A 3D Wedding?!

Sometimes your most noticed work is something you didn't plan. That is what happened in this case. The bride and groom wanted to have images made at the school they teach at. (Which they also attended when younger.) I suggested we meet before the wedding date to go over some ideas. We came up with maybe seven to ten ideas before we decided that this was plenty to fill in the short time we will have on the actual wedding day.

During the wedding day we started shooting on the theater stage and the stairs leading up on either side. Which we did both. But, as I was setting up my first light on the stage I looked up and saw the entire wedding party sitting and waiting for me to get my things set up. I instantly saw the above image in my head. I told them what I was thinking and they were excited to play the part of "movie audience." I believe there were 4 or 5 shots total and this one jumped out to me. Of course we didn't have 3D glasses available for this to work, but I knew 3D glasses wouldn't be too much of a pain in post production. I shot this feeling that it would be worth it in the end.


Here is a planned shot on the main entrance stairway. I used a soft box (strobe) up high and to the right and a bare bulb (strobe) behind them and to the left. A reflector was held by my wife directly to the left of them to fill in some shadows. I shot from the floor on a tripod with a Canon 20D camera and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Mix all the technical jargon with some "just married love" and you have yourself an image!

If you shoot weddings sometimes it seems like there isn't room for creativity. But, keep your eyes and ears open. Look for things that are unique and different from all other weddings. Everyone wants their wedding to be different, so grab your camera and make it happen!