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?
Documentary wedding photography is an approach that centres around immersing the photographer in the vibrant, candid moments that make your every wedding unique. Rather than choreographing, documentary photographers are the subtle observer - effortlessly blending into the joyous chaos to capture the genuine laughter, tears, and dance-floor antics as they unfurl organically.
In essence, documentary wedding photography 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?
So the biggest difference between traditional wedding photography and documentary wedding photography is posing. You've all seen those traditional wedding photographs, bride posing, looking directly in the camera. Documentary is more natural, rather than say that bride posing, the photographer has managed to capture a moment of the bride in an unobtrusive way, a moment she might not know was taken but it will be all the better for it. This unobtrusive approach is at the heart of documentary wedding photography.
With a documentary style, couples shouldn't expect a bombardment of orders reminding them of the photographer's presence. The documentation occurs discreetly, unobtrusively blending into the celebration's natural flow and energy. From the tender moments during the ceremony to the raucous hilarity of dance floor shenanigans, documentary photographers are ever-present, preserving those candid instances of raw emotion. It's this commitment to capturing the genuine, unscripted story of your wedding day that sets documentary photography apart from traditional posed styles.
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.