Sometimes a moment happens that is so powerful that it is simply an honor to have documented it. At this wedding at the Park Savoy in Florham Park, New Jersey, one such moment occurred and it was one of the most touching moments I’ve seen in a long time. The bride was getting ready before her wedding ceremony and she was surrounded by her family and friends while putting the finishing touches on her dress and veil. Her grandfather, who was seated nearby, was simply overwhelmed by the moment and briefly covered his face with his hands. I saw the action and reaction unfolding in front of me and knew that I had to act quickly to capture the moment in the best way possible, as unobtrusively as possible, and as beautifully as possible. I chose my Nikon 24-70mm lens because I knew it would allow me to quickly choose the perfect focal length for the final shot. I was ready at f/8.0, knowing that particular f-stop would get everyone in the frame in focus. Normally I don’t shoot preparation images at f/8.0 but I knew that would be necessary for the look of the image I was ready to take. I entered this image into the 2014 WPPI 16x20 International Print Competition in the Wedding Photojournalism category and was thrilled with my final score. More than that I was honestly most thrilled to have captured this image of the bride, her attendants, and her grandfather. That means more to me than any award or ribbon I could possibly win!Keywords: bride prep (83), current portfolio (75), Florham Park (20), Getting Ready (101), moment (253), new jersey (91), Park Savoy (20), wedding (1294). Filename: 04_reflections.JPG. 1/100; f/8.0; ISO 8000; 38.0 mm.
