So, this is brief description of how I photograph weddings. As the title suggests, my wedding photography is natural and unposed. There are no set up shots with multiple flashes hitting people from different directions, no dramatic poses and no ‘hilarious’ set up scenes of guests trying to stop the couple from kissing each other. Urgh.
I don’t do these types of pictures because if it were my wedding, I think all I would remember is posing (awkwardly!) for the photographer and not enjoying my day at all.
If you want some group shots, I’ll get those of course. I think it’s just best not to put too much emphasis on these.
I photograph weddings because I love photographing people, and all their ideocracies and unpredictability.
So, instead of posing you, I will let you and your guests enjoy the day and I will capture all the genuine emotion as it unfolds – smiles, laughter, tears and hugs.
I recently won an award for a picture I took at a wedding at Middlethorpe Hall in York. You might have seen it. It’s the one where the father of the bride (Andy) sees his daughter (Georgia) in her wedding dress for the first time. This was the one point in the whole day where Andy’s emotions got the better of him and it was over as quickly as it happened.
I think this picture is so much more powerful than if Andy and Georgia had just posed together. It’s a fleeting moment that will never be repeated.
Georgia’s mother cried when she saw that picture and later said she didn’t even realise I was there (I was stood in front of her at the time).
This is a classic illustration of the way I work. For so much of the day, people aren’t aware of me and I slip into the background.
When people are aware of a photographer, their behaviour changes and they tense up. When they don’t realise they’re being photographed, they just act in the way they always do…and are completely uninhibited by the camera.
So, what does this mean for your pictures? It means if the 4-year flower girl is having a tantrum whilst walking up the aisle, I’m going to capture it. If one of your guests cries during the ceremony, that’s going in. If there is a completely inappropriate joke in the speeches, I’ll be photographing the reactions. If the best man spills red wine all over himself, you guessed it… that definitely going in!
…and neither is your wedding. I’m going to capture you and those closest to you all just being yourselves, so in years to come you remember everything just as it was…and not standing in a field waiting for me to put up a tripod.
It also means that you’ll get completely unrestricted access to your images. I love to photograph weddings, not upsell stuff you don’t want. So, all of your images will be available to you as high-resolution images that you can use for prints, albums, framed pictures, mugs, coasters…whatever you want. You can also use them for social media and I won’t stick a horrible watermark on them.
Are you still reading?? If you are, you might want to have a look at what my wedding photography looks like. Or, if you like the sound it, just let me know.