Wedding Games
Why I Love this Wedding Image
Every time I look at this image it makes me smile. That surely has to be what I am trying to do as a Sussex wedding photographer, to evoke a reaction, a smile, a tear, a feeling of love or tenderness. A photograph can just record what happened at a wedding, but can also be so much more.
The Russian Bread Game
As Olga is from Russia, at Bhav and Olga’s wedding they had several games, one of which is the bread game. The idea is that whoever can take the biggest bite of the bread will rule the household. Both Bhav and Olga are hugely competitive, so I knew this would be fun and I wasn’t disappointed. Both took the game seriously and were itching to go when it started. I think both of them had been really looking forward to this point in the day. As you can see from the image, Bhav won and couldn’t contain his joy. It’s not just his reaction that I love, though that alone is wonderful, it’s also Olga’s reaction and her mothers. They all add something to the image making it so much more than just about Bhav’s joy. The colour in the image helps too, as well as the bread in the foreground setting the scene.
How I Shot this Wedding Photograph
It’s very hard to know what exactly is going to happen during a game like this. Sometimes the shot is more about the composition than a reaction, or about the colour or shape or light. So it’s important to be ready for pretty much anything. I like to use a wide angle lens, probably around 24mm, which is one of my favourites. Using a lens like that you need to be in nice and close, right in the action. At some points during a wedding day it’s important to be discreet, but in this instance nobody will notice you because of all the action, so you can get in as close as you like as it all happens. Sometimes being part of the action is good as it intensifies what’s going on, particularly if it makes them want to win more! Having my camera set to shoot continuous frames is also important as one shot just a fraction of a second before or after can make the difference between a good and a great shot. I use available light as much as possible, mostly because that’s what I like most, but also because flash can just become another technical aspect that has to be considered when all my attention should be on what is going on in front of me. I usually use a fairly deep depth of field just so everything I need to be in focus is. It’s one of only a handful of times on a wedding day that I do this and it can be very effective, catching everything in the frame rather than losing areas that are very out of focus. Of course with a wide angle lens it doesn’t take a lot to keep everything in focus, just f5.6 or thereabouts.
My Camera Settings
Camera – Fuji XT2
Lens – 24mm
Shutter speed – 1/250 sec
Depth of field – f/5.6
ISO – 6400
Exposure – manual
If you enjoyed this post then you might be interested to see my last blog post about wedding confetti chaos as well as this one about wedding day reactions.
Here are a few of the people that took part in this wedding.
Videographer – Photo Video Guru
Cars – Premiere Carriage
DJ – Pure Rhythm Disco
Venue – Horwood House