Maybe it’s a consequence of all the Bridezilla, Weddings-From-Hell shows on TV or something, but whenever someone asks me what I do for a living and I say I photograph weddings, the reaction I hear is invariably something like:
“Oh, you must have stories to tell...” Or
“I bet you have to deal with some really crazy people.” Or
“You should write a book about your wacky wedding experiences”... (I sense the person I’m talking with is picturing me on “Oprah,” telling ALL.)
Call me Pollyanna (not to mention not Oprah-worthy) but my personal feeling about weddings is that they’re usually sweet and wonderful. I look for good intentions or humor in whatever people do or say. For instance:
About a month ago I was shooting a wedding and I noticed a young female guest (she was perhaps in her 20’s) who was also taking pictures. I saw that she was using a high-end snapshot camera, a Canon S95, the same camera I carry in my pocket when I’m not working. My S95 is often what I pull out for everyday, at-home snapshots (including the picture you see above of our cat, Basil, and the self-portrait below of me with my cat friend.)
“That’s a wonderful camera you have,” I told the young woman. “I own one too. I like how small it is.”
Then, trying to be funny (in my 56-year-old guy way) I added: “The camera is so small, I can have it in my pants pocket, even when I’m wearing tight jeans.”
I could tell immediately by the look on her face that the young woman did not get my joke. With utterly innocent empathy and compassion in her words, she replied in a way that reminded me why men my age should not try to have even brief conversations with women half our age.
“That’s so cool that you can still wear tight jeans,” she said.
And I thought: “Maybe I do need to write a book about my wedding experiences.”
