OK, so not everyone loves the jumping wedding picture. I only do it if the couple wants it, but many do. It's a fun way to display the joy that a newly married couple feel once they have completed their ceremony. It always brings smiles to everyone involved. Why don't some people like it? Jumping photos are seen by some as a so-called cliché shot or corny. My feeling is that it's really about what the couple wants and not what other people think. This is pretty much how we run our San Francisco City Hall photography business, we focus on what our couples want and request. We don't care so about popular trends or typical photos. For this particular image, the couple was the one that suggested the jumping shot. They just really wanted to jump! I think you can see from the photo, that they got some pretty good air. The hardest thing about this shot is always the timing. For the best wedding picture possible, it's fun to get both bride and groom near the top of their jump and side by side. This takes some coordination and also a little bit of luck. But in this picture, we managed to get the timing down perfectly. I think it helps to have the couple count down the timing of the jump instead of us. It worked quite well in this particular case. Plus we had a particularly high jumping bride so hang time plays a significant role. One thing I always think about when deciding on whether to do a certain picture is how will people react to it. In this particular case, I know that seeing a jumping shot like this always invokes a smile. So corny or not, we think it's a good image to include in the couple's wedding portfolio, but only if they want it of course.
This photo was taken at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California
Exchanging Rings during another great City Hall Wedding Ceremony
Bride and Groom kiss on the Mayor's Balcony at San Francisco City Hall
