To me, documentary wedding photography means more than just documenting the days events in an unobtrusive way. It’s capturing the very essence of the day in a way that allows viewers of the picture to be transported right back there, even if they were never even present on that day. Rather than lurking in the shadows or standing on the outside (often mistaken as the easiest way to remain discreet) I like to blend right in the middle of the action as this is where the best pictures can often be found.

This is one of my favourite pictures from a recent wedding in London. The couple are leaving for the evening to make their way on their honeymoon, saying goodbye to their guests as they leave. Full of emotion, movement and context, this is the sort of picture I love to take. I’m extremely close to the couple here but yet they’re totally wrapped up in what’s going on, almost as if I wasn’t even there.

For photographers: Taken on a Canon 5D Mk3 using the 24-70mm mk2 at 24mm. The exposure was f/4, 1/125s at 25600 ISO.

Weddings are above all about one thing – the couple celebrating their love for one another. But they’re also a great celebration for the two families as well and they often form a reunion of family members who perhaps haven’t seen each other for some time. As such, family pictures are extremely important and whilst the posed portraits serve this purpose, I’m looking to try and capture something different on a wedding day with my documentary approach.

This candid family group shot contains a collection of the groom’s aunts and uncles, all together on the wedding day. A shot like this appeals to me far more than a grip and grin portrait as it’s completely real (with no interference from me) and shows them within the context of the day. I spotted the paintings on the wall behind them and used these to add another dimension and a bit of humour to the picture. Add in the pushchair on the far right and you start to see all the generations that have come together to celebrate this occasion.

For photographers: Taken on a Canon 5D Mk3 using the 24-70mm mk2 at 35mm. The exposure was f/4, 1/180s at 3200 ISO.

As a documentary wedding photographer I pride myself on my total lack of interference on the day. Rather than controlling the situations to suit my idea of what any particular wedding might be, I’m looking to use what I see before me and work with a scene to capture the very real moments. I enjoy this part of my style and find it both challenging and rewarding. When it comes to photographing the wedding speeches we wedding photographers sometimes find ourselves at the mercy of the gods, with the top table often positioned in less than ideal locations. At this recent wedding in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich there was no such problem. Just look at that backdrop!

I framed this shot to include some of the incredible wall behind, keeping a line leading from the groom’s mother on the left down to the bride’s mother on the right. The table lights, whilst utterly beautiful, did pose a challenge in so much as they obscured faces from certain angles. I certainly wasn’t about to creep up to the table and move them so it was a case of finding the right focal length, the right position and then waiting for everything to fall into place. As the speech was being read, the bride’s father (who was previously looking down) turned towards the speaker. This allowed to me to catch a glimpse of his face between the candles. The bride and groom smiled and I took my picture.

For photographers: This was shot on a Canon 5D Mk3 at 6400 ISO and 1/180s with the Canon 85mm lens at f/4.

The exchange of the wedding rings is an extremely significant moment of the wedding day, but it can also be quite a challenging part of the day to photograph. Let’s set aside the fact that sometimes wedding photographers are not even allowed to stand up the front during the ceremony, there are other obstacles to contend with here; how the couple are standing, how they pick up the rings, how they place them, etc. The way in which a bride or groom actually holds the ring can determine whether it’s even visible to the photographer to capture. For me, another factor is my desire as a documentary wedding photographer to always remain discreet and never interrupt these wonderfully intimate moments. I’m not the sort of photographer who’ll jump right in the middle and put my camera 30cm from the couples hands. During this recent wedding at Clandon Park I positioned myself at the front for much of the ceremony, stood to one side facing the bride as I often do. There was a little room to manoeuvre so during the exchange of the wedding rings I managed to inch round a bit behind the couple and find a clear angle for the ring exchange. I took a sequence here but this was the one shot that summed it up for me. The bride finishing the ritual by placing the ring on her new husband’s finger, her own ring already placed and in full view here. Two rings, one union. I’d love to hear your own thoughts on this part of the day in the comments section below. For photographers: Taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and 85mm f/1.8 at f/4, 1/125s, 3200 ISO.

A wedding is such a whirlwind day and it has been said that as a photographer, a wedding is perhaps one of the toughest days to photograph. As a wedding photographer you have to be a portrait photographer, a photojournalist, a landscape photographer, a product photographer and a fashion photographer all rolled into one, drawing on each discipline at various points of the day. And with things happening all around you, how do you pick out the really interesting moments from the rest and find the angles and viewpoints that make the most unique and powerful images? It’s all too easy to slip into a formula of what wedding photography ‘should be’. As a documentary wedding photographer it’s something I’m extremely conscious of in my own mind; to seek out something new and relevant to that particular day rather than conform to the norm.

During a recent wedding at Notley Abbey I felt I had made the most of the photo opportunities on the dance floor and I was just about to leave for the day. Feeling something was missing, I made my way up to the balcony in the main barn to capture some shots looking down on the guests celebrating below. It was the evening reception and the light in the barn was beautiful. As I scanned the room looking for interest I noticed the groom leading his new wife off the dance floor and out of the barn. I turned to make my way down the steps and as I glanced out of the open barn window behind me I saw this wonderful moment unfolding.

Now, it has been suggested that creating great shots on a wedding day is partly down to luck. Whilst I absolutely agree that chance plays a part and can bring an extra dimension to an image, lifting it from a good image to a great one, for me there’s no substitute for being in the right place at the right time. It’s about subconsciously reading situations to make sure you’re there when interesting moments present themselves. If you look at the work of the great photojournalists, was it luck that got them their shots? I’d like to think it was in part down to their dedication to creating something unique. Putting themselves in situations that other photographers wouldn’t, telling a story in a way that no other photographer could.

To some degree I was fortunate that the couple chose to stop outside the window I was stood by and kiss underneath that particular spotlight. But I’d also like to think that in some small way, by seeking out a different viewpoint in the first place and thereby being in the right place at the right time, I was able to create something out a moment that other photographers may have missed. A stolen moment on this couples wedding day. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

For photographers: Taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L Mark II at 70mm, f/2.8, 1/90s, 12800 ISO.