Wedding Blog

WPPI taught me something. I went to WPPI and realized that all the photography bloggers I read are just students of the medium, much like myself (although in a much more advanced stage). It wasn’t until I attended my first WPPI event that I learned who the masters in the wedding/portrait photography industry are.

The thousands of people pictured in the photo below by Lynn-Kai Chao are all wedding and portrait photographers. And every single one of these photographers from around the world are watching 5 people show them how they take such amazing pictures.

Are you curious about who the masters were?

They were Yervant, Denis Reggie, Bambi Cantrell, Joe Buissink, and Jerry Ghionis. Why haven’t you heard of them? Because they are amazing photographers, but not very good bloggers. Most of them are of an older generation; they started with film and worked their way up to where they are today.

The event pictured was one of the coolest I have ever attended. It was a mock wedding (a vow renewal of sorts for the 10 year anniversary of Jim Garner and his wife), and we were able to sit there and watch it being photographed as it was happening. They took us through the different “events” that would happen on the wedding day, such as the bride and her attendants drinking champagne to celebrate, and used wireless memory cards to transmit the images almost immediately on the big screens to the right and the left of the stage. It was thrilling to watch.

They started by bringing the bride up on stage to work with the photographers. What we were watching on the big screen was a mix of stills and video.

Isn’t her dress divine? I was drooling the whole time.

A few minutes after each photo was taken, the video would stop and a portrait would come on the screen. I would never, ever be brave enough to broadcast my unedited pictures on giant screens in front of thousands of people the way Yervant did here.

They brought the bridesmaids around and gave tips on how to pose and work with bridal parties. It was really fun to see and hear how they “worked” their clients and encouraged them to get cozy and feel comfortable in front of the camera.

They also gave tips on how to find unique ways to work with a person’s surroundings. Yervant had the bride pose on the backside of the mirror, next to this curvy white backdrop. I realize it’s not the best photo you have ever seen of a bride before, but for a high-pressure situation like this, I think it turned out really beautifully.

After working with the bride and the groom separately, everyone found their places and did the wedding march up to the front of the room. Joe Buissink scurried up the aisle behind the couple like a ninja. This guy was somehow everywhere and nowhere at the same time. His website says he has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey, Brendan Fraser, Kelsey Grammer, Hillary Swank & Chad Lowe, Christina Applegate, Jenny Garth & Peter Facinelli, and Christina Aguilera. (What a huge list of celebrities!) Now I can understand why.

When they reached the front, the couple engaged in this very light and silly mock wedding. There were inside jokes, photography jokes, jokes I don’t think anyone understood, etc.

Then, all of a sudden, Jim Garner got serious. He told his wife (I can’t remember her name!) how much he loved her, what a wonderful mother she is (can you believe she has several children?), and how much he appreciated everything she does. He was absolutely sincere and the room went quiet.

Then, he threw a sneaky look at the crowd and announced that he had a 10-year anniversary gift for her.

The crowd whistled, clapped, and cheered as he slipped a (huge!) diamond ring on her finger.

I think you can tell from this photo (of a photo), that she was surprised and delighted.

Because I am a crazy blogger (and not afraid to be kind of creepy), I tracked her down during the convention to get a better shot of the ring. I’d tackle my husband in front of thousands of people for a ring like that as well!

After the ring surprise, the photo lessons continued.

Jerry Ghionis’s demonstration on of how to use a flashlight or video light for dramatic couples’ portraits was really cool

Soon, all of us “guests” (for anyone in the audience was considered a guest at the mock-wedding) went outside and chowed down on some free food (at the cocktail hour of the wedding, if you will). It was there that I met one of my absolute favorite photographers ever, Punam Bean!

While cocktail hour was happening, they turned the room we had been in previously into a reception area. No more free food, but with cake, a first dance, and all of the other standard reception trimmings. I was quite tired by this time, so I ducked out and went back up to my hotel room to try to get some sleep.