In addition to Father Meeting the Bride: sometimes it’s hard to plan other people’s moves. You would assume the characters to follow the scenario while they start behaving their own way.
Recently I was shooting the bride walking downstairs, where she was supposed to be met by the family and the guests. I set the father at the bottom of the stairs and pushed the guests back so I could get clear shot.
The bride was on stand-by upstairs waiting for the queue. At 1-2-3 she started walking down, and walked, and posed for still photographer and walked again, and finally walked non-stop by her dad in clear view. Instead of spectacular shot of a hug and a kiss I have got a shot of the father with his jaw dropped and hopeless expression on the face. This was my second wedding in that family, and neither me nor the family have learnt the lesson.
A week later I set the father downstairs, climbed up to the bride and whispered: Don’t forget to kiss your Dad! It worked well.
Communication!
Related articles: Father meeting the bride, Shooting the bride getting dressed, Shooting at bride’s place
It is up to you and the bride. The rule of thumb - be on the spot ahead of time. If you are the only cameraman covering this wedding day, I strongly recommend you not to film that for real. You want to leave bride’s house at list 30 minutes before she does. Offer to do a fake shot instead.
As for the shot itself, do it in a sequence. This will take some patience on both sides, yours and bridal party. You want the shot of the bride leaving the house, so shoot the house first. Ask the bridal party to line up behind the front door: bride goes first, mom and dad to follow, and then come the bridesmaids. Position yourself outside on the side (you’ll see why) of the driveway. You should be able to get full body shot of each person coming out the front door.
When you are ready to roll, ask the bridal party to come out and proceed towards the limo. Keep rolling and let the bride walk by you (that’s why you want to stay aside). Run ahead, get position by the limo in front of the back door - you want to see bride’s face when she approaches the limo. Don’t let her completely in, those wedding dresses are not very comfortable for getting in and out the car. Pan off to the limo (bridesmaids, house, clouds, etc.), thank the bride and drive to the church.
It is exciting to see the photographer working on the portraits, especially if you are familiar with the style of that photographer.
What it gives you in practical sense it’s some action. The difference between your camera and a still camera is that you can shoot the girls approaching and leaving the spot. They look different; some feel awkward. Their looks, their smiles, put them all on video. Use a variety of shots. Alternate wide shot of the entire scene with extreme close up of the bride or the flower girl. Or start on the close up of a bouquet and zoom out to the group shot.
Do groups in action, people setting for a shot. Use close up to capture the reaction of people interacting with each other.
Shooting bridesmaids wishes is similar to shooting few words from the ushers. Crucial is to find the right moment and the right spot. Although it’s crucial not only for videotaping bridesmaids.
Ask all the bridesmaids to get together in quiet room or outside. Choose the background. Girls look good with flowers. So look for a flower bed or a bouquet. Avoid trash bins and laundry lines.
Make sure it does not intervene with photographer’s plan. If the girls are involved in the formal photo session, get them after they have finished. Getting them all at once is easier than chasing them one by one; it saves time and assures they don’t repeat themselves.
Line the girls up in a half circle or a straight line. While doing that, try to explain what you are looking for. It should not be a long speech, but rather a short statement or a wish. Usually 50% of the bridesmaids have no idea what to say. Give them suggestions or ask a question. It may be: “congratulations and best wishes on your wedding day”, “welcome to the family”, simply “I love you”. Start from either side, film one person at a time without or with stopping your camera, depending on situation.
If you have a feeling that the girls are loose enough, ask if they want to do something crazy (singing a funny song, dancing a cancan, playing grass hockey with golf clubs, etc).
Flower girl is another essence of the wedding day. It is a shadow of the bride, little angel, marching ahead of the bride down the aisle, scared by all these strangers surrounding her all day long. She is a future bride and a reflection of the bride in her childhood. Is not she?
This shot is hard to plan. Flower girl may come to bride’s house with her parents, usually bride’s or groom’s friends or family members. Little girl, excited by being dressed up, is seeing beautiful bride. The bride is looking at the flower girl.
I wish you luck to get that shot unstaged. It’s quite hard to stage a shot with a little child. If flower girl does not feel comfortable to be on camera, just leave her alone, stay away for some time. Get your shot later on.
You might as well try to catch some interaction between the bride and the flower girl while formal photo is taken. Stay away, shoot with long focus.
Blessing is very popular at French weddings. If the wedding you are working on is not a French one, never mind. Do parents’ wishes. Parents’ wishes at bride’s house are similar to ones at groom’s house.
For a blessing you need to set up a still shot as if it was a still photography. Possible scenario: put the dad on you left, the bride or the groom on your right, kneeled down in front of the dad. Place mom in the center of the frame, but behind the bride or the groom, on the background. Mom is important, but the bride and her dad are the major players in this scene. Now let the dad bless his daughter or son.
This is the shot of the father seeing his daughter dressed up as a bride for the first time. After the bride is ready to come to the guests, go ahead and have the dad in the position ready to see his daughter. You really need good planning here. Too often there is not enough space for all the participants of the moment. Find the spot for the dad; politely explain where you want him to stay. If bride’s room is upstairs, place the dad downstairs, leave some room for the bride after she has come down.
This is going to be a spectacular shot of the bride slowly walking down the stairs. Keep it wide. Follow her almost all the way down, then pan to the dad, get his reaction. It may be tears, excitement, short statement, or a hug and a kiss. Whatever it is, that’s the shot.
Ask the bride to call you in when she is almost ready. All you need is the last touches. Bride in her beautiful dress, mom and bridesmaids trying to help her out. Get a shot of the mom putting earrings or a necklace, bridesmaids tightening the laces or zipping up the dress.
Depending on what the bride is feeling like, you may suggest videotaping her putting on the garter or the wedding shoes.
Keep it family rated.
If you get in place before the bride started putting her dress on, you will have a chance to get a shot of just a dress without a bride. It may be just a dress hung on the closet door. May be mom or an older sister or one of the bridesmaids fussing around. Get some action, then excuse yourself and do the shot of The Dress.
Make sure white balance is right. Take a wide shot to show entire dress. Come closer; take a slow pan from the tail all the way up to the top. Do some close ups of the details. Bride will put on this dress just once in her life, so make sure to document it meticulously.
These are key shots you do not want to miss:
