China/Hainan: Yalong Bay – Wedding Photography

Weddings and wedding photography are apparently a very big deal in China. And the Yalong Bay on Hainan Island is the cream of the crap for wedding photography – the most picturesque section of the beach is jam-packed with wedding couples, almost rubbing shoulders with each other like sardines in a can. Women are wearing elaborate wedding gowns, while men sweat in three-piece white suits. Each couple has a crew of wedding photographers with them, replete with reflective screens, mirrors, tripods, and massive expensive cameras – never mind that you’re a shooting in the worst possible light at midday and against the sun reflecting off the ocean. You can possibly get 3-4 couples in a single shot – it is so dense (kind of like zebra migration in Zambia). Fat Russian men in Speedo’s pass in the distance, While Russian women strike poses while taking selfies at water’s edge in tiny bikini just outside of the wedding photography area.