Q&A : wedding photography by the numbers

I talk a lot about how much I love my job, and it's all true!  I get to meet amazing people, shoot beautiful details, and spend time with people during some of the most important moments of their lives.  That doesn't mean that it's easy, though.  I shot two weddings in a row this weekend and now I am absolutely and thoroughly exhausted - it's definitely a full-body workout :)  In case you're tempted to quit your day job and become a wedding photographer, or you're just curious about what it's like, I thought I'd break it down for you by the numbers.  So, here's how my last 48 hours was measured:Weddings : 2

Images shot : 92GB worth

Weight of my Canon 5d Mark II with 50mm 1.2 L lens and 580 EXII flash : 4.8 lbs (according to my bathroom scale :)

Weight of my Manfrotto 190XDB tripod (with the 701 HDV video head) : 6.1 lbs

Weight of my shooting bag: 3.2 lbs

In my shooting bag (an old leather messenger-style laptop bag) : other lens, batteries, pens, hairbrush, business cards, pocket knife, safety pins, breath mints, phone, lipstick, protein bars, screwdriver, tampons, lens cleaning cloth, lens cleaning pen

Weight of my Dakine Reload waterproof camera bag (with everything else inside ): 21.8 lbs

Total weight I carry with me : 35.9 lbs

Hours on my feet: 23.5

Energy drinks consumed : 4

Days it rained : 2

Number of concerned fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and fathers-in-law who said the exact phrase, "Better hurry, it's gonna rain!" more than one time while we were shooting: 6 (I counted!)

Needless to say, I woke up this morning feeling like I ran a marathon. With the flu. While getting hit by a semi.  But I'm happy, and I STILL love my job :)  I can't wait to post some images from this fabulous weekend!

I had another recent question come in about my lighting.  I use natural lighting whenever possible, and I'm lucky enough to have a studio space with natural window light coming in from three sides!  I never use a flash when I'm shooting babies or children because a) it's disruptive to the baby, especially if we're trying to get them to sleep or calm down, b) older kids move pretty quickly and any flash needs a bit of time to recycle, and c) the light sensitivity of the 50mm 1.2 means that I'm never in a situation during the day when I actually need more light. I do have some old studio lights that I rarely, if ever, use.  I'm not even gonna link to them because I'd have to go find out what kind they are - that's how little I use them.  When you start getting into the world of studio lighting setups, you have to start worrying about color temperature a lot more.  I love the way skin tones look in natural light, and I'm reeeally not a fan of how skin tones look under 99% of studio light setups, so I just don't even go there.

That being said... if I'm looking to create some added drama and want to get creative with supplemental lighting outside (or inside a venue), I LOVE my Lowel iD video light.  It's dimmable and what you see is what you get, which is super helpful with composition.  It's also less disruptive than a flash if you're trying to be a little more subtle, although it gets hot quickly and isn't as powerful, but in most situations, that's okay with me.  Before I decided to make the switch to Canon, I was using a Nikon SU-800 commander unit to trigger my SB-600 speedlite units.  The visual effect was AWESOME, but it's all line-of-sight communication, which seemed to be a problem in more situations than not, and the trigger range was less than I had hoped for, so although I had fun playing around with that, it quickly dropped out of my setup.  Now that I'm shooting Canon, I'll probably be investing in some Pocket Wizards soon :)  Yay!  Oh, gear... there's always something to buy.  Okay, that's probably enough nerd talk for now.  I'll end with a quick sneak peek from this weekend- congrats to Theresa & Jason and Christian & Heather!

abbey & justin (burlington co wedding photographer)

Abbey had such a vision for this wedding, and her romantic, nighttime shabby chic theme came together in the most beautiful way.  She is so kind and sweet and considerate, and all of her emails to me have more exclamation marks than words, which makes me smile every time I read them :)  Their excitement for this weekend was contagious!  I always love hearing about the details and all the work that goes into such an amazing celebration, and it was wonderful to see it all come to fruition this last weekend.  Abbey & Justin got married in Burlington, CO, and I was absolutely honored to travel out there to shoot it.  Let me just put this out there - I love traveling for weddings.  It's weird and probably unnatural to love long drives and long flights and hotel rooms, but I have to be totally honest and say that I do. Completely. Love it!  I get to shoot somewhere brand new and I love seeing someplace for the first time through my photographic eyes; places that I might pass over if I lived there become amazing backdrops.  Get married ANYWHERE and I will be there.  We'll make it work... I'm serious!Congratulations, you two!  Have fun in Mexico and thanks for the great weekend!

Ceremony: First St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Burlington, CO

Reception: Burlington Community Center

Hair & Makeup: Rachelle Burgess

Flowers: a personal friend

Cake: Sharon Pikul

Dress: Maggie Sottero

Looove all these little candles in Mason Jars - so elegant!

When Abbey was on a mission trip to Brazil a few years ago, she kept noticing these gorgeous, unusual flowers and knew she wanted to incorporate them into her future wedding - and she did!  She had to special-order them for the bridesmaids bouquets, and don't they look incredible?

Just a disclaimer - the holding hands part was NOT. MY. IDEA.  All the boys were so freaked out after finding some snakes in the grass, I think they were trying to console each other ;)

This girl is straight out of a magazine.  Seriously.

It takes a seriously awesome bride to climb up a grain elevator in her wedding dress.

The community center looked amazing!  I think they had over 360 candles hanging from the ceiling.  As a photographer, it was a fun challenge to shoot in a near-dark room and still keep the intimate "candlelight" vibe.

Check out this awesome candy table!

LOVE this shot of the groom's sister catching the bouquet :)

Congratulations, Abbey & Justin!  The rest of your image will be ready in a few weeks :)

sara & cole (nathrop wedding photographer)

They say that rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck.  If that's true, Sara and Cole will have the luckiest marriage of all time :)  They were supposed to get married on a rocky overlook on top of Trout Creek Pass, with a view of Mt. Princeton and the Arkansas Valley... but Mother Nature had other plans.  It didn't drizzle - it POURED most of the day.  Nevertheless, Cole & Sara were completely unfazed.  Sara and I would peer out the window together at the rain as it started and stopped and started again; she kept mentioning to me, "I'm just so glad I finally get to marry him.  It doesn't matter at all."And you know what?  It really didn't matter at all.  I LOVED this wedding!  I loved Sara's blue shoes, I loved the groomsmen's western pearl-snap shirts and daisy boutonnieres, I love that Cole cried during his vows, and I loved all the umbrellas.  I especially loved that they called me the day after their wedding with the sweetest thank-you message ever!  Cole & Sara, you guys are amazing.  Thanks so much for the honor of shooting your wedding - the rest of your images will be ready soon!

Getting ready, dinner & reception - Silver Cliff Ranch, Nathrop, CO

Ceremony (last minute backup) - Clearview Church, Buena Vista, CO

Flowers - Robin Bangert

Hair & Makeup - Tara Schaeffer

Cole is also Autumn's brother - she was the former owner of Cedar House, and I bought the studio from her when she & her husband moved to Alaska.  It was so great to see her again!

While the girls are getting ready, the guys are playing a mean game of poker :)

This image below is what happens when they think I'm taking a picture of their feet.

Bridesmaids: "Wait, were you actually taking a picture just now ??!"

Me: "Whaaa?  Psshhh... nnoooo..."

I love this shot of Sara and her dad, on the way to the First Look.  I'm so glad they decided to do a First Look!  I strongly suggest this whenever I can - it gives us so much more time to work with, and in this case, we were able to get a lot of the group shots done outside during a lull in the rain before it really started coming down.  If we hadn't done a First Look, we wouldn't have ANY of the shots you see below.  I highly recommend it!

So, at Clearview Church, there's this huge painting of Jesus in the front entryway.  Every time I see it, I feel like he's threatening me.  I can almost hear Jesus yelling, "What?  What?  You want to take this outside, punk?"  Apparently one of the guests got the same vibe from the Jesus mural, too...although, one of the bridesmaids mentioned that she thought it looked like he was trying to hug her.  I guess that's what they call a "difference in world outlook" ;)  What do you think? Fight-in-the-parking-lot Jesus or big-group-hug Jesus?

Aah!  I love this next shot - perfect timing!

Woohoo!  Congratulations, you guys!  And, just wondering... how long did it take you to figure out the truck horn? ;)

allie & jason (buena vista wedding photographer)

Allie & Jason are engaged!  This is one of the sweetest, most authentic, most photogenic, most head-over-heels-in-love couples I have ever met.  They are both so kind and easygoing, and were up for another one of my crazy themed engagement sessions.  We met up at her parents' house in The Reserve, a swanky and gorgeous neighborhood in Buena Vista, which also happens to be the site of their forest wedding this summer!  It's going to be incredible :)  We had ominous thunder and even a few sprinkles, but we still pulled off the session without a hitch.  I know Allie was concerned about not looking natural in the photos (she even told me she'd been practicing smiling, which I though was so cute!)  but once we got started, Allie and Jason both were so easy and real in front of the camera.  You guys are naturals! :)I'm still working on their engagement film, and I can't wait to finish it and share it with you all!  So, yay for color.  Yay for summertime.  Yay for beautiful couples whose love is so radiant.  And... keep scrolling down, this is gonna be a big post :)

I keep using alcohol as a prop lately ... hmm... what's that about? ;)

DAANNNGG... you are gorgeous!

And, you know, when that summertime heat starts to get the best of you.. what else can you do?

Allie & Jason - LOVE YOU GUYS!  I had so much fun and I can't wait for your wedding!

lindsay & brandon - part one (colorado springs engagement photographer)

Lindsay is one of my oldest friends.  We first met in choir in high school, and we have performed together, traveled together, laughed together, and eaten more tapioca pudding together than I can remember. We've been through The Sound of Music, Cinderella, Chicago, Hello, Dolly!, talent shows, vocal recitals, Handel's Messiah, and All-State Choir together.  She is the Liesel to my Marta :)Maybe it's because I'm so used to seeing her in some sort of costume, but I've always thought Linds has a very classical, cinematic, photogenic look. She's wonderful in front of the camera!  This is awesome news for me as her photographer ;) , and what's even awesome-er is that she's engaged to an absolutely wonderful guy who's totally comfortable in a pinstripe suit and a fedora.  I have loved getting to know Brandon.  He's a total sweetheart, and such a genuine, kind person.

Lindsay is currently a writer and a librarian, hence the theme of (part one of) this session.  If she looks familiar, you might remember her from her epic Little Red Riding Hood shoot last fall, back when Brandon was still listed as "her boyfriend" :)  These guys are utter rockstars and I literally couldn't stop photographing them - that's why this e-session will be coming at cha in multiple parts.  More to come soon.. much more.  Muahahaha....

They're getting married in September at Wild Rose in Seattle...and I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT.

I love you guys!  Congratulations!