I’m going to be totally honest here, this pandemic, and the lockdowns it has brought, has been pretty life-changing. When it hit us here in Australia (and specifically Tasmania) I was drawing to the end of a pretty busy wedding season. I had a handful of wedding left to shoot before things slowed down for winter, and then things were set to ramp back up early spring. But all that went out the window. Like so many others, I effectively lost the next 6 months income… Yes, lost, because even when weddings postponed, it meant that they would take up those rare Saturdays of the next season. But I’m actually not here to complain. Having been raised on a farm, with seasonal income, then running another business where 80% of my income came from the months of November-March, I have always started preparing for a lean winter as I move into Autumn, so that, coupled with the Jobkeeper assistance, has meant some sacrifices, but that I am able to keep my business, and open my doors as the restrictions ease.
Over the period of self isolation, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my situation, and that of my clients, present and future. The more I thought about this, and where the wedding industry was likely to be on the other end of this, the more it impacted my philosophy on what I do. I talked to my mentors, my peers and my past and present clients.
I was left with this. Weddings are not about the big show. They aren’t about the most extravagant day. They aren’t about the decorations, they aren’t about the expense of the venue, the number of guests, the colour scheme. Weddings aren’t about being ” Pinterest perfect”. Weddings are about love. The love between the couple. The love of their families and closest friends. So my job isn’t to create images or to stage moments. My job isn’t to dictate the flow of the day to ensure beautiful photographs. My job is to capture the special moments, to document the day as it is, and tell my clients story. And that is what I want to focus my attention in the future.
Does that mean a sudden change in what my work looks like? No, not at all.
What it means is that I am going to be focussing on telling your story, without being a part of it. I don’t want to be the photographer that tells you how to run your day, who dictates times and locations. I won’t be posing my couples or arranging things to make images that don’t actually represent my couples, their personalities or the day.
My goal is to document the day as faithfully as I can, in a photojournalistic manner. Will I shoot portraits? Sure, if that’s what you want I will, but I’m not going to tell you to set aside 2 hours of your special day, to pull you away from your loved ones to pose you and make photos that might look nice, but don’t represent you. Will I do nighttime strobe-lit photos? Maybe. But if I don’t need to, I won’t.
I have also changed from offering a range of packages, to a single service fee. I decided that I didn’t want ANY client to have to compromise, so my fee includes all-day coverage, plenty of photos, but albums have become optional. This has meant I can reduce my price significantly. Clients that want an album can add one if they choose. (if you are interested in booking me and would like more information on my price, and what it includes, hit the Contact tab)
So how does this work?
Well, Amelia and Tom’s recent wedding is the epitome of how I want to work. I’ll take you through the day.
I shot the prep purely as an observer. I didn’t arrange details, I didn’t pose them or direct them. I shot what I saw.
There is no place in a ceremony for a photographer to intrude. I know some do find a way, getting within a couple of feet of the couple during ring exchanges etc, but this has never been my way. I’ve always given this time my utmost respect, staying as invisible as possible.
When it came to Bride & Groom Portraits, we didn’t have any set schedule. I hadn’t dictated to Amelia & Tom that I needed 1 hour of their time. After the ceremony, they hung out with the people they loved, laughed, hugged and enjoyed the moment. Then when the light looked amazing, we just went for a walk together and all I did was found nice spots and let them have a moment. And yes, I do shoot in colour too, when the situation suits.
No. I didn’t do my old trick with a flash. This was the light as I found it. I couldn’t have created better.
Again. The light from the sun, doing a better job that I could, and no posing, just “wait there”
We literally went for a walk around the grounds, chatted, when a moment or location grabbed my attention, the limit of my influence was to say “Stop, wait there” while I moved and found my frame and shot. As we walked, Amelia and Tom asked for a couple of individual portraits, we just walked and I shot, we stopped and I shot. The photo of Tom agains the wall was totally unplanned. He asked for a portrait, leaned against the wall and Amelia stepped back to clear the frame. I shot a couple of standard close ups, stepped back and saw her shadow, and there it was.
When it comes to receptions, there is a certain amount of candid, “fly-on-the-wall” stuff, but also a certain amount of guests grabbing you for a quick photo. So I adapt and shoot what I need to when I need to. But alongside this standard fare, I am looking for something special… a moment, an interesting frame…
I love all my clients, I am grateful and appreciative of the trust they all place in me to be their wedding photographer. I strive for every client to create the best images that I can. Amelia & Toms wedding was something different. Probably because they had booked me through a wedding planner (the awesome Tracey at Pop Up Weddings Tasmania), we hadn’t been through my usual process, and so on the day, I had no shot-list and no timeline. When I arrived, I met with Tom first and asked what their expectations were. He gave me a simple answer. None. They loved my work, they trusted me, and they just wanted me to do what I wanted. So I did. I took the freedom they gave me and embraced the room I had to be creative, to not be intrusive. I embraced the lack of set timeline, the lack of prescribed shot-list. I just stepped back and became an observer of their day. When it came to portraits, we had no preconceived ideas about what it would look like. we had no agenda. We took 15 minutes to go for a walk in beautiful golden sunlight and see what happened.
I took their trust and freedom and created some of my all-time favourite wedding photos.
So going forward, I want all my weddings to be like this. When my couples give me the freedom to be the photographer that I am, when they don’t send me shot-lists from Pinterest of other peoples work, this is what happens.
I’m going back to basics. I’m removing myself from the picture so to speak, and focussing on my couples, and doing what I can with what the day brings.