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During the summer of 1996, I was a photography intern for the Athens Banner Herald. Athens hosted three Olympic Sports and I was assigned to cover Rhythmic Gymanastics as well as all of the buzz around town surrounding the Olympics. During the Torch Run, leading up to the Games, I made a photograph of Edwin Kendrick holding the torch high and running into downtown Athens, surrounded by a sea of spectators. The photograph ran a full 6 columns across the front page in a special edition printing of the paper that same day. Because of that photograph, the paper quickly sold out and they had to rerun the presses, again selling out. It was an exciting time and the photograph seemed to perfectly capture the city's excitement and honor of hosting the Olympic Games. Last weekend, the Banner Herald ran a story about the torch runners as part of their 10 year anniversary coverage of the Olympic Games. The article states "Kendrick said his copy of the photograph, like the torch, is in 'a safe place.'" To hear that is such an honor because it reinforces how precious and valuable photographs are and how they enable the viewer to relive and experience the memorable moments of our lives.

Two LaCour weddings are featured in Atlanta magazines this month. Southern Seasons magazine shows off the vibrant fall colors of Barnsley Gardens Resort from Dawn and Adrian Sasine’s Nov. 4 nuptials – undoubtedly one of our favorite weddings. This couple was so crazy in love with each other, we felt so inspired and had a blast documenting their day. Southern Seasons also featured another LaCour wedding, Margaret and Mason Poe, in its previous issue.

I DO magazine features another favorite wedding, Kellie Burley and Steve Simon, one of three partners in Fifth Group Restaurants, which owns Bold American Catering. Kellie and Steve were married Oct. 15 at the chic Atlanta nightclub Compound. Being in the catering business, their food and décor were amazing and made for really different, dynamic detail shots.

In the South, churches take themselves very seriously. Church rules often mandate photographers working only in the balcony, and church wedding guild officials enforce the rules with such vigor that they often leave bruises.

Shooting from the balcony can be extremely limiting, as all of the ceremony photographs are taken from the same perspective.

One of my favorite techniques to unobtrusively capture images from a second (or third) perspective during a church wedding ceremony is to place a remote camera close to the bride and groom. This is also a great way for a photographer working solo to gain another perspective on the ceremony.

I will "shoot loose" with a lens that is wide enough to allow for some error in where the bride and groom may be positioned in the frame. I use a Canon EOS 5D as a remote camera because its 12.8-megapixel gives me plenty of pixels to crop out.

In this example, I positioned a camera behind a plant so it was invisible to the congregation. I used a Pocket Wizard with a Canon camera cable to trigger the exposure from the balcony. The kneeler allowed for a predictable place to aim the camera, and I selected a position that was slightly in front of the bride and groom so you could see their faces. Above, you'll see the shot cropped and digitally mastered as it appears in their album. You can see the image as it came out of the camera on the left.

QUESTION:
How did you light them on the pool shot?

ANSWER
This is on the top of the Mid City Lofts, which is called "Sky," right across from The Biltmore, which is where this couple's wedding took place. The couple hangs out at a little pub next to Mid City Lofts and have become friends with people who live in the Lofts — thus the access to the roof.

This is actually a rare shoot where we lit almost the entire shoot. For engagment shoots, I typically try to use as much available light as possible, but frequently use a reflector and of course sometimes strobes and bigger lights. It just depends on the couple, the location and complexity of what we're trying to do. For most of these shots, especially the ones outside near the pool at dusk, I triggered two Canon 550 speedlights bounced out of an umbrella with a 580 on camera. Denis Reggie's Dual Flash Bracket has become an integral part of our lighting bag since we started using it earlier this year.

Photographers have a lot to think about when they're shooting weddings. Simultaneously managing relationships, compact flash cards, logistics, picture requests, assistants and gear can become overwhelming.

When confronted with challenges, like video lights, dark venues and unfriendly churches, it can be easy for a photographer to shoot "safe" pictures — photographs that guarantee a predictable result — and miss opportunities for creativity.

When the videographer used his video light to illuminate the bride dancing with her father, it was tempting to stand next to the videographer to use his light as the main light source. Or, I could have increased my shutter speed so the video light was underexposed, and then bounced flash off the ceiling or wall. The trouble with either scenario is that this type of lighting becomes predictable and boring, and is not indicative of the scene as I saw it.

When shooting this situation, the lighting on the bride and her father was intense, so I decided to not fight it, but to allow it to become an opportunity for creativity. I moved into a position where the videographer was behind the bride, and shot this picture with my Canon 50/1.4 at f/1.4.

The resulting image communicates not only the intensely illuminated scene as I saw it, but also communicates figuratively, as the bride and her father were the focus of attention in the room — literally in the spotlight.

Click here to view the slideshow from this wedding.