Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006

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Deidre Buck: In the Wedding Life Lou Jacobs Jr.
 

With her first camera, eight-year-old Deidre Buck practiced shooting pets and her little brother on the Iowa farm where she was raised, rode horses and made snow forts in the winter. “One day,” she says, “my mother told me if I didn’t start getting ‘entire subjects’ in my pictures, she wouldn’t buy me any more film. That style is now considered creative—I was just ahead of my time.”

After Deidre graduated from high school in 1970 she headed to Riverside, California, to attend business college. “That first week I had my first plane ride, my first taco and my first earthquake,” she recalls. Deidre learned photography through trial and error with a Nikon SLR. While she worked as an office manager, she practiced taking pictures in her spare time. Friends, families, weddings and babies were her learning subjects. She eventually moved to Palm Springs, which was becoming a major destination for corporate meetings. A friend in the hotel industry persuaded her to seek corporate photo jobs, which she did despite trepidation and fear of failure. “I survived my professional initiation,” she says, “and I got more courage and, thankfully, more equipment.” Deidre started shooting professionally in 1988, and in the following five years she shifted to wedding photography. In her view, “It was almost an unconscious segue, and now 95% of my business is weddings, and 75% of those are destination jobs. Most new business comes through referrals, and the rest from my promotions, travel and resort photography. The Palm Springs area has grown considerably, and I believe we have become a major player in the destination wedding market. There’s more competition now, but it can motivate us to be better at what we do.”

Since Deidre majors in weddings locally and on location, she works comfortably out of her home. As we talk about her photographic approaches, her enthusiasm is obvious. “I truly love capturing moments without giving any directions,” she tells me. “I love standing in the wings, waiting and watching. Then I see that look or touch or movement or shape, and I know I’ve gotten something really special.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time I begin my coverage with the bride. Once I have a sense of her personality, I begin suggesting poses. I do some coaching but always make sure she is being true to herself. Soon, without being aware of it, she relaxes and is actually enjoying the entire process. I stay sensitive to her moods, her facial features, her body language, her surroundings. When she relaxes, everyone else seems to respond similarly.

“My wedding day poses range from total direction to none at all. Posed formals are usually expected, and with family included they require direction. After the formals, the bride, groom and wedding party favor unposed pictures, which are my specialty. I usually start shooting with directed candids and finish with total spontaneity. We always strive for pensive, playful, romantic and passionate interactions. I constantly visualize the layout of their album in my mind.

“To help the bride and groom retain their stamina, I offer little techniques such as breathing, visualizing what’s ahead and humor. There are no set rules, and every wedding is different.” Continuing her advice, Deidre says, “The bride tends to carry more of the burdens of the wedding day, and she’s my first priority. Parents are next, and the wedding party plays a significant part in the day’s drama. We do our best to honor all reasonable requests to fulfill the wishes of clients and guests.

“I like the unpredictable qualities of each wedding. I thrive on interaction with my subjects, and enjoy everchanging opportunities to capture the entire gamut of emotions and expressions. At times this can be exhausting, but it’s never dull. Some people suggest that after doing weddings for so many years, I shouldn’t be nervous anymore. But I think it’s good to be a little nervous. It keeps the senses heightened, and I’m more productive and creative.

“If I have been able to meet with the bride and groom ahead of time, and I’ve done my job, we should develop understanding and trust rather quickly. If I don’t have the opportunity to meet them before the wedding day, I have to work a little harder. I try to include meeting time with more distant subjects in my fee.”

Deidre was so lucid about her understanding of wedding photography details, I felt I was taking a short course. Here are more pointers she offered:

• A photographer has to wear many hats: diplomat, wedding coordinator, friend, director, psychologist, seamstress, nurse and somtimes even referee.

• Awareness is so important to significant photography— knowing when to take charge and when to back off, knowing what to say and when. If in doubt, don’t say anything. Be firm but not overbearing. Retain your sense of humor. Always try to be respectful and when necessary, serious.

• Watch for mood changes of the major players. You have to be able to shift gears to accommodate or help alter those moods. I find that the principals at a wedding are counting on you as a professional to guide them through rough spots. If you are intuitive and do your homework, potential friction can be avoided.

• Family structures have become very diverse over the last 15 years. Familiarity with sensitive family relationships in advance can help avoid awkward moments, especially during posing times.

• Coordination is the key. The photographer is not the prima donna of the event, and there may not always be a wedding coordinator to handle details. You often have to coordinate with subtlety.

• Communicate with and develop a good working relationship with other vendors such as event managers, caterers, musicians, videographers, florists, etc. Deidre maintains contact with clients right up until the wedding day. On that day, she can count on “exceptional team member” Jack Hartin, whose specialty is dance and performance photography.

“He wanted to expand into wedding photography,” she says, “and I was impressed by his portfolio. He tested the waters by assisting me, and after several months he decided he didn’t want to shoot weddings alone. Four years later we still work very smoothly together.

“Jack is often doing candids and details, and sometimes he will cover the groom and groomsmen as I cover the bride and bridesmaids. We have created a comfortable atmosphere that is fun for clients. Jack is my right arm, and my left arm, Ray Galvan, assists with equipment and film, etc. I’ve been fortunate that he’s assisted me for eight years; he reads lips, hand signals and sometimes my mind. He keeps me on schedule, presents himself well and genuinely cares about what we are doing.”

Because of Jack’s contacts in dance photography, he and Deidre have been honored to photograph Riverdance several times in the U.S., and were invited to Dublin to shoot a special performance. That experience led to a contract to take performance pictures of Celtic women in San Francisco and Sacramento. Jack and Deidre understand that the instincts necessary to capture great wedding pictures are the same instincts essential for shooting dance action. Regarding equipment, Deidre works with the Nikon F5, F100s, and D2X, the Fujifilm FinePix S2, and a battery of lenses from Nikon’s16mm fisheye to a Nikon 300mm f/2.8D ED-IF II AF-S.

Her flashes are two Nikon SB800s, two Nikon SB-28s and two Stroboframe brackets. She uses digital technology, but often prefers film, which she says, “has greater latitude and greater graduation of color tones than digital. Film offers me an advantage in contrasty desert light. I get better skin tones with Fuji Reala than with digital, so I use it for most people pictures. My Fujifilm S2 is very quiet during church ceremonies, and the Nikon D2X is excellent for fast-moving action and candids.”

Deidre and Jack do not take their laptops to weddings, preferring to focus on shooting rather than displaying images to guests. “I don’t want to divide my attention,” Deidre says. “I don’t want to sacrifice quality for presentation, which I realize is also important.”

For film images Deidre does very little retouching, and Jack excels at Photoshop color corrections and workups for digital output. Deidre handles the design of most traditional albums; she and Jack collaborate on coffee table albums.

Obviously fulfilled in wedding photography, Deidre Buck summarizes, “You don’t pick this profession to get rich quick or if you want a lot of free time. You stay with it because you are passionate about taking pictures of days that clients will value all their lives.” Visit www.deidrebuckphotography.com.