This fun couple had an amazing day at San Francisco city hall during their wedding photography session. We took them throughout the building and then returned to the location of their ceremony for some additional pictures. This rare overhead view was taking from the 3rd floor down to the second. Fantastic angle to capture the love between this newly married couple. It is the type of angle that is only possible at a place like SF City Hall. We have been shooting weddings in this building for over 12 years and I still find new locations and angles that I had not previously thought of. That is one of the beauties of photographing weddings in this building. There are so many different rooms and views to take in, you almost never run out of places to take wedding pictures. Just about any of the regular San Francisco city hall wedding photographers will tell you that this is true for them as well.
That is one of the fun things about photographing weddings here, it never gets boring. Part of the challenge is finding new places to bring our newlyweds and I am always trying new lighting techniques and angles. The idea is to improve the professional lighting quality used to enhance the images. San Francisco city hall has beautiful natural light, but there are some places that really need additional lighting. We never give up trying to improve. In fact, just yesterday, I tried a new lighting set up on one of my across the building images. Instead of keeping my light with me, I put it close to the couple and fired it off from the other side of San Francisco city hall! It really worked well and created more dramatic images than I would otherwise obtain from this picture. We try to always supply one new angle or style for each San Francisco city hall wedding we photograph.
We are one of the few San Francisco city hall wedding photographers that use second shooters frequently. I would say that about 90% of the time I shoot with an assistant/second shooter. This benefits our brides and grooms in many ways. Without going into a very long list of why this is beneficial, I will just say that a picture like the one above during the ceremony would not be possible without a second shooter. There is not enough time during the short (4 minute) civil ceremony to move around and go to different spots. So having another person can be very helpful for situations like this. Here is another example of an image made possible by having a second wedding photographer. This photo was taken from up above the ceremony location looking down at the couple. Kind of a fun shot and an angle you don't often see. I feel like this image captures the bride's expression like no other angle would have. Let me know if you agree! The other huge advantage of working with an assistant is that she can direct the couple how to pose from across the building. It makes easier to obtain great photos if we can more easily communicate with our couples. Having an assistant on the spot really helps that.
