Entries Categorized as 'ethnic wedding'

world-wide fame

Date October 20, 2008

… well, not exactly. Along with my friend and colleague Seshu Badrinath, I was featured in a mini-article over at Chicago Wedding Resource. They posted a very approximate quote of what I actually said, but the spirit remains.

[ link to article: when cultures 'click' ]

The amusing part, at least to me, is that I didn’t even know about it until my dear Rima googled herself, then sent along a link. (I guess it’s easier to find more applicable info with a name like ‘Rima’)

HyeYun + Jason | Korean Wedding NYC

Date October 14, 2008

This weekend we drove out to NYC for our friends’ wedding. As a guest I decided to limit myself to 50 frames, and ended up choosing 30.

bride walking down aisle at wedding
Korean wedding NYC

As part of a traditional Korean wedding, the bride and groom change into traditional Korean costumes (Hanbok) and do a bowing ceremony (Pyebaek) to honor their parents and special relatives. The bride serves them tea, and the parents present their gifts. My favorite part is when the parents throw figs (girls) and chestnuts (boys), and however many the couple may catch in her dress or a scarf represent how many children the couple will have.

man costume for traditional Korean wedding
Korean bowing ceremony
Korean ceremony wedding
2940601535_17dda7238a_o HyeYun + Jason | Korean Wedding NYC Korean bowing ceremony dates and figs
korean wedding ceremony NYC
Korean wedding ceremony
chicken Korean bowing ceremony
Please someone tell me what this chicken represents!!! Is it supposed to be the duck/goose for fidelity?

My favorite image from the day:

dancing at korean wedding reception
[ 30 select images here ]

Confessions: Wedding Photographer as Wedding Guest

Date October 14, 2008

This weekend was the third and final time I will have been a wedding guest in 2008. We traveled to New York City for Jason and HyeYun. Although Jason had always said he wanted to hire me to photograph his wedding, as I predicted, in the end they chose a Korean team of photographers to document the day.

I will admit I was aghast at the aggressive style of shooting employed by the Korean photography team [observe]. Two photographers were literally onstage, walking around and getting inches from the couple during important moments of prayer, vows, and ring exchange. The principal photographer (who, incidentally looked and carried himself like a Korean soap opera star) blocked the congregants’ view of the kiss and rings, which is a personal pet peeve, and continuously followed up his very obvious photos by conspicuously checking the image on the back of his camera (we call it ‘chimping’). He even walked between the two mothers who had done the unity candle thing, almost knocking them away from the altar in their elaborate Korean dresses after they had delicately bowed to the congregation… because he suddenly noticed that the bridal party was coming into the sanctuary. In a major moment of faux pas, he stuck his camera over the shoulder of the pastor while the pastor was praying and shot close in at the bride and groom’s face. I was later told that this is a normal way for a Korean photography team to act.

This entire experience caused me to think about being a wedding photographer who was NOT asked to photograph a wedding. As part of my daily routine, I am in contact with large networks of wedding photographers. There are camps on either side of the “will you photograph your friends’ or family members’ wedding?” question (my answer is yes, I would love to… but not for free) and it is often discussed whether as a wedding photographer we would bring our gear to a wedding we attend as guests.

Some heroic individuals claim when they attend a friend’s wedding they just want to drink and dance, and maybe bring a point and shoot camera to take arms’ length selfies with their spouses. Some of us don’t even own a point-and-shoot, and would never attend a major event without camera in tow. A passionate group of individuals, few of us wedding photographers will ever admit to ego issues on the topic of our relationship to images from the wedding day.

I think it’s kind of inevitable… most of us bring our gear to weddings and think in the back of our heads that we’re going to get much better photos than the chump our friends hired, even at times we are determined to take the day off. Since photography is our life, it is natural that we would continue taking photos of our friends as usual and we want to give our photos as a wedding gift, which cloaks our real intentions. Subconsciously, we’re either offended we were not asked to shoot the wedding, or want to save the day if the hired photographer messes up or appears to be doing an inadequate job. Which of course, they always are. And thus we wedding photographers as wedding guests often ironically become our own nemesis… the friend with a camera (or ‘uncle bob’ in industry-standard terms).

I say most of the above tongue-in-cheek - my friends hired talented artists to document their day and I am confident all got beautiful images and albums. I do not presume that I am the best photographer or that everyone should hire me… also, not every wedding photographer has ego issues. My own realization and the point of laying this all out there is to share my self-discovery - I have become more astutely aware of my own ego as a wedding-photographer-turned-wedding-guest. And also more aware of my own dedication to unobtrusive wedding day coverage.

In preparing for the wedding, I decided to bring only one lens. Since I shoot with prime lenses I had to decide which focal length would suit the day adequately. I chose to bring my new 35mm lens which is a current favorite… this also meant that I lost the opportunity for tighter detail shots from far away (such as from sitting in the middle of the congregation during the ceremony). And then I took my personal challenge two steps further by bringing only a 2GB memory card, and then limiting myself to taking only 50 images throughout the entire wedding and reception (even as a guest I go into default photographer mode and usually end up shooting 500 or so on several 8gb cards!!!). I got the 50-frame idea from brilliant Vegas photographer John Michael Cooper, and I actually succeeded in limiting myself… except for blowing the image quota when they busted out the traditional Korean bowing ceremony at the end.

This wedding was a wonderful but mixed experience. As mentioned above, I did have a really difficult time watching the photography team throughout their work. My stomach was clenched and I felt a little nauseous after the ceremony - a physical reaction to the felt horrors of what I was seeing. From my perspective, the wedding threatened to become all about the photographers getting their images rather than a natural progression of traditions and community centered upon the actual covenant and the joy of the couple becoming one. The images I linked above aren’t even the worst - I was limiting myself to only take a few photos and didn’t do the in-your-face photography justice. During the reception, traditional moments were paused, posed, created. This is so different from my own candid editorial style during the course of a wedding, although I did appreciate that they were giving the couple something they obviously wanted and I could not provide (macro shots of the ring exchange, for example!).

wedding photographer overkill

"Wait... where are they? I can't see because there are FOUR photography people in that small room."

Limiting my own camera use was a really interesting and humbling exercise. It forced me to choose my shots carefully. One go at everyone walking up the aisle, only a few images to represent the beautifully choreographed first dance. I did in fact end up dancing with friends during the after party because I wasn’t guarding a bag full of equipment or trying to hide behind my camera.

There were a few images from the 50 that I absolutely adore. And there are 30 images I have chosen to represent the experience from a guest’s perspective. More on that in the next post.

Dave and Beth

Date September 20, 2008

UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer

Beth is the daughter of a Pentecostal pastoral team, so you would expect the ceremony to be heartfelt and intense. It was.

UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer

moments before the KISS:

UK wedding photographer

Brits have this funny tradition of going over to a decorated table and publicly signing the wedding registry in front of the entire congregation. I’ve never seen that before, but I’ve been told that this is common “everywhere” except the US (and probably Uganda or something).

UK wedding photographer

Oh! Hello everyone! Three handsome sound guys were helping me balance on a wobbly office chair in the church balcony to get this photo. (Thanks dudes. Next time I will bring cookies.)

2864851591_d7afe58084_o Dave and Beth
UK wedding photographer
2865679782_d10c5b76f3 Dave and Beth
UK wedding photographer

fancy British CAR:

UK wedding photographer

men wearing CRAVATS

2865680482_059aa16a7a_o Dave and Beth

women wearing HATS

2864852687_765e7611d4_o Dave and Beth
UK wedding photographer
UK wedding photographer

1-year-old Tobi, with his curly head and impish little smile and breakdancing skillz, pretty much stole the show for me.

2865680652_94e4094d9a Dave and Beth
UK wedding photographer
2865680300_aab741c5fe_o Dave and Beth

more photos here and all photos here

link to their prewedding portrait session

A HUGE thanks to my new friends in Huddersfield UK. You guys rock! I had such a nice visit.

2865680530_322a040b24_o Dave and Beth

dulhan expo

Date September 17, 2008

We had a table at the Dulhan Expo this past weekend in Long Island (Hauppage, New York) in an attempt to connect with more desi couples. Although we were disappointed at the turnout at the show, we had fun at the end watching a fashion show and some belly dancers, and one of the other vendors provided henna!

Here’s a photo Laura Ryan, another photographer who helped me with my booth, posted of me getting henna application:

photo © Long Island wedding photographer Laura Ryan

Sofia and Mike, 3.

Date September 12, 2008

One last image from Sofia and Mike’s wedding to celebrate their collective awesomeness. I didn’t know if they would like this image or not, but when we viewed the images together this was the one they commented the most about.

2844994508_b1b2fc81a4_o Sofia and Mike, 3.

Also, one of Mike’s friends sent him a message via facebook commenting on the first photos I had posted. I love the line “the most artistic, original yet real”.  Woohooo to the anonymous friend of Mike and Sofia!

Hi Mike,

Couldn’t help but drop you a note to say congrats!!! :) And ohmigosh those are awesome wedding photos… I have to say the most artistic, original yet real ones I’ve seen so far. Which is why I can’t post this message on your wall =P don’t want to upset my other friends who’ve tied the knot ;-). lol. They’re amazing…you’re right..it’s a tease to see the rest of them.

take care

the Sofia and Mike post

Date September 9, 2008

Boston wedding photographer mergeweddings.com

I just got home from meeting with Sofia and Mike to review their wedding photos live from their brand new impressive large screen television and just-moved-in apartment. I’ve been holding their photos a few extra days so I would have the chance to be with them when they see the images for the first time. I’m glad I waited! It was great to see their reactions to certain photos and talk over the breathtaking album we’re going to make.

Their wedding was filled with powerful, classic, hilarious moments that were well caught on film. Let’s just say they might be my next sample album couple.

Here are some my favorite moments from the day (out of my 125 top favorites).

2844993870_6ac50d8c07_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158999_16faf01ea4_o the Sofia and Mike post2844993612_37385285cc_o the Sofia and Mike post2844993492_845a2521d9_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158925_6ab8c29584_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158813_8caab12746_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158659_917ae2192b_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158583_fed7ef3ea1_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158319_728b7b0e51_o the Sofia and Mike post2844993038_e1e4809b4a_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158205_b691500e12_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158149_7a0e6c5a8b_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158101_93040c26f9_o the Sofia and Mike post2844158007_38f2a8b7f3_o the Sofia and Mike post

[ see MORE ]

Other wedding photos here. Photobooth photos here.

Ceremony: Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston (CBCGB), Lexington MA
Evening Banquet Reception: Indian Ridge Country Club, Andover MA

Sofia and Mike, 2

Date September 9, 2008

2844994812_15b8f13067_o Sofia and Mike, 22844994692_db0f2c49ea_o Sofia and Mike, 22844159837_604a90ba88_o Sofia and Mike, 22844160145_413df366ea_o Sofia and Mike, 22844994434_dea53cb91b_o Sofia and Mike, 22844994016_74840b6351_o Sofia and Mike, 22844994196_c05ed0dd61_o Sofia and Mike, 22844993244_f35f14c690_o Sofia and Mike, 22844994264_500ae22cab_o Sofia and Mike, 22844159615_bbb7f2c20c_o Sofia and Mike, 22844995260_27172c6236_o Sofia and Mike, 2

wonderful

Date September 8, 2008

“You can’t get to wonderful without passing through all right.”

- Bill Withers [ watch the fantastic short here ]

UK wedding photographer

This is a teaser for Beth and Dave’s UK wedding. Just one small taste of the awesomeness that ensued.

Mike and Sofia… favorite

Date September 6, 2008

2834084218_98f61e6358_o Mike and Sofia... favorite

One more teaser for Mike and Sofia!
This is probably my favorite shot from the day.