DOCUMENTARY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Let me capture your day as it was, filled with every laugh, every tender moment and all those spontaneous dance moves.
As a documentary wedding photographer, my idea of wedding photography is not your usual looking straight at the camera formal style. I want to capture the day as it was with all the laughter, love, and everything in-between, including the joyful moments of friendship. I'll photograph all the excitement and even some of the nerves. I want to show precisely how the day was!
So expect me early on, when everyone is buzzing around getting ready or ticking things off their 'to do' list. When your dad or mum comes through the door to see you in your wedding dress for the first time, I'll be there. When you're both looking directly at each other during the ceremony, and it feels like the world is a million miles away, I'll be there to capture it. When your favourite song comes on, and you're dancing with friends and family, I'll be dancing too! Well, taking pictures and dancing – it's a fun combination!
Top 5 things I focus on as a
documentary wedding
photographer
Top 5 things I focus on as a documentary wedding photographer
01 / THE ART OF CONVERSATION
Being a documentary wedding photographer isn't just about capturing images silently; it's also about engagement. I find that having a chat with the couple, their family, and friends right from the start sets everyone at ease. It's this approach that allows me to blend in, almost like another guest, capturing those genuine moments. There's an art to knowing when to join the conversation and when to step back and let the scene unfold, ensuring those candid shots are as natural as possible.
02 / RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
With experience comes a sixth sense for anticipating those fleeting moments that make a wedding special. It's about being in the right spot at just the right time, ready to capture a laugh, a tear, or a look that says it all. Weddings bring together a mosaic of people, making every set of photographs uniquely eclectic and endlessly fascinating to document.
03 / SHOW ME THE LOVE
Hopefully, after looking through my images, you would have gained a sense of a theme running through them, I'm particularly drawn to happiness and the warmth that can accumulate from a wedding, I enjoy photographing people. If you give me a still object to photograph, I would get bored very quickly but throw people and the ray of emotions that can be displayed on a wedding day. You have something that I can really connect with.
04 / THAT’S HOW THE STORY GOES
Storytelling is perhaps one of the oldest forms of human connection, rivalled only by music, and it's rare to find someone who doesn't appreciate a good story. I view weddings as an ideal setting for storytelling. Each image captures a slice of human emotion, a snapshot in the larger narrative of life. By assembling a collection of images from throughout the day, I aim to craft a narrative that not only documents but revitalises the very essence of the occasion. It’s my hope that, in viewing these photos, you'll find yourself immersed, reliving the unfolding story with every heartbeat.
05 / I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR
The dance floor is one of my favourite parts about documenting weddings! My main aim is to get in close to capture all the action. So whether your mate is 'attempting' the worm, or your bridesmaid is in the centre of a circle with those epic moves, I'll be there. When all your friends rush to the dancefloor after the first dance, or even when you both get lifted onto shoulders, hands in air, ecstatic smiles on your face, I'll be there!
FAQ / documentary WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHy
What is documentary wedding photography?
As a documentary wedding photographer, my approach centres around immersing myself in the vibrant, candid moments that make your celebration uniquely yours. Rather than choreographing artificial scenes, I'll be that subtle observer - effortlessly blending into the joyous chaos to capture the genuine laughter, tears, and dance-floor antics as they unfurl organically.
Expect me there from those initial flutters of anticipation as you primp and pamper, continuing straight through to the electric atmosphere of the reception's final tracks. Whether it's your bridesmaid's poorly stifled giggle fits, your mother's heart-bursting pride as you cinch your gown, or you both lost in a transcendent ceremony embrace - I'll be hovering discreetly, contemporary photojournalist that I am, to vividly document those extraordinary yet fleeting moments.
My role extends beyond just releasing the shutter; it's harnessing an intuitive knack for storytelling through candid imagery that conveys the authentic energies, relationships, and raw emotion of your wedding day. It's being that ever-present fly on the wall positioned perfectly to immortalise each split-second glance and connection exhaled with rich, palpable feeling.
How does a documentary approach differ from traditional wedding photography?
While traditional wedding photography often involves copious staging and art direction, my documentary approach as an observer purposely avoids excessive manoeuvring. Rather than incessantly rearranging you both like museum sculptures, I'll be that unobtrusive spectator - absorbing and capturing those unstaged yet profoundly intimate instants merely as they elegantly unfold.
So don't expect a bombardment of directives to incessantly remind you I'm there. My documentation occurs discreetly, unobtrusively blending into the celebration's natural energetic ebbs and flows. From the raucous hilarity of dancefloor shenanigans among your beloved squad to the gentle synchronicity of your fingertips entwined during that solemn vow exchange - I'll be an ever-present yet occulted narrator vividly preserving those candid moments suffused with raw emotion.
Essentially, my documentary images embrace the extraordinary within the ordinary. With minimal post-production polish, these visuals showcase not just how your wedding looked, but encapsulate the authentic atmospheres of how it felt to actually revel amongst it. Each frame rendering an unvarnished celebration of the beauty inherent in life's imperfectly perfect instants.
So you have a date, and have found the perfect place for the celebrations! Next up must be the photographer, right? Well, I hope you enjoy browsing through my website and think this style of documentary wedding photography could complete the day. Wedding dates can be booked up to 2-3 years in advance so please get in touch as soon as you have a confirmed date to avoid disappointment.