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Tales of a Photographer

A day in the life of a photographer
Joyce Florio

OK. So there I was, shooting a wedding in Florida with the temperature peaking over 100 degrees (don't even ask me what the humidity level was)!

The bride's hair was falling and the flowers were wilting and the ceremony was still hours away. It was going to be an outdoor wedding and I was photographing the girls in the hotel beforehand. Believe it or not, the bride was behind schedule and somehow I had to cram what was supposed to be 2 hours of pre-wedding photography into 45 min. I corralled all the puffy pink taffeta women and one beautiful bride into the elevator to begin our timed trek through the 75 year old hotel.

As the elevator became stuck between the 6th and 7th floor and I listened to 6 whining ballerinas and one hysterical bride, I closed my eyes and wondered why I ever gave up my day job--but this is exactly why I decided to become a photographer.

Well, not so I could suffer claustrophobia with a gaggle of high-strung, stressed out women, but because I love the challenge and chaos and the individuality of each and every day. There is no such thing as a typical wedding and here I was, proving myself right once again....

I guess I always knew becoming a successful photographer would involve more then taking a proper exposure, but there was no way I could have prepared for the life that lay ahead of me.

I read every book I could get my hands on, spoke to friends who had their own studios, joined organizations and associations and on-line message boards and walked into my first wedding completely ignorant and overwhelmingly queasy.

I wasn't prepared, but I don't think anyone is ever ready for their first wedding (or their first child-but that's another story). It takes someone with a unique personality (and it helps if insanity runs in your family) to decide to become a wedding photographer. You need the ability to make the bride laugh even though she's mad at her father for bringing his girlfriend who is younger then she is.

It helps to know how to sew the hem of a dress that tears when the bride's maid steps out of the limo. You need to know how to remove lipstick from satin, gum from flower girls hair, untie knots from ring bearer's pillows, tie ties (and even cravats), pin a flower to a lapel, and calmly listen to the mother of the groom tell you how she would photograph the wedding (if she wasn't stuck in the wedding party) because she has the same camera you do.

You need to schmoose the hotel wedding coordinator, co market with the DJ, pass business cards to the florist and impress everyone you see. Clairvoyance would be so helpful to know what equipment will break (such as when your flash doesn't fire as the bride walks down the isle with her father) so instead you bring 2 of everything and pray nothing gets stolen.

You need to know everything, be everywhere, help everyone and never, ever loose your composure. Ah, yes. The many joy's of photography.

But then you get that one shot; that one image that magically tells a story, takes your breath away, and everything else is forgotten. You filled that "photographer's need" and already you are thinking of getting your next "fix".

As I prepared to leave the reception the bride huged me, the groom lifted me off the floor while thanking me, the mother of the groom told me how impressed she was, the maid of honor asked me to shoot her wedding and the bride and groom want a photo with me to include in their album.

This is what it's all about: making a difference, being a part of a momentous day, freezing time and, most importantly, creating art that is a small part of your soul.

Photography is a chaotic, whirlwind unpredictable job and I wouldn't give it up for a moment. I'm still relatively new at this and learn valuable lessons with every event I shoot.

If only I could send this letter to myself 5 years ago to help me prepare for what was to come them maybe I would have brought my cell phone with me that day (since 75 year old hotel elevators don't have phones in them). Meanwhile I will learn by doing, share my successes and failures, and perhaps help someone else's journey into photography be a little bit easier.