Module No: ARD504 – Creative Futures 2 - Personal Investigation - Wedding Photography

Wedding Photography and the Photographer I want to be

Due to friends getting married, I have recently attended a couple weddings and it has given me the opportunity to observe wedding photographers in action.  This has given me the opportunity to learn techniques and strengthen my camera skills as I discovered, I was critically analyzing the photographers approaches and techniques, in the use of locations, arrangements of the subjects and interaction with the bridal party as well as other guests.

I think wedding photography is a challenging aspect of photography as until the day of the wedding there are a lot of unknowns – weather, number of guests, colour and style of outfits of the guests, do the extended bridal party like to be in front of the camera, how many other photographers will there be.

I believe preparation plays an important role – knowing the locations and exploring various camera angles and potential shot poses, discussing with the Bride and Groom what they would like from their wedding photographs, learning the set up of the Bridal party (number of bridesmaids, age of bridesmaids etc)

The wedding photographer has to be able to think on their feet, react to circumstances, remain calm and in control, and have great communication skills (to hopefully build a relationship with the guests).

One wedding I attended was my friend Nicola and Bruce Walker’s wedding and the photography was done by Vicki Blair and her co-worker (www.vickieblairphotography.com).  Vicki Blair Photography combines new and fresh ideas with the beauty of tradition.  They always use two photographers on the day, one to take all the formal shots whilst the other photographer takes candid reportage shots.

One of the first things I became aware of was their enthusiasm and enjoyment for this job, they acted like they were honoured to share this day with the Bride and Groom.  They set up the shots with patience, whilst ensuring the guests were where they wanted them to be.  A simple task of keeping the photo balanced – heights, gender, colour clashes all taken into account with the minimum of fuss.

They also worked with the other photographers to ensure everyone got the photographs they wanted, especially the Bride and Groom.  It was whilst they were interacting with the other photographers that they noticed I was using a Canon 500D, they soon discovered I was studying photography and film at Glyndwr University.  They then asked if they could see the photos I had taken, I’m glad to say they were impressed and ended up giving me their details and asking if they ever needed an extra photographer could they call me, of course I answered yes.

Another wedding I attended was a friend’s happy day, sadly this wasn’t such a positive experience.  I will not mention the name of my friend, the photographer or his company as this reflection is not designed to criticise anyone but to reflect on the knowledge and insight I have gained, and so I will ensure the anonymity of my reflection by ensuring nothing can lead the reader to know who I’m talking about or when or where this wedding took place.

The photographer seemed to have a completely different attitude to being a wedding photographer, he was quiet, serious and didn’t interact much with the guests.  One of the initial things that struck me was a member of the Bridal party held a list and was saying which shot would be taken next, to me this seemed strange as I thought the wedding photographer should have this responsibility (and would want it too).  The second thing to catch my photographer’s eye was how he arranged shots.  For instance, a shot of the Bride and Groom, with the Bride’s parents.  Both males were tall (6” plus) whilst the Bride and Bride’s mother were clearly alot shorter.  This photographer arranged the shot as shown below:

This to me gave a negative effect in two ways, one was the height distribution seemed to emphasise the difference in heights, and secondly the gender order.  In my opinion, the photograph would have looked alot better in this order:

This I feel would have not only reduced the impact of the men’s suits against the women’s dresses, but would have made the difference in heights less noticeable.

The other thing I noticed was in the grounds of where the wedding was being held, there was a beautiful monument that was just begging to be the setting for a series of photographs.  The monument would have been a focal point whilst still enabling the photograph to focus on the Bride and Groom.  To ensure the anonymity of the wedding and photographer, I will not illustrate this with a photograph as it would clearly give the location away, however I will bear it in mind for a possible location for a future photography shoot.

This photographer also appeared to feel threatened by other photographers taking photos.  Although none of the other photographers got close to the wedding photographer, none used flash photography, or interacted with the people being photographed.  The wedding photographer did snap at one of the other photographers without any real reason, as after all the wedding photographs were being taken in a public location with members of the general public still walking freely around.  Compared to the other wedding I mentioned before there seems a vast difference in the attitudes each wedding photographer brought to the wedding.

 In my opinion I would very much prefer to be like Vicki Blair, who seemed to cherish the day they were participating in.  My concern about becoming a professional photographer was that some photographers I have met have been filled with their own self importance, but I’m glad to say Vicki Blair have showed me the type of photographer I want to be.  A photographer that can work well with clients, who has the ability to put them at ease and importantly to smile, who has the ability to see the potential in locations and a eye for arrangements that set the subjects off to their best.  A photographer that gets repeat business and referrals because the people have enjoyed being in front of my camera as well as appreciating the photographs I have taken.

 






All Photographs shown are either courtesy of Vicki Blair Photography or my own photographs.