In photography, it’s important to know your strengths and carve a niche
for yourself. There are so many areas to choose from; nature/wildlife,
fashion, portraits etc. One may not be so lucky to be well versed in
all, but one area I have become weary of is wedding photography.There is
absolutely nothing wrong with wedding photography. In fact, it’s one of
the biggest money making areas in photography in Nigeria. It’s a
beautiful day where two people declare their love for each other, and
wouldn’t it be awesome to capture those priceless moments? However, thus
far, I haven’t been having too much fun at it.
I remember one time I went along to do
wedding prep pictures for a friend’s sister who was getting married. I
was as eager as a beaver, and on getting there she was already getting
her makeup done by a lady who can only be described as the most
cantankerous makeup artist in all the land. As I was trying to get my
shots, I noticed the bride was not smiling whatsoever. Reason; she did
not like the make up at all and the makeup artist wasn’t trying to hear
that.
All this time, I thought that when you
paid a makeup artist, they were meant to give you what you wanted and
not paint your face anyhow they like. Well, that’s exactly what this
particular lady did. Naturally an argument ensued and she accused the
bride of not wanting to look like Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj!!
Really? For a bride? Who was this woman? Suffice it to say the bride was
not happy at all and the makeup artist stormed out leaving the bride in
the lurch. I thought I was in the middle of a Mexican soap opera. Could
this really be happening? If looks could kill, the bride would have
been convicted of murder!
Another time, I was at a wedding
reception and typically, during the reception party, we go around trying
to capture golden moments of the guests having a good time. There was
this particular “couple” who were grooving and having fun, really doing
the Azonto justice and I thought; what a nice shot! As I looked through
my view finder and focused, I noticed the guy was wagging his finger
incessantly meaning “NO PICTURE”. I decided to move on, maybe after a
few drinks he may be more receptive because I could see the woman was
already smiling for the camera. Also my Lagos people like to front,
sometimes you have to give them time to warm up to the camera (unless
they crashed the wedding and didn’t want any evidence)
An hour later, I saw them grooving and
getting cozy, it was such a pretty picture, this guy doesn’t know what
he is missing! I was quick; I got my shot and moved to another part of
the hall. By the end of the evening, I was already on my way out when
the guy came up to me and demanded to see the picture. Because that
wasn’t such a strange request, I showed it to him and he asked me to
delete it immediately. I was surprised, it was a nice shot, they looked
great together, and I told him it was lovely but he wasn’t having it. He
made a few subtle threats so I deleted it straight away. I was annoyed.
I felt “chanced” and harassed! What was the big deal? As he walked
towards the parking lot to his car, he removed something from his pocket
and slowly slid it onto his finger, it was a wedding band!
These are not enough reason for me to
totally run from wedding photography because surely, not every MUA is a
witch and not every married man will be moonlighting as a single “awon
boys” at receptions! Therefore, I will keep an open mind!
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