Photo of the Day


Pool Party

July 6, 2018

By Jacqueline Tobin

Photo © Vik Photography

Couple Genevieve and Ben had told Vik of Vik Photography that they were not too concerned with having portraits of themselves—but they did want something cool shot with his drone. The day before the wedding, Vik checked out what the venue, the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club, had to offer, flying his drone to scout the property. That helped, he says, but he still wasn’t sure how he’d cleverly incorporate the entire wedding party—32 people in all, the largest Vik’s ever photographed—into one frame, especially when he knew the timeline on the following day would only give him 10 minutes to do so.

The next day, after the ceremony, it was time. “I was starting to feel the pressure,” Vik recalls, “but then I looked over to the side of the pool and I counted exactly 32 chairs. It could not have been more perfect! Commencing countdown, engines on!” He told the party to alternate between bridesmaid and groomsmen to create a little more visual interest, and had the bride and groom front and center holding hands.

“I go to connect Jordan”—Vik’s name for his drone—”but he’s not cooperating. I mess around with him for a few minutes, playing with the settings and trying to keep my calm, but there’s still no connection. I can hear the wedding party going, ‘Is it working?’ ‘Can we drink yet?’ ‘What’s going on?’ I felt myself freezing up, so I had to leave the scene completely for a few minutes. I took a few deep breaths, started and restarted Jordan a few times, and after about 5 minutes that felt like 20 minutes, he finally gained signal!”

Vik bolted back to the pool and set his drone about 120 yards up, coaxed it down to about 90 yards and captured this frame. “Roundtrip, he was safely back on ground in 6 minutes,” Vik says. “The symmetry from the pool lanes, lounge chairs and a very stylish wedding party, along with the most chill couple, made this image possible.”

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email submissions to rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com.