On the journey to getting my first client, I have been scouring the internet discovering many wedding photographers. It is very exciting to discover a completely new arm of an industry you have had experience in (up to this point, my experience in photography is heritage photography and digitising maps and books). There are so many layers to be gained from each photograph you discover and this is where I feel that I can really make a positive impact in the industry from my own work.
This black and white shot from the wedding photographer Kevin Mullins offers a timeless perspective because this 2021 photo offers a view that could be taken anytime from the advent of the dry plate in the 1870s. It is akin to a visual time machine for the last 150 years or so, and captures the curiosity of the toddler beautifully. It is images like this that have inspired the name for my wedding photography business, the Timeless Lens.
One of my favourite legacy photographers, Ansel Adams states that ‘there are no rules for photographs only good photographs’ and I personally feel that quality wedding photographs combine knowledge of the art with spontaneity. He also state that ‘a good photograph is knowing where to stand’. So a great wedding photography album offers a collection of images which are really a collection of ‘right place at the right time’ scenarios.
The right place at the right time does not only extend to capturing a moment, wedding photography is full of instances where photographic still lives are captured as well as the architecture of the building the wedding is taking place in. The longer time spent capturing the image allows more time to think about the philosophy of photography. Another of my favourite photographers Berenice Abbott (1894-1991) states that photography is ‘painting with light’ and this is illustrated with another of Kevin Mullins wedding shots below, where he captures the contrast between the timeless nature of the church building and the fleeting time of the wedding within using composition and the play of light.
As anyone who has got married before will tell you, the most important part of the day might be the part where you say “I do”, but there is so much more to a wedding than that. In fact, despite the day being about the joining of two people, there are usually large chunks of the day where you don’t see your future spouse at all, such as during the ‘getting ready’ process.
If you’re doing the super traditional thing of sleeping apart and not seeing each other until you get to the altar, having your photographers present will mean that you don’t miss those special moments that happen when you’re apart. Here are some more reasons for starting the photography at the very beginning of your day:
Telling a Story
As we mentioned above, your wedding day is a sum of many parts and just as you’ll want to take photos at the reception, taking photos while you’re getting ready will help you to tell the story from beginning to end.
When you look back on your images in the days and weeks after the wedding, being able to see both nearly-weds going through the process of getting ready, getting into their finery and spending the time with their parents, bridesmaids or groomsmen will give you a complete storyline for the whole day. It will also look fabulous when placed chronologically in your wedding album.
Capturing Special Moments
Do you remember how it felt to put your wedding dress on? The look on your parents’ faces when they saw you for the first time? The group hug you had with your best friends before they accompanied you down the aisle? Maybe you do, but on a day which is going to be busy and overwhelming, there’s a good chance that you’ll forget one or two of these moments.
Having your wedding photographer present and taking candid shots while all of these things are happening means that you won’t need to use your memory to remember everything – you’ll have beautiful images to preserve the moments forever. If you also, as we mentioned in our previous post (ADD LINK), give your photographer a face log containing images of your nearest and dearest, you’ll ensure they’re present and alert when you’re interacting with your most important guests.
Gaining Confidence
There aren’t many people in the world who are used to the feeling of having a photographer following you around and taking photos of you, so it’s likely to feel a little alien on your wedding day, too.
If you start having photos taken right at the beginning of the day, before you’re even in your ceremonial clothes, there’s a good chance that you’ll feel significantly more comfortable and confident in front of the camera as the day goes on. This will also mean that the quality of your images will probably get better as the day goes on, too, as your photographer and yourself will be a lot more ‘in sync’ with one another.
Wedding photographers are usually pretty intuitive when it comes to other people, but it still takes time for them to get to know you and your personal quirks, so giving them this kind of “all access pass” to your whole day will give them even more to work with.
Attention to Detail
Once the ceremony and reception are underway, the opportunities for detailed photos become less and less. Later in the day, there will be guests around and a schedule to stick to, plus group shots to think about. Trust us – you really don’t want to be waiting til you’ve got 150 guests to greet, first dances to perform and many glasses of champagne in your system before you think about photographing small details!
Allowing your photographer to be there while you and your partner are getting ready will mean that images of things like your engagement rings, personalised cufflinks, shoes, intricate dress details and your “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” (if you’re having them) are much easier to capture, especially if your photographer needs to set up special lighting or backdrops for the images.
3 Recommended Poses for Pre-Wedding Bridal Suite
Bride preparation, putting earrings on, smiling and looking at herself in the mirror.
Accessories – take images of your rings, tiara, special jewellery and any other accessories you’re wearing on the day.
Dress – there will be lots of images of you in your dress on the day, but remember to ask your photographer to get up-close images of any details you want to highlight.
Bridal Group – group shots of the bride and her bridal party are something you’ll cherish for years to come.
3 Poses for Pre-Wedding Photos in Groom’s Suite
Cufflinks – cufflinks are the groom’s equivalent of a tiara, adding a bit of bling to your suit. Ask the photographer to get some up close shots of these on the day.
Groomsmen – getting ready for your big day with your brothers or best friends is something you’ll want to look back on after the day.
Candid Checks – Getting the photographer to capture your last minute checks, like making sure you’ve got your vows, checking the time on a pocket watch or your best man straightening your bow tie will make for great candid images.
I dedicated this Sunday to travelling down to the Honeywood Museum Wedding Fair. It sounds further away from London than it really is, however it was a 2 mile ride south on my trusty Brompton bike from Morden on the Northern line.
The Honeywood Museum Wedding Fair
This wedding fair is the very definition of small and beautifully formed. I was welcomed in by Wendy, the Business Development Manager for the Sutton Register Office for Sutton London Borough, where this fair is located. Once inside the museum, pleasant volunteers gave me a rundown of the 3 rooms that the wedding fair took up. I also learnt that this is also a wedding venue itself. A voice that sounded like Frank Sinatra boomed from a room which I was told is the main room of the house where wedding receptions are held. It was in this room I met Yildirim, a videographer who started as a wedding photographer and found his niche in videography.
Upstairs is the Honeywood Museum itself which offers a very in depth look into domestic life in the London borough of Sutton through the ages. It also has a fantastic collection of historic toys including a wind up ferris wheel.
This wedding fair offered a good chance to get a small overview of the wedding industry and together with the museum and the tea room offers a great day out for families. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon here and although the fair was small there was plenty to see.
For many couples, choosing the right wedding photographer is just as important as the rings, the dress, the venue and what you serve to your guests at dinner. Choosing the wrong wedding photographer can be the difference between cherishing your photos for decades to come and never wanting to look at your wedding photos again.
In fact, some couples have had such bad results from their chosen photographer that they’ve gone so far as to stage the wedding again and reshoot the images to get results that they’re happy with; a move which is both costly and time consuming.
If you don’t want to have to find time to get all of your wedding guests back so that you can recreate your special day, just for the photos, we’ve put together some tips on exactly how to communicate with your wedding photographer to ensure that you get a whole album of images that you will love.
Event Order/Agenda
Probably the single most important information that you can give to your photographer is the agenda for the day. Any photographer worth their salt will not just be there on time, they’ll be everywhere as early as possible.
This means being enough steps ahead of you on the day so that they can capture crucial shots like you getting out of your chosen vehicle when you get to the place where you’re getting married. Knowing exactly where you’ll be throughout the day is also vital if you want to have candid shots, as well as the posed ones.
Another reason for letting them know where you are and when is because of the technical aspects of photography. If you’re getting married in November and want to have outdoor shots at 4pm (weather permitting!) there’s a good chance that there won’t be enough natural light for a photographer to get clear shots. They’ll need time to set up any lights and additional equipment they may need, and without a schedule for the day, they simply may not have the required tools to hand.
Family Shots And Face Logs
Let’s be real, there is a definite hierarchy of who you want photos of on your wedding day. Everyone in the bridal party; bride, groom, parents and grandparents of the bride and groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen for instance, are always going to be up there in terms of importance. Then there will be cousins and friends who are closer to you than others.
Those who will be WAY further down the list will be plus ones who came with your extended family, or people who are there by association, rather than because of their importance to you and your future spouse. This may sound slightly harsh, but do you want to be looking at your photos in a decade’s time and trying to remember who half of the images are of?!
One way to ensure that you get the shots including the people you really want to remember on the day is to provide your photographer with a face log. This is a simple sheet of photos of all of the most important people who will be there on the day, and the people that you really want your photographer to focus on.
Of course, there are likely to be lots of candid shots containing people whose faces aren’t in your log, but by communicating with your wedding photographer about who to concentrate on, you’re likely to end up with photos which are much more relevant to you and your day.
There’s another angle to giving your photographer this type of guidance. If you have family or friends who don’t like one another, parents who’ve gone through a messy divorce, or any other potentially awkward relationships between your guests, the last thing you want is your wedding photographer corralling them into pictures where everyone looks tight-lipped and slightly peeved! If Aunty Maureen can’t bear to be near Uncle Charles, let your photographer know and save some red faces.
Specific Photos And Poses
Many people have a VERY specific idea of what they want their wedding photos to look like. They’ll have spent hours trawling Pinterest to find inspiration for fun or romantic poses with their spouse, ways to hold their hand during shots of the wedding rings and quirky group shots including their bridesmaids. Wearing a backless dress? You’re going to want to get that into shot, too.
There are a couple of very good reasons for discussing this with your photographer.
Firstly, they’ll be able to tell you if these shots are possible, considering your bridal party size, venue and other constraints. Your photographer is a professional and getting their creative input should be invaluable.
And on this note, the second reason for talking this through with your photographer, in advance, is that they may well have some fabulous ideas which will allow you to build on your own and give you an even better end product! Wedding photography is a VERY competitive field, and if you’ve managed to book a photographer for your wedding who is highly recommended, you can be sure that they’ve earned that reputation through hard work and strong creative vision.
As you’re probably aware, wedding photography is about so much more than just having someone at your wedding who can work a fancy camera. There is logistics, equipment and even diplomacy to factor in, which is why you will want to make the right choice.
For a no-obligation consultation on how we can enhance your special day, get in touch via our contact page. We look forward to working with you to create memories which will last a lifetime.
My own wedding in 2017 – my 1 minute wedding anniversary!
I have been working as a photographer for museums and galleries since 2012, having captured well over a million images of cultural material to help burst open access to museum collections for people around the globe who have access to the internet.
I was looking through my own wedding photos one evening this year because it was such a proud, pivotal day in my life. However, I did not use the services of a wedding photographer because, at the end of the day, other people can take photos right? That was coming from the mind of a professional photographer! My dad who has always been around video cameras also came and offered to shoot for us so I thought I had all bases covered, and the money saved could go towards our honeymoon.
Our honeymoon – taken with a damaged Canon G1X Bridge camera. A Pacific sunset looks stunning even when shot on a potato.
However, despite having a beautiful honeymoon we missed out on a wedding photographer and it was that evening I realised this was the missing element from our wedding. I have a diverse range of images which have inconsistent lighting, composition and which are totally ad hoc. I maintain it was a good decision to have images taken by friends and family however I do wish I had employed the services of a wedding photographer as the primary recorder of our day, especially when I had 5 years photography experience in 2017 when I married! I really sold my own profession short when I thought people could take a photo. I will feature in a future blog some of the shockers!
It was that evening I decided that I wanted to branch out my photography skills into event and wedding photography so the first step was to ditch my old trusty Canon G1X Bridge camera, one that is basically between a point and shoot and a fully fledged DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and obtain a DSLR which gives me far more versatility and control when building photographs.
The Timeless Lens 