Fashion photography, and the trends in that industry, have an influence on the way wedding photographers produce work for our modern brides. Several years back, when I was tasked with finding a photographer for our own wedding, I realised how much contemporary wedding photography had changed since the days of our parents. Whilst I really appreciate the timeless nature of certain photographic styles, modern brides see imagery in bridal and fashion magazines that sets some of the expectations they have for their own wedding photographs.
As a regular part of my working year I feel it important to take photographic training, and this time decided to dedicate a week to attending a fashion photography course with the photographer Bruce Smith. Unlike the last time I attended a bridal fashion training course with Bruce, this course was more generic, covering aspects of getting the right team together, styling, time management and photographing with a story that maps well to the pages of a magazine.
Bruce worked us hard all week and made sure that we took full control of the shoot, in quick bursts of frenetic activity working in a number of different locations around the wonderful location of Hampton Court House. It was great having an opportunity to watch and learn from Bruce once again and also to work with the great team of creatives he always pulls together for his London courses.
Styling came from the ever cheerful Joey Bevan of Pointed Brown Shoes, who actually provided some of his own line of lingerie for the last days look. He was supported by two great make-up artists – Emily Jane Williams and Michelle Court
This time we had a three days of shooting with different models on each day – Scarlett Howard, Anastasija Bogatirjova (finalist from Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model) and Emelie Stenman.
The models did a brilliant job, especially considering the fact that the temperature really wasn’t warm enough for thin flowing dresses and lingerie. As with the previous course, we managed to shoot entirely with natural light, bouncing light into the building from outside, in certain shots, when the clouds allowed.
If you are interested in me being your wedding photographer and applying the same storytelling techniques to your wedding day, please get in touch.
