Angela and Jim - Lanikohunua, Ko'Olina
March 26, 2pm
Lanikohunua Beach!
I really liked working with Angela and Jim. They were a very cool couple, laid back, and....VERY organized. I had met with Angela and to my surprise, she had a three inch binder filled with wedding information. Very nice. An organized bride always makes my jobs a lot easier.
The coordination of their wedding was a bit complicated. To start, they had invited around 30 guest with them to the Secret Cove at Ko'Olina, it was Easter weekend, so the beaches wouldn't be as empty, and that the entrance to the Secret Cove at Ko'Olina, was being blocked by another wedding at the Ihilani.
I visited the garden keeper at Lanihokunua and asked her for the very best solution. She recommended moving the wedding to the 3rd cove, which was by paradise cove. It was a larger cove, so if there would be people there, the beach would be as crowded. Great point. Secondly, it had a larger public access entrance and would be easier for elderly people to access. I pitched the idea to Angela and Jim and they were game.
I had a previous wedding that day in the morning "The Marine Couple listed below," so right after that, I sped over to Lanikohunua, got there at around 12pm to make sure to reserve the wedding spot that I wanted for Jim and Angela. I also got my mom out of retirement to help me coordinate the guest when they arrived. Thanks mom! While my mom doesn't coordinate weddings anymore, she does help here and there.
Angela and Jim didn't want to see each other before the wedding, so that also made things just a little more complicated. So I used her friends to form a blockade for her as she made her way to the beach...and at the last moment, they flanked to the right...and she down the isle and got married.
Jim and Angela both wrote their own vows. Which again, was quite moving. I would always encourage couples to write just "a little" of their own vows, and incorporate them with the standard vows at every wedding. It just makes that day a lot more special.
This cove is sweet. The rocks also protected Angela and Jim from large waves,
which were predicted that day, but never showed up.
As for the pictures, I used a different style of photography that day for a few pictures. Since it was overcast, and bright, we would probably lose the blue skies. So I drastically overexposed the pictures, knowing that my lab could adjust the brightness down. When you do this with Kodak film, or Kodak Porta 400 film, certain photos end up looking little bit like a painting rather than real life.
Overexposed by a few stops.
Don't try this at home unless you have a great printer!
The effect can only be done if the circumstances are rather perfect. The couple has to be in the right mood, the pose has to be the right one, the weather...everything to tell the right story. The mood for these shots are "cartoony" or fun.... so again... if the glove fits, you must SNAP THE PICTURE. The primary reason we use effects is to enhance the storytelling of each picture. Not to just do an effect for the hell of it.
Now I know Angela won't like this picture of herself, because she told me herself. But I love it. This is raw emotion people. Her excitement of walking down the isle, minutes away from getting married. It's a mixture of laughter, tears, and excitement in her face. I also like it for the fact that there are her friends in the background looking at her as she makes her way down the isle.
Lanikohunua Beach!
I really liked working with Angela and Jim. They were a very cool couple, laid back, and....VERY organized. I had met with Angela and to my surprise, she had a three inch binder filled with wedding information. Very nice. An organized bride always makes my jobs a lot easier.
The coordination of their wedding was a bit complicated. To start, they had invited around 30 guest with them to the Secret Cove at Ko'Olina, it was Easter weekend, so the beaches wouldn't be as empty, and that the entrance to the Secret Cove at Ko'Olina, was being blocked by another wedding at the Ihilani.
I visited the garden keeper at Lanihokunua and asked her for the very best solution. She recommended moving the wedding to the 3rd cove, which was by paradise cove. It was a larger cove, so if there would be people there, the beach would be as crowded. Great point. Secondly, it had a larger public access entrance and would be easier for elderly people to access. I pitched the idea to Angela and Jim and they were game.
I had a previous wedding that day in the morning "The Marine Couple listed below," so right after that, I sped over to Lanikohunua, got there at around 12pm to make sure to reserve the wedding spot that I wanted for Jim and Angela. I also got my mom out of retirement to help me coordinate the guest when they arrived. Thanks mom! While my mom doesn't coordinate weddings anymore, she does help here and there.
Angela and Jim didn't want to see each other before the wedding, so that also made things just a little more complicated. So I used her friends to form a blockade for her as she made her way to the beach...and at the last moment, they flanked to the right...and she down the isle and got married.
Jim and Angela both wrote their own vows. Which again, was quite moving. I would always encourage couples to write just "a little" of their own vows, and incorporate them with the standard vows at every wedding. It just makes that day a lot more special.
This cove is sweet. The rocks also protected Angela and Jim from large waves,
which were predicted that day, but never showed up.
As for the pictures, I used a different style of photography that day for a few pictures. Since it was overcast, and bright, we would probably lose the blue skies. So I drastically overexposed the pictures, knowing that my lab could adjust the brightness down. When you do this with Kodak film, or Kodak Porta 400 film, certain photos end up looking little bit like a painting rather than real life.
Overexposed by a few stops.
Don't try this at home unless you have a great printer!
The effect can only be done if the circumstances are rather perfect. The couple has to be in the right mood, the pose has to be the right one, the weather...everything to tell the right story. The mood for these shots are "cartoony" or fun.... so again... if the glove fits, you must SNAP THE PICTURE. The primary reason we use effects is to enhance the storytelling of each picture. Not to just do an effect for the hell of it.
Now I know Angela won't like this picture of herself, because she told me herself. But I love it. This is raw emotion people. Her excitement of walking down the isle, minutes away from getting married. It's a mixture of laughter, tears, and excitement in her face. I also like it for the fact that there are her friends in the background looking at her as she makes her way down the isle.
A little luck had to with this shot. As a photographer, you always have to anticipate what may happen. Putting yourself in a position for the inevitable. For the last 8 years of my life I have been waiting for a shot like this. Finally! A great raw emotion shot filled with everything. Again...I got lucky. But sometimes, like the saying goes, it's sometimes better to be lucky, than good.
posted by Steve Young @ 3:31 PM
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