Reportage Wedding Photography
I would say I class myself as a reportage wedding photographer, although I also create some stunning portraits for my clients, 80 % of day is reactionary photography rather than shots I have manipulated, I would not class myself as a pure documentary wedding photographer – a good friend of mine and one of the top documentary wedding photographers in the country – Kevin Mullins – http://www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk/ is a pure documentary wedding photographer – the difference is Kevin simply (but amazingly) documents the day as it unfolds in front of him- he even told me a story of one bride that called him up after the wedding to make sure he was okay because after the service she never saw him – when he showed her, her wedding photos she was amazing and overjoyed, I do something similar but I introduce lights when I feel the need is there and I setup a few special shots for the bride and groom.
My kind of client wants a good record of the day, photos from bridal preparations all the way through to the first dance – for this I light lots of the day with portable lighting, this is very discrete battery operated lighting that 99.9% of the time the couple are completely unaware its there, I light the speeches, the first dance, the group shots and naturally I really go to down on the bride and groom photos. The rest of the day I simply work with the light that is there, that could be room lights, candle lights, daylight etc.
To let you know what that looks like I thought I would share just a few photos from the wedding I photographed last weekend. – I will categorize the images as I go
So this set of images are from my wedding this past weekend of Sarah and Martin, held at the stunning Walton Hall in Warwickshire.
Reportage style – Bride having a joke with dad – Natural light
Reportage style Wedding Photography – Dad having a chuckle with bride – Natural light
Wedding Dress photo – This is one shot that was setup – Lit with flash
The boys having a good time – this shot was setup to take advantage of the reflection in the bar – Natural light
Reportage style wedding photography – Groom chilling out before getting married – Natural light
Reportage style: Groom and Best man chatting just before the wedding – Natural light
Bridesmaids just before walking down the aisle – Natural light
Reportage Style – A moment between the bride and groom during their wedding – Natural Light
A congratulatory Kiss (real not staged) – Reportage moment – Mixed lighting flash / Available light
Reportage candid moment captured – Available light mixed with a little flash
A shot of the groom and mum 🙂 mixed lighting – natural light and flash light
During the speeches – candid moment – lit with flash
Cutting the cake – Totally lit with flash – Setup Photo
Specialty photo – setup in front of the hotel – lit with hotel lights and flash light.
The bride and groom on the hotel driveway – lit with flash and available hotel light
The first dance – lit with flash but a Reportage moement
As you can see most of the day is captured as it happens, there are times when I setup certain photos or light moments to bring out the full beauty of the photo.
Hope you like,
ciao
dp