Over the last year there has been a lot of discussion about AI in photography and particularly the threat that it poses. Well, this may appear to be a recent event. The reality is that the tools we have been using have been getting smarter for a very long time. It was just that previously they were given different names.

Around the time of the wedding, Adobe introduced the Remove tool into Photoshop. This was powered by AI however at the time it did not use any form of generative fill. It was a superior tool to Content Aware Fill that it existed for a number of years.

As often happens when you are shooting in tight spaces it is impossible to get a clean area without some major furniture moving. The remove tool made it possible to create such shots without going to that much effort.

The image below was taken with the brides party just before they left for the church. As you can see the sofa was getting into the shot. There was not enough room to move it so I had not option to keep it in. 

In the past it would have taken a lot of time to remove it, but with the new tool it was a simple matter of selecting the area and clicking the tool. I think that you will agree that the results are pretty good.

At the same time, the first version of generative fill was introduced. For anyone not familiar with the way it works you select an area and then in a text prompt type what you want the program to place in that area. 

If you have read the previous posts about this wedding, you will know that we were unable to shoot on the beach as planned. I decided to use it generative fill to alter the image taken at the pre-shoot to represent what it could have look like.

I selected an image and cleaned up the background areas. I then selected around Jess and asked for it to create a lace wedding dress. It did this on the first attempt. Changing Ollie’s clothes proved to be a little bit more difficult. The initial attempt did not produce a very good look. 

I found that it worked much better if I replaced each section of clothing at a time rather than attempting to do them all together. 

The image gave me the idea of what it could have look like. Obviously, it did not replicate the dress perfectly. However, since then the technology has advanced greatly and I’m sure that if I was to re-create it now I would come up with a much better outcome.

A wedding is a very large event that is often the combination of months of planning. While a lot of focus goes onto the major activities of the day it is also important to capture the detail. Often this is small things that may mean a lot to the couple.

During the course of the day I will find time to go and capture some of these details. Whether it is the rings the flowers or decorations. In some cases a lot of time and effort has gone into these. So it is important that they form part of the record of the day.

During the times that I meet with the couple I will find out if anything special is being included on the day. Ollie & Jess told me that they had a table at the reception with photos of relatives who had passed. Therefore it was important to record it.

The cake may also contain additional decoration, or there may be things made for guest to take away.

For these shots more often use a macro lens it enables me to get close and it’s super sharp.

Ultimately none of these shots are likely to be printed but they help weave the overall story of the day.

The reception marks the end of the days activities it is a time together share food and have fun. Ollie and Jess held their reception in the hall next to the church. I have been in the hall on a number of previous occasions, so I knew that it was going to present problems.

When I attended the rehearsal and saw how it was set up that confirmed the issues. There was limited room around the sides for which the shoot. My choice of lens was fairly easy. I selected my 70 -200 mm which was mainly shot for at f4. This meant I could get in close from pretty much anywhere in the room.

The band had set up earlier in the day on the stage behind the main table. They had installed some LED coloured lights for mood. This created an interesting colour range with the image as I did not use flash.

I will always endeavour to get into a position so that I can capture the people speaking. Once I have got these shots I will turn around and look for the reactions on the bride and groom. Again my main focus is on capturing in emotion.

The cutting of the cake is another tradition at Western weddings. While most people are familiar with the idea, the actual practise of two people using a knife at the same time can be difficult. I have often found it necessary to show couples the best way to actually do the cut. This ensures that we can record it in the best possible way.

The last event that we focus on at a wedding is the first dance. In some weddings this is a simple shuffle around the dance floor. But others go all out and choreograph elaborate performances. It helps to be pre-warned in terms of what’s going to happen.

Ollie’s two sisters and had elaborate arrangements that involve the whole family. Fortunately Ollie didn’t want to follow the same path however they had choreographed a routine.

While I was taking students my daughter switched to Camera to Video mode and we recorded both the dance and short snippet they followed as the others crowded the dance floor.

By this time the lights have been turned off and it was no longer possible to shoot. It was time to pack up go home and rest.

Another typical part of a wedding shoot involves group shots. These will often start with everybody assembled and then move through various family shots. They provide a valuable record to the couple of who was there on the day. They also serve as a memory of years to come as older members of the family pass away.

Ensuring that you captured everybody in the most efficient way is important. I will therefore ensure that I receive a shortlist from the couple. I will ask them to organise a family wrangler. They ensure that everybody is in the right place.

You generally work from the largest numbers first and then work down.

Because you were dealing with large numbers of people these shots are best done under natural light.  That had been the original plan. We had identified a location outside of the church that would have been perfect. However as I’ve mentioned in previous posts the weather on the day did not play ball.

We were therefore forced to shoot all of the group shots at the back of the church. This is less than ideal circus situation especially with the lighting but there was nothing else we could do. Plus there is an old newspaper saying that any photo is better than no photo. 

The group shots were mainly taken on my GI as I have the equivalent of a 14mm wide angle lens. The church pews presented a slight challenge. However, I overcame this using the Remove tool in Photoshop. With good organisation and planning we managed to get through the groups fairly quickly and produced images that a couple liked

In terms of a wedding the ceremony is the main event. From a photographic viewpoint it is also the most challenging. There are certain moments that need to be captured and for many of these there is no second chance.

I mentioned in previous posts that attending the rehearsal is vital. It helps us plan how we will photograph the wedding. It allows us to be prepared for what is going to happen on the day.

It is important to capture the moments for the couple. However, you should not ruin the experience of the guests. The best compliment I receive is when a guest tells me they did not notice me photographing the event. There was no videographer involved with the wedding. That was one complication that I did not have to worry about.

The church, with a single aisle presented a problem in that movement was fairly restricted. I relied on my second shooter to stay down the back. They captured the party as they entered the church. They also captured them as they exited. Samantha and I have worked together on a number of weddings so we have this pretty much sorted.

We both had backup cameras. This ensured that we were covered in the event of a failure. Furthermore both my main cameras have two card slots using both slots at the same time. The main slot was recording RAW images while the second one JPGs. Again this gave me a backup in case of a failure.

My main camera was using a 24-70mm lens set at f4.5. I had it set to auto ISO to ensure a minimum shutter 1/100s.  This resulted in an ISO range between 1,400 and 16,000. I was not concerned about this as I knew the noise reduction software could handle it.

The signing of the register is the one opportunity for staged shots. It also provides an opportunity to capture those that have attended.

With all of the preparation the actual ceremony went very smooth and everybody was happy with results. That is the main thing.

Most of the time you are shooting at a wedding it is essentially done in photojournalism style. You are documenting the day for the couple. it is highly unlikely that the couple will print any of the images taken during most of the day.

The formals are the exemption. These are the images that will be printed and therefore need to be of the highest quality. 

Traditionally, the formals have been shot after the wedding and prior to the reception starting. This doesn’t involve taking a couple away from the venue for at least an hour and possibly longer. In a lot of situations, the wedding and reception venue are not in the same facility. Therefore, separation naturally occurs.

In the case of Ollie and Jess, the reception was being held in the hall next to the church. They also did not want to spend time away from their guests after the ceremony. So they elected to have their formals shot before the ceremony. This is a relatively modern trend which is growing in popularity.

One of the key shots that you do try to get is referred to as “first look”. This is capturing the look on the groom’s face when he first sees the bride. We went to extra steps to ensure that we could control when Ollie could see Jess including the use of a blindfold.

The ceremony was scheduled to commence at 2 pm so we planned to start the formals at noon. This allowed us 90 minutes. We could travel to the locations we had chosen. We wrapped the shoot up before guests started to arrive.

One of the skills that is needed as a wedding photographer is to be adaptable.  Our beach shooting plans were canceled. The Wellington weather delivered rain and gale force winds.

The backup plan was to shoot all of the formals in the church. It did give me the opportunity to incorporate the church organ into the shot.

In fact the closest we got to out was me standing in the rain with the party in the doorway.

With not having to travel anywhere we finished the formals ahead of time. This gave everyone a good break before the ceremony started.

We will cover the ceremony in the next post.

For most of the weddings that we have shot we have offered a full documentary service. We photograph the couple from first thing in the morning. Our coverage continues until the first dance. This means is a very long day.

Now it is unlikely that images taken while a couple is getting ready will be printed. However it does give them an insight into what was happening on the day. As bride and groom traditionally get ready at separate locations we will assign one photographer to each.

During the wedding of Ollie & Jess, my daughter Samantha went with the groom. I went with the bride. Before we started this process, I ensured that the time clocks in all of the cameras were identical. This night images that showed exactly what each party was doing at the same time.

It is fairly typical that the bride’s preparation takes considerably longer than the groom. Jess had rented an airB&B in Wellington so that she was closer to the venue. The boys started the day at the golf driving range.

When shooting the preparations you are looking for the candid moments that will bring a smile later. Such as the facial expression when a make up brush tickles. In small spaces these are not the easiest to capture. In the case of the image below I was actually standing inside of the shower.

It is also good to capture the interaction between the members of the bridal party or their immediate family.

Or where members of the party help each other get ready.

Finally you try to capture some family shots before they all leave for the rest of the day.

When shooting a wedding, I always try to attend the rehearsal. While it is true that the main parts of weddings are similar I have found that each does something slightly differently. It is by attending the rehearsal that you get to see what is planned.

Often the wedding rehearsal is my first opportunity to look over the venue with the wedding will take place. This is vital in knowing how you can best cover the ceremony. The venue for Ollie & Jess was an old church that had a single aisle down the middle. That meant that there was no way I could change position once the ceremony had started. It would therefore be up to my second shooter to cover the other angles.

The rehearsal is also an opportunity to discuss any restrictions that the officiating minister may have. This is particularly important if the ceremony is taking place in a church. There may be places where you cannot go. For a more civil service, it is an opportunity to talk to the celebrant about anything special planned. Ollie & Jess chose a venue that was built as a church. It was no longer consecrated. Therefore, there were no issues that I needed to take into account.

The rehearsal is also often the first opportunity that you will have to meet the wider bridal party. Before this most conversations have only occurred with the bride and groom and maybe their immediate family.

Generally at the rehearsal the party will run through the way that the proceedings will happen at least a couple of time. I use these opportunities to determine what is the best place to stand and also to give me some idea as to the focal lens I will need to cover. 

This gives the photographer the opportunity to practice and be confident that on the day you can capture the images needed. Although I do deliver images from the rehearsal to the couple, there is not the pressure as there is from the ceremony.

The rehearsals are usually held the night before the wedding. Therefore, they will not necessarily give you a good idea of what the light will be like in the church. The rehearsal for Ollie and Jess occurred after dark. As a result, I could not gauge what light I would be dealing with. It does give you an indication though of what will be the worst light that you are facing.

As I will not use flash during a ceremony, this meant cranking up the ISO.  Fortunately, this is not the issue that it once was. Even though I had to set it at 16,000 the camera produced quite usable images. They were even better after running them through the denoise routine in Lightroom. This routine had come into use a couple of months before. 

I was truly amazed with the images that came out.

By the end of the rehearsal, I had a clear plan of what I needed to do for the big day tomorrow.

If you work in a service industry, it is always great when a client returns. They come back because they believe you delivered an exceptional product. Wedding photography is no different often referrals are the best way to get continued work.

In 2015 I photographed the wedding of Hayden & Chloe. Chloe’s parents liked the images. They appreciated our service a lot. In 2020, we were asked to photograph the wedding of Kristi (Chloe’s sister) to Taylor. Then in 2023 we were asked again to photograph their son Ollie who was marrying Jess. 

Photographing weddings is both incredibly rewarding and terrifying. You know that you are to capture fleeting moments that will become lifelong memories. There is often not an opportunity to repeat them.

When we shoot a wedding we offer a full documentary style approach. That means we will typically shoot over several days and end up with thousands of images.  For this reason I have split the wedding into several posts as each part is quite distinct. We will start with the pre-shoot.

When I meet with the couple for the first time we will go over the planning for the event. I will cover one thing during this time. I will ask if they have any idea where they would like the formal photos to be taken.  It is not unusual for couples to have clear ideas of where they want the images taken.  In other cases they leave it to me within a general area.

We will then book in a pre-shoot to see how these locations work out. Where possible, I will book this for a week before the wedding. It will be at exactly the same time as we would be shooting on the day.  

Ollie and Jess’s wedding was planned for a small church in the seaside suburb of Seatoun in Wellington. They wanted to incorporate the beach into their formal. Therefore, we had planned to shoot at Breaker Bay and around the coast. These locations were less than five minutes from their venue so we were not going to lose time in traveling.

The pre-shoot is important for a number of reasons.

Firstly it gets the couple comfortable with being photographed by the photographer.  This is particularly important when you are dealing with people who are shy.

Secondly, it enables the photographer to try out locations and poses. There is no time pressure at the pre-shoot unlike on the day. Such as the couple walking down the beach.

Thirdly it can give you an idea of what the lighting could be like on the day. It is for this reason that I scheduled the shoot at exactly the same time of day. I was looking for both areas of shadow as well as highlights. It was clear that I would be using a mixture of ambient and flash to get the results I was after.

Finally the pre-shoot enables you to identify any issues that you may face on the day so that you can be prepared for them. For example muddy ground is not ideal to be traversing across when you have a bride in a long white dress.

The pre-shoot went very well and we were all pleased with the results. I was fairly confident that we were going to get some great images at these locations. All we need now was for the weather gods to play ball unfortunately that’s not to be the case.