Multicultural Wedding Photography
London offers the Wedding Photographer a unique range of clients and venues not found in the rest of the UK.
With a multicultural mix unparalleled by even New York, London Wedding Photographers must be prepared for anything from a Sikh engagement, more complex than a traditional western style wedding, to a Greek Orthodox ceremony observing special rituals, through to the classic Civil Ceremony where partners are joining the second (or third) time round.
One thread that always runs common however is the priority that the London wedding photographer must give to the London bride.
However businesslike or efficient at booking, the bride always melts on the big day - and the wedding photographer needs to play a subtle game between "service provider" and "confidence booster".
Whilst observing desecration and supreme tact - in the tradition of reportage wedding photography, there is always a crunch point when the bride seems to need her fabulous outfit, great makeup and stunning shoes recognised for what they are: perfect.
An absolutely unwavering conviction that this is true must emanate from the wedding photographer - but in a manner that is never flirtatious (heaven forbid) or fatherly (wrong tack again) but more like a fashion photographer bolstering his model.
In other situations, there may cultural traditions to both observe and record.
For example the Sikh engagement ceremony is longer an more complex than a traditional western style wedding.
Remember, we just talking about the engagement here.
Select members of the couples' family will take turns to read from a religious text over many days.
On the day of the engagement, other important rituals are performed, and a record of the religious text book, and the specific page used for the specific bride, must be recorded by the photographer.
Shots of the couple now engaged must be handled with subtlety as the couple, not yet actually married, are not permitted to be intimate in any way.
Avoiding stiff poses is a challenge in this situation.
In a western style London wedding (and no, I'm not referring to a a ceremony with 10 gallon hats - although these are common too) other touches must be observed by the photographer.
With consummate delicacy the bride's train (that's her dress by the way) might need tweaking before some formal shots are taken.
My own approach is to join force with my wife and photographic partner.
Having already covered the bridal preparations my partner is perfectly poised to pose the bride.
As reportage wedding photographers we are usually opposed to the pose, but we are providing a service (not just trying to fill our portfolios) and what ever the bride wants, the bride gets.
With a multicultural mix unparalleled by even New York, London Wedding Photographers must be prepared for anything from a Sikh engagement, more complex than a traditional western style wedding, to a Greek Orthodox ceremony observing special rituals, through to the classic Civil Ceremony where partners are joining the second (or third) time round.
One thread that always runs common however is the priority that the London wedding photographer must give to the London bride.
However businesslike or efficient at booking, the bride always melts on the big day - and the wedding photographer needs to play a subtle game between "service provider" and "confidence booster".
Whilst observing desecration and supreme tact - in the tradition of reportage wedding photography, there is always a crunch point when the bride seems to need her fabulous outfit, great makeup and stunning shoes recognised for what they are: perfect.
An absolutely unwavering conviction that this is true must emanate from the wedding photographer - but in a manner that is never flirtatious (heaven forbid) or fatherly (wrong tack again) but more like a fashion photographer bolstering his model.
In other situations, there may cultural traditions to both observe and record.
For example the Sikh engagement ceremony is longer an more complex than a traditional western style wedding.
Remember, we just talking about the engagement here.
Select members of the couples' family will take turns to read from a religious text over many days.
On the day of the engagement, other important rituals are performed, and a record of the religious text book, and the specific page used for the specific bride, must be recorded by the photographer.
Shots of the couple now engaged must be handled with subtlety as the couple, not yet actually married, are not permitted to be intimate in any way.
Avoiding stiff poses is a challenge in this situation.
In a western style London wedding (and no, I'm not referring to a a ceremony with 10 gallon hats - although these are common too) other touches must be observed by the photographer.
With consummate delicacy the bride's train (that's her dress by the way) might need tweaking before some formal shots are taken.
My own approach is to join force with my wife and photographic partner.
Having already covered the bridal preparations my partner is perfectly poised to pose the bride.
As reportage wedding photographers we are usually opposed to the pose, but we are providing a service (not just trying to fill our portfolios) and what ever the bride wants, the bride gets.
