Wednesday 10 March 2010

Camera, photo and paparazzi chat...

Being the busy researcher that I am, I've spent the last few weeks obsessively reading reviews on DSLRs before making a decision on which one I actually want. I've finally decided it has to be the Canon EOS 450D (XSi in the US) for various reasons. And that's the end of that stage. Now I have to actually find one at the right price that I want to buy. There are some good bargains to be had on ebay but to be honest, they're still out of my price range and I'm finding it hard to justify the cost to myself, let alone Mr M or anyone else! Anyone know of any secret places to bag a bargain?!
I've always been more than a bit fascinated by photos with photographers in them. Like these:



photo credits: Angel NI, Jasmine Star, photographer in photo 4 is Janine Walker

I guess they are never in photos because they are the ones taking them really and any with them featuring are considered "rejects" or "outtakes". The reason I love them is because I want to see what the scene will look like in real life. Its easy to imagine when you see wedding photos that there is no actual person there taking the photo, you think only of the people/things that have been captured. This makes it all more real and helps me visualise what my day will look like. Does this sound like nonsense? Surely someone understands me?

This leads me to a thought that I've been wary to mention to anyone to spare me having to hear "Are you nuts?" and the likes - I think I want to bring my camera with me to my own wedding.

The way I see it is that no-one is going to see what I see with my eyes. I want photos like these showing what really happened and not just the staged ones and to be honest I don't think there is anyone amongst the wedding guest paparazzi who I can rely on to get them for me - they will all be wanting to take exactly what the professional takes. I want photos of what it looks like standing posing for a shot and seeing the guests all lined up with their cameras taking photos of me. Something like this:

photo credit

Have any of you ever seen a bride take a camera to her own wedding?

7 comments:

Sian said...

I don't think you are nuts at all :). Taking your own camera makes perfect sense..when I got back from honeymoon the photos I really wanted to see were the ones of everyone else and of course I didn't have very many. The few I have are still my favourites of our wedding pictures, so I say go for it!

Jeni said...

I replied to your comment on Ali's blog today. This is what I wrote:

Hi Angela - I hope you don't mind that I popped my head in here too. I don't think it's weird at all either. YOU should be at your wedding and the love of taking pictures is part of you. I brought my camera to my wedding and other people took pictures with it. At one point at the reception I was taking pictures and my sister quickly took it away - maybe because she knows I can get engrossed in the process. We had a non-traditional ceremony in a park where my husband and I walked towards the gathered guests. I thought afterwards that it would have been funny and cool if I had pulled out a camera and taken a picture of people as they were watching us walk towards them. This was (IS) me and I am sure people would have thought it an appropriate thing for me to do. Having pro and guest photos of me in a wedding dress with my camera in my hand would just be a reflection of who I am. It turns out we don't actually have a picture like that... of the crowd as we saw them. But at the same time, it would not have been good for me to do this all day and night. In hindsight, I wish that I had had a conversation with my photographer (or family members taking pictures) about the kinds of photos that I would have taken at my wedding. This seems obvious and we certainly talked a lot but I was struck after the wedding to find that the majority of photos were of my husband and me. I would have like more of the guests - these are the pictures that I would have taken if I had had a camera.

It's your wedding. You only get to do it once (hopefully). Do the things that you want to do... the things that you will look back on and smile at because they were fun and crazy and maybe perceived as a little odd at the time.

Oh yeah - One more thing: Kind of like what Ali said... The absolute best advice I got leading up to and on the day of my wedding was to enjoy the whole day. It goes by so fast that it is important to try and take it easy and enjoy the little moments and even the things that go wrong.

Angela said...

Sian, I bet I'll be bugging the life out of everyone afterwards for copies of their photos, I'll prob end up with thousands lol!
Jeni - thank you so much for getting in touch. I hope you see this message as I dont have an email address for you. I'm so glad you shared your thoughts and advice with me :)

Jeni said...

Yup - Got your message. I really appreciate the fact that you made an effort to reply!

jenilynnstafford@gmail.com

Loulabelle Kent said...

I love the idea of you having a camera at your wedding and getting some shots of the photographer taking his official pics.

When you are the person who usually takes oodles of pictures it would just feel so weird (almost naked) to not have your camera on you for a whole day. You will capture a different image of your wedding too.... The bride-eye view maybe?!? x

Cheri said...

Angela - I don't think it is weird to want those kind of photos, but you may find yourself so busy on your wedding day that you can't really be the one taking pictures. Take your camera and tell family and friends what you want. Then hand it off and trust them to make the memories of your day as special as the day itself.

Micayla said...

I totally get you and I will be bring my own to my wedding and take photos. I know what kind of photo's I want and I can hopefully achieve that. Good luck on the camera hunt.....wish i was looking for a new one.
Micayla x