Why do I enjoy wedding photography?

Why indeed? I started pondering this after I read this thread on Fredmiranda.com, why do I enjoy wedding photography?

After flipping through some of my older wedding photos, a reason slowly formed in my mind. It is the joy. JOY~~~! (yes, in capitals).

A wedding, the happiest day in their lives, all dressed up, everything planned for that perfect big day and this group of strangers have decided to hire and allow me to into their lives so that I can record and join in their celebration of two person's love for each other. This is the day that you see everyone trying to be their best, be it guest or host and even the waiters and waitresses at the restaurants, the representatives of the church, the elders of the families.... everyone.

At weddings you see the groom's men checking every small detail on their cars, making sure that the cars themselves look good... the bride's family looking at the deco again and again as if those flowers, ribbons and candles mean the life to them.

So much laughter, so much joy, tears and older people grinning so wide that you actually think their teeth might fall off; to be at such an event and not be moved is nearly impossible.


If there is one thing that I'd really want to do for the rest of my life, it is to shoot weddings.

If there is only one last thing that I'd be able to do before I die, it is to shoot "one more" wedding.

... of fast lenses and low-light photography

... it was a hot, clear afternoon; tired after my shoot in the morning at FGS DongZen Temple at Jenjarom, Selangor; still conjured enough strength and determination to go ahead with shooting the largest Wesak float procession in Kuala Lumpur that starts at the Maha Vijaya Temple in Brickfields.

After struggling to find a good spot to park my car and then crossing the massive crowds outside the temple, I entered the temple proper. I was only armed with 2 lenses, 2 primes (to the unintiated, it means these lenses don't "zoom" and have a fixed focal length), a 24mm f/1.4 and a 50mm f/1.2. The 50mm sat snugly in the Sidelineshooter that I have strapped across my shoulder like a sling bag, with 8GB of memory cards and a single DSLR.... I went to "work".


Why did I choose these 2 focal lengths? The single over-ridding concern about shooting at low-light is... well... the light is low, it is often so low that you will want to sometimes get acceptable photos at shutterspeeds of around 1/10 or maybe even 1/5. So, it is best to have a wide-angle lens with you. And of course, being a "people" photographer, I love to shoot people and some details, what is the fastest lens that I can use for that purpose without wide-angle perspective distortion? It's a 50mm.

So... how does one go about shooting low-light? Just like any other types or condition that you would shoot in, think about the shots you want to shoot, figure out where and how to use your equipment to get them. Remember, every equipment has it's limitation, know their limits as well as your own limits and on events like these, it is often wise to think about your own safety as you will be shooting on the streets.

In low-light, it is often fun to play with a bit of panning or motion blur... and that shallow DOF & large apertures are your friends, do not be afraid to use them; just learn to use them creatively and remember, wide-angle lenses have a lot of DOF even at larger apertures and the further away you focus, the more DOF you get even at the same aperture settings.

.... stop worrying about getting deadly sharp photos and focus on capturing the various facets of the environment; the people, the sounds, the feelings... again, remember, your equipment are tools and they have limits, work around their limts...

... most importantly, Enjoy! If you are tensed up about something, your photos do and will show it.

Buttrflies in my stomach?

Nope, not really; having nothing better to do and the fact that I took some shots yesterday at the KL Butterfly Park and I wasn't too pleased with them. I went off to KL Butterfly Park again today.

Now... it is worth noting that this place is actually one of my favorite places to be when I have too much free time. It's a nice cool place to relax whilst being surrounded by nature and at the same time, I can take some nice photos which might be useful as stock photos. Business and pleasure mixed in one. Hehe...

First of all, I have to say that I like to photograph butterflies. Secondly, butterflies have extremely erratic flight patterns and behaviour. Thirdly, butterflies are small(ish).

All these things combined make photographing butterflies rather tough and despite what many people believe, you don't really need a dedicated macro lens to photograph live butterflies. First, arm yourself with a longish telephoto (anything from 135mm or above) that is capable of doing at least 0.20x reproduction and then, all you need is plenty of patience.

What I have been doing recently is to find a spot where I can shoot in quite a few good directions with blooming flowers on them and that has interesting lighting and just wait there. One thing I have noted is that butterflies seem to favor flowers that are in the sunlight rather than in the shade but no flowers that have been in the sunlight for hours till they become completely dry.

Remember, try beforehand by looking through the viewfinder to determine if the spot you are standing at can take a decent shot in case if the butterflies decide to pay a visit to one of the flowers around you.

Next, use aperture or shutter priority. I prefer to use aperture and I set the aperture and ISO so that I can get around 1/250s or above to a proper exposure.

Thirdly, prefocus on one of the flowers and then use manual focussing to adjust your focussing as the butterfly flies into your frame.

Finally.... make yourself comfortable and wait... it might be a long wait. Hehe... :p