Iceland Elopement

According to Zakas, many tourists don’t know that the temperatures in Iceland are relatively mild. “It’s really the wind you need to watch out for, and then if the couples get wet, getting cold happens quicker and easier and the potential to get frostbite increases. I often see tourists in the late summer or spring dying of ‘the elements’ because they think they can camp outdoors,” she says. “I keep this in mind for all locations and I take lots of precautions, run back and forth for extra coats and blankets, and include lots of breaks for the couples.”

The island temp, she says, is around 20°F at its lowest and 65°F at its highest. “The gulf stream ends on our south shore, which keeps our temps moderate—the North, the Highlands, and the West Fjords are a whole other story. Our wind is what does it and is what impeded the shoot with Nelson and Joanne; it comes right from the arctic and sometimes feels like it is tearing your skin off. Fortunately, that didn’t happen—I like to think it’s because I always come with several backup plans!”

GEAR OF THE DAY

Cameras: Canon 5D Mark III and 5D Mark IV
Lenses: Canon 85mm L f/1.2, 16-35mm f/4.0, Sigma 30mm 

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Photographer Weathers Iceland Elopement with Backup Plans appeared first on Rangefinder.

Couple Sami and Danny fully embraced their rescheduled wedding (due to COVID-19), so much so that they celebrated it with a jump in a lake at the groom’s family’s home after exchanging vows, says Minneapolis wedding photographer Athena Hays of Empiria Studios. “Each moment of the day felt more memorable than the last, and it was so fun to be able to capture the day in such a creative way!”

[Read: How to Become One of Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography]

“Rather than a New Year’s Eve 2020 wedding, their new plan was to get married at Danny’s family home on September 19th,” says Hays. “While this plan made sense for COVID-19 guidelines, it really also spoke to them personally. Danny’s father passed away many years ago and used to always say, ‘Go jump in the lake.’ When Danny proposed to Sami, he asked, ‘Will you jump in the lake with me for the rest of our lives?'” Hays says that both Sami and Danny also incorporated this phrase in their vows to each other.

[Read: Navigating the Micro Wedding for Your Photo Business]

“I asked them later that evening if they would jump in the lake with each other to commemorate the day, Danny’s father, their vows and this new life together,” says Hays. “They embraced it…and even did a few extra cannonballs.” Twenty people were on land and 30 people were in pontoon boats on the shoreline, ready to help celebrate the couple’s nuptials.

Other meaningful details and creative wedding photos Hays was able to capture in her coverage included the following (view images in the gallery at top):

Seven pontoon boats, each with a letter balloon for their last name, Schmidt. Some of the the balloons floated away, but Hays says everyone enjoyed watching them in the sky.

Danny’s dad had a Hibiscus tree that he cared for through many years, although, says Hays, it died shortly after his passing. “A few years later, the tree re-bloomed and was with Danny at the front of his and Samy’s wedding ceremony; Danny put a matching tie on it after he walked down the aisle.”

The couple had a wedding yurt put up in the backyard, which is where they spent their first night as newlyweds.

Sami and Danny’s dog, Buxton, made many appearances throughout the day, “including helping Sami put on her shoes,” says Hays with a laugh.

There is a traditional dance from Sami and Danny’s college involving men taking off their pants and dancing to Billy Joel’s Piano Man.

The family surprised Sami and Danny with fireworks at the end of the night. “Though they were lit from the dock and a bit close to everyone, it was a fun show, and a great way to commemorate such an epic day,” Hays sums up.

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post “Jump in a Lake”: Photographer’s Prompt Leads to Creative Wedding Portraits appeared first on Rangefinder.

Chiara and Les’s wedding was well-organized for over a year, with 100 guests from around the world invited. Then COVID-19 hit and overnight, a large-scale event became an intimate sunrise wedding with just the couple, their officiant and their photographer present. Fortunately, there were several unique photo ops for interesting couple portraits and details shots after the ceremony as well.

[Read: A Guide to Elopement Photography When Couples Downsize Weddings]

“They got married in the morning, at the moment when the sun popped up on the horizon at Long Reef Beach in Sydney, Australia,” says Franky Tsang, founder of Divon Photography in Sydney. “I had to have the timing down pat because the light was changing every second at that time of the morning. I headed down to the spot 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to set up my flashes and then waited for the bride to come down when the colors of the rising sun started to appear in the sky.”

[Read: Rethinking Iconic Photo Spots to break From On-Location Clichés]

Tsang says that while elopements don’t typically carry most of the formalities or number of guests that a full wedding does, a much smaller invite list—or none at all—can also translate into far fewer candid moments for the photographer to document. “In a situation like this one, I always plan my day to include different locations to photograph the couple at or in. Here, I explored different lighting setups and we used the rest of the day for fun newlywed portraits (as well as some detail shots) in different spots. I was able to pull out all my photography skills and tricks without worrying about the time limitation or being late for a reception.”

This day was extra special to Tsang, he says, because he was not just the photographer for the event but also a witness to it. “Now, not only are my images with them forever, so is my signature on the marriage certificate. I love my job!”

GEAR OF THE DAY
Cameras: Canon EOS-R, 1DX, 5D Mark III
Lenses: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8, 28-70mm f/2.0, 70-200mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.2, 200mm f/2.0
Lighting: Godox V860 and V1 flashes, MagMod

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post An Intimate Sunrise Wedding Full of Photo Ops appeared first on Rangefinder.

When couple Ronni and Garrett decided to elope this past summer, they didn’t tell family or friends about their plans to have a hot air balloon wedding; they just decided on an adventure elopement and then went for it. Applehead Studio lead photographer Liam Hennessey and his team were thrilled to be hired to capture several creative wedding photos from the day.

Adrenaline-rush aside, Hennessey says that as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, studios like his are grateful for any wedding bookings that don’t get canceled or postponed, whether they be on solid land or up in the sky. Like every other wedding photographer and team out there, Hennessey says Applehead Studio continues to adapt its business model by collaborating with other vendors to market micro wedding coverage, and add more adventure elopement packages and other smaller-scale events to their current and future offerings.

[Read: What Does it Really Take to Photograph Adventure Elopements?]

According to Hennessey, Ronni and Garrett’s dream adventure elopement in the sky was initially supposed to take place on a Friday night in early June but the weather didn’t cooperate so they moved it to the next day. “It was to be the first flight of the 2020 season for the East Coast Balloon Adventures crew and the first-ever wedding ceremony in the basket,” the photographer explains. “From our team, photographer Stephanie Camp had the the most experience ‘falling from the sky,’ so she took basket cam duty while two of my colleagues and I handled additional photo coverage from the ground. We wanted to get as many creative wedding photos as possible.”

Traveling in the hot air balloon at 28 knots to about 6,500 feet above Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, the couple read and exchanged vows in front of their officiant, East Coast Pop Up Weddings Sarah Anderson (who also happens to be a justice of the peace) as Camp took closeup photos.

“To create an overall experience of the day for the couple, our coverage included shots on the ground, of the balloon being assembled and fired up then launched, as well as the exchange of vows and rings as the balloon ascended to thousands of feet up in the sky. Other key moments included images of the landing, and a champagne toast on solid ground afterwards,” Hennessey explains.

“A crowd began to gather as we followed the balloon to a landing in someone’s back field,” says Hennessey. “A couple of guys on motorbikes, some kids on bicycles and a line of cars pulled over to watch this thing touch down and just sit there in the most incredible sunset. You can’t script this stuff any better.”

CREATIVE WEDDING VENDORS

East Coast Balloon Adventures

East Coast Pop Up Weddings

GEAR OF THE DAY

CAMERAS: Nikon D4s and D750
LENSES: 24-70mm, 45mm Tilt, 24mm, 600mm

Check out more Weddings of the Week here.
Email Rangefinder editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Photographs of Couple’s Creative Wedding in a Hot Air Balloon appeared first on Rangefinder.

Like many couples who were planning to get married in 2020, Callie and James needed to change things up because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the backyard wedding they had initially planned, they were forced to change plans and instead implemented a revamped celebration—a waterfront wedding that allowed guests to attend via row boats, kayaks and even yachts—to ensure that social distancing rules would be maintained.

“As this is the Pacific Northwest and Callie’s family had a beachfront cabin, the couple decided to hold the wedding on the bulkhead at high tide under a handmade driftwood arch,” says photographer Joe Tobiason, who shot a mix of digital and film to capture the day. “It was very cool—they invited guests to paddle, row, canoe, boat, yacht or kayak to the celebration, which included a floating dock of refreshments (with individual packaged chips, cookies and drinks).”

Once the ceremony finished, they rowed around, passing out chocolate chip cookies to everyone before sending them on their way as friends lit off sparklers (It was a July 3 wedding after all).

As for clothing, the couple also chose to do things a bit differently, according to Tobiason. “Callie wore a jumpsuit on the wedding day (and chose a nearly matching one for the flower girl). James borrowed a vintage family tie from Callie’s brother to bring together his look. They enjoyed flowers assembled together by Callie and her sister-in-law, and a good friend made the cake.”

Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Waterfront Wedding: Guests Boat In For “I Dos” appeared first on Rangefinder.

Available light is great when it works for you, however, what happens when you have bad available light, or the light isn’t so available? That’s the question Bend, Oregon-based photographer Benjamin Edwards is often tasked with answering when photographing a wedding.

“Whether it’s quality of light, or quantity, I’m always prepared to manufacture my own light in order to achieve the look I want,” he explains. “As professionals, shouldn’t we have the confidence to walk in to any room or space and know that we can control the light for our clients, or for our personal projects?”

[Read: 9 Tips for Sculpting Natural and Artificial Light at Weddings]

Such was the case, says the photographer, for this wedding of Kristopher and Eileen, which took place at one of Edwards’ favorite Central Oregon venues, Pronghorn Resort. “Pronghorn, by design, has a warmth to it, but it’s not filled with an overabundance of light. Due to incoming weather, the ceremony was moved from outdoor to indoor, into a very tight space which limited where I could move and rendered most of the scene, from my vantage point, to being nearly entirely backlit.”

[Read: How to Fix Bad Lighting While You’re Photographing a Wedding]

Knowing the space previously and having a couple of minutes to prepare, Edwards put some mono lights on stands and aimed them into the ceiling and wall, one on each side. “I did power down one of the lights on one side to ensure I had a brighter rim light from behind and just enough fill on the front. This gave me as close to cinematic ‘book lighting’ as I could get. This technique is often what potential clients mention when we’re interviewing each other. I often hear, ‘There’s something about the way you use light….’ Really I’m just bouncing light anywhere I can to achieve the softest light possible, while at the same time, trying to have a rim light to separate the subject from the background.” 

For the detail shots, Edwards employed the use of Lensbaby’s OMNI system. “I’ve been throwing all sorts of things in front of my lenses for years. This creative tool system from Lensbaby helps me keep everything organized and ready to play. By simply moving the filters around (which are magnetized to the screw on ring), I am able to isolate features of the details I wanted to stand out, and diminish the areas I want less noticeable. This approach, mixed with the use of a Profoto 3′ Octobox with two Godox speed lights gives me my desired look every time.”

“When photographing a wedding, my approach is to be everywhere without being seen,” Edwards sums up. “I always want my clients to say, ‘How did you get that shot? I didn’t even see you!’ And I always want to deliver cinematic images that the couple will value for a lifetime.”

Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.

The post Photography Fixes for Bad Available Light at Venues appeared first on Rangefinder.