Since starting up my wedding photography business, Red Photo, I have been thrust into many shooting situations that call for quick responses and timing. I am a documentary photographer by nature and photographing weddings, while in the vein of documentary work, presents some whole new challenges. Things happen very quickly during a wedding day from the bride and groom preparing for the ceremony, to the first kiss, the first dance, and the cake cutting. Even though the workflow of the wedding day is a bit predictable, the photographs are anything but that. You have to constantly be ready for something to happen and you also have to be able to predict when something will happen, where it will occur, and how you are going to capture that fleeting moment. So it is hard to relax during the event. I find myself constantly scanning for interesting photograph that will tell the story of the couple’s wedding day and other elements that will add to the story. This is where the detail shots come into play. Many times photographers will neglect the simple elements of the invitations or the flowers. It is important as a photographer to not only see these simple details, but to find ways to capture them in photographs that are compositionally sound, well lit, and convey a story. Many time these little elements mean a great deal to the bride and groom. Things like the wedding rings, marriage vows, guest books, and favors, all add to the special nature of the day and really personalize it. I enjoy photographing all of these details because it coincides well with my formalistic style. You can read more about formalism in my post ‘Photography Movements – Formalism‘. I think that photographing details at a wedding is a great way to show your style and get a little more artistic than some of the necessary photographs.
So I encourage you to photograph lots of details and use these as your way to express your artistic style. Read ‘Finding Your Artistic Style‘ for more on how to do this.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
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[...] To read more about this and to see more wedding detail photographs see my posts ‘Don’t Forget the Details‘ and ‘It’s All in the Details at a Wedding.’ [...]