When you finally get to shoot for a photographer friend and she gives the freedom to be creative🥹 I loved shooting beside McKenzie McNeil Photo for this Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Wedding.
Before we begin, please admire McKenzie’s photos from this wedding here. From the beginning of my photography career, I have loved seeing how different photographers capture the same moments. It’s quite literally the POV of the photographer. She used her film camera as well so there are film photos sprinkled in there. Show love!🫶🏼
I enjoy second shooting because it takes some pressure off. I get to work more in my creative brain. Recently I’ve been allowing myself to break out of my own standards and make art that feels right for ME. That was certainly accomplished at this Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Wedding for Kathleen and Mason. I can’t wait any longer to show you some of my favs while shooting for McKenzie.
PHOTO ANALYSIS
Okay let’s do a little analyzing here. Are crooked photos in? Are they out? Personally, I think it can be done tastefully. How do I do it tastefully? Photos like the one above, I keep it how I shot it. Why this one and not others though? Here’s what I’m thinking while editing – will this photo look more authentic to the moment and fit the emotion if it stays unlevel? To me, tasteful and purposefully unlevel photos make it feel like there wasn’t necessarily a polished plan from a photographer to capture the moment. It’s almost as though someone happened to be there with a camera and snapped the shot really quick just to make sure it was documented. Compare this with the photo below. It wouldn’t make as much sense for this photo below to be crooked because this is more of a polished hug. Am I making sense?
There’s a fine line between an edit looking lazy and an edit looking INTENTIONAL. Follow me while you scroll so I can show you more examples of this.
The photo above would be chaotic if it weren’t level. It’s a close up filled with emotion but IMO it needs to be level to have the viewer focus solely on the details of the emotion and not be thrown off by the photo being crooked.
Getting my girl doing her thing🤎
Exhibit A of photos I think my AP Photography Teacher would be proud of. Look at the lead lines from the stairs, the contrast, focal point being THE BRIDE. Ahhhhhhh I love it!
Exhibit B. OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. When I tell you, McKenzie leaving me room for creativity fueled my soul. We were chatting with the planner outside the chapel while Kathleen and Mason had their private time sharing their vows. I happened to look through the cross window of the chapel door to check on them and thought…. “OMG. No way. Can I shoot through the cross and get them in focus all the way back there?” YES. YES. It worked!!!! How cool is this? Am I just geeking out? Maybe lol.
INTENTIONAL
Authentic to the moment. Documenting without polishing. And editing with my new film preset. Perfect combo for this sweet moment.
The picture basically took itself with this one🥰 So many traits I look up to about McKenzie. She’s gentle, she’s purposeful, she allows space for ingenuity, she’s gracious, she’s really funny, she’s a joy to be near.
Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this blog post of a Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Wedding. The wedding sparked that creativity in me that I wish I could tap into at every wedding. Being completely honest, I’m still learning the balance between getting the photos that NEED to get done and allowing time for creative shots as well. There’s a balance that exists – I just need to find it. Soon🥰
