Weddings and funerals

People tend to be at their best-worst behaviour at weddings and funerals. These two major life events bring out the best in us. We dress up nicely, and feel more or less obligated to attend the event, even for any far removed half-relatives. Under those nice layers of designer fabrics we come armed with self-centered expectations. Expectations of how it should be in case of weddings, and usually how it should have been in case of funerals. “It” being the life of the deceased, or newly-wed couple. What a way to celebrate the start, or end, of (married) life.

As a professional photographer, I do attend the occasional wedding or two. Most wedding invites I get come with a little handwritten “PS” – “you’ll bring your camera, right?”. Sure. Sometimes I even get paid, which is nice since getting paid for my work funds a large portion of my commercial activities. Gear doesn’t come cheap, and while “exposure” is nice, it doesn’t pay my bills. Regardless, my unsolicited advice to any couple tha…