Jacqueline and Jonathan, Don CeSar Wedding

Since last Saturday's wedding was in the morning, I was able to head on over the Don CeSar that evening to help Kevin shoot Jackie and Jon's wedding. It was a full day of shooting, but at least I was beach-hopping.

We started out with Jackie and the girls in some of the lovely hallways around the hotel. Large windows provide very nice light for portraits here.

Kevin was using this hallway because of the great natural light. But as the second shooter, I didn't want to just add more of the same to their final set of images. Since Kevin was shooting soft available light, I toned my exposure down and brought in a flash to provide a different look.

While the ladies relaxed before the ceremony, we hung out with the guys in the main lobby. Again, Kevin was posing and shooting Jon in great natural light, so I used a flash to add some variety. This is a great benefit to having a package with two shooters.

A gust of wind helped add some interest to this photo. The sky reflecting in the window made a great complement to the pink walls.

Jackie and Jon pose by the big window.

Same deal as before. I shot natural light for a few minutes, but then wanted to switch things up a bit. I used a flash to overpower the ambient light. This helps to model her face a little bit and provide a bit more depth and contrast to the image. It also helps the pink color pop off the wall.

With Tampa Photo, you know it's only a matter of time until someone lays on the ground! In this shot, it's easy to see the difference the flash makes. To really draw your eye to Jackie, I underexposed the ambient light by a stop or two and allowed a narrow flash beam to properly expose the subject. Lots of folks would just add a vignette in Photoshop, but I prefer creating the images in the camera and getting it right the first time. This might be my favorite shot of the day.

Jackie has some fun hiding behind her veil.

This ballroom has a huge patio outside overlooking the Gulf. The timing worked out so that we could get some sunset shots in.

While Kevin continued to shoot he couple after the sun had gone down, I looked for another angle. Lots of folks were trying to get sunset shots, so moving to the side gave me more space and a unique composition.

30-40 minutes after sunset is when the sky really starts to get nice for photos.

I was playing around trying to handhold my camera at very slow shutter speeds to capture the look of the candles. When the glasses started chiming around the room I focused on the couple and waited for the kiss. 1/8 second is pretty slow without a tripod, but it came out nice. The candles provide a very soft and sensual mood that my flash would have just killed.

Whew, that was a long day, but I had a blast. It's always fun to second shoot with Kevin to see how well he interacts with the groups he shoots. Congratulations Jacqueline and Jonathan, on behalf of Tampa Photo!