Trouble in Paris.

Have you ever been to The Louvre in Paris? It’s a magical place. The Mona Lisa is housed there, and without a doubt it’s the biggest pull to the museum. If you have never seen the museum, you are sure to see parts of it on the big screen soon in The DaVinci Code.

The last time I was in Paris I was working. I had just shot a wedding three days earlier in Houston, and then I traveled with my clients to Paris during their honeymoon. Yes, their honeymoon. They brought their wedding dress and tuxedo, and I was commissioned to photograph the couple in both Paris and Versailles. Now, I know it sounds funny to have your photographer come with you on your honeymoon, but think about it for a second. The bride gets to wear her dress again, and you are more than likely going to end up with images that are out of this world, rather than a tourist shot.

There is a large courtyard at The Louvre, and on this courtyard are three glass pyramids. The largest is in the center, and is the entrance into the museum. Naturally the entrance is packed with people, so I decided to shoot in the back of the courtyard away from all of the tourists.

The courtyard is lined with these tall European lampposts, and they were calling my name. I had my couple just get comfortable on one of the posts, and I picked up my camera and started shooting. I wasn’t more than five shots into the session when I noticed something in my background. I peered from behind my camera to find four security guards headed my way! Yikes!

I started shooting like crazy. Closer and closer the security guards came. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a blank memory card for my camera, so if they asked for my “film” I could give them a blank card and keep my images. It was explained that professional photography was not allowed on the grounds, and that we were to leave….. now. They were actually very nice about the entire thing, and as it turns out, I was allowed to keep my images and I got the shot.

So, I handed my tripod and bag to the groom and we began walking out. I had the groom walk in front of us, I was second in line, and the Bride was third. I then put my camera on what I like to call idiot proof mode (a.k.a. automatic). The three of us had traveled from the other side of the planet to get shots in Paris, and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. Walking backwards, I held my camera chest high, aimed in the general direction of my bride, and held down the shutter release. The camera was happily clicking away, focusing on its own, and the three of us kept walking. By the time we were out of the courtyard I had filled up a 2 gig memory card with 100 14 mega pixel exposures.

I had no idea what I had on that card, but I was like a kid in a candy store! I had just gotten kicked out of The Louvre and I still had my images! I wanted the shoot to be over right there so I could look at what I had just captured. At that point though we still had about an hour of daylight left. We all jumped back into the limo that I had rented for the evening for my clients and I, and we were off to the next location that I had scouted out the day before.

Once the shoot was over I hurried back to my hotel room and I immediately began downloading my images onto my 12” Power Book. It was dificult, but I forced myself to back up all of the work before I began looking at the images.

Image after image was garbage. I had cut off her head, or the camera hadn’t focused quickly enough, or the composition was wrong because the focal length was set incorrectly. But then, I found it. One image that just sang out to me! It was perfect! My bride was smiling, the wind was blowing. The sky was beautiful and warm due to the setting sun. There was a tourist in the background, but a bit of Photoshop would fix that right up.

Aric
Houston Wedding Photographer

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P.S. Are you serious about photography at your wedding? Is photography the most important item on your "to do list"? Are you going somewhere exotic on your honeymoon? Take a moment and try to envision what your pictures will look like when you return home. Will your images look as good as these?