I remember waking up and looking out the window in the morning of Ashley and Philip’s Wedding – the same grey we’ve seen all Summer. Since when did weather forecasts become consistently correct? I packed an extra towel and a change of clothes to anticipate the worst. Photos in the rain can look great. But each unique moment only has a fraction of a second to capture. That moment is lost if a rain droplet decides to crash land onto the glass of my lens. Driving over to the bride’s home – storm clouds began to clear. How long was this going to last?
Arrived at Ashley’s – all 5 bridesmaids were getting ready. Assessed the light in various rooms, made some placement calls and let the composition begin. I thought the blue walls came out really nice post processing.
Timelapse of Ashley & Philip’s Wedding from James Zhao on Vimeo.
The ceremony was held at the All Saints Anglican Church in Nth Parramatta. I thought the church was nice and cosy once filled and was a good size. There was also a platform at the back on the second storey for a nice 45 degree angle view. I setup a timelapse up there, which I will post at a later time. It began to rain as the ceremony commenced so we lost substantial lighting that would be peeping through the Church windows on a good day. Good old 50mm f1.4 came to good use.
I look at the faint tears of Joy in Phil’s eyes and I wonder when it’s my turn to be in his position, what I’d do. I think I’d probably shed a tear… it makes a good photo too.
Here’s the cool shot from the second floor of the Church. I’ve seen a few poor attempts of this online taken at other weddings. The key is lighting. I had my assistant help with this one.
When most of the guests had left, we took some shots at the altar of this beautiful church.
It was very coincidental, some say it was a sign from God, others attribute it to precipitation, but the weather suddenly cleared at the end of the ceremony. Forget the umbrellas, outdoor photo shoot was on!
This was the first Lebanese style wedding I had shot and they sure know how to put on a party. Lots and lots of drums, dancing, drums and more drums. Great call from Phil to also hire some Brazilian Capoeira dancers. They put on a great show, but only as good as what Craig (one of the groomsmen below) made it.
Congratulations to Ashley and Philip. You had a beautiful wedding and it was a blast capturing it.
