Yes that's an SEO title but people occasionally ask what my style of photography is - and the answer is that it's kind of a blend of things. A few years ago, documentary wedding photography was all the rage, and don't get me wrong - the idea of turning up to a wedding and not talking to another human being for 12 hours does sound like a dream. Think how much easier my life would be! But in reality it doesn't really work (much in the same way 10 years ago, everyone was calling themselves a 'natural light only wedding photographer' before realising that meant they couldn't take a photo past 3pm in December)
The idea behind documentary wedding photography is simple. Turn up, shut up and let things happen. Lovely idea. But what happens if the bride wants to put her shoes on and is facing away from you? What if all of the big moments of the morning happen and you're simply somewhere else? What if the groom is putting his buttonhole flower on, or having a drink with his best man at the exact same moment the bride is getting in her dress? The truth is; some photographer intervention is usually needed. The compromise is that I'll try to facilitate as little as I possibly can, whilst still getting a beautiful set of timeless images. What does as little as possible look like - take a glance over the images below and try to decide whether I've set it up, or it's happened on it's own... (no peaking at the answers beneath each image)
^ Wedding coordinator putting buttonhole flower on the father of the groom. Completely natural. The father of the bride being in the left of the frame wasn't placed there intentionally, but I did choose to include him in the frame to help tell the story. The light just happens to be perfect, as at Barns and Yard there's loads of windows (and on this occasion, open doors as it was sweltering)
^ Groom's mum helping groom's dad with tie. Completely natural. This is essentially the same view as the image above just taken from the opposite direction. The door on the left helped with the framing and creates a nice natural frame for the image. Just about getting the father of the bride in on the far right is a happy bonus.
^ Bridesmaids setting up the bride's dress for a photo. Bit of a mixed bag actually. Taking a photo here was the bride's idea. Would someone else have taken this photo if I wasn't there? Potentially. Would the bridesmaids just happen to be fanning out the bottom of the dress at the exact moment the sun has come out and I've framed them perfectly between some colourful fauna? No, that's all on me.
^ Father of the bride striking a pose whilst a bridesmaid takes his photo. Completely natural. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. And when I say 'I just happened to be in the right place at the right time' that's me saying 'I've done this job for over 20 years now and I can usually place myself when I get the feeling something might be about to happen'. Gorgeous light though isn't it? That's again down to the gorgeous layout of Barns and Yard.
^ Groom helping his son with his sleeve/watch. Again this one is a bit of a mix. The son needed a helping hand, dad was on-site to give it when it was needed, but I positioned them in such a place that the image would have the maximum impact. The most I intervened here was 'Can you guy both take a few steps in this direction, just so I can see you both a little more easily? *dad and son move* Perfect - go back to ignoring me!'
^ Mother of the bride checking her watch as the bridesmaid supervises the bride getting in her dress. Completely natural. This is exactly the type of shot I love taking - the leading lines into the image, the dark image edges and the bright middle which naturally draw your attention in. The contrast works perfectly for black and white. The fact the mother of the bride just happens to be holding a veil in one arm whilst checking the time on the other is a brilliant fluke. The other images either side of this photo when mum isn't looking at her watch are great, but lack the brilliance of this one (even if I do say so myself.)
And finally... This one was all me. Kasia needed to get her shoes on before her dress, so at some point that was always going to happen. However, the room where she was getting dressed didn't have anywhere for her to sit aside from the bed, and the bed was too tall and not in the best location for me to nail the photo that I wanted. It's the same long corridor as in the image above, but this time I've purposely taken a chair from the dining room, and placed it 45 degrees to me, and 45 degrees to the window in order to get the best pose and the best light. How Kasia is sat, how she's doing up her shoes and her facial expressions are all her though. 'Give me 20 seconds to grab a chair... perfect, if you could pop yourself down here and ignore me that would be fab'
Location: Barns and Yard, Hanley Hall.
Keywords: Pure documentary wedding photography (25).