Wedding Fun
Why I Love this Wedding Photograph
Ever heard the phrase “dance like no one is watching”? I see a lot of that at Sussex weddings. It’s the one time you really can just let go & enjoy yourself…get dressed up, laugh with friends, eat & drink & of course dance. Seeing two people getting married, celebrating how much they love each other brings out the best in all of us.
Documenting a Wedding
As a Sussex wedding photographer, I see all these things as they happen & even better I often see the build up to them & then photograph what happens. Patience is one of the most important things in a wedding photographer. Sometimes I will be watching three or four little groups of people knowing something is going to happen with all of them. I’m almost always rewarded with great shots as guests howl with laughter as a joke comes to its climax or see a poignant moment between mother of the groom and son, or father of the bride & daughter. Bridesmaids of course provide a lot of shots as they are there because they are special to the bride & often know a lot of the guests.
Dancing with a Flower Girl
In this particular shot, I saw the bridesmaid run off chasing the flower girl. I got a couple of frames of them running, but knew there was better to be had, so I kept an eye on them as well as several other groups. After a while they stopped running & chatted for a while, then got up and started to head back before stopping & starting to twirl around each other swinging faster & faster. I got lots of shots but this one was my favourite. I love the movement, the bridesmaid’s & the flower girl’s hair, as well as their dresses. The glass of champagne carefully held out at arms length makes me smile, it also provides a good balance in the shot too. I framed it through the painted tins to give some depth & colour. The lush green grass & the hazy light gives a strong feeling of summer & reminds me of running in fields when I was a kid. This particular field was at this lovely Sussex venue.
How I Shot this Photograph
This shot was fairly straight forward technically, I just needed to make sure I had a fast shutter speed. The light was good, it was mostly about making sure it was framed well & caught them at the best moment possible. People often suggest to me that if you shoot enough frames you’ll get the best shot, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. If you shoot a lot you actually miss the best moment because you’re not looking for it. I only shot a few frames, but knew at the end I had got the shot I wanted. It’s not always the shot you expect, sometimes it’s better!
Here’s the full blog from Polly & Alex’s wedding.
Camera – Canon 5D MKIII
Lens – EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM at 60mm
Shutter speed – 1/2000 sec
Depth of field – f/4.0
ISO – 200
