Documentary Wedding Photographer
Make Your Wedding Memories Last a Lifetime
I’ve been a professional documentary wedding photographer based in Berkshire for over twenty years and in that time not only have I established a successful wedding photography business, I’ve carved out my own distinctive style of photographing and editing. My Wedding Photography style is embedded in the genre of documentary or photojournalism, also described as reportage or candid. My documentary photo images are focused on the observation of people and emotions on a wedding day which is why I refer to my photographic work as ‘observational documentary wedding photography’.
‘The decisive moment’ is a phrase coined by Henri Cartier Bresson
Great documentary photography requires all the elements of picture taking in its highest artistic form, including great composition, beautiful lighting and the crucial component that elevates a documentary photograph to one that truly captures a moment in time, telling a story of people and what their doing within a single image with all its emotion to evoke a memory from the viewer, and as an experienced photographer key to this is putting yourself in the right positions to capture those little moments within a single frame, hence the decisive moment!
And, as a photographer, it is about having the experience to know where to position yourself so that you can capture those elusive moments within a single frame.
Natural, un-orchestrated and un-posed candid wedding photographs
It’s your wedding, the day that you have spent a lot of money and time planning. A once-in-a-lifetime occasion which you want to enjoy every moment with your friends, family and loved ones. Documentary wedding photography allows all the emotions and special moments to be recorded naturally as they happen. Of course, you will want some stunning portraits of yourselves as a couple but I will keep this short and personal to you so that I capture you interacting with each other as you would instinctively, rather than directing you into staged poses and taking you away from being with your guests.
Some of my couples say ‘Mark we trust you’ and they just enjoy their day knowing that I am there taking all those important memory shots in the background. Many photographers may say they are documentary but if you look at a complete wedding there may only be a few images amongst more formal or posed images. Documentary wedding photography is the hardest genre because you have to anticipate scenes and be constantly looking for special moments, whereas a photographer who relies on constructing images and posing their couples and their guests means they are able to control what is happening in front of and in the camera, which can lead to predictable and staged photos that are replicated across several weddings.
Setting the scene……Great storytelling wedding pictures will set the scene and capture the key events of your wedding day so that as you turn each page of your wedding album your story unfolds. Some of the most beautiful documentary photographs use layers, reflections and mirrors to build the story within each wedding image. It’s all in the detail……There will be lots of special touches that reflect your individual personalities and experiences which you will want to be captured that add detail to your wedding story. You will have taken time to choose the flowers, shoes, and table settings and as a documentary wedding photographer, I am there to tell your story through beautiful images finding ways to incorporate those little wedding details within your wedding photographs.
Flash!…… Lots of wedding venues have stunning ambient lighting to create the perfect atmosphere for the wedding band or dancing, and although this looks incredible in the room the light reflects on people’s faces, so I use an off-the-camera LED lighting system to ensure your will be perfectly lit whilst maintaining the lighting in the background of the photograph. During the day whilst you are enjoying your wedding reception, I make use of natural light to enhance your photographs and for some weddings, there are beautiful skies to capture with intense colours and cloud patterns.
I shoot the whole day on small silent mirrorless digital cameras and lenses in full colour images. During the editing process of your wedding photographs, I will convert some pictures where I can see that artistically the image is enhanced by using black and white. You will receive copyright-free your wedding images digitally and I also offer personally designed wedding albums as part of your wedding photography package.
UN-POSED, Timeless, classic, stunning, NATURAL storytelling, reportage wedding day pictures full of emotion
That captures the story of your unique wedding day and will provide you with a lifetime of wedding memories in every photograph. I want you to look at your wedding photographs and be transported back to those feelings in that moment of time, each and every time you look at them. Book an award-winning wedding photographer today!