Surviving a Wedding vs. Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse
Zombies?
Maybe not the first mental image when you think about photographing a wedding, but humor me for a minute in this just for fun blog. Who knows it might help you survive your next event.
A special thank you to my bride and groom, Anne Marie and Patrick, for having a fantastic sense of humor and letting me use them for this blog.
Make an alliance.
I will never willingly do another wedding without a second shooter. Someone on your six is everything when it comes to surviving the night and capturing all sides of the special day. Photos of the guys prepping in the morning across town by my second shooter Danielle.
Know what to pack and what to leave behind.
Weddings can be a marathon. They often start early in the morning with hair and makeup and the receptions run late into the night. Lugging around an overflowing bag of gear slows you down. Half way through the event you’ll be tempted to just stuff what feels like a bag of rocks under a table and be free of it, but that can be disastrous. Would you put your bag down in the middle of a zombie attack? Pack light, pack smart. I like to use a news gear belt. In the belt I have everything but my second camera. Including a small toiletry bag with items like a wet wipe, deodorant, tissue, small mints, blister band aids, a few bobby pins, a safety pin, a Twinkie, and a tiny pair of scissors. This bag is essential I can’t count the times I’ve needed to use it not for myself but for my bride and groom. For my main camera I’ve gone mirrorless. Not only is there less weight to carry, I can be a complete ninja and turn off all shutter sound for important moments like the reading of the vows. CLICK! CLICK! No more, those zombies won’t hear me coming. Pass the tissues please!
Bring lots of ammo.
I buy new memory cards every year. With the big storage space on one card, I want to make sure all those eggs are going to be in a new basket.
The double tap.
I love to set my camera on continues and go in for a nice clean double tap. Zombies might not blink but the rest of us do.
Know how to hide.
I pretend cameras shoot bullets. That helps me stay out of the way of the wedding video. Pictured below my zombie second shooter and the videographer.
