...ruffled shirts and wedding photography DO NOT mix.
I've been shooting weddings for 5 years now. And I continually learn new things. The last five years have been quite a journey of lessons learned. A week and a half has passed since my last, somewhat humiliating lesson, so I am now ready to share it with you.
On the day I shot Brett & Kristen's wedding, I wore one of my favorite shirts:
I've been shooting weddings for 5 years now. And I continually learn new things. The last five years have been quite a journey of lessons learned. A week and a half has passed since my last, somewhat humiliating lesson, so I am now ready to share it with you.
On the day I shot Brett & Kristen's wedding, I wore one of my favorite shirts:
Cute, huh? Simple, black, comfortable, doesn't draw attention, with just the slightest frill? The day was moving along quite smoothly. While shooting this beautiful cake...
I leaned ever-so-slightly over the cake table, took a couple close-up shots, then fortunately looked down briefly. TO FIND MY SHIRT AFLAME. I say this quite calmly now, after the fact, but one doesn't often look at a piece of clothing THAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY WEARING and see flames alighting from it. Suffice it to say, there was no thinking involved. Some people asked me later if I got a picture of it!? What!? Yes, I saw my shirt on fire and then called my assistant over to document it. No, sorry to disappoint you all, but there were no photos taken of me ON FIRE. I just batted at it and the fire went out as quickly as it started. I walked away completely uninjured. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for my beloved shirt:
Now, it's not really ideal for a photographer to catch fire on the wedding day. But there were a few positive points I've found refuge in:
1. No one saw said event. The guests were all outside for cocktail hour, my assistant was in the bathroom (much to her later disappointment) and I was in the corner facing the cake.
2. No one at the wedding (except for my team) found out about it. Other than the charred rayon/polyester smell that emanated from me throughout the remainder of the night, there was nothing to give me away.
3. And, since this point bears repeating, I was uninjured. The fire didn't progress to the point where I needed to stop, drop & roll or go to the hospital.
So I guess I suffered very little in the course of learning this lesson the hard way. Ruffled shirts and wedding photography do not mix. Probably best to just stay away from apparel that in any way hangs clear from your body. Aerodynamic clothing is definitely the way to go. And of course, paying attention to where votive candles are at all times is also key.
1. No one saw said event. The guests were all outside for cocktail hour, my assistant was in the bathroom (much to her later disappointment) and I was in the corner facing the cake.
2. No one at the wedding (except for my team) found out about it. Other than the charred rayon/polyester smell that emanated from me throughout the remainder of the night, there was nothing to give me away.
3. And, since this point bears repeating, I was uninjured. The fire didn't progress to the point where I needed to stop, drop & roll or go to the hospital.
So I guess I suffered very little in the course of learning this lesson the hard way. Ruffled shirts and wedding photography do not mix. Probably best to just stay away from apparel that in any way hangs clear from your body. Aerodynamic clothing is definitely the way to go. And of course, paying attention to where votive candles are at all times is also key.
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