Exposed: Confessions of a Wedding Photographer: A Memoir

by Claire Lewis

Once upon a time, Claire Lewis dreamed she would take her camera to war zones to document political upheavals and expose grave injustices. Fate led her elsewhere. And while she might not be on assignment for The New York Times, her current job carries its own dangers: Claire is a wedding photographer. Her world is populated by stressed-out brides and the mothers who reared them, grooms who seduce bridesmaids, brides who change their minds, pass out, or dance on tables in tiaras, and the occasional couple who are truly in love. If you told Claire that you thought being a wedding photographer was glamorous, chances are she'd laugh and give you a list of reasons why it is not glamorous. What it is is unpredictable, funny, demanding, moving, and full of spontaneous moments that cause one to question the nature of love and relationships. As Claire says, it's all that and it's never dull. What more could you ask for?

Told with great wit and exuberance, this memoir is a hilarious and touching account of one woman's adventures in a career that she never saw herself in, and of how she braved those waters while also managing to fall in love and have a wedding of her own. A delightful, insightful read, Exposed: Confessions of a Wedding Photographer will make you see weddings in a whole new light.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Photography, Biography, Art, Autobiography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2008

Reviews

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire Lewis is a wedding photographer and she takes you behind the scenes of her job. I liked her humor, wish there was more of it. One story was heartbreaking, it was near the beginning of the book and I almost did not want to read anymore but I keep going, happy I did. Overall a good but it is slow at times. It could be a quick read if you need it to be.

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever gone to a wedding and thought it would be kind of cool to be the wedding photographer? You might change your mind after reading this book. It doesnt sound like it is all fun and games. That said, the author sounds like she is good at what she does and she does it with some humor and a little psychiatry thrown in. A quick read.

[Julie Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of meeting the author, Claire Lewis, when David and I were in Sonoma County for our first anniversary. We were at a little wine shop in Cloverdale, CA and Claire's book was proudly displayed there. The book was already signed by her and I happily purchased it. The owner of the wine shop advised me that Claire was in town and she called her to come and see me. I wanted to meet Claire and chat about her book and her experiences with book publishing. I could not have met a nicer soul than Claire. She was so bright and bubbly and happy to come to see me. She signed a personal message in my book and we chatted for a while. Six years later, I was going through a box in my garage and it was filled with my books, one of which was Claire's, so I immediately put it in my stack to read (on the top of course). It was a very quick read with humor about weddings mostly and what a photographer experiences to shoot a wedding. She also peppers it with little stories about her personal life and how it mixes in with her clients and their special days. It's a quick read and quite an enjoyable one. I highly recommend it. Claire is very talented and truly a warm and welcoming individual.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for fun. :) I've always loved wedding stories, and this book had a lot of crazy stories. The author is a wedding photographer, and she shares some of her most memorable bridezilla stories. What I read from this is that she doesn't like weddings, or being a wedding photographer, it's just a job to her. She does mix in a few chapters of her life, for example, before she wanted to be a photographer, then her internship with a well-known photographer in NY, how she met her husband who was married to someone else at the time, their move to CA....those kinds of stories. Honestly, I wanted the read the wedding stories and I skimmed the other stories. :) If you like wedding stories and are inbetween some good books, it's not a bad book to read.

[Bunny · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about memoirs that involve fun and crazy workplace stories is how a good author can weave their personal life into stories about their work. Stories about dealing with their children turn to dealing with problem customers. Personal trauma can lead to glorious, tear inducing stories about making a customer's day the best day ever.

And Claire Lewis?

Does none of that.

More stories about her personal life than "confessions" about her work. And guess what? I didn't pick up this book to read about someone I've never heard of before's experiences getting married and having children. Nope. Don't care.

So, I give the handful of wedding stories 2 stars, because she comes off sounding like a snotty entitled bitch in all of them.

[Arwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this partly because I'm getting married in two weeks, but mostly because I know the author through a friend of the family. She's wonderful and so I hoped her book would be, too. And what a treat!

Exposed is a wonderful swirl of delicious guilty pleasures: crazy stories of lunatic brides and grooms mixed in with thoughtful meditations on art vs commerce and the fascinating life story of the author. I bought it because of Claire, but that's not why I read it through in one sitting! It's really a delightful, well-written read and a fascinating look at the back side of the wedding industry.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally like memoirs and learning about people's jobs and how they do them. This was more of a rant against wacka-a-doo weddings and how crazy a lot of people get when planning a wedding.

What I learned from this book: brides are insane, bridesmaids are bitchy, grooms are drunk, parents of brides and grooms are weird, and the author's husband left his wife of three months after meeting the author, having realized that she was his one and only. (Seriously, the chapters about her personal life seemed to belong to a whole other book.)

At least it was a fast read.

[Fran Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book , funny book about a wedding photographer.

[Jas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, light, fluffy read

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title pretty much sums up the book. Claire Lewis has been in the wedding photography business long enough to become jaded, but not so long as to become insufferably jaded. While not as "scandelous" as the title may suggest, Lewis includes plenty of stories of brides--and grooms, and guests, and family members--behaving badly. She does, however, compare them to her dream couples who share her wedding values, placing the people above the pomp. Lewis occasionally mentions her own history of love; as it is the weakest material, the underplaying of her own story is a smart move. A fun, fast read that may not change the world, but can pass a pleasant afternoon or two.

Again, if only there were half stars to award....

[Dana Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't laughed out loud like this in a long, long time. The author condensed 20+ years spent as a wedding photographer down to about 300 brilliant pages. Readers get up close and personal with the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the American wedding industry. Some of the stories were sweet and moving while others literally had me sitting with my mouth hanging all agog as whatever could go wrong did go wrong. Add in to the mix a healthy heaping of the author's life story and it makes for one really good read. I'd recommend it to anyone. Especially for those planning a wedding. Take heed my friends! :)

[JJ]

I actually caught Clair Lewis at Books Inc. in San Francisco right before she left. I had her sign my copy and look forward to reading her book. We've exchanged emails since I wanted her to see my photos on my website and she was kind enough to spend a few minutes and give me some words of encouragement.

I'm sure I'll breeze through this since I too have shot weddings and will expect to be enjoyed when reading this.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a wedding photographer and this book had me in tears laughing a few times. I wouldn't believe Lewis had I not witnessed bridal hysteria first hand. The dynamic between Lewis and her second shooter was really funny and I really enjoyed reading about the author's life. Her doubts and hard times are not unlike mine (or most photographer's who do this stuff for a living) and it was a really engaging read...and fast! Killed it in one day. Definitely a good beach read.

[Elaine Meszaros · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of teeth-grittingly awful stories make me so grateful I never became a wedding photographer. Jam-packed with horrendous Bridezillas, venomous mother-of-the-brides, gad-awful ministers and other fiascos Exposed will make even the most painful wedding seem a painful pleasure cruise in comparison. There are a few stories of wonderful couples and their perfect day, but for the most part Lewis trots are here worst and dimmest. A delightful guilty pleasure of a read.

[Hallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really easy, entertaining (in a good way) read - I finished this in just a few hours. The author does a really good job of mixing up the chapters of the book to intersperse anecdotes of some of the more entertaining, drama-filled weddings with some sweet ones, takes you a little bit behind the scenes on the conversations with her assistant, and also provides history about herself and how she found herself in the business. Good light fun for an afternoon.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exposed: Confessions of a Wedding Photographer, was a hilarious read - part memoir, part funny stories from years of photographing weddings.

I'm currently in the mists of booking vendors for my May 2010 wedding. This book was a great read to keep me laughing about it all.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book and wish Claire Lewis has written other books.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

+ I am obviously on a memoir kick and this is the 2nd one in a row that I'm giving 5 stars to!! Such a quick read, but I loved each chapter!
+ I loved how the author wrote about her personal life every other chapter, and then about different weddings. I literally LOLed at some of the stories!! So funny.
+ Sarah, the photographer's assistant, was my favorite. She cracked me up!

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow....Loved this one so much. I am addicted to the behind the scenes and what really goes on in jobs like this. Brides are ca-ray-z. And Exposed shows just how crazy they can be!

Reading this memoir also makes me wish I was having my wedding in California so I could have Claire Lewis do my pictures!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea why I chose this book as I am not sentimental about weddings or even interested in them. I guess it was because it is the memoir of a photographer. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Claire Lewis' book which is full of quirky people, some nice and some not so nice. I highly recommend this book as Claire Lewis has many delightful tales to tell.

[Lynn Vannucci]

Written by a friend's sister or might never have picked it up. Funny and sweet - and interesting particularly to people in the hospitality industry, as I once was, as they will relate to all the crazy requests from clients.

[Shelbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

a light and fluffy memoir written from the perspective of someone who is privy to the most ridiculous aspects of weddings - the wedding photographer. it was a breezy & entertaining read and a good escape book. definitely beach reading.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped keep me sane while I was planning my wedding. It was full of funny and sweet tales about various weddings in the bay area all told from the perspective of the wedding photographer. It made me remember what is really important about the wedding day despite family squabbles.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice light read. It makes you happy to think that there are people out there who are WAY more obsessed than you are, and that there are nice people who can help them to have the best day possible even if they are being unreasonable.

[Lynn Vannucci]

Written by a friend's sister or might never have picked it up. Funny and sweet - and interesting particularly to people in the hospitality industry, as I once was, as they will relate to all the crazy requests from clients.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who thinks wedding photography is glamorous and, well, easy . . . read this book. As outrageous as some of this stories are, having photographed a few weddings myself, I actually believe they are all completely true.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very fun and laugh out loud! Silly and sweet... I would recommend as light summer reading, really fast read.

[Angela Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, lots of funny stories about crazy weddings.

[Elsa Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

HI-larious!!!! Funny and at times poignant. A series of stories all wrapped up in a memoir. The stories of

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Memoir and stories from a wedding photographer.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a fun book.