Natural Documentary Wedding Photography London
WHY I LOVE KEEPING IT REAL
Wedding’s come in all shapes and sizes, but at the heart they tend to all have the same wonderful paradox – a day of formality and carefully planned ceremony with a lot of informal and un-plannable things woven in. This mixture of the formal and informal has always been interpreted and captured in very different ways by wedding photographers, and I thought I’d share my personal thoughts on style and capturing the day in the most ‘real’ way.
First of all, the sheer variety in weddings is one of the things that I enjoy the most about my work. No celebration is a carbon-copy of another, so I never expect the pictures to be, either. There’s a lot of jargon surrounding wedding photography, and I understand that it can get a little confusing and overwhelming, which is why I wanted to explain in detail how I work.
I don’t generally use buzzwords such photojournalism and reportage, but over the years I’ve found a naturalistic, documentary style of wedding photo’s to be the most effective way of recording everything that happens on the day. While there is a place for something a little more organised, such as portraits, I prefer to photograph your day without interfering or interrupting at all.
Being an unobtrusive observer, invisible to most of your guests, lets me blend into the crowd, ready to spot and capture those most relaxed and real of moments. In many ways I try to look like another guest holding a camera. The less people are conscious of me, the more I can capture the special events of your day as they happen, without any hint of staginess.
There are several reasons why I love working this way.
It’s a lot more relaxed for you
You and your guests don’t have to worry about getting it right or making time for me. I don’t want you to feel like your whole wedding day is a staged photoshoot. I want you to do what you’re supposed to do – have an incredible time celebrating the start of your marriage!
It’s a lot more relaxed for me.
Because I don’t have to and manage you or your guests, I can settle into the rhythm of the day and concentrate on taking loads of great shots.
It’s flexible
This approach allows me to move into a more formal mode for key moments, such as your vows, and back again easily, with images that will look perfectly consistent. It also works brilliantly for any kind of wedding.
Your photographs look better
At the end of the day, the images you will have are going to be so much more interesting, dynamic, timeless, honest and memorable because of it. You’ll have recorded not just the people in their outfits but their emotions and the atmosphere and shifting moods of the whole day. In the years to come, that’s what you’ll want to see. The moments you wouldn’t have otherwise noticed on the day, as well as the big moments you’ve been waiting for.
And in my experience, you can’t do it any better way than this.
What about portraits?
When taking portraits I like to keep them relaxed, and look for creative opportunities offered by spaces within your venue. The last thing I want to do is take you away from your guests for very long, and you’ll be amazed at what a great collection of images we can get in a short space of time! By making time earlier in the day to scout the best spots we can just take a relaxed stroll and get everything done in no time. Don’t worry – I won’t be asking you to do anything cheesy or unnatural. I’ll just offer some minimal direction to find comfortable poses, whilst letting you enjoy a moment’s privacy as a married couple.
Ultimately, it’s your day. You should get to spend however you wish. I’ll be there to document your day honestly. All you need to do is have fun, spend time with the people who matter the most to you, be nervous, be excited, celebrate, laugh, cry, dance and be yourselves!