Sarah & Michael's Wedding at The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club

Saturday was Sarah And Michael's wedding which took place at The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club.

The weather was warm (90) but because it was next to the water the temp was probably closer to 80. Sarah has three sisters who were all very nice and helpful. Kristy, especially, was very helpful to me. Britney, the MOH was a lot of fun and a very good friend to Sarah. Mike's sister Heather and friend Leslie were also wonderful. I enjoyed them all.

I started the photography at Sarah's parents house (which was beautiful) where she got dressed and we did a few pics outside in front before leaving.

The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club is by far my favorite location for weddings. The scenic images are beautiful, the sunsets spectacular and the staff is the best around.

We arrived at 4:30, got some pre-ceremony pictures of Sarah and her bridesmaids as well as family and the the same with the guys. This is very important as there just is not enough time to do all the pictures after the ceremony. The picture windows are small and you have to be able to work fast. There is no time to hesitate. You need to know exactly what you want to do and be able to adjust on the fly. Now the setting is beautiful and it was a beautiful sunny clear day. Perfect for weddings. But, as a photographer, photographing people, the sun can be very challenging. If I put them in the shade I lose the beautiful setting with water as a backdrop. Out in the sun I have exposure issues and sometimes people squinting. So, I shot it both ways as compromise to myself. I shot some in the shade and some out in the sun. I use my Quantum flash when needed in the sun. This helps balance the light. I shoot down and at an angle and sometimes use a gobo to prevent flare. Also, I like to keep changing spots to keep things interesting. Variety is the spice in photography as in life.

The ceremony was facing the water so again the sun was in our face. I moved as much as possible and even found objects and people to use as a gobo. But mainly just get a good angle and some height.

After the ceremony we went directly onto the beach for formals. Again, we are shooting into the sun. But, I like the backlighting and I used my step ladder to get some height and angle the best I could to avoid lens fare. I didn't have a gobo handy. I used a flash to balance light. It worked fine.

The sunset was beautiful. There was some clouds that came in a little so it ended pretty fast. As usual many guest came outside for the sunset picture opportunity.

My equipment: Canon 5D Mark II with a 24/70 2.8 lens, Canon 1D Mark III with a 70/200 2.8 IS lens. A Canon 1D mark II and another 5D with a 17/40 lens.

Images copyright 2009 Larry Huffman Photography
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