Why I Love this Photo 1.1
So I thought it would be a nice exercise to pick out some of my favourite photos over the past year and explain why I love them, which brought about the Why I Love This Photo Series.
Details
I thought I’d start with details, as a lot of the time that’s how I’ll start my day photographing a wedding. I’ll often photograph the exterior of the place I’m about to enter and then usually the first few pictures I will take will be of details the couple have requested or things of interest around the room that I think add context to the story, this gives me some great photos to help me put together the story of your day for the couple, it also gives the people around that morning a little bit of time to relax and get used to having a photographer around before I start taking photographs of them.
Why Wedding Shoes?
Today’s photograph is maybe a strange one to start with… I am a documentary photographer yet the photo might not so obviously be in that style.
You’ve probably seen a photo like this a million times before. Detail shots are done in windows a lot because of the quality of light, it’s an easy go to shot, it looks nice, but it’s nothing ground breaking so why choose this photo?
The reason I love this photo is that it shows the brides beautiful shoes and the setting off, but it also adds some context to the day. You can see the delicate rain drops on the thin paned glass of the windows, a hint of the beautiful gardens of Middlethorpe Hall in the back ground and that’s why I love this shot. It isn’t just a shot of Donna’s lovely shoes it adds to the story of the day Donna and Kev got married by reminding them of those extra little details of the morning that otherwise would be long forgotten.
When shooting detail shots, I’ll always look around for different ways I can add context to the photograph, sometimes the best way to shoot these items is to photograph them where you find them, other times it can be nice to find somewhere that helps add another layer to the story.
To view my full Wedding Portfolio click here.
Katie Dervin is a Documentary Wedding Photographer based in Manchester.