Wedding photography was never really an interest of mine. I’ve tried it (as a second shooter) twice so far. Once in 2013 with a Canon DSLR and the second time this year in 2019 with my Fujifilm X series XT10 camera. On both occasions it was to second shoot for a friend who was starting out as a wedding photographer. This blog post will be more image-heavy than normally but also dives deeper into my thoughts about photography.
In 2013, I second shot for almost an 8 hours (longer for my friend who was the main photographer). I photographed at the church ceremony, followed by photos of the bridal party in between the ceremony and reception, and finally at the reception dinner at a winery. By the end of the day I felt mentally quite exhausted but nonetheless a fun and challenging day photographically. While I know I don’t enjoy the pressure of being the first shooter and directing the couple and the bridal party. I actually really enjoyed being the second shooter, where I got to fade into the background. I photographed the guests having a good time, various details of the wedding, candid shots of the groom and groomsmen waiting for the bride and general environmental photos. Overall I liked the fact that I had free reign to be shoot whatever I thought represented the wedding day and handed over the images for my friend to cull, edit and deliver. The photos below are the highlights from my 2013 second shooting experience. Back then my I was still quite new to photography and still working on my post-processing style.
Fast forward 6 years, I’ve now moved on from a bulky DSLR system to a lightweight and less conspicuous mirrorless system. My photography skills and photographic eye has (hopefully) improved. When wedding photographer and friend Chong Lee was looking for a second shooter to assist, I was happy to help. I was also curious how my photographic style, shooting style and thoughts on being a wedding photographer has (or hasn’t) changed since 2013. Granted this time round I did not second shoot a full wedding. Instead I only assisted at the ceremony and briefly during part of the bridal party shoot. The photos below are the highlights from my 2019 second shooting experience.
A couple of things I’ve noted this time round as a second shooter. I’m more confident with my photography and visualising the image I’m trying to capture. I’m more confident around people and photographing people. I enjoyed using a smaller and more lightweight camera system. It was easier to move around with and felt less intrusive to guests. I think my composition and post-processing has improved over the last 6 years.
I still enjoy the candid photography and shooting the little details of the wedding and the environment. It did also once again reiterate that wedding photography as a genre just isn’t for me. It can be a high stakes and high pressure job but also a very rewarding one as you are capturing a very important day of a couple’s life. I enjoyed being a second shooter as I did in 2013 and I take my hat off to photographers who love and thrive on being a wedding photographer.
While I hope my skills and confidence as a photographer has increased over the years. The key thing that time and experience has given me is really being able to pinpoint the kind of photography I gravitate to. And that can only happen with experimenting with different genres and being open to challenges that are outside of your comfort zone. I have put myself outside of my own comfort zone over the years. Such as volunteering as an event photographer for Open House Perth and Fringe Festival. Second shooting for weddings. Participating in communities such as the Fuji X Aus group. These activities can opens new doors to new opportunities and like minded friends but it also helps you become more confident in yourself as you have stepped outside of your comfort zone and succeeded.
While I had the intention of writing a piece about wedding photography and comparing my 2013 vs 2019 photos I made as a second shooter. As I wrote it became a reflective writing piece on my journey in photography. I hope you found this insightful and I also encourage you to get out out of your photographic comfort zone and shoot genres you don’t normally shoot, especially if you’re a beginner. Let me me know what you think, can you see a difference in my photography from 2013 to 2019?
Thanks for stopping by today.
J
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