Bride of the Moment - Bride of the Month

Love and Pride - Jenny on her Dad's Arm

It was a pleasant surprise, when, last April, weddingsnsw.com asked for permission to publish my photos of Ben and Jenny's wedding in their Bride of the Month section. Nice for Ben and Jenny, encouraging for me - apart from this blog and a little Facebook promotion, I don't advertise much. I have space on a few wedding directories, but most of my referrals come direct or by word of mouth. So an unsolicited approach like this is very welcome, and the exposure it generates for my photography can't hurt, now can it.

So...I am very pleased to share that the same honour  has just been extended to Sam and Angela (well, Angela, I suppose: Sam is hardly a bride!) Congratulations Angela, you are to be the NSW Bride of the Month - I haven't been told for which month yet (is is never in the month the couple weds - it obviously happens after the photos have been published). As soon as I am notified I will post a link here.

I wonder what it is that makes someone say "there is our bride of the month". It could be outstanding photography, or the great settings that we use for our pictures, or the efforts we make to avoid clichéd pictures and ensure each couple's unique day doesn't come out looking like every other couple's wedding.

Sam and Angela Go to Town

The truth is, it is probably something about the bride herself. What does the photographer contribute to that joyful, serene, anxious, elated, proud, worried, carefree vibe that is a bride's persona on her day? 

For us, it is about capturing those emotions without getting in the way, following the day without interfering with it's natural evolution, being carried along by its flow, directing without altering, highlighting it without changing who the bride IS and what she is experiencing.

Forget style and technique - what do they mean if you don't notice; and noticing is not worth much if you don't understand; understanding is useless if your don't have the temperament and the knowledge to interpret and present the essence of what you see, without trying to impose your photographic style on the couple's reality. Only then does technique comes into play, along with experience and the right equipment; but first things first: our Brides' images are special  because we do notice, not just how wonderful they are, but just how they are wonderful. 

Thank you Angela: enjoy your preview.

Sam and Angela at the QVB