Photographing weddings at King Edward Hotel is always a pleasure and documenting this day was no different. The bride was born and raised in England and this was a British Themed wedding. That was the reason why they picked King Eddie as their wedding venue.
The wedding was held in one of the smaller rooms in the hotel and I took this image during the first dance.
While the bride and groom were doing their first dance, I noticed that my video light was projecting the couple's shadow onto a painting of Buckingham Palace. As such, instead of focusing on the bride and groom, I made the shadows the subject of this photo.
This wedding picture is stands out for a few reasons. First, you can not see the bride and groom's faces which gives the image a mysterious note. Also, the bride is wearing a crown, which goes hand in hand with the hotel's luxurious architecture and style. Also, it is very unusual for a photo taken during the first dance to capture the shadow and not the bride and groom. Finally, the Christmas lights used in the foreground give this picture depth and also act as a framing element for the bride and groom.
From a post processing standpoint, I didn't do much except to sharpen and increase the shadows contrast. In addition a changed the Christmas lights hue and saturation to make them fiery and vivid.
Among the things I wish I did differently, the main light positioning could have been improved. I wish I raised the light just by 1 foot so that the bride and groom's had appear a lower in the frame.
From a composition standpoint, here are the photographic techniques I used: framing using the Christmas lights. Also, the painting's frame is the literally framing the bride and groom's shadow for an exquisite visual effect.
Location: 37 King St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1E9.
