Finally after 1 year shot Vincent & Erin's pre-wedding, its like meeting back old friend, both of the are the type of couple who are easy going and love God deeply. What a touching ceremony, my eyes were wet during their sharing session. Will never forget this one. As the wedding was so long, I only got 1.5 hr to do the SDE, everything was done very fast but still love it! Long and tiring but memorable. Fell in love in HK hehe... Thanks Vincent & Erin, hope to meet you both again. *sob* sob*
What I felt great about this session was it is my experience for this beautiful couple. In this video is a day I felt strongly about creating the most genuine thing for the people that engages us. The morning I went to the bride's house I met up with this group of videographers that is covering Erin's make up, I believe it is a Hong kong culture that people does poses for everything they do. There was this session where the mom was wearing the necklas for Erin in the room, but the videographer had the bride to redo the session again standing infront of the window and asked the mom to wear the necklas again. Though I do not dictate but do strongly felt that those genuine things that had occured, does have an amount of value for memory, just like the mom indeed wear the necklas for the bride in the room, if we asked the bride to redo it infront of the window, the whole meaning of journalism failed. That day I want to ask the world "why are we hired, and what is our responsible as a photographer", we are hired to capture those beautiful things that had occured, and we should also honor those things that had occured isn't it? If we changed something, what has been occured has lost its value for memories.
Not only does the wearing necklas was redone, the videographers had asked the couple to prepare themselves when walking out of the house, certain time they need to stop, redo, walk again, including how should the bride enters the car etc. For that moment I felt sad, but I only capture those things that had really occured, I tell myself not to capture those posed session, the above clip are all natural occurance, isn't nice to see everything is real and also done nicely? Then after certain years it able to allow the couple to recall those authentic moments in their lives?
There is no such thing as the best angle of the world. Finding an alternate angle is not hard but to some people it is lol. I remember the time we marching out of the house, the videographers had already stand and prepared themselves on a specific spot, so at first I was standing at one spot and I got a shout said that I have blocked him, then I changed and the other guy shouted LOL, I was like hey I am a photographer should I also have a say too? :p I went to capture an alternate shot and done~ but for many times that I have gave way to the others, I wonder why they did not find an alternate themselves. Maybe its different lol.
The wedding lasted for a very long time, and I prepared the slideshow within 1.5 hours time, that was still the fastest slideshow production time in my life. Well I know others can do better but thats my best. :p While the slideshow being displayed, the crowd kept on watching it, laughed, and smiled. I wondered why so many people looked so interested, and the video guy came over and said that my pictures are unique and asked for my name card. So we shared a lot, also about the posing part, and he said posing ones and the the none posing ones are different styles. But what I felt at that moment, looking at the crowd, isn't it nice to have a nice style without posing? Posing is so tiring to me, if I am a groom. And for that moment, I felt that the Hong Kong culture is seeking for these kind of pictures inertly.
I will wait for my second assignment in Hong Kong. :) Crossing my fingers.