Sometimes, as a photographer you get lucky and this was the case as you can see in this Liberty Grand wedding album.
First, on the wedding day the weather was just perfect. Truth be told, as a Toronto wedding photographer you learn to deal with any kind of situation on the big day. I shot events during the winter when it was -30° Celsius. Also, on destination weddings I have seen you are temperatures of 40°C while carrying about 25 pounds of equipment.
At the beginning of my wedding photography career I thought that equipment is everything so I spent about $60,000 to take my photography to the next level. I solos great photographers talking about this and the other lands and when I met a new couple I always brought my equipment along.
Fortunately, almost every bride and groom were so impressed with my toys that they booked me.
Later, after photographing about 60 weddings I realized that I was using only about 20% of the equipment I carried around on the wedding day.
As such, I vastly reduced the number of lenses I carry around these days. That, in effect allows me to be a better photographer because these days I can focus more on the moments that be concerned what less is the best in a specific situation.
Honestly, I don't think that a professional photographer should have more than maybe for lenses. That will make him better artist.
Even more, during the wedding engagement I strive to capture all the scenes using only two lenses. Currently, I'm in love with my Fuji 23 and 56 mm prime lenses. Those two lenses can handle any situations that appear on the wedding day.
Also, my photography is no much better because I don't have to think. Nowadays, I just anticipate the moments and I already know where I should be positioned to get the right shot.
I know very few photographers in the greater Toronto area who shoot in that manner and my couples always compliment me on my vibrant colours and sharp images.
In the Toronto wedding photography arena, most professionals use to so lenses, specifically the 24 to 70mm and the 70-200mm.
Honestly, for the first two years of my career I also loved that combo. However, I discovered that I was getting very tired on this special day as usually lenses tend to be heavy.
But I digress! Let's get back to this photograph.
This particular image of the groom arranging his bowtie was taken early during the bride and groom's preparation for their outdoor wedding ceremony.
It is simple photograph captured while we were waiting for the bridal party to arrive at the wedding venue.
The Liberty Grand entertainment complex has a lot of locations that are the perfect settings for wedding day.
For this image, we went to the grand ballroom where asked the groom to stand next to a huge arched window that provided perfect light for portraiture.
In the meantime the bride and her bridesmaids, the guests and family were getting ready at the hotel in Toronto downtown core.
This particular couple had a large wedding party composed of five bridesmaids and five groomsmen. That is the reason we had to wait for everybody to write before taking the necessary pictures.
Return to this particular photograph, I used a technique called the Dutch tilt where I rotated the camera by about 15° or on its axis. That allowed me to place the groom's body along the sinister diagonal, which gave the picture dynamism.
Post processing of this photograph was easy. Besides adjusting the levels and curves, I added a selective vignette and of course performed colour correction.
You might not believe this, but I know quite a few wedding photographers in the greater Toronto area who do not spend any time post processing the photos. Such artists, unfortunately offer of the couples an incomplete service and limit their business potential. In my opinion, a professional should do his best so that his art captures the essence of the big day in order for the bride and groom to love the photos. By not editing properly the images, the photography studio risks disappointing the clients.
Location: 25 British Columbia Rd, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3.
