WEDDING WEDNESDAY | Working with my Husband on Weddings
So I'll be completely honest. Once upon a time, the thought of working with my husband sounded like a horrible idea. I mean, I love him and everything, but we all need our space, right? Well, when it comes to weddings, I can't imagine NOT having him with me! You might think I'm crazy... but let me explain!
On wedding days when Craig and I go to work, he is my secondary photographer. For those of you who are like, "what?", basically he allows me to be in two places at once. Most of my ANP couples after they look at my wedding pricing and wedding portfolio, they choose my middle package which gets a really good snapshot of the day -- it allows us to come in for 7-8 hours, capture getting ready photos all the way through the formalities at the reception. When we get to the first location, assuming we are going to the same place, I go hang out with the bride and her gals and Craig goes to hang out with the guys. We will catch up before the ceremony, where I will let him know where I need him to be and what I need from him. I make sure he's doing alright, check in to see if he has any questions and then we set ourselves up. When it comes to the family photo portion of the day, he becomes my caller -- my assistant. I hand over my list of family group photographs that I have carefully worked with my couples to hammer out and he makes sure we roll through every group like clock work. Truthfully, we have a really great system down and I couldn't be happier with it.
Once we get to the reception, I for the most part let Craig go on his own. We have already talked about what needs to be captured during the reception, and I trust his judgment.
So now that I've went over how the day goes -- the point of this whole post is why do I enjoy working with my husband, when most couples wouldn't DARE work together?!
Because for me, this isn't work. I am sharing my passion with my best friend and the person I love the most. He gets to see me in my element, and he gets to see me truly happy. If I'm being honest, it's not a side of me that he gets to see a whole lot just because our lives are so hectic! So I will take any time I can get with him to share this passion!
Because let's be honest -- I get to be the boss. And he can't really do anything about it. Ha! But seriously - he fully lets me run the show and takes direction from me without any push back. Sometimes he does give me a face like I'm crazy - but I don't give it any attention because I'm totally used to that face. :)
Because he's a newbie. Not saying I'm seasoned by any stretch, but I have the technical knowledge about the camera. I know how to get the look I want, I know the right settings for different lighting. I know what settings to stay away from for different situations. He is still learning, and he's learning MY way. I'm not one who always follows the rules, because I fully believe rules are meant to be broken.
Because he knows my style. One of my favorite parts about being a photographer is second shooting for another photographer - but I'm not going to lie, I spend a lot of time trying to study their work so I can be an asset to them... that's what they are paying me for, right? The awesome part about having my husband is he is MY secret weapon and he knows my style. I can mold him, and I still do! I do let him do his own thing, which a lot of times is a benefit to me because let's be honest - men and women see things differently!
I love my husband and I LOVE having him with me. Weddings can be really stressful, and knowing I have my BEST friend nearby is such a relief!
