Wedding Photography…My Opinion!
For me, picking my wedding photographer was a very personal choice. Both Jubby and I don’t enjoy being photographed and he tends to look like he has sat on something rather uncomfortable, unless you catch him off guard! I studied Photography when I was younger and am a keen amateur photographer so, I suppose a lot of my personal taste in composition and style comes from this.
I think you need to make a decision on whether you want your photographs to be posed portraits of you and your day or more along a documentary/abstract approach to photography. I chose the latter. I also chose a photographer who still works with an analogue camera rather than a digital. I knew that there would be an entire congregation armed with their own digital cameras (apparently the opportunity to photograph me in a church sporting a white dress was too much of an opportunity for my friends to miss catching it on camera!), and the texture and depth of the old ways, for me, are more aesthetically pleasing. In relation to your family and friends photos. My advice to you all would be have someone on standby either at the end of the wedding or the next day (if you are having a post wedding brunch etc) with a laptop and a neg card reader. Try and download as many of the photos as you can in situ because trying to collect them afterwards takes an age! Don't under estimate the quality of amateur shots. Some of my favorite photos from our wedding came from friends and family!
There is a lot to be said about knowing your subject. Like any other form of art, photography encapsulates peoples emotions and characters. Having a rapport with your photographer is important. If you do not connect with them you will not relax around them thus handicapping their ability to get the best shots of you. I met one man who made my skin crawl so badly I could not even sit in a room with him, let alone spend an entire day with him. The key to getting the right photographer for the day is make a list of what style you like, whether you want film or digital photographs (remember all film can now be loaded onto a disc anyway) and then spend a little time with them. Organise the meeting in a coffee shop or somewhere informal and see how you get on.
Jubbs and I chose a wonderful photographer called Annie Angelopoulou who we just adore. So much so, that whenever I am in Athens I always make time to spend at least 2 hours in a coffee shop with her! Here are a few of her shots of my wedding!
Photos by Annie Angelopoulou
At the start of my career, I can't say that I had any interest or even an opinion on wedding photography. In fact due to the lack of internet and the fact that I never bought or looked at wedding magazines, I think my only experience of wedding photos would have come through the framed pictures of my family's weddings and perhaps the odd wedding album of my Greek friends. Not a good start really!
At some point, I suddenly saw some images that attracted my attention, I then started to research and look into what is out there, it was such a pleasant surprise!
So on to today, I have become very opinionated about wedding photography, I appreciate this art form, I constantly look at ideas, options, shoots to get inspiration, however at all times I always return to the same core belief:
If a photographer can take four or five candid unposed shots of you, through which you can see the emotion, the look, the atmosphere of the day, nothing else matters. These five shots tell the story, you should love looking at them and they will always take you back to that day. Of course you should have many shots that show the details and tell the entire story, so you don't forget anything, but those are the shots everyone will love!
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