Last Friday, Pauline and I went into the studio to take our wedding pictures as part of the photography package we had purchased earlier. We had booked the date 2 months earlier, but the actual day itself seemed to have crept up unexpectedly. It basically appeared on our radar within the last week, and manifested itself in a couple of ways. First, we had to make sure we didn’t get sunburnt in the 24/7 sunny days of Quebec. Then, we had to figure out where we wanted our outdoor pictures to be taken. The latter ended up being a pretty long process because it turns out that you need a permit for formal photography anywhere. There was also a lot of things that we were supposed to do, but unfortunately all the instructions were in chinese writing so we had to rely on our memory. The only one that affected me was that I couldn’t drink a lot of water (and look bloated), but Pauline had a lot of esoteric cosmetic things to follow.

On the day itself, we showed up at 11 in the morning. We were lucky that we were the only couple taking photos that day, so we were able to arrive an hour later than usual. The makeup lady was late, but once she arrived, she spent an hour to doing Pauline’s hair and makeup. I also got some sort of makeup, no idea what it was though. After getting changed, we headed into the studio. It was pretty plain; a darkish room with a changeable backdrop. For the camera geeks (i.e., me), they used a D200 with a 17-55mm f/2.8 ($1800 lens!), a wireless commander and 4 light slaves. The process of getting the photos taken was an experience. The photographer spent a few minutes posing us and then took a picture; rinse and repeat for 20 or so photos per outfit.

In the studio, Pauline had 4 outfits (including a bonus one because the makeup lady was late), and I had 3. We were in the studio for almost 5 hours before we headed out to do our outdoor shots. I won’t spill where we went, you can try and guess when you see the photos; but it wasn’t a traditional location (i.e., not Edward Gardens, Main Street Unionville, etc). The photographer was taking everything in RAW, which I realized after he kept focusing on the sun. In retrospect, it’s obvious that pros would be taking in RAW; but I guess it didn’t occur to me because I’m not one.

We spent another 2 hours or so taking another 20-30 pictures before heading back and ending our 8 hour day! I was wearing white (and Pauline’s dress was also white), but we did some messy stuff that we wouldn’t dare to if we owned the clothes (e.g., sat/laid on wet grass, walked around bird doo, sat on rocks). I guess that’s why we end up paying the money. It seemed worth it, but we’ll need to see the pictures to be sure.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: photography, weddingplanning