can tell just from the first photograph, these aren't from Antigua. Maude and Curtis decided to get married in a small private ceremony, however they asked me to take some photographs of them at a little party they had with their families back in early May. Obviously, this was a big deal to me. You've seen all kinds of photographs of flowers, fireworks, automobiles and other objects here on the page, but photographs of actual people are few and far between. Photographing people is a little bit out of my comfort zone. But, sometimes in order to grow, you need to step out of that comfort zone and press forward. I tried to prepare for this shoot by looking at other wedding photographs in order to have a wide 
array of pose suggestions at my disposal. That way I wouldn't be wasting all of our time twiddling my thumbs trying to position my friends. I tried to keep an air of confidence around how I spoke, but inside I was a nervous wreck. Until I began to see the photographs on my camera. The further into the evening we went, the better I began to feel. We took a bunch of photographs, many shots of the entire family, but mostly shots of the happy couple, as that what they really wanted. After the meal was finished, we went outside for a few more photographs, which is where I learned an important lesson. I wanted to take some photographs of them by a water fountain, which meant that using the flash was out of the question. However, a fire-pit that I was planning on using as a light source was not working that night, so we needed to work with some streetlights that were in the area. I pumped my ISO as high as possible and managed to get a few shots, but if I would have thought for a few minutes and brought a reflector with me, I would have had a little bit more success. We finally parted ways for the evening with the promise of getting back together later in the summer for more photographs, in warmer and more eye pleasing location. I got back home and 
immediately went through the photos when the nerves began to set it. Would they like the photos? I presented the photographs to them a little more than a week later and they loved them. I asked for permission to publish the photographs on my blog, and they accepted. Then more nerves. What if I publish these photos and nobody likes them? What if nobody cares? Finally, I decided it's time to bite the bullet, face my fear and put these photos out for all to see. What better day to face your fear than on Friday the 13th. So World, here they are. Several photographs I took of my very good friends. I hope you like them. The first photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 24mm. The second 
photograph was taken at f/9, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 24mm. The third photograph was taken at f/9, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 25mm, the fourth photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 1600 at 58mm and the fifth photograph was taken at f/9, 1/250sec. ISO 100 at 34mm. A couple quick words about some of the photographs. The second shot on this page was taken in the same booth at the restaurant where Maude and Curtis actually had their first date. I was looking around for a booth we could use when I saw some people leave. As fate would have it, that was their booth. We spoke with the waiting staff and they allowed us to take several shots from the booth. The sixth shot I decided to put in black & white as I really liked the effect it had. Wedding photographs tend to have a nice classic feel in monochrome and in the final photograph, I like how the flash acted not only as the main light source, but the light of the flash bouncing off of a mirror in behind the couple acted like a bit like a backlight as well. Here are a few more shots that I took.
f/7.1, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 24mm
f/5, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 30mm
A big thank-you to Maude and Curtis. It was a tremendous honour to be invited to your private party and and an honour to have been asked to take these photographs. I wish the both of you a lifetime of great times and wonderful moments together. Congratulations.
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