Jess & Chris get married
The wedding of Jess and Chris on a stormy summer's day. Fortunately, the rain stopped and the sun shone just in time for the photographs....
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The wedding of Jess and Chris on a stormy summer's day. Fortunately, the rain stopped and the sun shone just in time for the photographs.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
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Top Shot Award 21
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Contest Finalist in Creative Wedding Shots Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Joyful Weddings Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Something Wedding Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken in the ground of Hogarths Hotel in Solihull, UK. Its a beautiful country house hotel with extensive grounds, including a stream and a small island, accessible across a pretty little bridge and through the trees. Weddings ceremonies are held on the island, if the weather is decent. On this day, in June 2014, the weather was stormy and there had been heavy rain for most of the morning. In spite of this, the ceremony was held on the island, where there was a small ornate covered area for the young couple (my daughter and her husband to be) and shelter for the guests. There was a good pro wedding photographer, but (when possible) I took the opportunity to capture some memories, like this one, myself.Time
As if by magic, just in time for the photographs, the sun came out and it started to warm up. This photograph was made late afternoon and was one of a number of images shot just as the confetti was being thrown over the bride and groom. All the rain in the morning had made all the colours of nature so crisp and vivid and and the air was moist.Lighting
Given the time of year - mid summer in the UK - and the time of day, the sun could have been really harsh. However, there was a lot of cloud around, so this helped tone down the brightness for this natural light image.Equipment
I handheld a Nikon D7000 with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens at 50mm (effectively a focal length of 80mm on the cropped sensor). Aperture was f/4 and shutter was at 1/3000 with an ISO set at 400 (because the lighting was changing so much due to the clouds and tree shade, I opted to set it quite high to cover all eventualities and the D7000 is particularly good at avoiding noise).Inspiration
I was full of inspiration on this day as I was 'father of the bride', so I had my official responsibilities and, also, I wanted to be with my beautiful daughter whenever she needed me there. However, even though I was happy for us to engage a pro wedding photographer, I so wanted to capture as much of the day as I could myself. My daughter glared at me a couple of times when I may have got in the way a little. But, I persevered and mingled with the guests and managed to capture an array of posed and reportage style images. But this was the 'killer image' I wanted most as it is always such a joyous and colourful moment in any wedding - and especially at the one for my daughter. The bride and groom tend to have completely relaxed by now and its not a staged, posed photograph. It was quite difficult to get a good clean shot though, as there were lots of people trying to get in to get their own images, typically on their phones. Having the ability to shoot at an effective 80mm (and being father of the bride) meant I could get close enough and, as the confetti flew, I managed to shoot 7 or 8 frames. 2 or 3 of them were not bad but this one stood out, as the bride and groom are in focus and so are many individual pieces of confetti.Editing
The image was edited in Camera Raw and Photoshop. Tweaks were made to clarity and contrast and some 'fill light' applied. The image wasn't cropped at all. As can be seen , the small amount of sky, at the top of the image, was 'blown out' and not recoverable.In my camera bag
Around the time I made this image, I always had the D7000 and the 17-50 mm f/2.8 Tamron with me - a great combination. However, depending on what I had planned on other days, I might have had my Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Macro lens or my Tamron SP 70-200 mm f/2.8 and my Nikon SB600 speedlight. I always had at least 1 spare battery and 1 spare SDHC card. I'm a fan of Tamron lenses. Since the wedding, I've switched all my photography to Fuji equipment because I need smaller lighter good quality kit, as I need to be more mobile now. Its a pity that Tamron don't make lenses that fit Fuji.Feedback
I've shot a few weddings and capturing the more formal images is hard work for everyone, especially for the bride and groom and for the photographer. The less staged, more reportage ones are more fun but still demanding, as there may be little time to get the killer shots you want (or that may have been requested by the couple). So the only tip I can give is to just keep shooting and make sure that you get a few images for each shot (especially when there are lots of people around). There are 'blinkers', funny face pullers, photo-bombers and push-ins everywhere, so the more images you make the greater the chance of getting the killer image. Take lots of batteries and memory cards for all those memories and, most of all, enjoy it.
