The Essential Guide to Gay and Lesbian Weddings (103 page)

Decide whether you want to have posed shots taken at the ceremony site ahead of time or afterward. Most people these days opt for the pre-shoot, when their makeup and clothing are fresh. This also allows you to get right to the reception after the ceremony, without keeping your guests waiting.

Nail down the exact amount of time the photographer is to show up and the length of the full period contracted for.

If you can't afford the full cost of a professional photographer, there are some other ways to go:

Hire a professional for the ceremony only, then ask friends to bring their own cameras to cover the reception.

Buy disposable cameras for the guests and put one on each table or in a basket by the front door. You'll get some, shall we say, unusual shots that a professional could never dream of.

Keep a small camera with
you
at all possible times; shots from the point of view of the brides or the grooms are unique. (While we suggest you don't carry a camera during the ceremony itself, as with all wedding day decisions, it's ultimately up to you.)

POST-POSTMODERN WEDDING PORTRAITURE

There is yet another school of photography that doesn't even pretend to capture real moments. A heavily Photoshopped postmodern approach creates dramatic, stylized and sometimes bizarre situations for the happy couple: brides with flowing dresses atop a rubble heap of used and battered computers, or two grooms in front of a dollhouse, with lamp-shades on their heads. Picture a fashion layout in
Interview
magazine and you've got it. This will either look really artsy and cool in twenty years, or odd and ridiculous.

Once you're ready to preserve those memories, there are a few things to keep in mind.

If you've signed up for a package and they're going to give you an album, make sure that the quality of the album itself is good. The photos need to be stored in such a way that they won't fade or discolor—not in your lifetime, anyway. If you're assembling your own album, use one with acid-free paper or some other album of quality. (Art Leather of Elmhurst, New York, is the world's largest album/folio manufacturer and is used by most reputable photography studios.)

When you have copies made, think of other people who might want each shot. Some people (the incredibly organized ones) include prints with their thank-you notes.

Fade In: A Wedding.

Eighty percent of non-gay couples these days have their wedding videotaped. The bride's brother, with his new camcorder, may be shooting everything he sees; or a professional may be making a series of slick edited DVDs of the festivities—for up to $10,000.

Looking for the right videographer is similar to finding the right photographer; in fact, some photography studios have branched off and now offer this service as well. However, in addition to the same questions that you posed to the potential photographer, there are some special things you'll need to know about the videographer.

Is the person a professional or just someone who bought a new piece of equipment and is trying to cash in on a fad?
Reputable videographers post sample demo reels on their websites. (And if there is no demo reel, your best bet would be to fast-forward out of there.)

What kind of equipment does the person have?
Today there are excellent low-light cameras that can shoot even by candlelight; there's no need for glaring lights every time the camera is turned
on. To ensure a good picture, lighting can be augmented by low-wattage lamps mounted on top of the camera, with the addition of portable floodlights pointed upward.

How is the audio recorded?
We've seen videos that looked great but needed to have play-by-play coverage of what was said because the sound was so muffled. See if the videographer can use wireless mikes for the ceremony to make sure every word is captured. Use hand-held mikes for on-camera interviews and commentary; capture the reception by using the microphone that's part of the camera.

What if the equipment fails?
Is there backup equipment? Most videographers carry an extra camera or have twenty-four-hour access to equipment close at hand. But ask.

What is the format?
These days, most professional videographers will shoot in digital video, then transfer the edited product to a plain old DVD.

What will the finished product look like?
Many packages include some special effects, and others offer a “deluxe” (maybe even personalized) DVD storage case. (We feel this probably serves the same purpose as the average DVD case.) But basically your concern is how that DVD is put together.

Raw footage:
Everything that is shot, good or bad, will be documented. This means that, yes, you will have the wedding ceremony, but you will also have seventeen minutes of your Aunt Minnie crying over how happy she is for you. (You'll probably watch that once, and then go into scanning mode on subsequent viewings.) If you can only afford the raw footage right now, don't panic; later on you can always have that footage edited down. Or you can finally learn how to use iMovie and do it yourself.

Post-edited:
This is state-of-the-art video: the cameraperson or another editor goes through everything and edits together different sequences. He or she can add all sorts of special effects such as dissolves and fades, making your wedding day look like an MTV video: you can be posterized and freeze-framed; you can add subtitles or superimposed descriptions such as “Old Girlfriend of One of the Brides”; the editor can use computer-animated titles, throw in credits at the end, and even create split-screen effects so, later, you can watch your own reactions while your best friend sang “What I Did for Love” with the band. (The sites
marrymegay.com
and komsomolfilms.com/weddingvideo/main.html both have some inspiring pieces posted.)

A typical edited end product will run about sixty to ninety minutes. In addition to the longer edited version of the wedding, some places will also provide a “wedding highlights” reel that's about fifteen minutes in length; needless to say, you are approaching expensive options when you want to produce both a full-length theatrical version and a documentary short subject of your wedding.

A really fun wedding video doesn't limit itself to the same kinds of things a photographer would shoot; it often has interviews with family and friends as well as a pan of the buffet table. You might talk with the videographer ahead of time and come up with a few standard questions that can be posed to your guests, such as “Do you remember the first time you met Ken and Ron?” or “What are your predictions for the future of Tameka and Camila?” (Aspire to having this footage look like the video diaries the contestants make on
The Bachelor.
)