This image of the groom hugging and kissing his bride with tremendous love, was taken during a sneak out photo shoot during a wedding at One King West.
As a Toronto wedding photographer, I learned that capturing real moments is quintessential on the wedding day. The bride and groom no longer want post photos but would rather have a variety of candid images reflecting the essence of their big day. These days, photography is not about photos checklists and complicated lighting setups. Wedding photography has migrated towards a photojournalistic style embraced by the bride and groom.
A professional photographer also knows that towards the end of the big day, the couple becomes more tired and is less inclined to do long photo shoots. As such, to capture enough photos for a wedding album, the photographer has to be sometimes pushy if you want if that is the best for the clients. Often couples are concerned that the guests will notice their presence and may leave.
Especially those guests within the wedding ceremony have a tendency to get tired during the evening so they might leave towards the end of the couple's special day.
It is therefore crucial in photography to capture candid moments as well as the active pictures in a short amount of time.
Fortunately, my photography style is a mix of directed and photojournalistic approaches. I know quite a few photographers in the GTA made the couples suffer during long photo shoots. The truth is, the bride and groom mirror the photographer's enthusiasm. As such no matter how tiring photography in Toronto is, the professional photographer has to exude energy and enthusiasm, otherwise the couple will be "pictured out."
No matter how excited the couple is in no matter how much the bride and groom of each other, to create a perfect wedding experience, the newlyweds put a lot of time and effort in preparing their special day.
It starts early morning with the bride preparation when we photograph every single detail. It continues later during the day with the wedding ceremony. That is a roller coaster of emotions that can take a toll all the energy level of the bride. Later, during the photo shoot often the brides have to walk in heat to create the epic photographs they will cherish for ever.
Finally, during the reception, the couple has to keep an eye on everything. From the best man giving a perfect speech, to the cake, the first dance in the parents dances, everything has to be perfect.
Fortunately, the newlyweds are in love with each other and the photography. As such, during the reception, I asked the newlyweds to join me for a quick photo session. We went onto the marble staircase of the main lobby atOne King West Hotel and created this romantic portrait.
Everything spells love in this photo. Even though it is a directed image, it looks like candid moment when the groom, sharing his love for his wife, hugged and kissed her passionately.
Here are some behind the scenes moments in the the reader of this article should know. In order to create this photograph, I asked my second shooter to position the video light in such manner as to create a cone of beautiful light. Next, I refine the composition of the image and I carefully placed the bride and groom in the perfect spot.
The beauty of this backdrop and the love between the newlyweds made my job easy.
Here are some elements of composition that are worth mentioning. First the railings of the staircase create leading lines towards the bride and groom guiding the viewers attention to the main subject of this photograph, the couple.
Next, the bride and groom are the largest part of the image, the brightest, and the most in focus. It is one of the golden rules of photography to have the subject biggest brightest and in focus.
To create this perfect wedding photo, I used a Canon 85 mm F1.2 mounted on a Canon 5D Mark III camera.
Location: 1 King St W, Toronto, ON M5H 1A1.
