MEMBER STORY
Readers Q&A with Photographer Simone Jackson Simone Jackson, MNZIPP I (Dist.) , Associate of PSNZ and winner of Nature Photographer 2019 NZIPP Accredited Professional Photographer
What is your favourite time of day to shoot a wedding and why? I guess my choice would be to work in the beautiful light that we get as we move towards golden hour, so around 5pm in summer or 3pm in winter. But thinking about it, it’s not about what the wedding photographer wants, I might stand the best chance of getting the most stunning images then, but the day is actually all about the couple, so the best time for the couple is the best time for the wedding photographer. The reality is that many weddings will happen in bright sunlight and we will often find ourselves trying to deal with a bright white dress and darkish suits in bright light. If we’re really lucky, the ceremony might take place in an area with dappled light.. NOT! I am super happy if the day is overcast but realise the wedding party may not feel the same.. What is your favourite thing about shooting weddings? Well, I’m very much a people person so for me, I really enjoy learning the energy of every wedding. If I can get into the vibe of the day, I believe I can then get the very best out of the couple. To try to illustrate what I mean about the energy of the day, I would like to share with you a useful lesson I learnt many years ago. I found myself in the situation where I had two weddings booked for the same day. I couldn’t pass either of the weddings on to another photographer as I was new to Dunedin (back in 2003). Anyway, the first wedding was a relatively early wedding. This lovely young couple had booked me to do their photographs well in advance of the day. They wanted full coverage, finishing with an afternoon teatype reception. I think it was a dry wedding too.. It was all scheduled to finish by 6pm. The second wedding was for a couple who came from somewhere around New Plymouth, they were completely disorganised and contacted me 3 days before the wedding. I told them that I already had a booking for a wedding on the same day and warned them that the needs and timing of that wedding came first, but would try to be with them somewhere between 6pm and 7pm. They were totally fine with that and said they just wanted me to cover whatever I could and so I accepted their booking. So when I left the first wedding for that day, I had the energy of that wedding - I was in their zone, if you like. Everything had been so ordered and structured. I arrived at the second wedding party and it was like
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PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP
entering a parallel universe! They were a bunch of volunteer fire-fighters and they had so much energy. I’d just walked into a totally different world and I simply had to change my vibe level fast - darn fast! I found myself becoming as over the top and loud as the rest of the wedding party - all fourteen of them. It was amazing! SO ... MUCH ... FUN!! I feel just taking that bit of time to feel the mood or the atmosphere, is so important. Every single wedding is different. Within a few short hours those two families and groups of friends are all going to go into one melting pot - which could well include quite marked cultural and social differences. I simply have to have picked up on all those nuances. If I fail to do that, I’ll simply be ‘covering’ the day, which, to my mind anyway, just isn’t OK and would fail to get the best out of the day. If I had to choose a favourite aspect of wedding photography (apart from picking up on the vibe of the day), it would be the pre-bridal prep. It is such a special time to take unhurried images of the bride. For me, being part of that is a privilege. I always try to do my absolute best with the light and the mood during this time. If anyone was starting out shooting weddings or events, what would you recommend as the basic kit? I’m certainly no gear freak or techo expert, but in terms of basic kit I would suggest two camera bodies, ideally with the main camera body having two memory card slots, minimise the risk of losing everything from the day if one card malfunctions or corrupts. In terms of lenses, I would recommend a 24-70mm, together with a larger zoom lens such as a 70-200mm on the other camera body. Try to make sure that at least one of them has the widest aperture you can get, with F2.8 being ideal or otherwise F4 should be OK. If you still have a kit lens like a prime ‘nifty fifty’, throw that in as a backup lens. A flash unit that you can use to bounce light off the ceiling if needed, and that should preferably also have a diffuser. If you can’t afford a basic diffuser, remember you can always use a cut-off plastic milk bottle or the like and attach that instead. It might look like rubbish, but hey, it works! Always make sure you have spare batteries, memory cards, a plastic bag and a towel. At events or in crowds, I would suggest a pair of sharp elbows together with an ever bigger smile to placate the ones you have ‘bumped’ to stop them dropping drinks on your kit! Also super comfy footwear that looks good.
