Custom dies

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For a creative high I fervently recommend you sketch an object and have it made out of steel.

I designed the dies by importing Maggie's beautiful penmanship into Photoshop and sending the file to a foundry in NY. We're making a small collection of handmade books documenting the first year of life of a baby girl. We are backing silk with bookcloth and blind stamping the spines of the books and slipcase.

Oh Sh*t Moments: Episode 2

Wardrobe

The Benefits of Closure

These were not the sorts of groomsmen who hire a girl to unbutton her shirt in front of them. But here I stand. In a church courtyard, my blouse wide open, and five men in tuxedos smiling. They were not looking into my lenses. 

I unearthed today's oh sh*t moment from deep within the archives yet again. The year was 1995.  It was the second wedding I photographed for money ($500 including film, hand-processing and hand-printed contact sheets).

The week before the wedding I spent exactly 29.3 hours cleaning cameras, checking film, testing backup gear and exactly 12.5 seconds selecting my wedding uniform for the day.

I'm pretty sure I thought my outfit subtly said, "aw shucks I'm just a girl, with a nikon, some Tri-X and a 50mm lens". In reality, with all the gear and film slung around my neck (up to 7 cameras at one wedding, and all at one time), I could have been mistaken for a war photographer and not the poet-with-camera nymph I tried to project.

In a nutshell, I mixed too many cameras, each with their own strap and a shirt with as many buttons to recreate the ending of "The Full Monty-XX version."

Kids, don't mix baking soda and carbonated water.  Chics who click, don't wear button-front shirts while photographing a wedding if you're cup size is C or more. 

Lesson learned. No more undersized buttons on flimsy fabrics, No more stunned groomsmen. I'm so glad You Tube wasn't around back then. 

On occasion, however, I do surprise wedding planners by shooting weddings in high heels. Here's the thing...people just look better when photographed from a higher angle. Once, a well-known event planner (definition: she has her own TV show(s), books, and i'm sure a signature drink named after her by now) asked me to meet an adorable couple (they're writers and were/ are so delightful). The published writers said they'd be fine with using the photographer they worked with for their author photographs. "Look, she's a lovely woman (that's the planner, talking about the other photographer, not moi, thankfully), but she's short and her portraits and party photographs tend to be unflattering," Fortunately, they agreed to meet with me, regardless of the logic (it's true about the height thing btw), they liked my work and hired me. 

YOWZER. So unless you're a dude, already north of 5' 6" or have one of those rare personalities where you actually seem taller than you are, consider the high-heel strategy. But consider yourself warned, you must practice walking, running (forwards & backwards), bending and jumping before you sport high-heels while covering a wedding. *hint: change into different shoes, any shoes, once the dancing starts. Simply changing shoes, high-heeled or flat, will shift how you carry your weight and you'll instantly feel better. 

I have additional wardrobe advice on the way. I'm curating a wedding photographers uniform collection for TARGET (ok, the Target part is not true, but a cool idea). The collection has affordable, comfortable and chic outfits perfect for wedding photographers who are tired of being mistaken for the hotel staff. I have some "yeahs" and "nays" for men and women (i.e. vests for men-nay, you look like a waiter, but for women yes! the vests from H&M have a corset effect and I have test-driven the buttons). Be on the lookout for the post later this week.

In the meantime, if your a professional wedding photographer, call your accountant. You can actually write-off your clothes as wardrobe, but there are some rules (like you can only wear the clothes while on the job, so I reccomend you carry you're camera everywhere). 

Thanks for reading and if you're a wedding photographer, please have someone take a full-length picture of you on your next assignment. I have an idea... missy@missymclamb.com

 

photograph: Getty Images

 

 

 

"Oh Sh*t Moments...": Episode 1

 
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The Key Problem.

This is dangerous.

Just thinking about the close-calls, snafus and freaky accidents from 15 years of photographing weddings tempts fate. And whatever force (as in photographer fairies, intuition, organization or maybe string theory) keeps me from double-booking a date, breaking an appendage or losing an eye, I thank it in advance. 

This one happened pretty early on, I think it was 1997. The wedding was Orange United Methodist Church and the reception was at The Carolina Inn, both in Chapel Hill. I photographed the preparations, ceremony and blazed through the shot list after the ceremony. Within 20 minutes everyone, including the newly betrothed couple, had left the church and were in route to the reception. 

These were the years I rarely used an assistant and although it took less than 10 minutes to prostrate and pack up the lights, everyone vacated the church before I finished.  And not just the sanctuary, the entire premises. The church lady, the maintenance man, all gone.

My Volkswagen was the only car in the parking lot, and I was the only human inside. Looking back I'm sure God was there, seeing as (*spoiler alert) he soon found me in peril and sent an angel (foreshadowing) to my rescue. 

Dripping with cameras and bags I walked to my car and plunged my hands into one of the bags to retrieve my keys. I moved swiftly, but I still had at least 20-30 minutes before the bride and groom made their entrance into the reception and the Carolina Inn was less than 5 miles away.

"not in that bag (inner monologue) ...or that one...or...shit, where are they....and if I can't find them what-in-all-that-is-holy am I going to do?"

"oh, THAT'S RIGHT."  I set them down in the parlor during the preparations for some weird reason.

I dashed back inside he church, up the sanctuary aisle and into the parlor. "I remember setting the keys down on the side table next to the couch that, considering it's fabric, was older than me.  "ugh...they GONE!!

"How am I going to get to the reception?"

"What if I can't get there!!"

Much in the way, I expect the mind scans vignettes of your life when you're about to die, my brain sifted through dozens of options. "Schelp to the highway and flag down a car? Or maybe I should phone Rod, my husband, who, by this time, was at home in Raleigh downing his third or fourth beer with his buddy Clay.  All of these options, however, had some serious downsides, least of which was missing the entrance, first dances, speeches and, "oh my God, what if I miss the entire reception!!"

Adrenalin shot to my brain, my knees buckled and my hands began to fold in prayer....and just then...

He heard me and within seconds, my angel appeared, holding a vacuum cleaner and speaking little English.

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"HALLELUJIAH!!" He may not have wings, but he had a car. Apparently, God sends angels to clean his houses and to rescue stranded wedding photographers.

"Please, please, if you drive me to the Carolina Inn right now, with no questions, I'll pay you $30 dolores!!"

And for the first, and I assume last time in my career, I was chauffeured to the reception, not in a limousine along with the bride and groom by a professional driver, but in a lo-rider Nissan blasting mariachi music driven by an angel.

*later that night my keys returend by a well-meaning uncle who collected them thinking someone had left them. Please, if you find yourself in a church, at a wedding and you see keys, LEAVE THEM THERE, most likely someone will need them there and not in your tuxedo!

photograph i: John Caserta | adjunct professor | RISD | John is available for assignments through the MISSY MCLAMB AGENCY. To view and purchase more of John's photographs, products and artwork visit www.johncaserta.com. He's a helluva a friend, designer and teacher. His key photograph was part of his project while on the Fulbright Scholarhship and was photographed in Montenero, Italy

photograh ii: Andrea Zanchi. I don't know Andrea personally but her work is lovely and you can see more at http://www.sullastrada.net/.

P.S. Much in the way an experienced carpenter outlines his tools on a cork board and he returns them to their proper spot after each use, since that day, I too have only one place where my keys are stowed while photographing a wedding. Always, always in the right front pouch of my Billingham camera bag (only themost beautifully functional camera bags on the planet: http://www.billingham.co.uk/pages/index.php

And much like feeding Gremlins after midnight, this rule is NEVER to be broken.

 

Slurpy Collard Greens and a Party Under the Moon

Dance

The Culp family of High Point, NC threw a big, fun wedding where in one day the guests peacefully witnessed the commitment of Lee and Matt from inside the adorable Village Chapel in Pinehurst, NC then spent the evening partying with abandon thanks to the musical talents of a band so energetic and sexy I think I actually saw drool dripping from the mouths of some of the guests.

If I had not worked with them before, I would have bet my paycheck the band, PARTY UNDER THE MOON, was flown in from New York, as like many big New York Wedding bands they never took a break and every member looked, sounded and danced as if they had been groomed on Broadway.

Oh, and did I mention there was an after party complete with disco ball and Bojangles chicken biscuits? And then there were the collard greens. As I scooted to the buffet circa 10pm to grab a quick dinner I raised my eyebrow when Kenneth, the waiter at The Country Club of North Carolina, said, "have you tried the collard greens," the best you've ever had. That didn't mean too much to me, since the only collards I had before then (and I'm pretty sure turnips were involved) had the consistency and texture, of well, i hope you're not eating and reading, but they sorta reminded me of snot. But not these. The greens swam in a salty and flavorful broth without tasting soggy, they were nice and slurpy. 

As for the bride and groom. they are your run of the mill, tall, gorgeous and brilliant folk. Lee is a equal parts Nicole Kidman, Brigitte Bardot and Julianne Moore. She has the sort of unaffected personality a woman acquires after spending her adolescence playing backyard football with boys who rarely noticed her lack of a Y chromosome, only to have her grow into the body of a model. Lee has a "presence," and while she's stunningly attractive, her warm demeanor and lack of pretense make her a magnet attracting smart, kind and fun friends. The guests at the wedding were a mixture of all ages, races and backgrounds. One minute I was chatting with a bridesmaid whose father is a famous political commentator and later in the evening I met a quiet, thoughtful friend of Matt's who embarks this on a career in the Army. Once you meet Lee's parents, it clear why she grew into a beautiful and charming woman. 

A few of the images from the wedding day from my digital cameras. As always I have sent over a dozen of medium format rolls of film to my lab in NYC and will continue to work on the edit over the next few weeks. I'll be adding some geek girl content in the caption of the images later this week for all you photographers.

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Two Captains Regent

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The family who hired me to photograph their daughter's wedding this past weekend was referred to me by a social event planning team, so chic and busy, they don't even have a website. Heck, I don't think they have an official company name, let alone a logo. And I would be shocked if any guest could pick them out of a lineup. Unless of course, they had worked with them for their own parties.  Lisa & Lucy, the aforementioned duo, are undoubtedly my favorite event planners ANYWHERE. Their reputation for helping clients create memorable, classic weddings void of hackneyed ideas and filled with sumptuous vittles and beautiful decor affords them the luxury to work only for those families whose values align with their own. Lisa, an itty-bitty dynamo with a closet I would like to be buried in, serves as the connector and ties the binds between her clients and the craftsmen hired for the event. With seemingly little effort, she will soothe a MOB if any hiccup develops, from an unexpected rainstorm to a bevy of streaking groomsmen (no worries, they were all in the wedding party and were ER doctors who, alas, were not on call.). Lucy has the calmest demeanor of any person, head-of-state or not. I've witnessed her employ only her soulful eyes and serene confidence to Jedi Mind Trick a party bus into turning a few feet as not to hit a neighbors azalea bushes. I searched through my entire edit to find pictures of her and she was always in the corner of the frame. I swear she floats instead of walks. 

Hilton Head has natives?

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Today, my assistant Jared ejected 15 rolls of medium format film from my toy cameras and shipped them to my lab in NYC (www.LTI-LIGHTSIDE.com) from a wedding I photographed this weekend in Hilton Head, SC for a family who has lived on the island since the children were toddling.  In the meantime,  I thought i'd post some images from my digital cameras (Leica M9 and Nikon D3). I mixed a small bit of narrative with technical stuff in the post. Thanks for reading.

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It's somewhat unnatural to connect with someone for months over text, email and phone for almost a year before you actually meet (esp. considering the last person I heard who did this, married the guy a few months after finally meeting). This however, was not a love match, this is how I met and corresponded with the bride and her family.  Cooper and her entire family are perhaps the most delightful and laid-back clients I have worked for. When God was handing out cards in the poker hand of her life, she took the pot. Beautiful, kind, wondrous and smart she defined the classic bride with an air of modernity. Think young Jackie O crossed with Zooey Daschanel. And her groom, how freakin cute is he! He has nodes of Peter Parker and the depth and wit of James Franco (and yes, he works in the wine industry...please send your complaints to Maggie for my lame references, remember I'm a photographer: maggie@missymclamb.com). 

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I'm from the "Zen and the Art of Wedding Photography" tribe (my apologies Mr. Pirsig) and while I plan, prepare and create a plan B (and C & D), once I'm documenting the day I prefer to only think about what's happening around me. But when the gospel choir processed behind  Cooper and Marc (FOB) singing "Oh, Happy Day," I almost became an observer and not a photographer. The goose bumps on my arms had taken over. I did grab some with my twin-lens Rollei and those images should be souping in the lab by this time tomorrow, can't wait. Cinematographer Beth Ely captured the wedding, and the choir on digital video with a wireless mic.

I've pretty much decided and do hereby request this choir sing at my funeral. I'll send over the sheet music to "You can't always get what you want," by the Rolling Stones (Beth, will you please record it and FTP it to me in... er um, i'll get back to you....later.....much....later).

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Women and wedding photographers love man who can dance. In 15 years as a wedding photographer, I have seen some very earnest, hysterical and memorable first dances. But when the man who possesses the gift of rhythm and allows his soul to escape through his feet, I am entertained.  All at once, Marc, Cooper's father, deftly held and briskly spun his daughter while her dress churned and whirled like a decadent souffle. Equally impressive, Cooper held tight and mirrored his steps with size 7 Manolo Blahnik's strapped to her feet (& no straps on the dress).
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I'm guessing the University of Virginia decided to move the date of graduation when they discovered a bevy of alumni who would be feting in Hilton Head. 

Circus flags crown the tent. Charming, whimsical and had the effect of adding about 25 feet to the height of the tent. Sort of like how the Empire State building is much bigger with it's spire and lights.

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Oye, the sendoff.... on a boat. No sweat. I've been impailed with birdseed, yanked flaming toilet paper from the getaway car  and withstood noismakers all the while running backwards in heels with a 12Mexapixel 11fps camera to my face. So a boat sendoff easy. Until I realized the boat really had sailed (ok, only a foot from the dock) and I had to get off and jump on the dock unless I wanted to spend the next week in Costa Rica with my newly betrothed clients. It was no Jason Bourne moment, but I did enjoy the adreneline rush of seeing water underneath as I jumped ship.

If you'd like to see some of the photographs from my toy cameras (and you've read this whole post, you are probablly entitled to so much more) let me know and I will post when Justin at my lab sends them via the interwebs.

Below is my oh so meta technical specs for how I photographed the day (AKA: the geeky stuff) Most of these images were captured with a Leica M9 with a Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 lens or a NIKON D3 and my beloved NIKON 50mm manaul f1.2 lens. I am a huge fan of prime lenses with wide apertures. And I shoot exclusively with manual focus lenses, not becuase I feel my PRO status requires me to do so, but I like the full control and happy accidents with manual lenses (theyre also made of metal, not plastic and glide much smoother. ***TIP be careful when shooting posed portraits at a wide aperture with a normal to long lens...if everyone is not on the same plane they won't all be sharp, which is fine, and often preferred to soften skin, but consider yourself warned. Stepping back a few feet does help since depth of field is partially determined by how far your subjects are from the lens. Lastly, prayer beads are handy when the rain clouds loom large just as the ceremony ends...wedding photographers know of which I speak... don't the clouds love to tease us just as the ceremony ends, forcing us to make a game-time decision on the location. Call it right and you have majestic light, guess wrong and you'll have lots of umbrella pictures of firing-squad portraits at the altar of a dimly-lit church. The Leica was definitely not intended for a Sports Illustrated photographer. The rangefinder focus is slow at first, but it definitely gets easier (fortunatley at weddings there's a lot of black jackets against white shirts so focus can be a snap-then again remember the shallow depth of field situation -see above). Also, I tend to keep my Nikon on single-servo mode (again, it's the "no, you are not shooting for the sports section" mode since you could hold down the shuter till tomorrow and it would still on take one frame. But it keeps me thinking. By the end of the night, however, when my ISO is cranked to 5000 (yes, the D3 can do this, and do this quite well) and shutter is below 1/15th of a second I'll often switch to contious shooting mode and fire away. I'm also a big fan of pulling out my hexar, throwing in some Ilford and it's tiny on-camera flash (it's tiny, pre iphone/ post brick phone days) so I recommend only using this tecnique when the subjects have angular faces and strong features that can "absorb" the burst of skinny, flat light. It will make the difference between a hip, sharp professional "snapshot" and a "yikes, he looks quite drunk," photograph.

Oil and Bra

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I photographed a wedding for the most delightful family this weekend. Not only did they lodge me and my crew at the cozy and beautiful resort (complete with soaking tubs, balconies and sleep mist at turn-down), they treated us as rock stars. Reality set in, however, as I was leaving the island and realized the oil in my jeep was older than my daughter, so I decided to pop into wal-mart and do some shopping while my oils and such were freshened up. I procured: $6 bikini, $3 candles, and a $5 Justin Beber poster (which alas, I somehow lost between here and there-i think my 7-year old neighbor in aisle 4 may now have it. Oh, and some bras (did pass on the "bootie spanxs" that promised saggy buns a lift.)

Always a fan of the idea that the quickest route is a straight line, I took my wears to the auto shop for checkout. I could not pas up the opportunity to photograph the mechanic checking out my bra.

It's the quirky, unexpected moments I attract and adore.

Franklin Street Studio Opens


Studio
Maggie Baker, my uber talented studio manager, and I have a production office as well as a daylight studio/ meeting space. The flow, verve and of course, the vittles make me very happy. My office is above Ham's Restaurant and houses the offices of a collection of other artists, including an architect, graphic designer and furniture designer.