Wedding 365 series#273 is taken from a wedding this summer at Surrey wedding venue Cain Manor. You can see more from this venue by following the category links below.

I looked at the colours within this developing scene; the rich greens, the subtle blues and what to me feels like a connecting tone of the florists’ purple uniforms, and just instinctively felt that this would produce a fabulous record image. I’ve stepped away from what is becoming trademark landscape orientation to embrace a portrait composition, for very good reason. As I worked with the colours, a reasonably brisk thought process of composition internally shouted; “Height, height!” Splitting the scene in two and working with these complimentary tones has produced a pleasing and reasonably dramatic result. I’d rate this as one of my favourite ‘product’ shots of the year.

WEDDING 365 SERIES #203

A stolen moment shot through bodies is bound to create a more interesting contextual piece than zoom locked head shots. This photograph captured at Cain Manor, a wedding venue in Surrey, is the result of lowering my stance, sinking into the audience and using people to naturally vignette the composition. It’s also blindingly good exercise for thighs and calves. Without the context; mid ceremony, I’d be left with a simple portrait of husband and wife. All very nice, but equally it could look a touch contrived. The wall of folk ahead separates me from the couple and creates a story. What are they thinking about? Simple and effective. A quick word about shutter speed. Of course, photographic laws are there to be adapted, but as a rule of thumb the shutter speed should be the reciprocal of the focal length. That’s a suggestion. I’m in all the way within this scene, using the full 200mm. Good decent room light led me to trust a lower ISO range than I normally expect to practice inside, but it also allowed me to begin my work at the reciprocal.

SHOOTING DATA: Canon 5DMk2, EF70-200mm, F2.8, 1/200, ISO 400, exposure compensation -1

Soft light cascading through a large north facing lead light window; the stuff of dreams, photographically speaking. I see diffused non directional light and instantly get very excited. Because light, movement and general compositional flow has so many variants, it’s difficult to sometimes previsualise how a planned capture will artistically develop for real. But meet a window like this on a day like today (bright, slightly overcast) and you know you’re on to a ‘Michael,’ our household Mockney rhyming slang for winner. If it were humanly possible without the intervention of some kind of controlled illegal substance to actually hear angels singing in matched illuminated harmony, this would be that moment. I used to get excited about fast cars and helicopters; how life has changed. This image was captured at today’s wedding, as the bride in real time (no posing) made her way down the main staircase at Cain Manor toward the ceremony room.

SURREY WEDDING VENUE: Cain Manor

SHOOTING DATA: Canon 5DMk3, EF24mm, F1.4, 1/2000, exposure compensation -1