One of the questions I receive very often from brides and grooms is "what do we do now?" During my original consultation, many couples mentioned to me they need direction and they don't feel natural in front of the camera.
In my career as the Toronto wedding photographer I documented a few hundred weddings and I worked with various couples more or less photogenic. Unless they were actors or models, my couples were not used to being professionally photographed. As such, they need direction. The paradox is that nowadays, most of my clients come to me because they want an actual look and feel and they love my documentary photography style. The truth is that 90% of the day I shoot in a photo journalistic manner, but there is that 10% of the time when I direct my subjects. The images you see my portfolio are mostly a result of that 10%. However, it is important to pose the subject in such way that it looks natural and very romantic.
On the special day, the bride got ready at King Edward Hotel and the first thing I told everybody was to simply ignore me. With some cultures from the far east that is hard to achieve as they are very camera where in the always smile when you point the camera towards them. However, on this big day everybody ignored me after while which was amazing. I felt like a kid in a candy store as the guests express their emotions freely and I was able to capture those moments which made their way in the wedding album.
However, during the photo shoot, wedding photographers have very little time and we often have to deliver a series of photographs under time constraints. In such situations, to create that photojournalistic look, I struck my couples never to look at the camera and do something with their hands. I generally enumerate a list of things they should do in rapid succession and they do the first two or three then they start laughing. That is exactly what I wanted to achieve: genuine moments and smiles.
On this special day, I asked the writing room to take a seat and told the group that his bowtie was crooked. Naturally, the bride arranged the Groom's bowtie and that was when we took this candid image.
Location: 37 King St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1E9.
