Capturing true emotion in the wedding story

Are you shooting to deliver a disc or are you shooting to deliver an heirloom?

As a wedding photographer what are you shooting for? The answer should be to capture the true emotion of a wedding story.  It should also be for a printed, finished and complete product.  If you are a professional we all shoot to earn a living but what is the goal of what you shoot for with your clients? Are you delivering only a disc of images or are you delivering a complete and finished product such as an album and wall art?  To have both value for your clients, tell their unique story and to be the very first family heirloom there, in our opinion, needs to be integrity and true emotion in the telling of the wedding story.

Capturing true emotion requires trust from your clients. It also requires some level of people skills. Backing off and having a very strong awareness of key moments and key emotions goes hand in hand with putting clients in positions with suggestions given to trigger or set up interaction between the couple to capture the essence of their relationship.

Capturing true emotion means every couple will be unique. Every couple will have a different type of relationship between them…some will be lighthearted and joking, some more serious and quiet , some will be very sensual and physical and with many many variables in between.  Those same couples and families will also have unique back supporting stories where other family members , some deceased will still play a role in the magic of a wedding day. Being sensitive to those people, places and things can go a long way to capturing and triggering true emotion on the wedding day.

Never, ever fall into the mindset that your job is done as a wedding photographer after the ceremony and the formal and couple images are taken. With the reception to follow emotions will be on a different kind of high. Think of a “we did it” joy for both the couple, the parents etc…this can lead to some priceless images, provided you are sensitive to those key moments.

The only love story at a wedding is not just the couple. Parents, grandparents etc can have some incredible moments that are true emotion in a wedding. Having heightened awareness of those moments, good timing with your eye and camera and a mindset that you are “on” until the actual departure.

It is our belief that success comes from being in those moments, from being involved in our client’s lives and for shooting an heirloom that just does not just show what the wedding day looked like, it shows what it FELT like.