How To Capture The Life Of The Party
PLUS: New $200 gift card contest from Moment!
I know, I know… This week’s drop was delayed, but for good reason! Over the weekend, I got to celebrate the wedding of some very dear friends. As a gift to the couple, I documented all their events—primarily on film—and I’m putting together a more personal album to celebrate their special day.
What does this mean for you? Well, I thought I’d switch up this week’s topic to talk about my approach to photographing receptions and parties. Far too often, individuals will capture high-energy events in a very safe and sterile way. Static poses. Awkward smiles. And distance between the viewer and the subject. If you’re asking me, these are strange decisions that just don’t feel true the experience.
This week, I’m gonna show you how this street photographer approaches wedding receptions to capture the life of the party. Fair warning, this article is gonna be too long for the email so visit the Church & Street website to enjoy it properly.
The Setup
Before we jump into the process, many of you will wanna know the gear I used. Most of this wedding was captured on film with various cameras. For this party, I had to bring my Leica M11 as well. Having a digital camera for events like these is necessary to my process where I’ll be shooting a lot more photos.
Now, why the M11? It has no EVF, no autofocus, and no high-speed shooting. Well, it’s because of what this camera lacks that it ends up being so great for my process.
Because of the rangefinder, I have a clear view of the the space to compose the exact shot I’m looking for. And if I’m really reaching for a shot, the back LCD still works great.
No autofocus means I don’t have to wait for the camera to focus (or potentially miss focus). I’m using the Summicron 28mm lens, which like all Leica M lenses, has a distance scale with hard focus stops. This means I can define a range on the lens and anything in that range will be in focus. In this case, I’ll adjust the range to be 1 to 5 meters and just make sure my subjects are in that space. This way, I never miss focus.
And sure, there’s no high-speed shooting but I’m not a burst shooter to begin with. I’m shooting 2-3 shots in succession at most. With a small camera like this—that has the rangefinder off to the side—I’m looking to put my camera in the moment with me and capture iconic scenes.
I could wax poetic about all the things this camera can do but I’ll just leave a link to a previous story if you’re interested.
Lastly, the secret sauce to my setup is the Profoto A2 monolight and Profoto Connect Pro Trigger. Since my camera is so small, I can operate it with one hand and angle a light with the other. This setup gives me plenty of power to light my scene and the reliability to keep going all night long. I’ll set my aperture, choose a shutter speed, keep my ISO low, then dial in the power manually for the result I’m looking for. It’s a simple setup that delivers exceptional results.
Now that you know the gear I used, let’s talk about the photography!
The Imagery
Days before the party, I’m already making an effort to get to know the entire bridal party, the immediate family, and even some of the guests. I’m looking to earn their trust so that when the party starts, we pretty much like family. This makes a huge difference in the energy that shines through the photos. And it also makes it so much easier to direct large groups.
With trust earned, I can jump right into the party and look to fill up the frame. And since we’re all on a first name basis, getting groups to act in unison is light work.
I’m always looking to build layers with interesting perspectives. For me, the camera should feel like a guest at the party. Also, pay attention to where the light it coming from in these frames because it’s always moving.
Safe shots are just that: safe. With high-energy events, I wanna mix angles and introduce more drama. This regularly includes a low-angle snap to take a pretty average moment and make it seem larger-than-life.
I’ll work with the videographers at the event make sure I’m not ruining their shots. In this case, I’ll collaborate with the gimbal operator to match movements so that we can both land the shots we needed. Team work makes the dream work.
Having spent a lot of time with this 28mm lens, I’ve developed a second nature for how this lens sees the world. This means I can compose shots at high angles and comfortably know how to position the camera without looking through the rangefinder or back LCD. Zoom lenses are great, but I’ll skip them and all the decision-making they demand for events like this.
Life is in motion. Which is why I’ll drop the shutter for events like this to 1/30 in many instances. The flash helps to freeze the important bits while really fast action has a natural blur to it. The results are something that feels more alive.
Like any good street photographer, I’m looking for patterns. There’s gonna be moments that just line up in a very poetic way, like this one here. It’s important to stay in the moment and keep your eyes peeled for repeating patterns.
I’m not just a photographer at events like this. I’m looking to be the best hype man possible. I’m wanna make guests feel great, have people mingling, and in many instances, get the dance floor popping. This is hard to teach but if you can be this person, iconic moments will start coming to you.
I’ll also make sure to move the light around. Shooting a high-power flash from the bottom is not flattering but for a moment like this, it just skyrockets the gravity of the scene. There’s almost this playful villainy that comes through photograph. Just like the varying camera angles, I’ll look to move my light around to tell a unique story.
The last thing I’ll mention is do your homework. There’s nothing worse than a photographer that runs out of ideas at an event like this. I made sure to have an extensive shot list and mood board prior to this event. Being prepared instils confidence and that confidence is infectious. The guests can tell when a photographer is on their game and that leads to more buy-in from the entire party. If there’s just one thing you take away from this piece, it’s to put in the work before your event so you can go in as creatively prepared as possible.
June Contest Winner!
Last month, I had a giveaway for the Daychaser 35L Travel Backpack from Moment. Congratulations to the winner of that contest:
Martin Urch
I’ll be contacting you directly to have your prize delivered.
New July Contest: $200 Moment Gift Card
Starting this month, I’ll be moving to gift cards for our monthly contests. While it was fun to pick a unique prize each month, I feel that having the freedom to pick your own prize is better. Each month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can pick whatever speaks to them.
How am I picking the winner? All you have to do is be a free member of this community and leave a comment on this post. As with every contest, I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.
Once again, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!
My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.
Previous Favourites
What’s Next?
I don’t shoot weddings anymore. It’s something I only reserve as a gift for very close friends. But after this experience, I’ve actually entertained the idea of documenting 2-3 weddings a year to develop my storytelling and deliver a luxury experience for select clients. We’ll see if any of this comes to light but let’s just say, a door that was previously locked shut suddenly feels worth opening. Anyway, that’s enough for this week. See ya next time!
GB
For some reason, comments on this post are showing up on another post (https://www.churchxstreet.com/p/are-you-facing-your-fears-in-photography). If you're reading this, let me know if you're having the same issue.
I very much like how you're deviating from the horizon in these photos, it really adds to the chaotic energy of the moments! This style of shooting looks like so much fun, I have to experiment with holding a flash on the off hand at my next wedding.
Parts of the wedding day are just so similar to street, except that you have permission to get REAL close, which is where all the best images are made IMO. Funny enough, even though you do have permission, there is a fine line between capturing the moment and interrupting it.
Great writeup about crossing wedding and street photography, I really enjoyed reading this one! :)