It's hard to be artsy and creative during a one hour session covering a City Hall wedding. A good portion of that time is spent waiting, waiting to do paper work and waiting for the officiant. Waiting is not a good time for photo taking, especially pre-wedding. People are a little nervous or antsy. Plus waiting areas are not very photogenic. Yet we're tied to the wait area because we don't want to miss our appt.Then come ceremony photos, during which it's hard to be creative because it only lasts 5 minutes or less. I have to make sure I'm capturing the moments, instead of running around to different vantage points.
Next are the obligatory group photos, with multiple combinations of people flanking the bride and groom. Some portraits of the B&G, but by this time, the hour's almost up. Anyways, this above was my third to last shot, a quick photo on our way out of the City Hall.
While most of the CH has bad lighting (natural light drifting in from high ceilings, combined with yellow light from indoor lamp posts), one can head up to the balconies on the 4th floor for fantastic natural light, coming in from large windows. Fantastic for portraits, and makes everyone look a little glowy. Plus, huge classical looking urns, a nice touch for wedding pics. As a side note, I really wanted to grab a pair of pruning shears and trim those stems.
