Contemporary Wedding Photography

Natural, Contemporary & Stylish Photography

Photographers use many different terms to define their "look" or style. We pride ourselves on capturing natural, spontaneous photographs of your day but we realise many people wish to have a small number of arranged group photographs, usually close family & friends as well as images to record the details of the day. Contemporary wedding photography literally means "of the present day" or "a modern style" and typically this includes a Reportage style - reporting and documenting the events of the day as they occur. Some reportage wedding photographers take this to an extreme and do not interact with the guests or events at all which provides a fly on the wall style set of images with nothing set up or moved to a better position. Our contemporary wedding photography style recognises most people would like some group photos on the day, e.g. parents, close family & friends, so we will help you define what those images are and ensure we get them on the day quickly and politely getting people into position. Once those more formal images have been taken we can revert to our reportage, natural style, capturing people at their best as they are unaware their photograph is being taken.

Here we demonstrate our typical "trademark images" we would look to achieve on your wedding day. Obviously every wedding and every couple are different (otherwise we would be completely bored!) so our favourite images differ on each occasion as the events of your day unfold and your personality comes out in the photographs.

Rule 1 - Make the Bride look good!

It goes without saying that people want to look good in their wedding photos and it is obviously vitally important to show the bride looking absolutely fabulous. Many brides say they don't like having their photograph taken so we always arrange a pre-wedding shoot to build up your confidence that we are actually nice people to have around, and can help you relax while making you look wonderful in the pictures.

Many brides and grooms actually say they forgot we were there after the first few minutes and they were happy to relax, enjoy their day and not worry about how the photographs would look.

We find many things can go wrong on wedding days, but if you as bride and groom carry on enjoying the day, gazing at each other and obviously in love then we always get wonderful pictures for you.

Rule 2 - Take the mickey out of the Groom

The groom, best man and the ushers can often be nervous leading up to the ceremony and it doesn't take much encouragement for a little light hearted banter to develop between them. This makes for some great shots and also helps them relax and enjoy the day. Most men look great in their formal suits and we can capture some wonderful images of the guys walking and talking together, going their best "Reservoir Dogs" impression.

Rule 3 - Capture the important little details

Many hours, days, weeks and months of effort can go into the planning of a wedding along with finalising the important details such as dresses, shoes, colours, bridesmaids dresses, hair, make up, jewellery, cars, flowers, invitations, table layouts and so on. Throughout the day we look to capture all of the details so you can treasure them forever in your wedding album.

Rule 4 - Look out for the little things

One of the traits of being experienced wedding photographers is we know what should happen next, but we can look out for the unexpected events which often make the day special. These can include little family groupings, emotional glances between the two of you, your friends, and any children doing whatever children do.

Rule 5 - Get any group photos done quickly

The vast majority of our clients want natural, relaxed photographs with a small number of arranged groups, usually close family & friends. We have a template list which we give to you a few weeks before the wedding. This basically includes the wedding party, mums & dads on both sides, brothers & sisters, the girls from the hen night, boys from the stag night and a group shot of everybody. You get to edit the list, add on any specific shots we haven't included and take off any which are not required. We then go into the day knowing exactly which formal group shots are required. Obviously if you suddenly think of something on the day then we are more than happy to take any ad-hoc images as requested.

Once the ceremony is over and people have begun to relax perhaps over drinks and canapes we can start to assemble the required groups with the help of a friendly usher or two. We normally aim to get all of the formal photographs done in 30 mins or less leaving plenty of time for you to socialise with your guests. 

If the weather is poor on the day then we have 2 back up plans. Firstly we bring along a set of 6 large white golfing umbrellas. These allow us to take small group shots outdoors if required and also help you get around without getting wet. Secondly we bring along a set of studio lights which we can set up indoors if required to take group shots - we would much prefer to take photos of you and your guests looking warm, dry and happy rather than cold, wet and miserable. 

Rule 6 - Allow Bride & Groom time together

People often say your wedding day goes by in a rush so quickly you can easily miss it without realising. We encourage you as bride & groom to take a breather and relax a few times during the day. This gives you time to talk to each other, say how much you are enjoying the day and it gives us chance to capture some fabulous romantic images of you together.

While your guests are being seated for the wedding breakfast we can grab 5-10 minutes with you and get some great shots away from the crowds when you can relax and just be yourselves.

There are some photographers who insist on taking the bride & groom away for hours during their day to take extravagantly choreographed and staged pictures. We prefer to work quickly, getting wonderful results and then letting you get back to your family & friends to continue enjoying your day. 

Rule 7 - Informal photos of people relaxing

People often prefer photographs of themselves taken when they were unaware the camera is on them. This is a key feature of our wedding photography and we do this in a number of ways:

We dress smartly and move inconspiciously among your guests during the day and they soon forget we are there. We use telephoto lenses which allow us to capture great portraits from a distance. Most importantly because we always work as a team of two photographers people will see one of us and relax thinking the camera is not pointed at them, forgetting there is a second camera which may well be getting a great photo of them at the same time. 

Rule 8 - Details from the wedding breakfast

.When the wedding breakfast room is set up we will go around and capture all of the details such as flowers, place cards, menus, favours, etc. These can be included in your wedding album as reminders of your day. 

Rule 9 - Capture the speeches and the reactions

While we always take photographs of the person giving each speech, it is often the reactions from around the room which make the most memorable images. Using a telephoto lens we can capture expressions from across a room where people are unaware their picture is being taken. Any particularly funny or embarassing stories always make for great pictures. Often this natural photography of people laughing, crying or the groom simply holding his head in his hands is most popular as it shows people as they really are without any posing for the camera.

Rule 10 - The first dance and the evening reception 

We have seen a wide range of first dances over the years and always look to capture the emotions of the event in a way which makes you as the bride and groom look good. Even if dancing is not your strong point we can make shuffling in the middle of the dance floor look fantastic when presented with great lighting as a classic black and white image.