Let’s take a few seconds to dissect this photo from back in 2019.
First, we see the groom’s father having his emotional moment in the foreground. This is the main focus of the photograph.
However, when we look a little bit deeper, we start to see other people having their own moments too. The lady to his left, comforting him, is the bride’s mother. We see unity between the two families.
We see his daughter to his right. She’s out of her seat because she has seen that he needs a reassuring voice in his ear.
Did you notice that the bride and groom’s daughter had taken the groom’s seat? she was supposed to be with the other guests but simply needed to be closer to mum when she noticed the speeches getting emotional.
We also see the groom giving his speech… The root of the emotions. Although we could say he’s in the background, his presence holds this story together. If the photo were taken from a different angle, maybe in front of his dad, we wouldn’t see the groom. And without him we wouldn’t know the reason for the dad’s emotions. We also wouldn’t see that the bridesmaids have their own moment even further in the background.
This all adds context to the photo. Each of these elements was considered and thought about before I pressed the button on the camera.
It would have been easy for me to simply take photos of the groom. It may be more natural for somebody else to stand back with a long lens and pick out individual reactions.
Neither of these approaches would have given us the emotion, nor would they have told a story. These things are integral to the way I photograph weddings.