A day in the life of a wedding photographer

I’ve either stayed in a hotel the night before, locally, or I'll be driving to the location which can be anywhere hours away, perhaps in Wiltshire or Lancashire. Sometimes I bring my assistant.

I pack my bags of photographic equipment and some studio lighting the night before, so all I have to do is get into the car and go. No thinking. My mind is left to work into a daze of romanticism and imagine how the day will pan out. This is an excellent process for me as it allows me to work through the day and there are no surprises, and only opportunities. I’m ready.

I arrive early. Usually an hour before I need to, just in case.This gives me a chance to do a recce of the location before it's time to photograph the bride and her bridesmaid getting ready. Sometimes there is an opportunity to go to the location before the wedding day; and if I've seen the whole location, which can vary greatly from wedding to wedding, it means I have ideas swirling in my mind before I get there. When I set off on the wedding day I see the weather on my travels, which also helps me develop my vision.

Photographing the bride and bridesmaid is one of the most personal moments that I get to share. It’s that bit before the main event - everyone’s being organized and checking things whilst trying to be relaxed. Some moments are relaxed, but nerves get the better of us - though not in a bad way - and there can be a touch of nervous anticipation. It could be worries about the day ahead; will everything go smoothly? Or nerves about looking OK; or that he will be there waiting. Whatever it is, it's emotional, a charged atmosphere, and I get to photograph it. It’s great TV.

Technically we are almost complete strangers, although I have built a relationship with my clients, compared to the others around I am the least known and yet part of a very personal moment. This is just part of the job. It’s a great feeling.

I feel like a good friend. I do try to become part of the room and not be obtrusive. I find it very easy to enjoy these moments before the wedding and create images from them. It really is the beginning of the day’s story.

I always move onto the wedding ceremony location a good while before the bride, to capture the boys. They are usually greeting people, so the moments here are very different to where I’ve just been. However, the tension is still there. In fact it’s not tension, its excitement. I’m sure it is. And you see the groom and his men having quiet moment or even jokes to help each other out. I know it’s the groom getting married but the best men and ushers are a key role to the survival of the morning of the wedding, for the groom. I get to photograph those moments the guys have. They are unique, promising and make us proud of our other halves. 

This is also a good time for capturing any elements of the weddings, flowers arranged, places set, the interior of a church or a hall. All these parts of the wedding are very important, as these are just small elements that were all personally picked by the bride and groom (and probably mothers!). This is what makes the day wholly theirs.

When the bride arrives there is ever such a rush, even I get hot and flustered. Luckily I use that wave to ride on.

Traditionally the father of the bride (I love that film!) gives the bride away, but these days this is less common. The whole world is a much smaller place now, meaning that life is not laid out as it used to be. At my own brother's wedding my father gave the bride away. It was so cool, her asking Dad to do this. It is an honourable role. Photographing the arrival of the bride with the person chosen to give her away, I find a very personal moment and a good one to capture.

I am very much reportage or documentary photography when it comes to moments like this. I don’t believe in setting up a moment that happens naturally, like stepping out of a car. I also feel the bride has much more on her plate than wanting to have her picture made rather than the moment photographed.

The ceremony: I go classic all the way. Get the bride coming in. Get the groom looking back, and get them going out together. Yippee!! They did it. My only flaw in this part of the day is that I always have a wee tear when the ceremony takes place. This is not good for focusing and me. I have to buck up, so I concentrate waiting for moments that you know are going to happen.

That’s one thing about wedding photography, in fact all photography that people don’t seem to realise. People say ‘oh that was lucky’ and what they mean is ‘that was lucky to capture that moment’. Maybe you're in church, the couple are standing together, the priest is in mid-flow hands raised and a beam of light shines through the back of the church’s stained glass windows creating a spot light on the couple like a sign from God, and she looks at him gazing…

What you don’t realise is the planning this takes. A good photographer will see that window, and the couple and know where the light is and that the clouds may clear; and so are ready for if that shot appears, whilst looking for and photographing other wedding shots.

If were to find a spot in your local town, or if in my home town of Richmond and find a good backdrop, either good graphics or pretty colours that can be blurred… Then just sit there and wait - so many opportunities can take place. You have to be skilled and fast enough to visualise, see and be ready to capture those moments.

OK, so I’ve gone off track a little here, but  I'm passionate about wedding photography. In fact no, I’m passionate about romance and commitment and what weddings mean as a whole. And I’m passionate about making imagery that tells a story about romance.

The ceremony has finished, I am already down the aisle waiting to get them coming out together. I then go outside where everyone congregates for the immediate celebrations. The tension that was there before has completely vanished and now we are all overcome with relief, happiness, elation, energy, and vibrancy.

This part of the day I usually advise people to dedicate to traditional wedding photography. Whether it’s on Richmond Hill, by the famous Turner view in the backdrop, or a sunset in Plymouth by the sea. This next hour is for the bride and groom to unwind, and to get the formal photos set up and completed.

Big group shot. I always do this first. It’s the hardest one to conduct. But when it’s done everyone is very happy, and there are always good results from these shots too.

I then start with medium group shots and work my way down to the bride and groom. I pick a great location or backdrop for the group shots, so they look part of the scenery and not just put there. I also play with their positioning so they look like a real team, again rather than just put there.

The bride and groom photos. These are my absolute favourite of the whole day. This part of the photo shoot is completely different compared to the rest of day, and even to anyone else’s bride and groom shots.

I find several places to shoot. First of all, one way; then if the weather or light changes we can move on to somewhere just as exciting. I also always take the opportunity to use new things I see. Although the event is organised you can't help but be spontaneous and I know people like that. You get inspired by the bride and groom and their behaviour too.

Once, I remember I went off just a few yards to look at places and turned around and the couple were whispering in each others' ears. I think they were just relieved and happy to be together finally. But behind them was a huge decorative hedge with a picket fence and a sunset. Oh, it was perfect, an honest moment of beauty so I shot it and we moved onto the next shot.

Another example: once in Richmond Hill Hotel. They have many grand rooms but when you look out, the scene is not quite so attractive as it is mostly car park. Here, I used bays of the windows and positioned the couple. I left them to chat for a minute, relax into it and then that’s when the good stuff came. The sun lit up and burst through the window and they lit beautifully, with the old style wooden panels and green curtains surrounding them. It was perfect, we all knew that was a genuinely beautiful moment. Their theme was green. 

Another time I can think of is at the barn near Weston Patrick. The bride was being given away by her grandmother; I knew this was of importance to her so I made it a priority to take some good photos of her. When we got to the second location after the church I saw her grandma walking my way, and the gardens looked awesome, so I set my camera up so that when she was closer I could snap away. I turned to the shot and she looked up, stood up straight and did a shoulder shrug with a really big smile, holding her cane just like show girls do. It was a great shot and a superb location.