Rationale

As my Unit 13 essay was based on wedding photography, I decided to submit 10 photographs from the last wedding that I photographed. I purposefully picked 1 single wedding rather than a compilation of various weddings to show that A) each wedding has its own individual moments and idiosyncrasies and B) that the important images in a wedding album, although different for each wedding, still retain the same core values. Different elements of the wedding itself, the way i choose to compose or photograph them vary greatly from wedding to wedding, but these core shots are still evident in every wedding I photograph. I also purposefully picked the last wedding I photographed so as not to have the unit submissions hand-picked for suitability but to show that EVERY wedding I do has these core elements. If you were to look at the wedding albums of all the weddings I had photographed this year, you would find each one of these images in there, albeit photographed completely differently.

Each one of these images is commercially viable as a wedding photographer, as each one is photographed with that particular client in mind, and if I was to sell prints I would be confident that I would sell each one of these to the client.

Below I will detail each photograph and the editing process i chose for each one. I do as little editing as possible to my images and very rarely use photoshop as i believe in getting things right in-camera, which will be evident from the before and after pictures below. I will also detail whether each image was posed or unposed where appropriate.

The Images

Getting Ready

One of the shots of the bride getting ready-the beautiful clip being placed in her hair was a gift from her grandmother years before who had recently passed away. Unposed image.

Before/after

ISO 1250, 50mm, F1.8, edited in lightroom.

Image was brightened and warmed up slightly using my own lightroom preset.

Bridal Portrait

The bride at her apartment window just before leaving for the ceremony. Posed image.

Before/after

ISO 250, 50mm, F1.8, 1/100, edited in lightroom.

Image was straightened, preset applied and highlights recovered.

The Groom awaiting his Bride

The extremely nervous groom waiting for his bride to make her entrance. Unposed image.

Before/after

ISO 1600, 105mm, F2.0, 1/200, edited in lightroom.

Black and white conversion using my own lightroom preset

First Kiss

The newly married couple share their first kiss as man and wife. Unposed image.

Before/after

ISO 1600, 55mm, F4.0, 1/100, edited in lightroom

Brightened and warmed up slightly using my own preset.

Signing the register

The signing of the marriage register. Unposed image.

Before/after

ISO 1600, 84mm, F4.0, 1/250

Brightened and warmed up using my own preset

Full group shot

A group shot of all the guests at the wedding. This wedding took place in Whitby so i thought it important to capture the Abbey in the background which was perfectly placed for the photo to be taken at the whalebones near Whitby beach.

Before/after

ISO 160, 32mm, F10, 1/160

Brightened, white balance cooled and lens correction applied

The Reception

The reception, usually a very formal affair, was distinctive and quirky at this wedding.

Before/after

ISO 500, 50mm, F1.8, 1/800, edited in lightroom

Brightened and warmed up, vignette using my own preset

Couple Portrait

We found an old ice cream van on our wander around Whitby to do the couple portraits that I am fairly well known for, and decided to use it. Posed image.

Before/after