I’ve decided to start a series of blog posts discussing individual wedding photographs. I hope the articles will give you a brief insight into how I approach wedding photography and what I’m looking for in a successful image to deliver to my clients.
For my inaugural post, I thought I’d choose this picture from Jemma & Andy’s first dance at York Maze. The image has been in my portfolio for many years and is certainly a favourite of mine. It’s a fairly simple image, Bride & Groom tenderly dancing in the foreground, with family & friends looking on in the background.
Here I had selected one of the longer lenses in my bag to get a tight shot of the couple and compressing the background, drawing everyone closer together. The focus is naturally on the couple and our attention is drawn to them, as Andy drew Jemma close and gave her a kiss I released the shutter and captured the moment. Granny’s reaction in the background is what makes this image for me; despite the shallow focus, you can make out some of her expression and from her body language clearly read how she’s feeling.
During a first dance, I’ll often try to incorporate the spectating guests into an image. It adds a little more depth to the picture and, in a moment where the couple are invariably focused on each other, also serves as a record of something that they won’t have noticed at the time.
