Photography hell

Friends of Ryan's got married at the Atlanta Zoo last weekend. They were budget-conscious when planning their wedding, something we could appreciate. Unlike us, however, they decided that professional photography was not required. They asked us (mostly Ryan) to take the pics using our relatively fancy Nikon D40. Up until very recently, we have used it only as a better-than-average point and shoot. I understand the rule of thirds. I like composing shapes. I always somehow ignore light. I like setting the camera to the "sport" setting and taking action shots of our dog. That's about as fancy as I get.

I was sure they didn't know the magnitude of what they were asking us to do. I even invited the bride over to look at our professional vs. amateur wedding pictures so she could see what a difference there can be, but she didn't bite. They persisted, we relented.

It was a bit of a nightmare. We had the wrong equipment and ... the wrong experience ... to shoot in this venue. Not only was the bride wearing white as you'd expect, but so was the groom. Oh, and, the ceremony and reception both took place inside a poorly lit white tent. It was an over/under exposure nightmare. Fortunately, when we were vacationing with my dad's side of the family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, Ryan had spent some learning more about exposure in general from my Uncle Bill. I therefore happily relinquished most of the responsibility for the event to him. He definitely did get some great pictures, but I think he wishes he could have gotten more. I took a few shots of the bride getting dressed, and a few of the groom's family. I tried a few artistic shots of the flowers and decorations, too. This is the only photo I'm relatively proud of.