BF Stop 2

by Cameron Ingalls
I shot a wedding in Lemoore last weekend. To say it kindly, Lemoore isn’t one of the Top 10 Most Desirable California Wedding Locations. However, I am always down for the challenge. Some of my favorite pictures have come out of a wedding I shot in Bakersfield earlier this year so I have learned to never underestimate a location and especially to never underestimate a couple.

Places like Lemoore force me to throw out my bag of comfortable photography techniques and to use my God given creativity. When there is no trees-lit-on-fire-by-the-sunset-backdrop to shoot the couple in front of I am simply out of my comfort zone. I have to think. I squirm and sweat, but I think hard and try whatever idea I can come up with on the spot.

One thing I am starting to do more is what I like to call ‘pre-scout’. It is especially necessary when I’m not sure that I can rely on the beauty of the natural surroundings nearby wherever the bride is getting ready. It is kinda like ’Getting Lost’ but I tend to pre-scout just before the wedding especially when it is out of town and at an unknown venue.

We arrived to Lemoore exactly a half an hour early. We drove straight to the hotel where the Bride and her maids were preparing. As we got closer to the hotel I peeled my eyes back and examined every side street and building that we passed. And then I saw it. A roll-up door covered in a spray painted American Flag mural. I immediately thought it might work simply because the groom is in the service.

We drove past the fence that stated ‘No Trespassing’ to check things out. It happened to be a high school maintenance yard. In situations like this, it is better sometimes to check in at the pre-scouted location before you drag the bride into an uncomfortable law breaking scenario. We were immediately approached by some guy who asked us ‘Can I help you?’. I kindly introduced myself, explained our need for cool spots to shoot the Bride in about an hour, and told him how much I loved the American Flag roll-up door. He was thrilled to help out and asked if we wanted him to move the fork-lift that was parked in front. ‘Thank you very much,’ I exclaimed and just like that we had possible location #1!

After we parked at the hotel we looked across the street to the dead field of grass and a random row of a dozen 100 foot tall trees. We decided we could take the girls there first and hit the American Flag on our way to the venue where we had to meet the guys for groomsmen shots. It felt good to have a plan!

The wedding turned out to be at a complete oasis in the middle of the desert of Lemoore. The venue had an old stone barn and a saloon surrounded by tall green trees and a peaceful pond full of ducks. It was a great place to photograph the couple as well as the bridal party. In the end I had my back-lit-on-fire-trees for a backdrop, but I also had some random slightly creative shots of an otherwise ugly flag painted roll-up door. It’s all about the art of pre-scouting!

[Cameron Ingalls, Inc. California Real Life Wedding Photographer](http://cameroningalls.com/)