Here are two great examples of contrasting styles of wedding photography. Nicole & Vic had their wedding reception in May at Howard Park Wines in Margaret River. 

Photographing weddings for over fifteen years teaches you that a variety of shots is essential. I attract a lots of clients who really value the spontaneous moment captured in an image. It’s something I love and I am extremely passionate about. 

I also understand that there are people that say and think they love those spontaneous photos but when they view their engagement or family photos they love the ones that are directed or dare I say it “posed”.

I always discuss and plan photography on the day with my wedding clients. We work on an important “must have” shot list of friends and family who are attending the wedding. 

I give an indication of achievable bridal party and bride and groom photographs in the time my clients would prefer to be away from their guests. Often up to an hour is ample to get a large variety of bridal and bride and groom pics. 

It does help if the venue has all the photo locations there. Howard Park Wines is great because it has the rows of vineyards, it has a strand of tall trees which captured at the right angle can look like you are in a forest where actually it’s between the car park and cellar door. The architecture is also fantastic to work with. 

These two photos illustrated how within 2-3 minutes I have captured two completely different photos. In the first one the bride and groom are laughing spontaneously, the second is a more directed looking at the camera photo. 

They have moved one metre to be in position for the second photo. This saves the bride unnecessary walking on soft uneven grassed areas in high heels. It also gives you more variety of photos in the time allocated. 

As styles change you may start off loving the spontaneous photo but later on really appreciate the directed shot. There are also parents and family that may love some photos of your wedding on their wall and it’s nice to have some variety that may suit them. 

Shooting a variety of spontaneous and directed as well as full length, half waist, close ups are important. Lovely landscape scenes with the bride and groom in that scene are popular. If you think about having a large wall pice in your home, some people would prefer the image to have more going on that simply their faces. I’d certainly be in that group of thinking.