Yesterday I shared a very different photograph from Julia and Martin’s wedding on Saturday, it was my first time back behind the lens for a couple of months and it made me realise just how much fun this job is and why it’s so important to get it right. Although my approach is all about characters, fun and emotion I don’t believe in relying completely on spontaneity.
Being as discreet as possible throughout the day will help to get the vast majority of those blink and you miss it moments. At the same time, I like to think that it’s a little reassuring to know you’re being photographed by someone who absolutely wants to show you at your best all day long. Which is why I love to take portraits. Nothing overly staged or posed, just putting you in the good light, giving a little direction and letting the emotion of the day do the rest of the work.
For me, this means just giving you a little advice every now and again, it might be to ask you to take a few steps into the nicer light or to turn your shoulders one way or another, or it could just be pointing out that you’ve still got loads of confetti in your hair! Sometimes it’s nice just to step away from all of the celebrations and all of your loved ones telling you how amazing you look just for a few seconds to catch your breath and let it all sink in.
The photograph of Julia above is a good example of this. Just before this the room was buzzing. There was a whoosh of bridesmaids dresses, a flower girl picking up the bouquets and an emotional Mum and Dad, these moments just before the ceremony can be crazy and overwhelming in a very good way.
If I was completely hands off and unintrusive I would’ve just let this all play out and photographed them all head towards the ceremony but it seemed like a nice moment to me just to stop for the tiniest of seconds. So I chirped up and asked Julia if she would just stand for me in the window light just so I could quickly take a portrait of her.
At this point some brides just can’t keep themselves from giggling and laughing, others are a little quieter and a bit more anxious, I think all Julia needed was to take a deep breath and she was ready to go – but that’s all I needed to make this. I’ve written lots more about how I approach each wedding day and how we go about making portraits together, it’s a good read if you’ve got a few minutes. But here’s Julia, just about to walk down the aisle and see all those happy faces grinning back at her.
Jackson & Co Photography | Kent Wedding Photographer
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Really nice frame Mike -perfect in its simplicity!