There are many ways to describe my style of photography, candid wedding photography being one of them. The dictionary describes candid shots as unposed, informal, uncontrived, impromptu, natural. I certainly think that sums up my style of documentary wedding photography. Regular followers of mine will already know that I’m always looking for those moments that happen naturally. The image below is another typical example of this.

Something I always do on a wedding day is to scan the room during the speeches looking for interesting reactions and ways to bring the story together. I like my pictures of speeches to be more than just the person standing up talking. And more than a laughing guest picked out amongst the crowd. When I am photographing speeches I like to give the pictures context. Whilst the best man at this London wedding was giving his speech I was looking to do just that. The room at Burgh House in Hampstead where the wedding breakfast took place was at full capacity this day, which made it all the more challenging to manoeuvre around. There were long tables down either side of the room with no gap between them and the walls behind, and only a narrow aisle between the tables themselves. Once the speeches started guests slid their chairs back thereby blocking the centre aisle completely.

Thankfully I had already foreseen this challenge and worked out a plan earlier in the day whereby I was able to walk around the outside of the building and use a doorway in the far corner of the room (behind where the best man is standing) to reenter and get some close up shots in and around the top table. However, I also really wanted a picture or two that gave a sense of the room at this point of the wedding day. I was able to do this by including guests in the foreground but in doing so I wasn’t able to include much of the all important top table. I positioned myself so that the best man was nicely in frame and waited for the exact moment when the guests in front of the couple parted and the bride and groom leant in towards each other. The light here really accentuates the couple and the use of black and white frees the picture up from distractions.

This shot was all about patience and working with the scene in front of me to capture the essence of the moment. A tender little moment amongst the frivolity of the best man speech.