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Which are the photos that really matter?

I like to consider myself a Storyteller.

When I am at a wedding I spend time looking for a narrative in what is going on. But I’m also not a 100% documentary photographer, I also love to capture creative portraits and some lovely wow shots. I think it’s important to have a good balance of both in your wedding photography. Some lovely creative portraits that you can frame and make covers for albums are a great way to remember your day. But the photos that will really matter in years to come are most likely to be the ones that document truly what happened and tell a story.

Looking through the montage above it all flows into a story. Scene setting to begin with. Photos that tell the viewer where the subjects are. The Setting. Then the plot begins – the bride gets ready, the groom waits. The bride walks down the aisle – little details of love where the couple hold hands. The miss and then the exit. It all flows like stills of a movie, meaning when you look back through your photographs you can revisit your day through the moments that matter.

Stories can be told in one image too.

I worked really hard to make this picture. The bridesmaid that morning had been telling her friends how excited she was to see her daughter in her flower girl dress. I could tell it was a really big thing for her so when I saw the flower girl arrive, I positioned myself in the area I thought she would come to in order to see her daughter and boom this moment happened and I was able to capture it, this photo tells a story of a mother and daughter. The expression on the mothers face is priceless.


Below are some of my favourite storytelling photographs.

The photo of your dad with a tear rolling down his cheek as he gave you away.

The one where you were hugging a distant relative you miss every day.

That shot where someone was reacting to a story you can’t believe the best man told.

Those are the real shots that have meaning for you and preserve important moments forever.