A Wedding Day
Here is an example of how I tackle a typical wedding.
10am I usually arrive at the brides home or hotel in the morning about 2 hours before the ceremony and slip into the background to take candid pictures of the preparations.
11am Pictures of the make up lady and hairdresser at work on the Bride and Bridesmaids. About 45 minutes before leaving for the venue the Bride will disappear to get into her dress, she'll give me a shout when she is dressed and ready for me to take some pictures of the finishing touches being applied to her makeup or hair.
12pm There's time for a couple of shots of the bride having that last sip of champagne before she departs and I dash ahead to the venue to get some pictures of the nervous Groom and get ready to catch the Brides arrival. This is also a good time to get candid pictures of the guests arriving.
1pm As the Bridal party arrive I take some pictures of their arrival, then I try to keep out of the way and concentrate on catching that special moment for the Bride and her Father. I would already have spoken to the Vicar and agreed where I can stand and what I can photograph, once again it's very important for me to know the Vicar is happy with what I'm doing. Nowadays most Vicars are happy for me to take photographs without flash from a distance.
1.45pm There is a great picture opportunity when the couple leave the church especially if the guests have confetti to throw. This is the first time the Bride will have seen the guests and everybody will want to speak to her, so I blend into the background and capture these moments. I will set up a formal picture of the Bride and Groom at the church. Then I'll capture the Bride and Grooms departure before I head off in front of the couple to the reception.
2.30pm Photograph the couple arriving. Now I concentrate on candid pictures of the guests, but always keeping an eye on the couple for good picture opportunities. Depending on the time of year, light and weather, I'll ask the couple and a few of their close family and friends to join me for a fun, informal photo session somewhere photogenic at the venue. This is one of my favourite parts of the day as everyone is relaxed and getting into the party mood. We usually bring a bottle of champagne and get some lovely pictures of a relaxed, happy couple. Even if the couple have decided not to have formal group pictures taken, most accept my offer to take a few at this point, and why not, everyone is happy and we have time on our hands.
One picture that I always like to do is a huge group picture of everyone, a great memory of your biggest party!
4pm Everyone sits down for dinner. Nobody wants pictures of themselves eating so I'll disappear for the meal. I usually go for a bar meal and start backing up the days pictures onto my laptop, returning to take pictures of the speeches.
6pm Between now and the dancing I like to take more candid pictures of the guests. Sometimes guests approach me and ask for portraits of themselves and partners or children, I'm more than happy to do this. These pictures will be on your DVD and make superb affordable gifts to put in with your thankyou letters.
8pm The couple take to the floor for the first dance. I like to use a slow shutter speed for these shots to create some blur and emphasise the movement. This is also a great time to get some fun shots of the guests letting their hair down.
8.30pm Take some pictures of the musicians or DJ and say my goodbyes.
The next day I get to work editing the pictures, this takes at least a day. As soon as I have finished the editing process I put a selection of pictures online and send a text message to the couple with the web address so they can see their pictures whilst on honeymoon.
When the couple return from Honeymoon I will post them the DVD and their 200 prints. In their own time they can select the pictures for the album, email me the file numbers and I'll make up the album. Many couples find it difficult to choose the pictures and prefer to leave the album selection to me.
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Photography