I have a professional photographer friend who reminds me of an English setter (or other bird dog) on point. She’ll stand totally still, all senses alert, camera poised — even when not actively shooting a photo on her perfect shot list. It’s likes she’s watching something nobody else sees. When I ask her what she’s doing, which I inevitably do, she’ll turn, clearly listening to the hubbub around, smelling it, even tasting the surrounding energy — and she’ll say to me calmly: “I’m waiting for something to happen.”
What amazes me every time is how she can take her planned shots but still be anticipating that next level of panache. She’ll put the bridal couple and other participants at ease, and follow her plan, which results in sublime photos. But she’s keenly aware that at any movement, the metaphorical wind will change—and she’s ready for it. When something goes off script, she sees it, she focuses in, she snaps it.
Indeed, often, the best loved photos hail from unforeseen circumstances: that unpredicted rainstorm that has everyone running for cover, the flower girl who decides to dump her entire basket of flowers in the aisle at once rather than following directions to toss them one by one, the dog companion who breaks free and runs amok. Nothing in life ever goes as planned — especially not at a wedding. So, embrace the chaos and the joys as one, knowing that when you choose your experienced photographer that they have your back. They will be on point, like my friend. They’ll not only capture all the poses you pinned and planned for, but they’ll unveil the beautiful authenticity of your celebration—even when it dances to its own drummer.
Michele Caswell-Adams, part of the mother-daughter duo of experts that helm Unique Weddings & Events in New Orleans, recalls a recent April wedding in the French Quarter where there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.” As soon as the second line started, the party began to hear thunder, though there were still no clouds. But it started to sprinkle the moment the party turned on Bourbon Street — then — as Michele describes it — “out of nowhere the skies opened and we got a downpour.” As guests ran for nearby cover, something magical happened: “The bride and groom began dancing in the rain.” Michelle raves about the captivating photos caught of the couple alone on the empty street, suffused in glowing light. “It wouldn’t have happened without the rain,” she says.
Husband-and-wife team Marianne and Steve Sabrier of The Red M Studio, born and bred New Orleanians, have been recording events and taking portraits since 2011. Ruminating about how the best photos weren’t part of the master plan, they recalled a second-line moment during an October wedding early in their career when a late season hurricane blew in and “knocked all of the plans askew.” As Marianne tells it: “The wedding had ended and the wedding party was standing around figuring out what would happen next as the rain started falling.
It was clear that the police escort was not showing up, when all of a sudden, I heard the brass band say, ‘We are the Treme Brass Band … we don’t need no escort, baby!’ The brass band cranked up the music, the second line fell into place and off we went, with me at the front, leading the way, telling the whole party to go left, then right at each intersection.” Marianne says she was “so discombobulated” that she lost her sense of direction as they marched. “But I never lost my sense of the amazing melee unfolding in front of my lens.” She says they ended up coming down Orleans Avenue, a street not originally on their route. “There we were with the iconic St. Louis Cathedral in the background, and the lacy French Quarter balconies in the foreground; I got the shot of a lifetime!” she recalls. It was such a serendipitous moment that resulted in such fantastic wedding photos that Marianne and Steve used the resulting photos in their marketing for years. “That day just depicted the quintessential New Orleans experience,” she said.
George Kuchler, of GK Photography, says that his 30 years doing wedding photography has been “a training ground for his entire photography business.” Known for his high energy, celebratory spirit, positive attitude and keen eye, George says the reality of any wedding is that it’s life in motion, and full of surprises. “You learn to see everything in front of you as a possible problem to solve, a workaround,” he says. “I call my favorite candid moments the shots between the shots.” George says capturing these moments is key — even when they’re funny, shocking or sad. They happen quickly and getting the images amounts to the true fun and satisfaction in the art of wedding photography.
He remembers one wedding at a small venue in Slidell during Mardi Gras season when the power went out right before the reception was supposed to start. Apparently, a Mardi Gras float had hit a power line. “Though everyone took out their iPhones and turned the LED lights on and candles were lit on tables, it was still way too dark for me to take pictures,” he recalls. Suddenly, as George turned on his flash, he heard the DJ crank up his generator and begin to play the couple’s song. The couple started to dance in the dark. “After the first verse, out of nowhere all the lights came back on, and the crowd went nuts,” he says. “The bride was crying with joy,” an emotion that showed magically in all the resulting photos that George snapped. His photos captured elation (and relief) in the crowd amongst all the guests and the bridal party. They showed that feeling of enchantment when something that went wrong, goes right — and something unexpectedly wonderful happens and is recorded for posterity.
uniqueweddingsinneworleans.com; theredmstudio.com; gkphotography.com
