*Insert 7 hours here*

Man, for not really doing much of anything, my feet really hurt. We arrived around 2:30 PM or so. There is a surprising amount of equipment needed for these sorts of shoots, I’ve realized. All in all, we had our own dolly and bags and bags of equipment.

Here’s a basic rundown of what we did:

*set up lights for portraits*

*set up lights for group shots*

*groom and related family, portraits*

*bride and related family, portraits*

*ceremony*

*big group shots, bridal party and all guests*

*tear down lights from group shot*

*bride and groom portraits, along with families*

*shots of guests mingling, cocktail hour*

*speeches, best man and maid of honor*

*toasts*

*cutting of the cake*

*dancing*

As I said, I mostly observed. Stu was doing the brunt of the work, and I just sort of stood a few yards behind him.

Most of my time, I tried to look busy and make it appear like I was actually doing something. I had a few sheets of paper that I’d rustle on occasion. I also had a bag full of camera equipment for Stu. I kept this bag on my shoulders for a good portion of the time, as I just really needed something to do.

Helping set up was pretty informative. But once the portraits and the wedding itself started going… I found myself able to offer less and less. For the most part, I just stood in the peripherals and tried to help out (swapping lenses, fresh batteries) where and when I could.

During the cocktail hour, Stu told me that I was free to walk around and shoot if I wanted to. For some reason, I hesitated and decided against this. It felt weird, being there at the wedding. Even though I was meant to be there as an observer, I felt more out of place just standing around not doing anything. After a while, I regretted not picking up a camera and just walking around taking pictures.

It’s odd that I really did take any pictures. The whole time, I kept seeing things that I thought would be good blog fodder. But then I remembered that I was technically “working,” and my observations weren’t strictly my own. That is, people were paying us (and by us I mean Stu) to observe and to record their lives, for that evening. Normally, I tend to walk around and observe and record things for myself – just because it pleases me to do so. To find myself in a situation where that inclination has been trumped was a bit weird. :)

Shortly after we ate our (quick) dinner, I decided I was going to bolt. This was right before the party/dancing kicked in. I was really just standing around at that point, not doing much helping, and not really able to contribute anything or observe anything more. Stu agreed and we parted ways.

As it turns out, I’m not entirely sure if he’ll want to use me as an assistant over the summer. We talked about this some and, while it would be cheaper for him to hire me… he’d also have to teach me a great deal. He’s still debating whether he wants to spend his summer jobs “training” someone (ie, me), or if he simply wants to hire another photographer to assist because they have more experience.

Honestly, I could go either way it seems. I still expressed interest in helping, mainly because I feel like I could learn a lot. But man, just hanging out with Stu today wore me out. A typical “shoot” goes on for a long time, and there’s a lot of stuff to be done. It’s a very intense job. I think Stu told me that, on average, he’ll go from 11 AM to 11 PM easily, when doing weddings. And this doesn’t factor in loading and unloading all his equipment, nor does it factor in setting everything up.

Watching Stu work was really kick ass. Aside from the technical prowess, he was very quick to throw out the occasional tidbit of information as he was going about the job. Also – it was great to see how he talked with his subjects, and how he got them to get comfortable. And in some cases, how he caught them off guard. While the portrait shots were all great, I think some of the best moments were the ones where he was able to capture someone (the bride, the groom, the parents) in a candid moment when they weren’t fully aware of the camera. A wife straightening her husband’s bow tie is infinitely more telling than a static portrait where everyone is smiling straight into the lens.

Alright. Whew! For most of our time at the wedding, I was standing up. Even though I wasn’t doing anything. :)

Here’s a shot of one of the rooms at Kaleidoscope, right as I left. All neon and blacklights everywhere: