Story behind the wedding photo #4
This wedding took place on the farm of a family member of the couple. The property which is on preserved farmland is tucked away in the hills of Sussex County. It was a beautiful day in a very relaxed atmosphere. In the back of the property and down a hill there was a pond with a small rowboat tied up to a post. The groom decided that he wanted to take his newly wed spouse for a ride. I recall that the entry into the rowboat by the couple was somewhat treacherous with the boat bouncing around and the groom trying to keep his balance. Somehow though they made it into the boat safely and proceeded to row into the pond. At one point the groom stopped rowing and I noticed a ripple going through the water. When he leaned in to kiss her I took the photograph. For this shot I used a fish eye lens which gives an extremely wide view that a normal lens doesn’t.
It’s getting hot in here!
You never really know what to expect during the toasts at a wedding. Sometimes they are quick, sometimes they are really long. Sometimes they are sweet, sometimes awkward, sometimes funny and usually a mix of all that. But one thing is for sure, it is very likely that some emotions will be shown. So a photographer has to be ready to catch it! Don’t ask me what the best man said that caused this reaction but lets just say it was steamy!
This effect is an in camera technique I use every so often
This colorful photography of the bride and groom dancing at the Madison Hotel in Morristown was possible because of a few techniques I use the moment I take this type of photo. The idea here is to show motion and movement in the photo while keeping the subject (in this case the bride and groom) still and in focus. This type of photo is usually done and possible at the reception in a room with artificial light. What I essentially do is set the camera to take a longer exposure than usual and turn the flash on the camera on. Then when I take the photo I quickly zoom the lens so that I am zooming as the photo is captured. It is that zooming that creates the light streaks in the photos since the light was capture in different places in the frame in that brief moment the image was being captured.
I used the same technique at a different wedding at The Venetian in Garfield to capture the drummer of the band that was playing. The technique is great for action shots, such as dancing, bands and even DJ’s. These type of images are truly unique as it is very difficult to get the same exact result twice since so many factors are involved.
Can you feel the beat?
Watch this ‘Behind the scenes’ video of the making of some film photographs by Louis Schroder at Weddings.
About the Photographer: Louis Schroder has photographed over 500 weddings in the New Jersey New York area and is also available for family portraits, events and other photographic projects. Please email or call me for inquiries.