Paris: Finally Finished (fingers crossed)

Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Hello hello.

We've had a fairly busy last 10 days, and after this evening I should comfortably be able to say that the Paris portion of the film is in the can (which is like 90% of it).

The ending was re-written and a B-story was added. Our first few days were spent re-shooting the ending with our lead actress, as she had another project to get to. I flew from San Francisco to New Jersey, then New Jersey to Paris... hopped on the RER train into Gentilly, met up with everyone here at the studio, had about 30 minutes to get settled, then we started rolling.

The remainder of the week we worked with our lead actor/writer (as well as a new actress) on the new side story. It was challenging.

A big problem with not having much of a budget is that we have to shoot where we can shoot. That means spending hours on crowded riverbanks - take after take - trying to avoid loud boats, loud people, rain, onlookers, lighting issues, potential security issues, etc.

One of our scenes took about 8 hours to wrap. The scene is only about 5 minutes long.

This scene is about 4 seconds long. Yet we needed 5 takes. I labeled the slate accordingly.

The majority of our people are now gone, leaving Keith and me here in this art studio on our own. We spent the last day and a half doing some much-needed sleeping in, some pub-drinking, some bicycle riding through the city, some wine drinking, some photography, and some Formula 1 race-watching. After our mini pizzas come out of the oven, we're gonna jump on the Metro with the RED camera and go film some establishing b-roll. Then tonight we pack up, and jet back to San Francisco tomorrow morning.

Band photo.

It's been a blast. At the start of 2013, I surely didn't see myself going to Paris this year... and definitely didn't see myself going twice. Now it has become a running joke that we'll all just be right back here in a another few months to film something else.

To my clients who have been patiently waiting on their wedding photos, thank you! I'll have them to you soon.

Enjoy some of these photos, and I'll see you guys back in the States in a couple of days.

-Clay

Out and about during Nuit Blanche. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Night Filming.

Keith and Kevin discuss... something.

This time Kevin brought a remote-controlled quad-copter for arial shots. We crashed it a lot.

...like this:

Sunrise shot.

My roommate. He watched me while I sleep across the room. Good guy.

Awkward filming moment. Barbara, Kevin, and... me (technically) in the back.

Planning an Affordable Wedding (and How to Waste Money Doing It)

Clay Lancaster - Wedding Photographer

Very few people go into their wedding planning thinking, "Man, let's see how much money we can blow!"... if you're one of the very lucky few that can think like that, then bravo, I guess.

For the rest of us, our budget is limited. Especially lately, as our economy slowly recovers and the unemployment rate seemingly improves at the same speed of which we've been able to stop the war overseas.

From experience, I've seen weddings done beautifully with budgets ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. A lot of these budgets are determined based on the bride and groom's level of expectations, and level of creativity.

What are the common elements that seem to eat up most of these pocketbooks?

• the venue
• the food and alcohol
• the flowers
• the photographer
• the DJ or band
• the dress
• the cake

Most of these are a given, in a sense. You need a venue, you want your guests to eat and drink, you want them to dance, you want the decor to look nice, you want to look nice, and you want the day captured so you can share and re-live the memories.

Of ALL of these items, the one I most often hear complaints about is the photography. Why? because once the wedding is over and done with, your photos are the only thing you have left over to remember this important day.

But why do these couples complain? Because they skimped on the photography portion of the budget.

For some reason in this country, most people refuse to spend money on artistic things. We (United States citizens) are so materialistic in our desires. We want immediate gratification from something we can touch, hold, use, etc. So when it comes to paying a photographer to take photos, many people think "oh, well I can take nice photos with my digital camera, and so can half of my guests... it can't be that difficult, so why should I blow so much money on it?'

And then they complain... either to other photographers like myself, or on something like Craigslist as they search for someone to re-take some photos in order to have something they can frame and display to their friends and family.

The reality is this: the $10,000 that you spent on dinner and alcohol for your 200 guests will be forgotten by bed time. The measly $1,000 that you budgeted on a photographer will give you mediocre results, which will be your only source of memories for the rest of your marriage.

Putting it like this makes it seem pretty obvious. Why spend so much of your budget on something temporary, and barely budget for your life-long keepsakes? It makes no sense.

Unfortunately, seeing that (hopefully) you'll only get married once, there really isn't an opportunity for someone to say "I told you so" and learn from the mistake.

As I recently read on the Denon & Doyle DJ website, "...your guests won't be saying 'that was the BEST chicken dinner I've ever had!' " Yet, so many couples spend most of their budget on exactly that. In reality, your guests would be happy with the simple beer & wine options, and enough decent food to keep them from going hungry all night. If you fear that your guests will be disappointed with a buffet and no mixed drinks to sip on, then maybe you need new guests. After all, they're supposed to be there to support you! Not to get a free meal at your expense.

With that said, you ultimately want a fun and memorable day, yes? And with all the planning and expenses that go into such an event, how are you going to document it? With a "budget" photographer? I don't know about you, but I have to wonder: what's the point in putting in all this effort and not even have proper photos of the fiasco?

Bottom line: Your photos are your main source of re-living and remembering the details of your wedding day. Food and drinks will be forgotten by you and all of your guests as soon as it's digested. Spend your precious budget on a venue that you love, a good DJ that will keep people dancing and having fun, and a photographer that can capture the event properly and get all those smiling faces and amazing poses.

Our revised budget list:

• the venue
• the photographer
• the music source
• everything else

Because honestly folks, some of the most fun and memorable weddings I've been to relied on simply beer, wine, and appetizers. The real magic was in the energy and atmosphere (thanks to the DJ), and the amazing photos that the couples were able to share were due to a good photographer.

Hope this puts things in perspective, and Happy Wedding Planning!

Being a San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer

We all gotta eat. California is an expensive state. Wedding sites like The Knot cost money to advertise, rent costs money... hell, even just driving over that Bay Bridge into San Francisco costs $6 if you go at the wrong times (I'm based in Walnut Creek, so I use that stupid bridge a lot).

That being said, it's all easier to deal with when you love what you do. Being a wedding photographer is not all fun and games, but I try to make it very close to that. The brides and grooms that I work with tend to pick me because of things we share in common (personality, sense of humor, music tastes, etc). 

There's like, 1.2 billion wedding photographers in the Bay Area... give or take a few... so I am grateful that many couples find me and see the difference in how I work and what I do to make their day more enjoyable.

Thank you to all the wonderful couples I've been able to work with, and to those of you still shopping around: Hi! I'm Clay. I run Lancaster Photography. Have a look :)