Finally pulled the plug!

In 1975 I started photographing weddings.

I was 29 at the time.

My Dad, Glen Thompson, who was my first trainer and Inspiration in photography. The safari suit was my standard wedding photography uniform in the 1970's. This was in the Dandenongs in Victoria.

Now this last weekend I assisted a young friend in a wedding shoot and at the end of the day and into the night I suffered some terrible cramps.
(See Summer's facebook photography site below.)

https://www.facebook.com/AquaSummerPhotography/photos/pcb.1017802151595843/1017797588262966/?type=3&theater

I decided that now almost 70 it is time to declare my innings closed on officially shooting weddings.

I have been averaging about one a year over the last five years.

I have been thoroughly enjoying over the last 10 years the transition from film photography to digital and marvel at the cameras now being produced at a rapid rate.
I will probably in future still take some shots at weddings where I am a guest but apart from that maybe only when I am Uncle Geoff.
It has been a fantastic journey and I have made many wonderful friends in the photography industry and also been able to mentor and train some young photographers along the way.
On this blog and my other blogs I have posted some of my training in wedding photography tips from my course I developed some years ago.
If you are an aspiring Wedding Photographer you may find a lot of help there.
See my other blogs on photography.
 A lot of this training is also posted on this blog.

http://geoffthompsonphotographics.blogspot.com.au/

http://geoffthompsonsphotographytraining.blogspot.com.au/

Thanks to all who have helped me along the way.
Especially my lovely wife.

From last weekend. A beautiful wedding.

Below is a link to an earlier post anticipating this day.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/too-old-to-be-wedding-photographer.html

Ps. Since posting this have now been asked to photograph guys getting ready only at 2 consecutive weddings. This is something I can handle. Probably the "easiest" part of wedding photography.

PPS. Now in October 2016 I am recovering from heart surgery. It's a good thing I pulled the plug when I did.
I could have died on a wedding shoot!
Seriously as you get older listen to those telling you you need to lose weight and have a healthy diet.
Have regular checkups although in my case usual medical check ups did not reveal seriously blocked arteries.
Don't wait to get older but do the right things early on.

Wedding Photography in the Church by Geoff Thompson

One of the things new wedding photographers have to work out is where do you position yourself for shots during the ceremony.
The first thing about this is you do need to see if your customers want you to take photos in the Church.
Then you also need to make sure the Minister allows photos to be taken in the Church.
Below are some pics which show the basic positions I try for in the Church to cover the indoor part of the Church proceedings.
They were taken from a Church balcony by Dave, my assistant for the day, who had recently completed my wedding photography course.
He was using a Canon 20D. These images have not been edited.
The wedding was in January 2006.
I was still shooting film and starting to integrate digital coverage as well.
There is also a link here on my blog where I talk about a shot list for a wedding.
Some of what I do in the church is in that post.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/search?q=shot+list

Please note I am available for one on one or small groups who want to learn wedding photography or how to use their digital camera.
You would need to be able to come to Adelaide for this although I do frequent South Australia's Riverland from time to time and am open to conducting classes in Renmark.

email:   geoff.g.thompson@gmail.com

 In this shot I am positioned at the front near the bridesmaids awaiting the entrance of the bride.
I would have already photographed each of the bridesmaids as they walked down the aisle.I am looking at the groom to get a shot of his expression as his bride comes down the aisle.

A little flower girl bravely walks in a head of the bride.

Everyone in state of anticipation

 Here comes the Bride. I am crouching down to get the shot as she walks toward the front.

Turning to get a shot of the groom.

 Getting the shot. I am waiting to get them in the same frame.Landscape orientation.

Where am I now?

 Possibly getting a shot from back of church looking straight down the aisle.

Now I am back in a position to get a couple of shots of the speakers.

Here I am possibly changing film or making some adjustment.

Now in position in back right corner so I can get close ups of the couple.

I think I accessed this doorway from a backdoor of the Church so I would not continually be moving around too much and be a distraction.

I am in the right corner as from that angle the bride's face is towards the camera angle.

This is a great shot to get from a balcony if there is one in the Church

They have been exchanging vows and now I am getting ready for the kiss.

Dave got the kiss from the balcony but unfortunately the shot was over exposed.

 Thankfully I got the shot from my position.

The signing of the register.

 I am waiting to get the shots that I will usually set up after the signing.

I will take some candids while this is happening

I would be doing a quick sequence of posed shots here.

Then three quick picks of the Minister handing over the certificate of marriage

For a brilliant satire on what today's wedding photographers are facing in the Church these days open the link below.

https://fstoppers.com/humor/hilarious-short-film-makes-strong-case-unplugged-weddings-151213

Make your own app for a time table for photographing a wedding-on a Mac.

There are apps for everything these days but I could not find one for exactly what I wanted.
As a mainly retired wedding photographer I still like to keep active in learning new stuff and also encouraging and teaching new photographers.

Some time ago in my post on how to use a timetable for wedding photography I shared a copy of my wedding day timetable.
I have taught this to many over the years.
Below is a link to that post.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/search/label/wedding%20timetable

I thought there should be an app to do this but a quick search did not turn up what I had in mine.
Then I realised that with a Macbook or an iPad and an iPhone and gmail, I already had what I needed.

On the mac there is this app called notes.
It is also on the iphone.
There is also gmail I can access from my laptop and/or iphone.

Presto!  The solution.

Steps.

1. Load a proforma of my typical wedding timetable into notes on my laptop.

2. Meet with couple and create a proposed timetable on the laptop, or even a piece of paper to be typed on the laptop after.

3. Copy or create from scratch the timetable in notes.

4. From notes you can share directly to email.

5. When the couple are happy with the timetable you have worked out you can email it to them on the spot.

6. This is then available for them to print on their home printer.

7. I usually give out paper copies of the timetable to those who need to know how the day will unfold on the day. We are all on the same page so to speak.

8. As a bonus even if I lose the piece of paper on the day of the wedding I still have the schedule or timetable on my phone and so does anyone who they have forwarded it to.
Notes on the iphone and laptop and I presume ipad(I don't have one) all sync with each other.

As at 8/12/15 in 4 days this post has had 162 views. It must be a subject of interest for new wedding photographers.
I am more than happy to discuss wedding photography with people starting out. I have trained many people in wedding photography over several years starting in 1975. It was all film,manual exposure and manual focus back then. A great grounding for the digital world that was to come.
Phone: 0417867476 (Australian mobile)
email. geoff.g.thompson@gmail.com

Emerging Photography Talent and Training

Over the years I have trained many people in Wedding Photography and General Photography.
On this blog I have offered 1:1 or group training.
I have recently had a couple of people approach me for assistance with their photography and in my estimation they  both have a very great potential and talent  for people photography.
When I get an opportunity and with their permission I will post some of their work.
Peter came with me on my latest wedding last friday and his shots for a first timer are brilliant.
I will put just one of his  shots up as the bride and groom have not seen their pics yet.
We will probably commence some weekend training in wedding photography soon so if anyone in Adelaide wants to join in you are welcome to contact me.
The other person is a young woman with a brilliant grasp of composition of stunning portraits.
Ph: 0417867476 or email geoff.g.thompson@gmail.com

Ps Yes I still did yet another wedding even though at  67 I am getting on a bit.
http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/too-old-to-be-wedding-photographer.html

Image use from this Blog

USE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHY
Please note most images on this blog are copyrighted to myself and are not made available for commercial gain unless agreed to with me.
Where I don't hold copyright I will say so or it will be obvious if linked to another internet site.
I do get approached from time to time about using images and usually, if I agree, a donation to an agreed charity is my normal practice rather than a personal payment to myself.
If appearing in a publication I would usually like my name as author of image published.
I do have a large archive of images dating back to the 1970's when I started taking photographs and some before that.
I have a very good scanner and can produce digital files from all my past negatives and transparancies.
If you can't find what you are looking for on my blog posts I may have something that fits your bill so email or call by mobile  0417867476.
I am happy to take on a limited number of commercial photography assignments on a freelance basis.
Also one on one or small group training in photography is available.

The Future of Wedding Photography: for Photographers

 I have been looking at just some of the myriads of instructional and promotional videos on you tube about wedding videos and wedding photography and the use of technology and how to make your own hardware to assist you with eg. sound recording on a canon dslr.
The quality and production skills of these people are generally very good and sometimes exceptional.
But I wonder where there is room in all of this to actually stop and consider the actual event, a wedding, taking place.
It is a commitment before God and witnesses of a marriage between a man and a woman.
It is something instituted by God.
It is a sacred event.
Some photographers and video operators are very intrusive in their attempt to get the the magazine type shot that can be found in the world of fashion.
There is one video showing the still photographer standing on a bed ,towering over the bride, to get the shot. Uggh!
I know the people who pay top dollar are looking for this look but there is something about it that is so false.
No matter how good you look on your wedding day those pictures are going to be poison on the day when your marriage might be in tatters and you are facing a crisis to hold it together.
A more important record may be of the prayers that were offered for the couple and a transcript of the Minister's sermon or homily.
The book that someone gave you as a present about how to have a successful marriage might be better consulted on a regular basis than the wedding photos.
See my vision for wedding photography on this blog.
You will also find a link to my photography blog with sample wedding shots.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/geoff-thompson-my-vision-for-wedding.html

http://geoffthompsonphotographics.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/wedding-photography-gallery.html

I have nothing against wedding photography and admire great work that people do but be prayerful and/or considerate as you go about your profession.
There is a future for Wedding Photography.
What I am suggesting is that practitioners don't get carried away with their craft to the point that they don't respect the institution of marriage.

PS.
Since I posted this topic it has attracted a lot of page views.
If you are professional in what you do I am sure you can deal with the issue of so many trying their hand at wedding photography as there is such good technology now available.
When I entered the workforce in a large Government organisation in 1964 we all regularly used the typists in the typing pool to type our letters.
Now everyone does their own typing and the typists had to become mainstream in their careers.
Now though, their are specialist "Typists" in he form of PA's or Secretaries.
You will need to find the things that set you apart if you want to make a living out of Wedding Photography.
If you want to be  a part timer I am sure there will always be opportunities in wedding photography and other photography genres.
I only ever went full time for about 9 months in 37 years as a wedding photographer and in that time was very busy but I opted to have a dual career as a Public Servant and a Wedding Photographer.
I recently attended a seminar by a successful wedding photographer who was mainly coaching about the business side of Wedding and Portrait Photography.
I was struck by the fact that most of the attendees were young female photographers.
This is a good thing but it was interesting in that if I had attended something similar 10-15 years ago they would have been mainly male photographers.
My most recent wedding I did(dec 2012) highlighted the the amount of photos mow taken at a wedding.
By the time I delivered my package to the couple about 2 weeks after the wedding they had already received 100's of images on Cd's from their friends.
There is a lot of competition so you do need to make sure you have a professional product.