Is Candid Photography for your Wedding? If you get a good feel from looking at the pictures you are more than halfway there in finding the photographer for you. I’ve spoken to couples who have had a lengthy search for their photographer and as soon as they clap eyes on a certain image they then get a good feel for what they are looking for. From experience, finding out that the photographer in question works in a candid style is the icing on the cake.
What is great for many couples is that when viewing an image from a documentary style photographer, a good one, is that the excitement is usually quite palpable. I always see a confidence in those I work for and in turn it is something I feed off. For somebody who works in a candid manner this is very important.
Documentary can many things to many people. Some will take liberties with the word when it comes to their photography. From my own perspective, it means I will document your wedding day as I see fit. My take is a candid one, and for me a candid approach is the correct way a wedding should be documented. I could not see myself doing in any other way, of course others will argue that moving items or people around to get the preferred image is also par for the course. And perhaps for some it is.
And while I won’t move any items about i.e a wedding dress, it’s not to say somebody else won’t. Recently, a bridesmaid decided to move the dress from where it was hanging to what she felt was a more appropriate spot. I shot the scene, this is all good by me. It tends to stop there. As far as I’m concerned, I would not be overly fussy about such details. Often the challenge is in producing an image from what is in front of you without the need to move anything about, getting a good angle on it, being creative. It allows the day to start as it will end, in capturing images as they fall before me.
Wedding Guests at The Dingle Skellig Hotel
This is something that I don’t subscribe to. I’ll photography the wedding day as it moves, and each and every day is will move at its own pace. This is what I thrive upon when working. A wedding day in general will have a certain pattern, a wedding will have a frame and much will happen within this frame. At this point in time I have plenty of experience in knowing what will happen in an overall general structure.
So I’ll work in and around that structure and frame to create a story of the day in my own style. But not just that. I also must get an idea of those I am photographing. Get a hint of the identity of the people in the pictures. It very important that this is reflected. When you view your wedding photographs the story will unfold and some of the character must shine through in the images.
Working at a good pace also maximises the time, because it is a relatively short one. Everybody mentions how the day flies by. More importantly, working at a good pace contains the energy of the day. Quite often a reception is buzzing with energy. Different groups give off a different vibe. Tapping into that vibe is fundamental in producing a lively and atmospheric set of wedding photographs. It is something I never get bored with. It is always fascinating. Working in that free way always allows for the excitement to come through and in a very natural manner.
A wedding day can zip by in a blur. Isn’t it important to have a set of images that will tell you what the photographer saw? Perhaps things you never saw, and remind you of what happened? Then Candid Photography for your wedding is a must.
