Photographing the wedding ceremony
This is a difficult one to get right - the photographer/s need to be close enough to be able to see what is going on but far enough away not to impose on proceedings. I tend to come in with the bride and stay towards the back of the aisle to get full length shots of the couple and the room (be it a church or register office).
My assistant comes in with the groom and stays towards the front to get pictures from the other side. Sometimes these two angles line up brilliantly!
Simon has kept the depth of field small to let maximum light in, but you can still see the lovely expressions of the bride's family in the background.
From the back of the church I use my long length lens which is perfect for zooming in to get "closer" to the action.
This church was a very colourful Catholic church on a hilltop town in Italy.
For smaller registry office weddings I don't bring an assistant along and try to be as discrete as possible by keeping back from the bride and groom but using my zoom lens again.
Posed pictures are really nice to have, but I love capturing the emotions of the day through photographing not only the bride and groom, as above, but also family and guests sharing the celebrations with their loved ones.
Tears are not always bad!
Photographing the wedding ceremony is not always easy as we don't use flash, which would be far too intrusive. Instead we have to work with whatever light there is and make the most of it.
Isn't it great to be able to document these amazing times in a person's life? I often have tears in my eyes, even when I've only met the couple once or twice! I feel very privileged to be a part of these days.
