Friday 2nd October 2015
At the end of August a friend got in touch to ask if I would consider being the photographer for his Mum and Step-Dad’s wedding at the beginning of October. Having had no wedding experience, I was sceptical at first as photographing somebody’s Big Day is obviously very important and I definitely did not want to let the couple down.
After chatting a bit more with the son and the couple, I found out that due to the wedding being a last minute decision and the couple being very laid back, an informal photographer would be perfect for them. Also, I would not have to document the wedding ceremony (as that would be held in Scotland), which took a lot of the pressure off my role as I would just be responsible for capturing the evening reception. I have photographed Christenings and family gatherings before and in the end, decided that this opportunity would be invaluable to a student like me to build my portfolio and gain experience for a relaxed client who decided that a simple snapshot of their evening is all they wanted.
I was grateful that the couple had trusted me with the creative freedom to document their special evening in any way that I thought would be best. This led me to do lots of research into different styles and tips and tricks for successful wedding photography.
I knew that a shooting plan is essential so I decided to get in touch with the Bride and Groom for any specific moments they wanted me to capture. The couple had some ideas for me to base my planning on and we agreed that a more candid and natural feel to the images would be preferable. I was really glad about this as this suits my method of working much more than a showy and posed wedding would.
I visited the location of the reception during the day and was lucky enough to find that the upstairs venue had already been set for the night. This allowed me to plan some photographs I could take in the evening and decide on the best places to stand to capture all of the most important moments. Furthermore, it allowed me to take some photographs of the centrepieces and other decorations using natural sunlight as these elements are important for building up the whole picture of the event.
I decided to also include images of the outside of the venue as well as the surrounding area such as the canal and railway track that are nearby. It was a very clear day so I was very pleased with the images and was happy to provide an entire picture of the day for the couple to look back on – and it is always nice to go the extra mile to provide an extra special touch to your service.
During the evening, I struggled at first with the connection of the flashgun to the camera. Fortunately, I had planned for issues like this and brought a second camera to use and therefore still managed to capture the couple’s entrance to their surprise marquee to receive gifts from their family – which was a very important moment. I was then able to fix the issue when I had a bit of time after the entrance had taken place.
As the venue was small, I did struggle slightly to capture every moment in the exact way in which I wanted to, as the action was sometimes too close up to frame perfectly. I did manage to improvise at times and stood on the stage behind the wedding singer to get a better view of each situation. For example, I would have struggled capturing the first dance from down on the crowded dancefloor but looking down from the stage allowed me to capture it perfectly using my 55-200mm lens. I found it much easier to have this lens on one camera on my shoulder to quickly switch to in order to capture a moment farther away and my 24-70mm lens on the camera around my neck to frame the wider shots. This was a much easier way of working than trying to alternate lenses on the one camera for the entire evening, I would have missed out on a lot of lovely moments if I had to do this.
Overall, I am so appreciative to have been given the opportunity to expand my skills and gain experience in a new area of photography as well as get an insight into what it will be like working as a freelance photographer. I am very proud of the images I produced and am glad that I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and go ahead with something new.
At the end of August a friend got in touch to ask if I would consider being the photographer for his Mum and Step-Dad’s wedding at the beginning of October. Having had no wedding experience, I was sceptical at first as photographing somebody’s Big Day is obviously very important and I definitely did not want to let the couple down.
After chatting a bit more with the son and the couple, I found out that due to the wedding being a last minute decision and the couple being very laid back, an informal photographer would be perfect for them. Also, I would not have to document the wedding ceremony (as that would be held in Scotland), which took a lot of the pressure off my role as I would just be responsible for capturing the evening reception. I have photographed Christenings and family gatherings before and in the end, decided that this opportunity would be invaluable to a student like me to build my portfolio and gain experience for a relaxed client who decided that a simple snapshot of their evening is all they wanted.
I was grateful that the couple had trusted me with the creative freedom to document their special evening in any way that I thought would be best. This led me to do lots of research into different styles and tips and tricks for successful wedding photography.
I knew that a shooting plan is essential so I decided to get in touch with the Bride and Groom for any specific moments they wanted me to capture. The couple had some ideas for me to base my planning on and we agreed that a more candid and natural feel to the images would be preferable. I was really glad about this as this suits my method of working much more than a showy and posed wedding would.
I visited the location of the reception during the day and was lucky enough to find that the upstairs venue had already been set for the night. This allowed me to plan some photographs I could take in the evening and decide on the best places to stand to capture all of the most important moments. Furthermore, it allowed me to take some photographs of the centrepieces and other decorations using natural sunlight as these elements are important for building up the whole picture of the event.
I decided to also include images of the outside of the venue as well as the surrounding area such as the canal and railway track that are nearby. It was a very clear day so I was very pleased with the images and was happy to provide an entire picture of the day for the couple to look back on – and it is always nice to go the extra mile to provide an extra special touch to your service.
During the evening, I struggled at first with the connection of the flashgun to the camera. Fortunately, I had planned for issues like this and brought a second camera to use and therefore still managed to capture the couple’s entrance to their surprise marquee to receive gifts from their family – which was a very important moment. I was then able to fix the issue when I had a bit of time after the entrance had taken place.
As the venue was small, I did struggle slightly to capture every moment in the exact way in which I wanted to, as the action was sometimes too close up to frame perfectly. I did manage to improvise at times and stood on the stage behind the wedding singer to get a better view of each situation. For example, I would have struggled capturing the first dance from down on the crowded dancefloor but looking down from the stage allowed me to capture it perfectly using my 55-200mm lens. I found it much easier to have this lens on one camera on my shoulder to quickly switch to in order to capture a moment farther away and my 24-70mm lens on the camera around my neck to frame the wider shots. This was a much easier way of working than trying to alternate lenses on the one camera for the entire evening, I would have missed out on a lot of lovely moments if I had to do this.
Overall, I am so appreciative to have been given the opportunity to expand my skills and gain experience in a new area of photography as well as get an insight into what it will be like working as a freelance photographer. I am very proud of the images I produced and am glad that I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and go ahead with something new.