At the beginning of my career I had the privilege of working with one of the best wedding photographers in Toronto and he gave me the following tip. In order to wall the bride and groom, the professional photographer should finish the wedding album on a high note. This is exactly what I did when I designed this Kortright Centre wedding album.
According to the halo effect theory, starting the wedding album with one of the best pictures gives the viewer the impression that all the pictures are outstanding. Let's make clear we understand each other. I'm not advocating delivering subpar pictures. Not at all! However, in candid photography, not all images are dramatic or breathtaking. Sometimes you have to take family photos or images of the shoes. Also, the guests often want to have their image taken. Those are by no means award-winning photographs.
However, by starting with the best images the photographer increases his chances of pleasing his clients. The same applies to the end of the album when the viewer has to be mesmerized by the last album spread. That increases the probability of the viewers talking about the images and ultimately referring the professional photographer to prospective clients.
There is a contradiction between the expressed desire of a couple and the reality. Often, during my client consultations, couples confess that they would like a documentary coverage of their big day. However, after he discussed the pros and cons of each approach most brides and grooms recognize the benefits of receiving directions from their photographer. Very few clients of mine are actors or models that are confident in front of the camera. As such, the rarely know what to do when we start the photo shoot.
This came to me is a big surprise when I started my wedding photography career. One of my first couples told me that they want up your hands off approach to photography. Also, the wanted an engagement photo shoot and they asked me to give them directions. That completely contradicted the principle of photojournalism where the photographer does not interfere with the course of action. In my opinion, this is in part due to the social media and the wedding blogs' influence on today's brides. Also, the wedding photographers in Toronto and worldwide seemed to distort reality ever so slightly. I see right preparation pictures that are presented as candid when I know it is impossible for that to be the truth.
In all my galleries, I pick a few images with high potential and apply a series of sophisticated post-production techniques. In this case, I created this composite environmental portrait of the bride and groom using red the Chinese paper lanterns scattered around the photograph in such manner that the create a framing device that emphasizes the importance of the bride and groom as the main subjects in the picture.
The paper lanterns also make the image more balanced in their vibrant colours provide an additional element of interest that increases the production value of this shot.
Kortright Centre is a conservation area located in the northern part of the GTA at 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Woodbridge, Ontario.
Location: 9550 Pine Valley Dr, Woodbridge, ON L4L 1A6.
