In wedding photography, luck plays an important role. Quite a few awards I received during my career involved a small dose of luck. Obviously, experience and skill plan important role. Still, sometimes random events help one achieve magnificent images. For example, I know a particular wedding photographer who was lucky enough to have one of his images photo-bombed by Bill Murray. This particular photographer became a celebrity overnight due to that strike of luck.
At this Kortright Centre Wedding I could not say I was particularly lucky. However, I was able to create beautiful images through thorough preparation and anticipation of the moments that were to follow.
In this particular photograph captured at the beginning of the big day, I noticed during the bride's preparation that the maid of honour approached the beautiful bride and started arranging her dress.
Meanwhile, in the background the bride's sister was helping their mother get ready. It was a golden opportunity that I couldn't miss. As such, I positioned myself in such a way so I could capture both stories unfolding in front of my lens.
The foreground is showing the bride looking herself in the mirror while the maid of honour is arranging her dress.
The background features the bride's sister arranging her mother's dress. The synchronization of those movements is so fine that could not be achieved even through careful preparation.
I have to admit that the Kortright Visitor Centre is not the most photogenic wedding venue I have ever photographed. In this picture, I had to fight the florescent lights casting a green tone onto the bride's beautiful dress. The bridal suite resembles a lab rather there then a venue appropriate for such an important event. However, during my discussions with the best wedding photographers in Toronto I learned that it is not important where one photographs but rather how. Let me expand my statement.
Even the most famous wedding photographers in the world often are faced with huge challenges posed by average locations or venues. However, what differentiates them from the regular artist is an uncanny ability to recognize elements that can give their wedding photography the unique look and quality.
They take advantage of every mirror to create reflections of every chandelier to create foreground or background bokeh and focus mostly on the moments rather than the location.
This photo, captured before the bride headed to the outdoor wedding ceremony in the forest is one of those photojournalistic images that occur organically and prove an artist's ability to create extraordinary imagery in ordinary situations.
It is not the light, the colours, the background that make this photo stand out. It is the moment that I immortalized that defines this masterpiece. With experience, the artist manages to refine his perception so that on the wedding day he can anticipate and proactively positioning himself to catch such moments that take a fraction of a second, and through photography will last forever.
In retrospect, I know how this wedding photo could be improved. I wish that on the wedding day I asked the beautiful bride to get ready in the glass house as opposed to the bridal suite. The Glass house offers a splendid quality of light doubled by a splendid backdrop created by the forest.
Location: 9550 Pine Valley Dr, Woodbridge, ON L4L 1A6.
