Does Wedding Photography prepare you for Sports?

I think so. Well maybe..kind of? On Saturday night I had the chance to prove this. This weekend I was asked to volunteer to photograph the new Richmond Raiders Arena Football team. They played their opening exhibition game at the Richmond Coliseum against the AIFA All-Stars. It was a great, great time to get a chance to meet the players, do their team photos, and be there on the sidelines photographing their game. I didn’t think the game would go well for them since they were playing a group of the best players from last year’s season. I thought wrong. They ended up winning 49-46.

If you don’t know anything about arena football, its the exact same as regular football with a couple of slight variations. The game is played on a 50 yard turf surface, with 8 players aside opposed to 11 players like you would see on a 100 yard field. All of the rules are the exact same, though.

So why do you think I would compare the coverage of a day of sports to a day of wedding? Many reasons. This story may amuse you, educate, and make you aware of what us multi-world photographers deal with.

So I showed up to the coliseum around 4:30..the game was scheduled to start its festivities at 7. When I arrived, I parked in the tunnel (first time ever, feelin like a big shot) and found where I needed to be. I went and checked in with the head office to find out what I was to do. Like many weddings, things were running behind. So for awhile, it was a lot of not much. Just preparation, hanging out and getting to know the lay of the land. We do this on wedding days when we show up a couple of hours in advance. Staff and everybody there were fumbling around trying to get everything in line for the big kickoff. The team photos were supposed to be at 5:30 before the fans were aloud to enter the arena at 6 pm.

We always try to get the pre-wedding photos done before hand to save time or because its a need-to-get-done thing. Often times at weddings, the bride and her bridesmaids run a bit late getting ready. As did the cheerleaders, and players. When it was time for the players to warm up, we needed to get the photo done first. People (coaches) were getting upset because of lost time and because of time simply crunching down. So I did the Lady Raiders photo and then we nailed down the team photo for the Raiders. They got their warm up in. The coaches were happy. (very similar to getting a brides photo done before all of the guests start arriving and her mother being happy) . So I was happy.

Then the calm before the storm, like the time before a ceremony starts. Everybody is arriving, getting their seats, teams are in their respective locker rooms, the lights are going low. Then the ceremonies begin. The music is loud, everybody is cheering, and the only lights in the room are spot lights. The opposing team in introduced. Then the lady Raiders are introduced and line up..then the pyrotechnics begin and the Raiders introductions begin.

Following the intro’s, the National Anthem is sung. Then a prayer is given (first time I have ever seen at a pro sports game). Then game time. The main event. It was awesome..it was loud..I would suggest for anybody who is a football fan in Richmond to go to one. Its great because college games are over, and the pro’s are coming to an end. Its there to fill our football void in the off season. But everything was awesome. It was everything it could have been. I also have to give a shout out to the Henrico High School marching band. They played at half time and were amazing. Here are some of the photos of the day..