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Articles and Reviews
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Day in the Life of an Amateur Wedding Photographer I've attempted to recall the details of a wedding done for some friends. Not strictly about photography but also about Chinese wedding customs or rather the merging and complementing of the Eastern and Western styles to create a New World custom. Prologue I decide not to think about it too much and try to concentrate on my Canadian Securities Course assignment (correspondence course that is the first step to becoming a financial advisor in Canada). Then the phone rings. It is my friend Tony. He tells me that his older brother, Bill, is getting married in late March and was wondering if I might be available to take photos. Tony gives me a brief description of what Bill is wanting and I suggest that Bill contact me directly to hammer out some details. Tony passes along the message and within a few days, I get the call from Bill and he passes along the details of what is needed. I had taken photos at Tony’s wedding the previous summer. It was my first wherein I was asked specifically to be the main photographer. I was pumped up for the job (which was done for expenses only as Tony is a good friend) but I had little idea of what types of shots to take from a formal wedding perspective. I basically shot it in as close to a journalistic style as I was capable of doing at the time. I wanted to capture the action as it happened while also taking care of the obligatory group poses as a secondary priority. It should of course be the other way around but I thought my way would be more interesting. I also wasn’t sure if Tony wanted any enlargements made of the group shots so I place my F90x on a tripod and took my time in composing and setting things up on the camera side (posing was not even in my mind at the time). In hindsight, I needn’t have bothered, as Tony had no desire for any enlargements, he just wanted 4x6s to document his wedding day. My style of photography though, must have made a good impression on the family because their mother gave her vote of approval for me doing Bill’s wedding (as much as I thought I screwed things up during Tony's wedding). This time around I made sure to prepare properly for it in terms of equipment needs and studying of wedding photography through a couple of books I bought dealing with the topic. I was even more pumped up for this shoot then I was for Tony’s. The Day of the Wedding 9am I get out of bed reluctantly. Unlike many other photographers who get up before dawn, I abhor mornings. I normally have to get up around 6:15am in order to commute to work downtown and on weekends, my body tries to recover by compelling me to stay in bed until after 10am. But I get up and shower and dress in some casual clothes. 9:30am Su wanted to make sure I didn’t follow the same course of action again so I sit down and eat a bowl of steamed noodles, something nice and light so my stomach won’t get upset later on. 10am My equipment is packed and waiting as I prepared everything the night before. I bring almost everything I have to handle whatever situation arises, five bags or cases in total (after everything was said and done, I only needed two). Now I wait for my ride. 11am Afterwards, we have to be at the Buddhist temple by 1:30pm for the civil ceremony followed by the Buddhist ceremony. I start to get nervous and tension is rising in me wondering if I’ve already blown the day. I’m thinking that I should have just drove out myself so that I can at least be at the bride’s place with plenty of time to spare. But I wait.
12:45 Singing, trivia about the couple’s relationship and shouts of the groom’s love for his bride-to-be are common tricks as are eating disgusting bits of hor d’ouvres such as wasabi (wasabi is a very potent Japanese horseradish) spread on crackers (this was what my brother-in-law, Ben, had to eat to gain access into his bride’s home). In almost all cases, the groom does not gain entry until a "bribe" of lucky money in a red pouch has been paid to the bride’s attendants. 1pm
1:30pm 2pm The traditional floor cushions have given way to a modern comfort, chairs. They flank a wide red carpet rolled out for special functions in the hall. A large alter/stage area is at the front of the temple and a number of large Buddha statues line the back wall. During the ceremony, about a half dozen nuns will be seated at the front altar with one main nun presiding over the ceremony. A number of attendants in civilian uniform are on hand to assist the nuns and the couple receiving the blessings. Bill and Jeannie have gone through a rehearsal of the ceremony already but given the stress and the amount of ritual involved, they would be hard pressed to remember each step involved. The attendants are by their side throughout the ceremony and guide them through. As you look into the hall from the back of the temple, you would have seen me take up a position to the right of the altar. Due to the difficulty of moving from left to right when the ceremony is actually in progress, I remain on this side for much of the ceremony. To help me cover the perspective from the left side, I’ve given Tony my F70 equipped with my 24mm 2.8 lens and an SB 27 flash attached via an SC 17 sync cord, all mounted on a Stroboframe Quickflip flash bracket. I’m ready to go (or so I think). 2:10pm Before this happens, I glance down at my F90x and to my horror, realize that I only have about six frames left on the roll of film. Bad planning on my part for using the film as I hadn’t finished off the roll during the civil ceremony. I have about a minute before the groom enters followed by the bride. The parents have already entered and I quickly frame some shots of them as they undergo some bowing and offering of incense. I finally finish off the roll of film and back away from the crowd so as to minimize the noise of my F90x rewinding the film. I never though much about rewinding speed before and I always thought the F90x was adequate in this regard but at that given moment, the ten or so seconds it took to rewind the film was an eternity that I don’t want to experience again. After finally loading a fresh roll of NPH in, I rushed back to the altar and took up my position again. It was just in time as Bill and his best man were being introduced and walking down the aisle. Here I was breathing easier again and resumed my shooting. After Bill and his best man took up their positions, the main event had finally arrived. The maid of honor was introduced and walked down the aisle followed by Jeannie and her father. After reaching where Bill was eagerly waiting, the father-in-law handed Jeannie to Bill and returned to his wife’s side. From here on, many moments of bowing and incense offerings were conducted. First to the Gods, then to the parents, then to each other and then to the guests. The rest of the ceremony took about an hour to complete. Near the end, I was chased out of my perch so that a choir could file in and sing to the newlyweds. When I walked out of the way towards the side, away from the guests, a female guest who had sitting in the front row on my side of the hall, came up to me and attempted to speak to me in Mandarin. I don’t speak Chinese but I do understand the basics of the spoken word but only in my dialect. Since I’m Cantonese, I had no idea what this woman was trying to say to me and I said that I didn’t understand, she looked surprised and then laughed and walked away. I’m curious as to why she approached me and my best guess at that time was that perhaps I was annoying her by obstructing her view or doing something else that she didn’t approve of. I told Tony about this afterwards and he just laughed and said not to worry about it. I didn’t really care if I was blocking her view or something else as I had a job to do but it'd be nice to know what she wanted. 3pm
None of that for Bill. He was dressed to kill in a black tux while Jeannie was in a classic, white wedding gown. As the guests start to leave, Bill motions for me to take some group shots. We finish that off and I inquire about whether or not he wanted to try for some outdoor shots. By this time both Bill and Jeannie are tired and want to rest in their hotel room (conveniently located right beside the Temple). The weather turned out to be uncooperative anyway as heavy winds were whipping through flat as the prairies Richmond. So, I had to kill off a few hours before the reception began. This time, I tag along with Tony instead of with the best man and I help Tony organize a few last minute items before the nighttime festivities begin. Tony had to pick up the balloons that were being used for the centrepieces of the twelve tables in the restaurant. He also had to pick up the wedding cake. After we have gathered the two items, I stay at the restaurant and proceed to untangle the balloons while Tony rushes home to pick up his mother and wife. I had a hell of a time trying to sort out the balloons. After we had picked up the balloons from a local mall, we had to walk across the parking lot in a heavy wind. The wind proceeded to whip the balloons around in every which way and I was left with the task of unraveling them. It took me a solid hour before I could finish the job. Unfortunately, I completed the task before the first group of helpers and decorators arrived. 5pm Chinese restaurants are not too particular about people supplying their own alcohol for their banquets. They don’t even charge a corking fee like many western restaurants do. Banquets usually comprise of 8-10 courses and are generally billed by the table. Usually ten people per table and depending upon the quality of the restaurant, the cost per table could be as high as $600, tip included. It’s not unusual for Chinese wedding celebrations to have upwards of 200 guests. I recall an article from National Geographic that documented New York City’s Chinatown. One of the photos in the article was of a Chinese couple getting married and in the little blurb accompanying the photo, the couple remarked that their parents talked them into having a banquet for 800 guests! I thought my own wedding banquet with 200 plus guests was already too big but perhaps I’ve been accustomed to western tradition where 100 guests is considered a fair sized wedding. But it’s not all spend, spend, spend at such gatherings. It’s customary for guests to give lucky red pouches of money to the couple. Most of the time, the money received is very nearly enough to pay for the banquet. Some guests take the western tradition and give gifts instead (or both depending upon how familiar the guest is with the family). 6pm The restaurant that Bill has chosen is quite large and as his reception is not that large by Chinese standards, the restaurant has blocked off a section to divide the regular patrons from the banquet. This is quite common among the larger restaurants and speaks well of the amazing amount of work and coordination of the restaurant staff and chefs to keep the food rolling out in a timely manner. I recall at my own reception, there was another wedding banquet going on at the same time as my own, which means that counting the regular patrons, upwards of 500 people were dining at the same time in the restaurant that night. As the guests filter in, I take some shots of the girls working the guest sign-in table. Custom dictates that guests sign in a logbook as per western tradition but also on a red silk cloth as per Chinese tradition. The color red is considered very lucky and is seen everywhere in the restaurant. The wall behind the head table is covered in a red banner with the family names of the couple hanging on it, colored in gold. The head table is also covered with a red tablecloth. 7pm As I wait for their return, one of the wedding guests approaches me for a chat. I knew this chat was coming because I’ve done it myself on occasion. It’s obvious that I’m the hired photographer for the wedding. The guest is also a photographer as I saw him enter the restaurant with his Canon bag and Slik tripod. I watched as he put together his kit comprising of the Canon Elan II with the BP50 battery pack. He has the 540EZ flash as well, directly mounted on the hotshoe. His lens is the Tamron 28-105mm f/2.8 lens. It looks pretty decent but I have my misgivings about shooting a wedding without a flash bracket and the Tamron lens is an unknown entity to me as far as quality is concerned. He comes up to me and introduces himself and as we talk, I find out that he knows both Bill and Jeannie separately. He says that he would have been at the Buddhist temple to take photos as well but he was unable to find the time to attend due to other matters. I find his next comment quite funny as he says; "You’re the professional photographer huh? Bill told me that he hired a real pro for tonight so you must be the guy?" I smiled at that one, as that was the first reference by anyone to ever describe me as a pro. My wife had a real chuckle over that one when I told her about it later on. As much as my ego would have loved to acknowledge it, I told him the truth and replied that I was not a real pro who made his living doing this, I was simply a serious amateur trying to make a few bucks on the side. He smiled over that one and we worked well together for the rest of the night. We tried not to get into each other’s way and we basically took opposite angles from our chosen shooting positions so that we weren’t competing for the same shot. I have to say that all the other guests stayed out of my way as well. I’ve been in situations where other guests have impeded my view or gotten in my way as I tried to get my shots. These types of guest can be awfully frustrating to deal with as they waste time and take away from the moment as they click away on their puny little point and shoots loaded with ISO 100 film. Anyway, when I have been the guest at other weddings, I would sometimes try to talk to the pro myself and try to get a few tips here and there or just talk about experiences. At my friend Sean’s wedding, the pro actually came up to me and chatted after he saw my F90x all dressed up. We had a good talk and after the pro was finished for the night, we sat and talked even more. Long enough that Sean hinted that I had gone MIA. After I had processed and printed my own shots and gave them to Sean, I ask for his opinion of them and I was put in my place when he said one or two might have been as good as the pro’s. This last point just reiterates that it’s not the equipment that makes the photographer, it’s the person behind the camera. My F90x, SB 28, TTL cord and 35-70mm 2.8 lens all lashed to the Stroboframe Pro-T was certainly of better quality then Sean’s pro as he had some old Minolta AF body with a consumer quality 35-70mm zoom lens. His Minolta flash didn’t even make it through the night so he had to take his Metz flash from his Hasselblad kit to finish the job. His flash was, when it was still working, mounted directly on the hotshoe (no up-to-date slave feature of the modern Minolta flashes and bodies) and yet, he through his knowledge and experience knew how and when to take the shots. I didn’t and after Sean’s comments and Tony’s wedding experience, that’s when I realized that I had to beef up my knowledge of the wedding photography business if I wanted to try and earn a bit of money from it. 7:15pm When Bill and Jeannie have been seated, the MCs will introduce the rest of the head table as well as special guests among the other twelve tables. I have of course taken shots of each person announced for the record. When the introductions have been completed, the food will finally be served. 7:30pm Bill has been kind enough to provide me with a seat at a table so that I may also partake of the splendid food. I am seated at the same table as my friend Tony and his wife’s family. Given my main responsibilities, I don’t have much time to sit and eat. Mostly, I swing by for a cool drink. Tony has taken it upon himself to ensure that I actually eat something and will through the night, place samplings of each dish on my plate if I am unable to get it myself. 8pm It is also around this time that Jeannie will rise and go to the back of the restaurant with her maid of honor to do one of her two dress changes. Chinese tradition holds that a bride will start the night in her wedding dress. In the middle of the banquet, she will change into a cocktail or formal dress and at the end of the banquet, she will change once again into a traditional Chinese red "Suzie Wong" dress to say goodbye to the guests. After Jeannie’s first dress change, when she returns, the restaurant host will indicate the time to do the walk around. This is when the head table will go around to each table and toast the guests and guests will congratulate and toast the couple and their happy family. This is a loud and boisterous time and one must be quick with positioning and angles to capture the fleeting expressions and gestures, as the movement is quite quick from table to table. The normal pathways around each table are choked with half drunk guests and I have to fight my way through sometimes. In these situations, I have to anticipate and I look to the restaurant manager to see which table will be next. I take two or three shots at each table and then I’m on my way onto the next one, getting my positioning in advance. I use my 24mm lens to get as much as I can of the scene at each table. Sometimes, even this lens isn’t wide enough and at these moments I wished that I had the money to buy the 20-35mm f/2.8 lens. On occasion when I can’t get the positioning that I want I do the photojournalist’s trick of holding my camera over my head and shooting into the fray. I have gotten some quite surprising and good shots of people’s expressions as they revel in the moment. After the walk around, everyone returns to the food and drink but not for long. Chinese tradition also calls for "tricks and games" to be played on the couple. Some are quite tame while others can be quite risqué, contrary to the prudish nature of most Chinese. Typical games might include cherries attached to strings, held by a person standing above the couple. The bride and groom then have to grope with their mouths to catch the cherries as the person above them swings the cherries up and down. The "trick" is to get the couple in a kissing situation with their mouths wide open and tongues flailing. Another includes an egg that is ‘raw’ (hard-boiled actually) that the bride must roll up the leg of her groom’s pants up to the…ahem…real "eggs" and then down the other pant leg. Most brides get just a wee bit red in the face as they attempt to squeeze the egg through the groom’s sensitive region and depending upon the groom, it can be a tight fit. More benign games will ensue but suffice to say the crowds are ruthless and they want the good stuff. After all this, Bill and Jeannie still have enough energy to sing a song through the karaoke system. It takes nerve to stand up and sing to 130 people but Bill and Jeannie do so in a credible fashion. I have of course been documenting all the moments, embarrassing or not. 9pm After the cake cutting, the banquet enters into its final stage and slowly begins to wind down. 10pm 10:30pm This doesn’t make sense to me. The people are staying around specifically for me to take some shots of them together. It’s a photo shoot and the videoman has planted his massive tripod right smack dab in the middle of the prime spot that I needed for my own tripod. He’s panning his camera to each guest and lingering for a second or two to get them on film. Go figure now. A videocamera is generally used to capture motion, events as they unfold and yet videoman is filming people as they stand still. The guy has taken up so much space that I can’t get my tripod positioned the way I need it to be. I have to take my Bronica off the tripod and handhold the kit for the rest of the shots. Videoman finally clued in that maybe he shouldn’t have been in the way and tries to accommodate me a bit. I was annoyed to say the least but I bit my tongue because I was able to work around him and I didn’t want cause a scene. Discretion is the better part of valor as they say. My friend Tony mentioned how he thought it was strange and curious the way the videoman got in my way when he drove me home later that night. 11pm One last comment about Chinese restaurants, although they are generally accommodating of photo shoots after the banquet, they don’t like having people stay around for a long time. The longer people stay around, the longer it takes the staff to clean up the mess left behind in the wake of such a celebration. One always gets a feeling of being hurried along as the staff mill around and watch you at work. 11:30pm 12am The next day or I should say, later on that day, I’ll head into downtown Vancouver into the Yaletown area to drop off the twelve rolls of 35mm film that I shot. The rollfilm that I shot at the end of the banquet with the Bronica is not complete and I have to make arrangements with Bill to finish off the roll with some casual shots. Epilogue I spent the Thursday night that I picked up the photos sorting them out and putting them in order in the two albums I picked up for them. This process takes the better part of four hours to do as I mull over how the photos should be organized in an orderly as well as aesthetically pleasing presentation. After completing the sorting, I thought I might get a day or two to go over the albums and pick out a few shots that I would like to reprint for myself. I don’t get that chance until much later on as I get a call from Bill asking if the photos are ready and if he could come by on Friday to pick them up. I say sure. Bill and Tony and their mother and respective wives show up on Good Friday to have a look at the photos. Bill and Jeannie are pleasantly surprised that I’ve already sorted the proofs into the albums. They’re happy with the results and I maintain my good standing with the mother. We make arrangements for the casual shoot for the coming Sunday during the holiday weekend. Bill and Jeannie wanted the photos and the casual shoot to be done by end of the Easter holiday weekend because the following weekend would see them fly off to Taiwan for a second banquet celebration for Bill and Jeannie’s family and friends in Taiwan. The albums would go with them to Taiwan for the enjoyment of the relatives there. On the Sunday of the casual shoot, we chat about how we missed a great sunny day on Saturday as Sunday turned out to be overcast with a bit of drizzle. I assure Bill that as long as it wasn’t raining in downtown Vancouver, we would be all right. Tony and his wife Violet are to meet us at the location, as it would be a family oriented shoot. The location decided upon was the Skytrain station on Burrard St. in the downtown core. Bill expressed a desire to take advantage of all the trees with cherry blossoms for the photos. The Skytrain station had plenty to offer so we set up there. I finish off the rollfilm in my Bronica filmback and I managed to get the film processed and printed before Bill and Jeannie left the country. Again, they were happy with the results. Thus ended my commitments for this particular shoot. Everyone came off happy and satisfied with the results.
 Montreal, Quebec |
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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12:05pm
After
Bill and Jeannie have done their requisite honoring of Jeannie’s parents
and receiving their blessings, I take a few quick group shots before
we all rush out to make it in time for the civil and religious ceremonies.
Thankfully, Bill and Jeannie have planned everything for convenience
and all of our stops are in Richmond, within a few minutes of each
other. 
When
my friend Kenny went to Korea to pay his respects to his new in-laws,
he went through a traditional Korean wedding to appease them and his
new bride. Kenny looked quite silly in his flowing and colorful silk
robes.
