Best Cambridgeshire Wedding Photography
I was delighted to have this photo selected for one of five Wedding Photojournalist Association Spotlight awards I received this Spring. The WPJA is different to most organisations issuing wedding photography awards, in that it is not judged by wedding photographers. From the WPJA website –
“WPJA contest judges have been recognized by their industry peers, winning top awards as staff picture editors, staff photojournalists, and newsroom mentors while working for these and other leading publications and journalism organizations.”
This image is from Nina and Jack’s Summer garden wedding in Cambridgeshire last year. When a couple commissions a documentary wedding photographer, they’ll benefit from tried and tested photographic techniques. Photojournalists across the world have used these techniques to tell engaging stories for decades. It’s why these wedding stories are more than just a collection of stand-out single photos. When viewed as a set, the story has pace and reveals elements progressively.
How I Took This Photograph
In order to ensure I cover all aspects of a wedding equally, and with varying shot type, I divide the day into ‘sub-headings’. Some of these change from wedding to wedding, depending on the guests, architecture and weather. Others are present at every wedding, like the First Dance, which is the sub-heading that this image belongs to. When considering a sub-heading, I concentrate on achieving several shot types within that sub-heading.
Here’s the scene leading up to the First Dance. Nina and Jack had got married at church earlier in the day, and the reception and party was in Nina’s parent’s garden. During the wedding breakfast I spotted a vantage point overlooking the garden from an upstairs window.
Elevated Viewpoint
The First Dance was due to take place on the wooden decking below the house, after all the guests had taken part in a Ceilidh on the driveway in front of the house. The sun was setting fast as Nina and Jack joined in with the Ceildh. After I’d photographed this, I returned to where the First Dance was to take place to see if it might be possible to photograph it from the elevated position. From the window, I wanted to show the garden setting, and my 18mm lens was the perfect choice to do this. But I also wanted to show the start of the dance as well as the guests watching and some close-up details. It’s the mix of these shot types that gives variety to the story, and it’s important to constantly assess this throughout the day.
Pre-planned Route
I had considered setting up a remote camera in the window, so I could stay downstairs and continue coverage and still get the wider elevated view. I nearly always work on my own, without a second photographer, so I have to be able to capture scenes quickly enough to allow different viewpoints. But on this occasion, the 18mm was my widest lens, and I needed to use it for the ground level coverage as well. My next widest lens was a 35mm which wouldn’t have worked for the upstairs shot. So I decided to work quickly at ground level, before making my way upstairs to get the second viewpoint.
It’s always tricky deciding how to shoot the First Dance. Sometimes I have a couple of minutes to adjust viewpoint and lens, on other occasions I might have 15 seconds before the couple call on their family and friends to fill the dance floor. After a quick discussion with Jack, I knew I had at least a minute or two. Before the dance started I scouted out the quickest route from the back door to the window, so knew how long it would take me to move position. I worked quickly to capture as much as I could of the start of the First Dance. I started from within the guests, facing the house, and worked my way towards the back door. I used my 18mm, 35mm and 85mm lenses before disappearing up the stairway.
First Dance in 2m10s
Once upstairs, I tried using the window to frame the scene, but quickly decided a cleaner shot showing more of the garden setting worked best. Once I had the moment with Nina holding her dress, I knew that was the image I needed for this section of the wedding. I switched to the 85mm lens to capture some tighter guest shots, then headed back to the ground level to be ready for family and friends to flood the dance floor.
The first frame of the bride and groom starting the dance was at 21:05:28 and the last frame from upstairs was at 21:07:38 – a little over 2 minutes in total.
By having a plan in place for the wedding as a whole, and then for the specific parts of the wedding day, I’m able to continually assess the strength of my coverage, and adjust and adapt as needed. This is exactly how documentary photographers approach longer assignments, and a similar approach now works well for wedding photography.
