Rangefinder Magazine
September 2005
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The Last Word by Philip Myers
 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY can sometimes get a little redundant with churches, family portraits and bouquet tosses. So my wife, Judy, and I, who run Old School Studios out of our house in Hastings, MI, savor the times when we can photograph things less typical. Incidentally, the creative or humorous shots are often the clients’ favorites.
This photo was taken over Memorial Day weekend at Gloria’s Garden, a private residence in Lansing, MI. It is one of the most beautiful outdoor gardens we have ever seen, and the flowers, trees, waterfalls, ponds and bridges make spectacular backdrops for photographs. It stopped raining about 90 minutes before the wedding began, and the partially overcast sky allowed for some great natural light.
The theme for the wedding was animal print, and the bride and groom wanted plenty of fun, silly shots with the wedding party. I was ready with ideas and pig snorts (they help get the best, most genuine smiles). The group mock picture ended up being everyone’s favorite. Instead of having a traditional bride and groom wedding portrait hanging in the living room, the newlyweds will be having this one enlarged and framed. Featured in the photo are Josh and Amanda Romney, Mike Hansen, Steve Werner, Tony Furano, Melanie Walton, Jennifer Bandlow and Katie Moco.
The picture was taken with a EOS Canon 20D, using a Canon 24–70mm lens at 1/60 at f/5.6 at ISO 100 and Canon’s EX580 Speedlite for fill-flash with the camera set to RAW and JPEG mode. RAW mode lets me have full control over all of the picture parameters, including white balance. I fill six 1GB CompactFlash cards shooting an average of 400-plus pictures per wedding in this RAW and JPEG mode. We now do all of our weddings digitally so we can offer an automatic slideshow of the wedding photos immediately afterwards. Wedding guests can view the photos taken at the ceremony while they are enjoying the reception. A week or two later, clients receive a DVD slideshow to enjoy at home, along with 200 wedding portraits arranged in a beautiful white leather wedding album and a CD with digital image files.
Judy and I think one of the best parts of photographing weddings is finding ways to help the bride and groom enjoy themselves and their special day, and let their personalities show in the photographs. It also helps to have a great natural setting like Gloria’s Garden! Visit us at oldschoolstudios.net/.
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