The art of documentary wedding photography
People often label different types of photography and documentary wedding photography has become one of those popular terms splashed about on many photographers websites in the last few years, or so it seems. It certainly is a popular term and can also be described as reportage. So, what is documentary wedding photography?
I have been lucky enough to have been 'documenting' weddings for over 12 years and have immersed myself in the world of documentary wedding photography from when I decided in 2008 that the coolest job out there was 'documentary wedding photographer'! Well it has a ring to it yeah!
I wanted to portray weddings through natural, timeless images, that were captured via observation, rather than orchestration. I wanted to be invisible, like a fly on the wall capturing fleeting moments with no interruption.
The wedding images I capture need to be storytelling, framed perfectly, telling the intimate story of the couples union and important event with thought and skill. Capturing emotion and framing these treasured moments moments forever.
One of the most important aspects of being a documentary wedding photographer is being able to fit into the wedding day naturally and unobtrusively. Enabling the photographer to capture the real and special moments (big or small) throughout your wedding day and documenting them in a way that tells the real story of the day, from start right though to end.
Documentary wedding images will tell your unique story. When you look back at you wedding images you will remember the moments, the people and the special time you had with all your guests, having put all that effort and money into you wedding you can relax having booked a skilled professional.
After all, a wedding day is not an eight hour photoshoot. Your wedding photographer should be there to capture all the important moments without having to stop you and pose you. Being in the right place at the right time, with the insight and experience it almost comes intuitively, having honed my skills through my Fine Art degree practice and also now though shooting 100's of weddings, I am able to anticipate moments occurring before they happen, being ready to frame them in an instant. Moments are fleeting after all and can not be recreated!
If you love the idea of having wedding photos that will forever make you laugh and cry with joy, surprising you with both their beauty and also with how they have captured the real events and emotion of the day, then my style of photography could be what you are looking for.
Natural documentary photography doesn’t ‘orchestrate’ events, neither would it take you away from your day, your guests nor require you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.
It’s your wedding day and I’ll be there to capture it discreetly, professionally and in a way that allows me to capture the most intimate, joyous, emotional moments of your day and provide you with unique, timeless and breath-taking memories. Of course it is also great to some portraits for 15 - 30 mins during the day, which will top the photography with beautiful images of you in the local area of your celebration.
With over a decade of experience, my customer testimonials support my dedication to my craft and my ever willingness to exceed my clients expectations.
Below are some wedding photography images that I have taken throughout my career.
