One of the benefits of being a Toronto wedding photographer is that I meet a whole lot of people in my travels. However, I rarely saw such a dynamic, fun and creative wedding party. They helped me tremendously by giving me the emotions I needed to create splendid wedding photos. This is just an example from a Fermenting Cellar wedding.
To create this bridal party portrait capture during the day creative photo shoot, I asked the wedding party to surround me while I was lying on the ground face up. Next, I asked the bride and groom to kiss and everybody to look at them. Funny enough, as you can see in this picture, the best man also wanted to kiss the bride. This hilarious situation made everybody laugh, so the emotions in this shot are genuine.
On the top part of the frame, the bride and groom are positioned upside down kissing. Next to them, in a circle, we have the maid of honour, next to the groom, and the best man next to the bride. Following them, we have two more couples. One of the guys holds a cigar in his mouth and looks amused.
The fact that everybody looks at the bride and groom kissing creates visual leading lines directing your gaze straight to the newlywed couple. Also, what adds value to the picture is the fact that the best man is captured with his mouth open trying to kiss the bride, unsuccessfully.
I remember this nuptial like it was yesterday. It was a hot day in July and the light was horrendous. However, by asking everyone to stand in the circle and the bend so I can shoot them against the sky, I managed to avoid harsh shadows on the subjects faces.
For this image, I used a 24 to 70 mm lens shot at f4.5 so that everyone is in focus. There is a bit of distortion of the bodies placed at the frames extremity, which adds to the quirkiness of this wedding photo.
In post processing I added a vignette, opened the shadows and reduced the contrast.
What makes this image special? The unusual angle, the wedding party's expression and the vivid colours of their outfis make this striking photograph.
Location: 28 Distillery Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4.
