Hey, Bill …
I thought you’d get a kick out of this. I shot a wedding for a really nice girl, great location, gorgeous sunset, the couple was portfolio-quality.
Anyway, there was this guy that kept getting in my way. You know the type. Anyway, he sends me an email after the wedding. I thought you’d enjoy reading his email, and my reply.
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Mr. David XXXXXX
I wanted to write a note to you expressing how nice it was to meet you last Saturday at my niece Ashley’s wedding. It was truly a spectacular day.
I know there were a lot of people there, and most of us were total strangers to you, but I’m hoping that you will remember me – I am a photographer, and I was also taking pictures of the wedding party.
I wanted to help you with something. I noticed you had a large Tupperware-type device on your flash, and it was pointed up. I did some research on the internet, and determined that this is manufactured by a man named Fong, and is called the Lightsphere. When I asked you about it, I could not understand your answer as you talked into the back of your camera. Granted, I asked during the bouquet toss, which was perhaps a bad time.
Anyway, I wanted to point out that the Lightsphere should be pointed forward towards the people, not straight up into the air like yours was. I didn’t want you to continue making that mistake at future weddings.
I look forward to seeing the pictures you took, and comparing them to my own.
Yours,
Robert Zasiago
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And my reply:
Mr. Zasiago,
Thank you for your email.
Yes, I do remember you quite well. You were difficult to miss, as you seemed to always be in front of me when I was trying to photograph your niece.
Unfortunately, you are also difficult to forget, because the back of your head is now showing up in many of my photographs as I do post-processing on the photos from the wedding.
Yes, the plastic attachment is called a lightsphere, and it is useful at weddings when I do not have time to set up a light system. The reason it was pointed up was because I was bouncing the light off the ceiling to create a softer look for the photographs.
Good luck with your photography.
Yours,
David XXXXXX
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And he replied:
David,
I apologize for showing up in so many of your pictures. I thought that since you were a professional, you would be able to find an alternate angle to photograph from, since I took the easy location. That way we could (together) give Ashley the best possible coverage of her wedding.
Thank you for the clarification on bouncing the flash. I will have to get one of these and experiment for myself.
What is this “post-processing” you are talking about? When I take my pictures, I am done – I just print them out, and they’re good.
Yours,
Robert Zasiago
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My reply:
Mr. Zasiago,
Post-processing is the term that professional photographers use to explain the process whereby they go through all their shots, and pick out the best ones. We also adjust the color, contrast, saturation. We might crop photos to improve a shot. We might also add artistic effects to a photo.
Yours,
David XXXXXX
And I thought I was done with the guy … but I’m also doing Ashley’s cousin’s wedding this coming weekend – and a few other cousins in the weeks to come (it’s a big family, and a small town), and I fear this guy will show up at those weddings as well.
We’ll see.
Hope to see you soon,
Dave
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