As the wedding photographer, we tend to be one of the first ones to arrive at the church or other such ceremony locations the morning of the wedding. This first usually involves finding the one unlocked door to get into the building followed by walking into a dark and very quiet sanctuary. This can be both refreshing and creepy at the same time. One of the advantages of being one of the first ones to arrive at the church is that you get your pick of the best locations to shoot from.
One thing that I do immediately is take my spare tripod and set it up in a prime location I want to shoot from during the ceremony. I’m usually more picky about the perfect shooting location when there is a balcony involved. I’ve noticed that a set up tripod is very effective at keeping both the overly aggressive professional videographer or the Uncle with the “good video camera” who has been recruited to video tape the wedding from taking your location. It seems to be their kryptonite, “Can’t…move…tripod, too much…shiny aluminum…very complicated head…too many knobs….aaagh!”
As usual, I’m exaggerating but it works for me. I find this tip invaluable when working in a church with a main center isle. It is important to me that the images are as symmetrical as possible. This is for both technical reasons and probably a little mild OCD reasons as well. Obviously use common sense when it comes to setting up tripods in high traffic areas unless you are eager to try out your liability insurance.
So if having that ultimate shooting location is important to you, why not take advantage of the early start to your long day by staking your claim by setting up a tripod or piling up some other gear. As always I encourage you to share your tips, techniques, and websites relating to this topic. Thanks!
Dz
Good thoughts DZ. You know being we are the photogs we can also get away with being a little pushy for good spots 😉 As long as we be nice:evil: