May 11, 2020

With the current world situation, a lot of things seem to be in flux. One thing that’s certain, though, is that the near future of weddings (for at least the time being ) will be all about smaller and more intimate gatherings. All over the industry we see a rush to pivot, a rush to be thought leaders on how to bring the same amazingness and wow factor of large celebrations to much smaller events. I am going to leave the pivoting, the logistics shifting, and the design expertise to the fantastic wedding planners and floral and lighting designers that our industry is full of. Engaged couples around the word are in good hands. I will, however, gladly offer my perspective on this evolving situation as a photographer with over 15 years of experience.

I am not pivoting, and I believe if you have been photographing weddings correctly, neither should you. Sure, I will be adapting photography options to fit smaller scale, smaller budget weddings, just as I would if smaller, intimate affairs were more of a trend than a necessity. My approach, however, to photographing weddings, will not, and does not need to change.

I have always believed, that I am the scribe, the guardian of my clients’ wedding memories. I am to tell the story of my clients’ weddings - big or small - through my photographs without interfering with the actual experience of the day. A wedding of any size is full of beauty (both planned and unexpected), excitement, emotion, a tiny bit of nerves, and a whole lot of love. It is my job to capture all of this without messing up that magic recipe, trouncing all over the real, authentic moments as they unfold and making a wedding feel more like a photo shoot with a wedding on the side.

Now here is the twist - and I can speak to it, because while I have photographed 100’s of large-scale weddings, I have also photographed many smaller weddings: Your skills, my skills, all photographers’ skills will need to be operating at their best, sharpest, most refined level. Smaller weddings demand more of you. They demand that every click of your camera’s shutter counts. That you shoot only with a purpose. That you blend in better than ever before, work quicker than ever before, and that you are more patient and diligent with your craft than you’ve ever been, because if you aren’t, your fingerprints will be all over your clients’ experience and your presence (interference) will be more remembered than your photographs. For a wedding photographer, that’s failure.

There will be less details, less guests, less time to tell a story, and fewer places for your mistakes to hide. However what should not be reduced, is your clients’ or your expectations for superior, timeless imagery. So whether it is one year after their wedding, or on their 50th anniversary, they can always rely on your photographs to bring them back to the moments and the essence of the day they promised their love to one another forever (and ever).

I am ready. I am actually excited for this. Are you? I love a new adventure. So, photographers - guardians of wedding memories, lovers of storytelling, enablers of time travel… let’s do this. I know we are up for the challenge.