Unexpected response

[Scott_Quier]

Setting the scene:

I'm shooting the "formal" portraits that almost obligatory after the wedding. People are starting to get a little stiff, forced, and bored with the whole process. So, I'm trying to figure out what I can do to get a little life back into the session. I have before me these six people, thb B&G, the brides parent, and the grooms parents. No divorces in the group, so I figure it's safe to provide the following direction, "OK, everyone, kiss someone!"
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175898329-M.jpg

The couple on the left look at each other. Bride looks to groom. Groom looks to his mother. FOG looks ... somewhere
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175898618-M.jpg

Couple on left kiss. Groom kisses mother. FOG still not with the program. Bride is figuring out something is not quite right!
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175898857-M.jpg

Now the bride has it figured out and is wondering what's happening here!
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175899143-M.jpg

Bride still has a look of surprise. Couple on left are still in their own little world. FOG has it figured out and is looking at groom and MOG.
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175899349-M.jpg

Everyone comes up for air, figures out what the groom's been doing. Groom looks to his brand new wife, looking for forgiveness? And the bride and MOG are starting to die laughing!
http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/175899548-M.jpg

Couldn't have been better if I had planned it! I'm just glad that I took a moment to make sure that the couples were evenly matched and "belonged to each other". I could have gotten into some real hot water other-wise. As it turned out, this really livened up the rest of the formals and the wedding coordinator approached me right after this pose asking if she could have one of my cards as her daughter was getting married Jun '08. Yeah, it worked out pretty well.

[~Jan~]

That is hysterical!

[ShepsMom]

:rofl I'm sure groom had his doze of wording from the bride :whip
Excellent set!

[Elaine]

Hah! That is so funny! Good for you...for setting it up and for clicking away! Great story-line for their album! :D

[Scott_Quier]

:rofl I'm sure groom had his doze of wording from the bride :whip
Excellent set!They are so in love that I don't think she's going to give him much grief - at least in the short term. However, I do believe this is something that will keep surfacing at parties and the like.

Hah! That is so funny! Good for you...for setting it up and for clicking away! Great story-line for their album!Yep, and that's where I intend to to put it to. I did set it up and clicked away - but I was assuming when I was clicking that people would kiss the "appropriate" person. Oh well, it's all icing in the cake!

[ivar]

Haha, I love it :lol3

[Art Scott]

A little mis-understand that turn in to a fantastic series of comical candids.....Great going Scott:bow:bow:bow

[emmalou]

WHat a wonderful change up form the stiff and so formal!!!!!!! I love it.........it may just be your signature :wink

[Scott_Quier]

WHat a wonderful change up form the stiff and so formal!!!!!!! I love it.........it may just be your signature :wink
Thanks for looking and posting your kind comment. I really like the result of this one. I'm not sure it will work every time. You can be sure I'm going to try it though.

I've noticed that these things tend to get a little stiff. So, I've been searching for something I can use to loosen things up a bit. I'm not so sure I want that last photo to be representative of my "signature" but, yeah, something looser would be very nice.

Something else that I think might work is to pose the group and fire off the 4 or 5 (so that I have a chance of getting one with the majority of the eyes open and on me). Then stop, and suggest they relax for a second and let their tire smile muscles recover. Then, when they are relaxed and thinking they are safe from the camera, fire off a couple of exposures.

[evoryware]

A Mastercard commercial. Brides reaction is PRICELESS! :rofl

Is the father of the groom looking to the brides wife or to the brides husband for this kiss... :huh ? :dunno
There's your source of future convo!

[emmalou]

A Mastercard commercial. Brides reaction is PRICELESS! :rofl

Is the father of the groom looking to the brides wife or to the brides husband for this kiss... :huh ? :dunno
There's your source of future convo!

Lol.that was my first impression when I saw him in the two frames.too funny!:D

My son;s photographer choose not to have a formal family portrait done....hmmm....now that I think about it.lol.she did the brides family, then our side.but 98% of the pics were of the couple and the bridal party :scratch They turned out fabulous.but now I have gone through the ics.and nope.lol.not a group shot among them! THis was an outside wedding, not a church setting.but still....we were on the harbour.....:dunno

I think anything you can do to relax the mood is a bonus for you and the photographs to come....

Get them all to say the first word that comes into their mind...lol.....10-1 Dad says Visa:D

[Seneca]

:rofl It worked Scott. That is so funny, and pretty amazing how you made everyone feel comfortable afterwards. Good job.:thumb

[Scott_Quier]

:rofl It worked Scott. That is so funny, and pretty amazing how you made everyone feel comfortable afterwards. Good job.:thumbI would really like to take the credit for putting the group to ease afterwards, but I twern't me. Everyone, the bride, the groom, the family, friends, everyone was so easygoing and easy to work with ... it was as easy as falling off a fence. Really nice people!

[DavidS]

That is hilarious. What a great idea.

[saurora]

Cute shots Scott....I love the shot before they start kissing and are just staring at each other! Great idea! :D

[Scott_Quier]

Well, answering the response that this was a great idea. Maybe. I guess, sometimes, it is better to be lucky than good. I don't know. It was spur of the moment and I just got lucky with the response. Once I figured out what I was going to say, I knew I would get some sort of reaction so I was primed and ready to shoot (I guess that was me being good :dunno). I expected a group fun shot, something harmless. And this is what I got - I guess that's the lucky part.

[FotoChick]

Scott, I love the shots!!! Good action plan.:thumb


I know the stiff posed formal shots you are talking about, I remember a wedding day years ago where Shay and I we walked in to the hotel lobby and a photographer was shooting a different “Bride and parents, etc” there. I actually had to turn away so not to chuckle as the photog placed the different groups precisely as he needed, got behind the camera and instructed them to repeat after him (extremely slow) S t r a w b e r r y' s, with each set up. The poor family couldn't have looked more uncomfortable or less engaged if they tried.:snore


Very funny and meaningful series of shots, I love them!!! I cant wait to meet you in Denver!!!!:barb

[Nikolai]

This is awesome, it goes right down into my Bag Of Tricks! :thumb

[Mrs F]

This set is so funny. The B&G are going to love these.

Kari

[dogwood]

Scott:

That is so funny! Thank you for posting-- you put a big ol' smile on my face :D. Poor groom has a lot to learn about being married!

[ziggy53]

Scott,

Your concept was inspired, but the execution was all theirs and a genuine hoot. Timeless, and a great opportunity for a sequence montage.

[Scott_Quier]

Scott,

Your concept was inspired, but the execution was all theirs and a genuine hoot. Timeless, and a great opportunity for a sequence montage.Thanks. Like I said above, the concept was for a photo of them a little more relaxed. And then the groom did what he did. Tha's what made the series. I was just bright enough (that, in itself is a minor miracle) to keep pushing the shutter release.

I was toying with the montage idea last night. Didn't have time to do much about it, but ... maybe in a week or two (I have a wedding this week-end and that will keep me pretty busy for the next week or 10 days).