Unscripted Love: The Story Behind My Documentary Wedding Photographs - Breaking The Fourth Wall19/1/2025 The second in my attempt to provide an alternative to the 'epic' wedding shots that social media favours with a series of my favourite documentary photographs, along the story behind them to show why these authentic moments mean so much to my clients and me...
I've deliberately chose to share this one early in the series - as much I love capturing real, un-posed moments during a wedding day I'm not going to be dogmatic about it & not take a photo if the folks in it have noticed, and then reacted to my camera -as in this photo which, serendipitously, still has a strong documentary element... it's ok to break The fourth wall sometimes! This is Ciara & Andy's Bishop's Gate Hotel Wedding, after the ceremony during the 'receiving line' on the landing. After embracing Ciara & close friend Audrey both look straight at the camera for me to capture the moment while they're both beaming with happiness and genuine joy - it would have made a great photo in it's own right - but at the same time I'd noticed Audrey's partner was just about to acknowledge Andy, and by delaying a wee second or two I was able to add their handshake to the photo... Storytelling wise the handshake isn’t just a random detail; it adds to the narrative of connection and togetherness that ran through the whole wedding day. Rather than the bride and her friend being the sole subject of the photos it's now both the couples naturally interacting... For me, this photograph is a reminder of why I love capturing weddings in a documentary style - I could have stopped for the handshake to finish as it was 'blocking' the photos - missing that extra details and probably causing the smiles to naturally subdue bur It's the unscripted, unrepeatable element that makes the photo - which would be impossible to recreate... Thanks if you have read this far & if you're drawn to the idea of wedding photography that goes beyond the traditional and focuses on authentic, meaningful moments, I’d love to hear from you...
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