Documentary Wedding Photographer

 

 

Hi, I’m David and I am a documentary wedding photographer based in Liverpool.  I have been shooting weddings in this style since 2012. What I mean by documentary wedding photography is photographing real unposed moments from your wedding that haven’t been directed in any way, telling the real story of your day. To shoot in this style for my weddings, my main tool is my beloved Sony A7III with the state of the art Sigma Art f1.2 35mm prime lens. In fact, all but two of these photographs were shot with the 35mm Prime Lens like 90% of my wedding photography.

 

 

 

You might have heard the terms ‘Reportage wedding photographer, ‘wedding photojournalism’ and ‘candid wedding photographer’. They mean the same thing – capturing candid moments that reflect the genuine emotions of the wedding day.

What is Documentary Wedding Photography?

Unlike traditional wedding photographers, Documentary photographers capture real moments from the wedding day without any forced posing or unnatural set-up shots. They are storytellers with a camera and lens, blending into the background to capture the essence of your wedding story as the day unfolds. Using the latest cameras, which can photograph in low light, using very high ISO and slow shutter speeds they can take photographs in the most dimly lit space without the use of on-camera flash which can spoil the ambience of a scene and let people know there is a photographer present.

 

 

Unobtrusive Wedding Photography

As a documentary wedding photographer, I have an unobtrusive approach to your wedding day. With no direction or interference in the day’s events, you can free up and enjoy your wedding day with your guests while I capture the tears of joy and sadness, the laughs, the funny moments… Everything that makes your wedding day unique to you. Because every wedding is a unique event. From the nervous anticipation of the bridal preparations, the intense feelings and the joy of the exchange of rings during the wedding ceremony, tears from the mother of the bride, the hugs of congratulations at the drinks reception, the laughs and tears of the speeches and the romantic first dance at the evening reception party that you won’t want to end. The wedding day goes by so quickly, you don’t want to waste most of your free time during the drinks reception being carted off from location to location on a couple’s portrait shoot!

 

 

 

Real Moments Real Memories

I am there during the wedding day documenting all of these real moments which will become a collection of memories that you can relive time and time again when you view your wedding photographs. I  receive feedback regularly from couples that they were unaware of my presence throughout the day. They also comment that they could relive that moment’s emotion when they look at the photograph. My ultimate aim is for you to be able to relive your day each time you view the images, so the memories from the most special day of your life will never fade. Moments like the one below will be treasured by the bride & groom for a lifetime. I chose black & white for this image because it’s such a powerful moment and black & white photos don’t distract you and give the image a timeless quality.

 

 

How Documentary wedding photography differs from traditional wedding photography

Traditional photography often involves lots of posed shots and staged setups. The photographer is thinking from their perspective and forcing their idea on the wedding day. The portrait photographs will also normally be quite an extended amount of time taking you away from your guests. I am a big fan of beautiful portraits, although they should only be a small part of the wedding day and should not dominate the free time you could spend with your loved ones.

 

 

In contrast, Documentary wedding photography or storytelling wedding photography is about capturing the wedding day as it naturally unfolds, rather than controlling it and trying to create picture-perfect poses. It’s about preserving the memories and emotions of your wedding day in a way that can transport you back to that exact moment when you look at the photographs. I also use prime lenses for my photography rather than zoom lenses. Here are the advantages of prime lenses for wedding photography. Documentary photography is also about your photographer capturing the stuff that happens all around you that you were unaware of on the day. Things you missed as you were caught up in your own experience of your wedding day. Moments like how your partner looked at you during the wedding ceremony, the way your father held your hand as you walked up the aisle, the tears of joy from your parents as you said “I Do” – These are the moments that make your wedding day unique and need to be captured naturally so as not to be lost forever.

 

 

Real events from the wedding day are photographed as they happen with no staged shots no direction and a hands-off approach to your wedding. I want to capture all the details too, like the rings, the flowers, the wedding dress and shoes. I will also document the wedding breakfast decorations and any details that make your day your own. This will give you a record of how your day looked and how it felt. Although I shoot in the style of a documentary wedding photographer, I get involved in directing family group portraits and a short and fun couple portrait shoot.

 

 

The Skillset of a Documentary Wedding Photographer

A good documentary wedding photographer can anticipate and capture fleeting moments that are sometimes missed. While the happy couple are the main focus, a good documentary photographer will take a broader view of the wedding and capture the little stories happening around you. With the skill of a visual storyteller, the documentary wedding photographer will weave these smaller stories into the main narrative of the day. My wedding photography is all about telling an authentic story without the need to direct and control the day to create staged meaningless photographs.

 

 

 

Over many years of this approach to visual storytelling, a documentary photographer has built up the skill of intuition and can anticipate moments as they happen. Using wide-angle lenses to set a scene, telephoto lenses to capture close-ups of details and getting close to the action to capture real emotionally charged moments to drive the real story of your wedding day with meaningful photographs. These are the reasons why I use prime lenses for wedding photography in a documentary style.

Good documentary-style wedding photography should show images that tell a story in themselves. While each photograph tells a story, they will form part of a greater overall story of the day with the full set of images. Like every page in a book, each photograph forms part of the whole story. A well-documented wedding photograph should be able to tell a story without any explanation.

 

 

The Benefits of Hiring a Documentary Wedding Photographer

You get to be fully present in your wedding without being asked constantly to smile at the camera or arrange a staged photograph. You immerse yourself in the day’s events, the bridal preparations, Walking up the aisle, the exchange of rings, the drinks reception, the speeches, the cutting of the cakes and the first dance. All shot without direction or interference so you can get lost in your wedding day. You will receive a collection of photographs having real emotions connected to them, provided by a photographer who knows how to tell the story in images of your wedding day.

 

 

Your photographs will become a family keepsake of images that have captured the personalities of your family and friends. These images will become priceless as time goes by and we lose the older members of our families.

I was touched to receive this message on Instagram recently :

“Hi David, I just wanted to drop you a quick message. My grandad passed away this weekend and I’m so glad you captured this moment, a moment I didn’t even know I wanted captured. It will be a memory I will treasure and one of my favourite photos of me with my grandad as an adult. Thank you xxx” – Helen

The photograph below is the photograph I captured for Helen. It’s so important to me to capture intimate moments like this one for my clients. It’s why I love being a wedding photographer.

 

 

In summary, Documentary wedding photography is a collection of photographs of real moments that tell a story of the real events from your wedding day.

Each image should be a genuine observed moment that really happened on the day and was not set up.

Each image needs to be an authentic moment that needs no explanation and tells a story in itself forming an individual  ‘page’ in the wedding story

Subjects of photographs should be photographed in the context of an individual scene ideally to tell the story effectively.

I hope that helps you in your decision to find a wedding photographer. If enjoying yourself with your friends and family without disruption appeals to you, hire a documentary wedding photographer to capture your day!