This double page spread shows another pivotal moment of the wedding ceremony, the first kiss of the bride and groom.
The sun at this point was completely out, and bearing down hard on the guests as well as the bride and groom. Photographing in direct sunlight is really tricky if the sun isn't directly behind the subject. With the sun at the angle it is in these images, there's a real risk of the bride's wedding gown being 'blown out' - photographer speak for being made so bright you can't recover the information in the photos. In order to deal with the massive contrast provided by direct sunlight and to properly expose for the wedding dress, the rest of the image usually ends up being underexposed. The trick here is to find a natural balance, a middle exposure where you can lighten the shadows and pull back the highlight detail into a useable image. In British law, the bride and groom must be standing under a permanent hard standing structure when they're saying their vows and exchanging rings if the marriage is to be legal, which is why you'll always see the bride and groom under cover for these important moments. Unfortunately, the roof didn't extend far enough to completely cover the bride and groom, but the images are beautiful nonetheless.
For the background image for this double page spread, I used a photo that I'd taken much earlier in the day, showing the ceremony location with some of the chairs laid out too.
Location: Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham.
Keywords: Manor by the Lake Weddings (18).