Jewish Wedding with Scott A. Nelson

Working with Scott Nelson was an interesting experience. I say this because I am so used to working with the same wedding photographer. I almost forgot that there were other ones out there. After sending Scott an introduction letter and a couple follow up emails, I received an email from him asking me if I wanted to meet him at his office in Newport Beach. It was a nice office and it also doubles as a show room for clients.

It was a long conversation, then in the end, I was the one doing the talking, mostly about what I have been up to as far as working at the L.A. Lofts and working with other wedding photographers. Then, the million dollar question: “Would you like to assist me in a wedding this Saturday?” I said, “No I am not interested.” Duh!!! Of course I said yes. He agreed to pay me $250 for assisting in the wedding on Saturday. That definitely put a smile on my face. He filled me in on the details: a Jewish wedding at The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The ceremony was in the courtyard and the reception was in the ballroom.

We started off with the bride getting ready in the hotel room and shot some pictures of her in front of the window getting ready with her mom. And some of the groom getting ready next door. It isn’t a tradition in Jewish culture for the bride and groom to not see each other before the ceremony, but we still didn’t want them to see each other until the bride and groom shots were ready to be taken. It’s an interesting method; when they both see each other for the first time there is a certain reaction that you can not capture twice.

When we were done shooting them getting ready, it was time for portraits. We took the bride and groom seperately, and Scott and I put their backs to each other and let them turn around. The biggest smiles, the biggest hugs, and the longest kisses, we were able to capture it all thanks to 5 frames per second. After that, Scott told me that we were going to shoot them by the fountain in the courtyard. This was my time to shine. I knew the venue from when I assisted the magazine shoot with Patrick Dempsey, so I told Scott I had a better place to go. I pointed out the fountain in the front entrance. Scott loved the spot, the bride and groom loved the spot, and Jared scored some major points!!!

It was time to sign the Ketubah: a tradition that all the parents from both sides gather with the bride and groom to sign this circular piece of paper that will Jewishly bind them together. Scott and I took lots of pictures in there! After that, it was time for the ceremony. We shot every angle and every person that was crying. Time for the reception. This part felt like it lasted the longest. I turned into a human tripod with a flash attached to me. 45 degree angles, 90 degree angles, standing behind people to make a silhouette out of them.

Overall, the wedding went smoothly, the workflow was really easy to get used to, and Scott enjoyed working with me, so everyone was happy!

Here is the link to the wedding slideshow of pictures.