2012-08-18 – Danielle & Daniel

It feels like so long ago from when I got that phone call from Danielle enquiring about Wedding Photography, so long ago that I can’t actually believe I have already shot her Wedding and a month has gone by???

After a very brief conversation on the phone with Danielle, we arranged a time to meet up and discuss the Wedding Day. At this point I had no idea of what the Groom’s name was, and when he said “Hi I’m Dan”, I was a little confused as I thought that was the Bride’s name. However, in an attempt to not look like an idiot and thinking I forgot the Bride’s name etc… I just went along with it, and avoided saying any names at all lol…

We took the time to get to know each other a bit better, and discuss their Wedding Day. Danielle and Daniel mentioned to me that they had to make a few last minute changes to their Wedding Plans, and one of them was the reception Venue, and that they had selected this venue purely out of the Lake view, which was an amazing view. This view can be found at The Inn On The Lake in Gravesend. She put forward an idea for a Sunset shot that she envisioned when she viewed the venue, and at this point, I became a little nervous as she chose this venue for a specific shot and I did not want to disappoint.

On the day of the actual shoot, I arrived a little early, but I used this time to capture the Preparation shots casually rather than having to rush. Which was good, because during the schedule, we lost a little time trying to chase her cats lol… Danielle and Daniel are Cat lovers and wanted her two cats to be a part of the Wedding Photos. With the help of her Bridesmaid, and a lot of crawling around on the floor, we managed to snatch a couple of shots of her Cats. (I’ve always heard “don’t work with kids or animals” but that saying never really hits home until you experience having to work with them lol)

I am thankful to the Vicar at this Wedding to allow me freedom of movement. Whenever I shoot a Wedding, I do move a lot, hunting for the best angle and perspective. I tend to shoot a lot from various places, and the Vicar allowed me freedom to walk wherever I liked, and all that he asked was that I do not get into the couples face, and thankfully I have telephoto lenses which allow me to capture facial expressions from a distance… Although this shot was a little cheeky :S

The last couple of Weddings I shot, they were all hosted within the same Venue, so it was a slight change shooting on Church Grounds. I almost forgot how beautiful they can be. Christ Church in Chislehurt was a lovely building. I began my Photography life by shooting architecture and night cityscapes, and when I saw this Church, I seriously thought it was a beautiful building. I really wanted to include the building in as many shots as I could, and for this Group Shot, I needed to use my Ultra Wide Angle to squeeze everyone in along with the building. I attempted to keep the guests as central to the frame as possible without losing too much of the building, as towards the edges of the frame, it is more likely to get distortion and I did not want any faces stretched out.

For the past couple of Weddings I have attempted to use the Brenizer Method within the Portrait Shots. Ryan Brenizer is a NYC Based Wedding Photographer that has made a name for himself by shooting the likes of President Obama, Muhammed Ali and a number of other famous figures which I cannot remember right now… He made a Photographic Technique Famous, and many Photographers have called it Bokeh-Panorama, however over time it be linked to Ryan Brenizer and is now well-known as the Brenizer Method.

In short, it allows for a wider shot, but still retaining the shallow depth of field from a close-up shot. This is a very useful technique to really put focus on an image.

I used this method to capture two Portrait shots with them, it requires around 50 shots with a shallow depth of field, and stitched up. A lot of post-processing involved. However, my favourite Portrait shot of Danielle & Daniel has to be this one.

Although the Brenizer Method demonstrates a strong technical ability to piece together a shot, my favourite shot from their Portraits is the one with pure emotion. The pose is not complex, nor was it the way I shot it, however it was their genuine smiles which I love the most.

We moved onto the Formal Group shots at which point, it was a little difficult to round up as we had called some people out, but they were no-where to be found lol… I’m very thankful to the Bridesmaid’s and Groomsmen who helped out in trying to round people up for me.

I followed the Bridal Car down to the reception Venue, at which point, I had to immediately check out the Lake with my own eyes, and it did not disappoint.

We went for a couple of Portrait Shots at the Lake, but I did not want to keep them for too long as we had done some Portraits at the Church, and have it scheduled for a Sunset shot in the evening. It is important to me that Weddings do not turn into Photoshoots as I want the couples to enjoy their actual Wedding Day and be there within the moments and not have too many staged Photographs.

The speeches were hilarious, the Groomsmen tried to play Psyke Out on the Groom and at this point I had no idea what to do as they really caught me off guard! Do I capture them Psyking him out? Or do I capture the Groom being Psyked out? Lol… The Groom held it together during his speech though, and did not let his Groomsmen get the best of him… Even when one of the Groomsmen’s Phones went off lol…

After the Speeches, we saw that the sun was on its way down, so we quickly ran out to snatch the Sunset shot… As I shoot alone at these Weddings and do not have lighting assistants etc… I didn’t want to lose too much time setting up the light stands themselves, they are prone to being blown away in the wind also, so I quickly enlisted the help of the Brides sister to hold the Flash for me.

I under exposed the shot to bring in the detail from the Sky, but in turn all that would do is underexpose Danielle & Daniel. I did not want them to be Silhouettes in the shot as I had grabbed a Silhouette of them earlier, so I asked Ashley, the Bride’s sister/Bridesmaid, to stand next to them holding the flash as high as she could, but aimed at them. It was a Bare Flash directed at their faces, just to give them some exposure in the shot.

After the Sunset shot, I left the Bride and Groom to interact with their Guests, and during this time, I tried to get as many guest photos as possibly could.

Danielle and Daniel told me they would not be having a first dance, however after the Cake Cutting, they were on the dance floor and having a first dance lol…

I’m glad they did end up having a first dance as the first dance photos for me are one of the best ones from the day. There’s always a moment during the first dance where the couple look at each other or hold each other in such a way where it shows a lot of passion or happiness, and this Wedding was no different in that sense. I love how caught up they are in this moment, and it really looks as if they were in a world of their own, not worrying about their guests, or the fact there’s a big camera aimed at them, they were just in the moment.

After their dance, the Groom and one of the Groomsmen also had a First Dance of their own, then another Groomsmen came out to rock the dance floor and got the party started for sure!

Shooting Danielle & Daniel’s Wedding was an absolute pleasure, minus the fact it was the hottest day of the year! 31 Degrees! During the group shots I had to find a spot to put them in the Shade to better lighting and less squinting for them, but in turn, it put me directly in the sun which after the shoot, when I came home, my family came up to me and said “You have a tan!” lol

But otherwise, the Wedding was a great day. I saw plenty of smiles, which makes my life easier as that’s what I look for at Weddings, and both Danielle and Daniel were the main smilers!

Throughout the day I could really see that Daniel adores Danielle like no other, as I found Daniel lovingly holding Danielle a lot, and that Daniel also makes Danielle laugh like no other. Their chemistry for each other was very apparent throughout the day, and I wish them nothing but happiness for the future.