Tales of a Super Hero Pro Wedding Photographer

by Bill Collins

Copyright John William Collins 2014









































I dedicate this book to my wife, Sue, whom I love dearly, as much as life itself.

And to the memory of my mother, Oma Richie Collins, who made the world a better place to live while she was here.  As sweet a woman as you'll ever meet.

Bill
 




Index  (all page numbers are approximate)

Chapter One:  The Early Years of Shooting Film     Page 5

Chapter Two:  Oh,  What I've Seen.....Page 22

Chapter Three:  To Small Claims Court We Go...My Dirty Laundry.....Page 49

Chapter Four:  Recalling Experiences     Page 77

Chapter Five:  Going Digital     Page 88

Chapter Six:  This Is The End, Time To Retire     Page 111

Chapter Seven:  My Master Wedding Post List.....Page 117

Chapter Eight:  Testimonials From Wedding Assignment Report Cards.....Page 122

Chapter Nine:  ProWeddingPhotos.com's About Me Page.....Page 141

Chapter Ten: ProWeddingPhotos.com's FAQ Page.....Page 147

Chapter Eleven:  14 Web Site Articles I Wrote.....Page 151

Chapter Twelve:  Catholic News Service Nationwide Article at Bill Collins.....Page 160

Chapter Thirteen: Listing of all wedding dates booked from 2006 thru 2010.....Page 163
 
 
 
Chapter One


INTRO:  Buckle up your seat belts.  We are off on a wild ride down memory lane through my world as a professional wedding photographer for about 45 years.  Very few people ever get a peek into what we see, do and encounter in carrying out our wedding assignments over the years.  I'm inviting you to enjoy just such a peek into my world and to see it through my eyes.

My Dad, Cy Collins, of Connersville, IN., was a most creative part time photographer when I was growing up. He was a tool and die rebuilder\repairman for Stants Manufacturing Company and an extremely good wood carver, too. When I was growing up, my bedroom windows were covered over on the outside with thick black tar paper and was pitch black inside when the light were turned off.  Dad used my bedroom as his darkroom to develop and print the photos he took.  (I grew up never afraid of being in the dark!)  I was never nearly as creative as my Dad was.  I became an accomplished photographer and was techniquely spot on in all I did, but not anywhere as creative as Dad was.

In Dad's day and age, during the 1940's and 50's, people didn't hire photographers to go to the church to photograph their weddings.  At best, they would stop by our house following the ceremony and have a couple of photos taken of themselves in their wedding attire.