Mr. Oyster and I met in a photography class, and we're both photographers (I shoot portraits sometimes; my talented husband is a lifelong artist with a history of working with film; he also takes catalog-worthy photos of artwork). So for our "couples' portraits," we thought it might be fun to take some portraits with our cameras.
I brought my Nikon, and Mr. Oyster brought his brand new (but really old) Mamiya. This was probably the most fun part of the portrait session.
No matter how much I love my camera, I didn't realize until this moment that you cannot hold the camera to your eye without threatening to mess up your makeup and false eyelashes:
I'm not a super-photographer or anything (and definitely have no plans to get into weddings!), but I have always wanted a "bride with camera" shot. Very early in my wedding planning, I was inspired by this cool shot from photographer Justine Ungaro's wedding, shot by Greg Gibson. (I also really loved Justine's "Unbride" wedding blog when I was engaged.)
I don't even think I told my photographers about my secret little dream, and I still ended up with my own cool shot:
Holding the camera was a lot more natural to me than holding a bunch of flowers!
I also managed to take two shots of my own. I call these "the two Davids." One is my husband, and the other is the photographer:
(personal photos)
My husband took a shot or two himself, but can you believe -- he hasn't developed them yet!
We returned to the aforementioned restaurant, and walked around in the lobby as well. I think this one is my favorite "non-smiling" formal portrait:
I like this version, too. Mr. Oyster says he thinks he looks "goofy," but I like it, since we actually look at each other like this a lot of the time.
After our first look, Mr. Oyster didn't do anything dramatic, like burst into tears or anything. Much later, he told me what he'd been thinking. But at some point during the portraits, I said, "What do you think of my dress?" and he said, "I love it. It's like a creature." A creature?
He said he loved the way the dress moved around, with its shimmery fabric, especially since you couldn't see my feet. It looked like a creature. "Well, a beautiful creature," he said.
Even though I'd already had my bridal portraits, I'm so happy to have some images of me "on my wedding day." Here are my favorites:
(I like this photo because I look a lot like my dad in it):
Mr. Oyster's favorite photos of himself are the ones from different times, like before the photo session, but he takes a nice portrait, too:
This was really our only quiet time together all day. It was so nice to take portraits without anyone else around, and to just enjoy each other for a bit before the "wedding-ness" started.
*Photos, unless otherwise noted, by David Wittig Photography.
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