Candid Wedding Photography
My style of candid wedding photography ensures your photos will tell the honest and unscripted story of your day, not a series of orchestrated shots that bear no resemblance to the feelings, the emotions, even the smells, tastes and sounds you’ll have experienced on your wedding day. Weddings these days don’t have to be formal or follow an outdated script and neither does the photography. One thing I hope you will notice as you look at my portfolio, wedding stories, and end of year posts, is that nothing is done ‘for the camera’. The moments I capture are genuine and unprompted. My approach is very ‘hands-off’ and I don’t influence any moments or try to create an atmosphere of how I think your wedding should look. This way, your photos will always be a natural representation of the two of you and your guests, they won’t look like anyone else’s wedding photos, and will be 100% unique.
The photographs are the only thing which become more important and hold more significance over the years. To say that the dress/shoes/flowers/venue/band will all be forgotten over time is a hackneyed phrase, and yet it’s true. Your memories become more precious, and your photographs will become the only way to revisit your day, and for little people who have not even been born yet to witness that day themselves, 10, 20, 30 years from now. As a candid wedding photographer, I shoot in a way that ensures fluidity to the day and a genuine narrative to your wedding photographs.
Natural Wedding Photography: more narrative, less cliché.
For me, a good photograph is when light, composition and timing all come together at the right moment, and the resulting image has the ability to evoke emotion and feeling. All manner of things can inspire and creep into my work, whether it’s fleeting human interaction, a trip to the cinema, or the work of favourite photographers such as Will McBride or Harry Gruyeart. I’ll always look for pleasing compositions and balance within a frame so the resulting photograph is as beautiful as it is genuine. It’s very important to me that the photography doesn’t interfere with the couples enjoyment of their wedding. I aim to be completely unobtrusive and yet get utterly immersed in the day. It’s the greatest compliment when couples tell me they are amazed at the moments I captured as they didn’t even realise I’d been there.
Every wedding photographer you speak to will have a different approach to how they photograph your day. And so you can get a better understanding of how I work, here’s mine.
- I don’t intervene in the flow of the day, which means I won’t direct you or your guests, or ask you to repeat anything. You won’t find me standing on the sidelines shooting with a long lens like uninvited paparazzi. I’ll be close to the action, keeping my eyes and ears open, with my camera lifted ready for the punchline of a joke or an unexpected show of affection. You can learn more about how I work as a documentary wedding photographer and how I have honed my style and way of working over the past 15 years. I’ve photographed over 450 weddings in 11 different countries, and have perfected the ability to capture the most intimate or fleeting moment, at just the right time, without my presence being felt.
Telling the real story of your wedding day.
- I won’t take your dress and hang it in a tree or put your engagement ring on the heel of your shoe. All the tiny details that you’ve worked so hard on will be photographed as they are found. This will build a strong narrative to the story of your day.
Capturing the real, authentic moments of your wedding day.
- I don’t believe in perfection. You can’t control the weather, the best man’s speech, or how much Prosecco your best friend drinks. Just roll with the punches and take in every glorious moment. Take Georgie. Despite it being August, there was torrential rain as Georgie arrived at the church. The kind of rain that’s so hard it’s bouncing back off the tarmac. With the help of a few passers-by with umbrellas, and with her dad and bridesmaid holding her dress up, she splashed her way into the church, smiling and laughing the whole time. Moments like this are what will become your memories of the day, and the things you will laugh about in years to come. It’s these fleeting moments that I like to capture. The little threads which all weave together to tell the story of the day. My style of candid wedding photography captures the little moments that happen in between the big ones.
Natural wedding photography with no awkward posing.
- It’s not my style to take you away from your guests for photographs in a hundred different locations. I’m there to photograph you enjoying the party with the people that mean the most to you. I believe that your memories of the day should be made with your family and friends, not with your photographer. For this reason, I limit the time I steal you away for pictures of just the two of you to around 15 – 25 minutes, at a time when the light is the best. Depending on the weather and time of year, this could be during your drinks reception or just before the dancing starts. Wedding portraits don’t have to be cheesy; I use the light and the location to create beautiful, honest, and striking pictures of the two of you that you will love.
Authentic and unobtrusive coverage of your wedding
- I don’t work to ‘must-have’ shot lists cut out from the back of a bridal mag, and I won’t take contrived, soulless pictures that look like someone else’s Pinterest board. My style of documentary wedding photography ensures I capture the atmosphere and the energy, the details and the emotion, the tears, the laughter, and the hundred and one little stories which make your wedding uniquely yours.
See more of my work on the links below
