KELSI'S WEDDING

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Quantaray 19-35 Wide Angle Lens @ 19mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/100 sec.

  Last weekend I had the honor of being the official photographer at my niece Kelsi's wedding in Chattanooga, TN.
  When my brother, Larry, asked me to take her wedding photos a bit of anxiety fell over me.  I have shot 4 previous weddings in my past and 3 of them were successful endeavors.  It's that 4th one that keeps wearing on my mind.  It was the only time someone paid me money to take their daughter's photos and it was an absolute disaster.
  Mind you I did not charge them anything but while I was shooting group photos the mother put a $100 bill in my pocket. I rewarded them by only having one good roll of film out of six. Ouch! So you can see why the anxiety took over.
  Unlike nature and landscape photography where you can take your time and set up a shot then shoot, adjust, shoot, adjust, weddings don't offer that opportunity.  If you miss the bride walking down the aisle, or the exchange of rings, or the groom kissing the bride, YOU MISS IT.  No second chances.
  Fortunately, Kelsi's wedding shoot was a successful one. I got to the church in just enough time to take some test shots and scope out where I needed to position myself during the ceremony. 
  I prodominately used my XS with the fast 50mm lens for most of the shots but I commandeered my sister-in-law Lee Ann's Canon XT and Quantaray 19-35 Wide Angle lens as a second rig.  I am glad I did. It allowed me to get a more wide angle look and capture a feel for the entire ceremony instead of just the bride and groom.
  Fell in love with her Quantaray lens, too.  It is inexpensive and really wide.  Would love it for shooting nature and landscapes. I will have an equivalent one I guarentee it.
  Not only did Lee let me use her gear, she posed all of the post ceremony shots of the wedding party which I am horrible at.  One of which is the shot in today's post above.  Can't thank her enough for helping me with that.
  Just put 311 jpegs on a disc and shipped them to brother Larry this morning.  I was extremely happy with the outcome.  This is a relief because Kelsi is my niece and I wanted to give her the best I could in addition to the same for my brother and sister-in-law.