.jpg "SONY DSC")
Group Portrait:
I’ve posted this image before and what I didn’t mention then was that Chloe actually wasn’t too keen on coverage of herself before the ceremony. I turned up to say hello, and we had around 20 minutes, so we agreed I’d get a few images. I think something that can’t be underestimated, especially in wedding photography, is the element of spontaneity – you never quite know when or where will bring you that photo. The technical strengths of this photo are quite straight forward; timing and anticipation. The elements of youth, admiration and nostalgia are what give the image it’s emotional value. For these reasons this image could probably be the one I’m happiest with, but there is room for improvement. Whenever you’re inside a building or have structural elements in the frame, you need to be careful with alignment, and this image could certainly be improved in that area. It’s something that can be corrected afterwards, but because of the tight framing there was not enough space to work with. Which brings me to the other point, I’m using a 24-70 here, for which use I’ve now switched to a 16-35. I think having extra width, even just 22-20mm, could have made life a little easier (this was quite a small room). This was realised earlier in the year though, and I do feel I’ve found such compositions a little easier to handle now.
.jpg "SONY DSC")
Father and Daughter:
I knew when I visited the church before with Lorna & Charlie that I’d be able to get some great images from the ceremony. This is quite an ordinary image in some ways, a father walking his daughter down the aisle to begin the ceremony. The back-lighting on the veil, which really gives a luminous glow to the main subject, combined with the expression as she finds the groom’s face for the first time that day is what I love about this image. Her father, perhaps slightly overwhelmed by the moment, seems slightly anxious – I like these real emotions, the contrast. Technically, it was metered well, sharp focus (which can be challenging in such situations), timed well, and I tried to use the figures left and right to frame the main subjects. What I would have liked was more separation from the background, for which I could have found a lower angle, but that then introduces two problems: (1) the stand which was placed at the front (left) which would have obstructed the view and (2) the huge window at the back of the church which may have came into frame, spoiling the contrast. I have to be happy with it, but you always have to work on your position as one way of refining the photo at the right moment.
.jpg "SONY DSC")
iPad Generation:
Yes, a wedding photograph without the bride or groom! I’m actually surprised I’ve only got one of this type included in some ways, but so often the bride and groom are the people you’re most connected to, so those are the images which often stand out to you the most. But a wedding is an event. It’s full of a whole range of emotions, different people, different cultures. To try and express this in it’s entirety with only images of the bride & groom is, well, a little bizarre. If you’ve ever seen one of my albums, or browsed through a blog post of mine, you’ll see that so often it’s the images that exclude the bride & groom which express really important elements of the day. Something you’ll see at almost any wedding is the continuation of different generations, and what’s interesting as how this can change through the generations. Thirty years ago, you never would have seen three different generations of a family at a wedding, sat down, staring into a computer! I guess this image amuses me in part; family & friends come together to celebrate two people, and some decide to just sit on looking at their phone, or tablet, or whatever… a harmless social observation, and I know some of you will be equally amused, and some will frown and look quite disgruntled! I often find images of younger ones escaping the crowds because of the events being a little overwhelming, and I like that you can also see that in this image. The light from the screen actually focuses the eye towards the subject quite well, which is useful given that we were indoors, with very little window light (thunder outside). The simple framing and textures work well, but I would have liked to compose it without the distracting out-of-focus element to the left. The expression of the youngest is quite clear, but I would have preferred a better angle, or to include more of the faces of the subjects left & right. But at the same time, they do face inwards, towards the main focus of the composition, so you can’t be too picky.
.jpg "SONY DSC")
Greetings:
I do enjoy trying to find images like this amongst all the energy of celebrations. They’re simple moments. Greeting a relative, a friend. But these people have all came to congratulate, pass on their joy, which I think is why I enjoy it – there is so much energy moving around, people are free in these small moments, which I believe is when you find genuine emotions. Becky & Rob did things a little differently, in that they had a beautifully intimate ceremony with only close relatives involved, and then a couple of days later the celebrations were ‘unreleashed’ with all their friends and family. So this really was the first time most people had seen them as Mr & Mrs, which is partly why this one stands out to me as well. I love the expressions and I do try to find compositions which show different generations, as this is a strong theme in any wedding day. I was at f1.4, 1/60th, ISO3200. That’s quite dark for me, but still comfortable. I think I could have used perhaps 0.5 additional exposure in camera to make things spread a little smoother. The challenge here was the confined space where people were entering, and trying to create a clean canvas around that. For me the moment is strong enough to stand out, but I would have liked to exclude some more of the background elements if possible.
.jpg "SONY DSC")
The Hands:
This is the earliest photo included and still one of my favourites. I admit I’ve not been able to find such images since, but then why would I? If you set out only to repeat or mimic images then you’ll soon find yourself in a dark place, or at least I know I would! Helen gave me a very clear layout for the day, but as an artist herself also completely respected the creative process, acknowledging that one needs time and space to discover. I wonder if without that certain amount of freedom I would have been able to create such an image… What I love about this image is the visual metaphor, the slightly uncomfortable nature of it, the juxtaposition of different elements… which I’ve touched upon before. Technically, it can be difficult to balance exposure here, but I got what I wanted by metering off the wall. I feel the clarity on the subject could be a little stronger if I’d used a slightly smaller aperture (I was only at ISO400 here). I acknowledge this sort of image isn’t to everyone’s taste, but trying to find small moments of anxiety are so important for showing the celebratory elements later in the day, and this image expresses that very tastefully.
.jpg "SONY DSC")
Kim & Jason:
This one is not too dissimilar to the second image featured here. A similar composition, back-lit to make the subjects stand out, an intimate moment, but this time the background is almost as important as the subjects. In the earlier photo, Father & Daughter, I argued the background elements were competing against the main subject, but here they’re working together to enhance the atmosphere of the image. The spot light and flare leaves a natural space in the bottom/middle right side, which is filled with an onlooking couple admiring the moment, empahsising the feeling of togetherness you get in certain moments throughout a wedding day. One important element that I wouldn’t usually point out here is knowing how your lens flares – if I’d picked up a different lens or one that I wasn’t sure about in this lighting, I could have ended up with a mess of flare and/or glare. A challenging element with this image was the DJ lights, which is something I’ve learnt to anticipate a little better now, but it could have been a slightly cleaner image without them.
