Scene Setters Overview
When you first get the fever for getting those amazing reaction shots, the tendency is to look hard for the nuance, the emotion, and the story that plays out on your subjects’ faces. But don’t forget the forest for the trees. Your job is to tell the whole story. And a huge part of that is capturing the big and the small. Let’s talk about the big this week.
It’s called the Scene Setter. You MUST show the location at every event you shoot. This is not a suggestion. Here are five scene setters from a wedding weekend in Nashville.
The Rehearsal Dinner. Sometimes you can get there before any guests arrive, and if so, do it.
The Rehearsal After Party at Robert’s Western World, a Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville. Keep your eyes open for cool location signs. The Honky Tonk was shoulder-to-shoulder inside which did not lend itself to a great SS. The sign shot became a better Scene Setter in the album.
The Ceremony. My buddy Kyle shot this one for me. The Scene Setter is one of the few times I pull out the fisheye.
The Reception at Cheekwood. This may be my favorite Scene Setter shot ever, just because of the way everything played so well together. It was a gorgeous night in early October–a clear top on the tent allowed us to capture that cobalt blue sky as sunset faded; magnificent trees lit by flood lights; spot lights highlighting each table; pink balls (what the heck do you call those?! that destroyed the eloquence of the narrative!); and a sit-down dinner. I’ll explain why that is important later this week.
My friend Jammey made the trek to Nashville to shoot this one with me. Thanks again, Jammey!
The Day After Brunch. This is the Father-of-the-Bride’s home.
I’ll explore the technique of the Scene Setter later this week.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The next moment the day became very bothering indeed, because Pooh was so busy not looking where he was going that he stepped on a piece of the Forest which had been left out by mistake.” - Pooh, A. A. Milne
Tags: cheekwood, cheekwood wedding reception, nashville wedding photography, roberts western world, scene setters, wedding photojournalism