Another week and another time to look at something new. I thought it was time to actually show an image from a wedding ceremony, as I realise I have completely overlooked that side of things so far! Going back to the original themes I chatted about earlier on in this series, the areas I look for in my pictures are emotion, lighting and composition, and this week’s image checks the boxes for me in all three departments.
Taken from the back of the chapel with a 70-200mm lens, I was able to capture the first kiss of the bride and groom whilst remaining unobtrusive. It’s important to me to be discrete and not draw attention to myself on the day and this is a key time where I prefer to stand back and let the couple have their moment without getting in the way for them or the congregation. Keeping my distance often also affords me more opportunity to draw in the elements of the surroundings into the composition, as in this picture where we have the couple centred and the maid of honour and best man on each of the thirds. I could have zoomed in to 200mm (instead of the 100mm this was shot at) to get tighter on the couple, but I wanted to tell the story of what was going on around them at this moment in time. I like the subtle smile of the bride’s sister contrasted with the chaplain and best man going about the business of the ceremony as well as the detail of the alter and the flowers. The highlight of the picture though is undoubtedly the kiss, the bride and groom almost seem alone with everything else going on around them.
With regard to the processing, I played with versions in both black and white and colour. I decided on colour versus B&W given the warm tones of the late afternoon sun coming through the stained glass windows complementing the flowers. I also really like how the warmth of the light enhances the emotion of the image. It’s definitely one of my favourites from the day.
Have a great Labour Day weekend everyone!
