For couples who want a more raw and natural kind of wedding photography, documentary or photojournalistic wedding photography works the best. This style is one where the photographer captures the moment and event as it happens. While it seems like it could be easier without the need to rack your creative brain, to execute this style successfully, it takes practice, instinct and anticipation. Mastering the art of capturing instant moments into photographs requires a good amount of experience. Hence, here are some tips for documentary wedding photography.
1. Frame the Subject
Emotions and movements can happen in a split second. Hence, it is important to anticipate such reactions. For example, if a bride is giving her thank you speech on stage. Listen out to who she is expressing her gratitude to. Focus your camera on the subject she is talking about and wait for a reaction. It could be a tear or laugh that can make for powerful and emotional photographs. While speeches vary from couple to couple, they will generally be thanking their parents and family members the most. You can therefore frame them in your shots and wait for a reaction.
When framing the shot, you must also ensure there is a foreground and background that can tell the story. For instance, if you take a close up of the bride’s mom crying but it is hard to tell what the context is from just one photo, the emotion of the photograph may not be brought out fully. Thus, the composition and crop of the image also matters greatly. An ability to allow viewers to understand and digest the emotions from one photograph can take some practice and experience.
2. Take Multiple Shots
Once you have set up your camera and is ready to capture your shot, take multiple shots when the emotion or action you are anticipating happens. Do not ever just take one shot and go. Taking multiple shots also ensures that there will be at least one shot that is good and focused.
3. Change Perspectives
While keeping your eyes and ears open to any conversation or scene that may result in a laugh or moment that makes for a great candid image, you also have to constantly move and change your perspectives so that you get the moment from a visually appealing angle. It would be a shame if a guest starts laughing over a funny moment but you’re capturing the shot from her back where her facial expression cannot be seen.
Be bold to walk around, climb on chairs or get on the sides of the stage even to find the best perspective to frame your shots. While you may feel awkward in the moment, the photographs you capture from doing so can be very satisfactory and create valuable keepsakes for the couple to cherish for years to come.
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