I was so excited for my third second-shooting experience, which took place on May 29, 2008 (coincidentally, my parents’ 32nd anniversary).  I was most excited about the fact that it was my first lesbian wedding.  I really hope that it was the first of many nontraditional ceremonies for me.

And this was a nontraditional ceremony!  It took place at sunrise on a cliff in Capen Park on Thursday!  And it was beautiful!  The morning was clear and blue, and Capen Park represents some of the most amazing natural landscape in Missouri- sharp karst bluffs in contrast with soft green trees and valleys.  The twenty or so guests and participants who climbed the hill were rewarded with a gorgeous view and a joyous ceremony.

I was invited to be the second-shooter by the wonderful and talented Anastasia Pottinger Photography, also of Columbia, Missouri, and a friend of mine.  I was very happy for the opportunity, although the setting presented some unique challenges.  With the bright sunrise in the background, the brides often faced away from the light, while the guests were often much brighter, and the light was changing constantly.  I was very happy to have my new camera that shoots at high ISOs, along with good noise reduction software (I’m a fan of NeatImage).

Here is a selection of my favorites:

What a beautiful group of people celebrating on a gorgeous spring morning in one of the prettiest locations in mid-Missouri.  In all, a fantastic wedding.  (It doesn’t hurt that I was home again before 7am!)

I just finished the photos from my second second-shooting-at-a-wedding experience.  This is my first time actually processing the photos to provide to the bride & groom, and I think I did pretty well, all told.

My sister-in-law was one of Lucia’s bridesmaids, and together she and Lucia conspired to get me on as the second-shooter.  It was really sweet of them.  The main photographer (J. Kent Bixler Photography) was amenable to the situation, so all I had to do was drive up to Kansas City and take advantage of the opportunity.  It was a long day, but I had so much fun!

The photographer was really friendly and knowledgable.  Since his usual assistant wasn’t around that day, he was happy to talk to me and give me pointers as the events progressed.  He encouraged me most with the use of flash equipment, something I tend to avoid.  I have flash equipment, but I much prefer ambient light.  Ambient isn’t always possible, and weddings are definitely a place where flash knowledge is important.  The photographer told me, “Stop thinking about it and just do it,” and so I did.  Better yet, he had a second flashgun on a stand that I could trigger with my on-camera speedlight.  I certainly need more practice, but I was pretty happy with the way some of my flash images came out at the end.  Just do it!

I’m posting some of my favorite images below, but here’s a link to my gallery of Lucia & Doug’s lovely wedding.

The wedding was on May 3, 2008, at St. Theresa’s Parish in North Kansas City, Missouri, and the reception was at the Gladstone Community Center in Gladstone, Missouri.

I was the second-shooter for my first wedding at the end of April, and the main photographer (T.B. Kene of St. Louis, Missouri) just sent me a link to the client’s proof gallery.  I’m putting it up here, but I’m sure it won’t be on his site for long.

Technically, I was the third shooter for the wedding as the main photographer is actually a team of two guys from St. Louis.  I was initially approached by one of them (who I met on a forum) because the other guy was supposed to be out of town for the wedding.  When his plans fell through and he’d be doing the wedding after all, I wasn’t needed.  But I asked if I could still come along, since I’d never shot a wedding before and the pressure would be off.

It was a lot of work, but I had a good time.  I felt like it was successful, especially since the main photographer used many of my images in the client gallery!  As is typical, though, the ones he chose weren’t the ones that I chose, and vice versa.  Taste is relative, I suppose.

Here are a few of my favorites, and my own gallery of images from this wedding.

The wedding and reception were held at the Larimore House in St. Louis, Missouri.  About six minutes after the outdoor ceremony ended, it poured rain, but that resulted in my favorite image in the linked photo gallery (the b&w one with the umbrella- beautiful!)