My first wedding experience

On July 4th I was asked to take pictures at a small wedding for a family friend and I said yes. They were aware that I don’t have experience with wedding photography but they wanted something simple for someone to take posed family portraits for them while we were at the restaurant.

I ended up doing much more than that and I had a lot of fun. There were a few things that I learned from it and I felt like I’d list them here for others and also for myself in the future.

  • Do not wear a dress – I wore a dress and I actually ripped it twice because I was climbing on chairs to get some shots.
  • Do not wear heels – Even though the ones I wore were actually pretty good, its just good practice to wear some shoes that are very comfortable
  • Eat something beforehand – I wasn’t able to eat anything and I was actually starving throughout the entire dinner.
  • Use the bathroom – I had to use it so badly thank goodness while the bride was changing I had a chance to go
  • Bring extra batteries for your flash and camera – Since the whole reception was only two hours I did not need a camera battery replacement but I definitely needed replacements for my flash. Thank goodness I was able to change them quickly before I missed anything
  • Bring extra camera and flash – Definitely have a backup
  • Have fun
  • Here are some shots from that day :

    Couples first dance
    First dance

    Grandma + Grand Daughter
    185/365 wedding time

    Time to Drink!
    July 4th wedding

    Time to Dance

    July 4th wedding

    A few more

    A few more pictures of Yankee stadium that I have edited since the game. I was editing wedding photos for a week (they will be up later) and didn’t have time to go back and see what other pictures I had from the game.

    I ran this picture through adjust with two different exposures. One for the sky and one for the field then layered in photoshop. Originally I wanted to try an HDR with this photo but no matter what settings I tried, it just did not come out right. I think its due to the fact that I only had 3 exposures and might have needed more to capture the entire dynamic range since it was so bright out.

    Yankee Stadium

    The Yankees lost this game and after awhile I got bored and angry that they were doing such a horrible job so I started taking pictures of the crowds.

    Watching the game

    Last picture that I will show is this one of C.C. Sabathia pitching. I was able to catch his arm bent backwards as he was pitching. There is a bit of motion blur but not bad for my Canon 55-250mm

    CC Sabathia

    Yankee Stadium

    Finally went to the new Stadium on July 2nd and I had a blast roaming around. It was my first time there and the Yankees actually had a 7 game winning streak, but too bad they lost the game I attended. The skies at first were crappy but as it got closer to game time the sun broke through the clouds and gave me beautiful views of the sky and the stadium.

    I love that this new stadium is all connected because if you have been to the old one you would know that once you go and sit at the bleachers in the back you can not access the other parts. Now everything is all connected and all open to the air which also creates a nice draft when you are walking around unlike the older design.

    Exterior view

    183/365 Yankee stadium

    Bleacher creature view

    Yankee stadium

    The new main lobby

    Yankee stadium lobby

    Yankee stadium lobby

    The field from inside

    The field

    Kevin and Els’ Baby shower

    Last week I went to my friends baby shower in Long Island and had a great time. I actually have never been to one before so I really didn’t know what normally happens at one. I got there and the host had decorated the house with different baby related things and they had the cutest and yummiest cupcakes ever!

    178/365 Babyshower

    I have known Kevin since 2002 which was freshman year of college and I met Els during our junior year and they are just perfect for each other. I am so happy for them and so excited as well because she is due next month! They are the first ones out of our group of friends to have a baby and its overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

    Congrats to both of you =)

    The VIPs