The Importance of Relationships in Documentary Wedding Photography

By Paul Rogers

Why are couples increasingly more interested in natural, unposed, documentary style wedding photography? As a style of photography, it's been popular for decades when telling life's stories in glossy magazines.

There's a constant ebb and flow of styles in vogue at any one time, and photography is no different. The current trend of vintage styled shoots and over-processed heavily lit portraits has it's roots in the glossy celebrity culture of the past decade. Though increasingly there are elements of the Instagram instant gratification filters that transform a mundane image into a work of art. But all of these things detract from the singularly most fundamental thing. The content. And at a wedding, that means people, and their relationships with one another.

As a photographer, you can't just wade into a social gathering and immediately capture the subtlety and complexity of these relationships. It takes patience and time to be able to wander freely amongst family and friends without them reacting to being photographed. It's a skill that is as important as being able to focus in candlelight.

These photographs are from Nicola and Joel's New Year's Eve London Wedding which brought a whole host of challenges to photograph. It was a very dark day, being one of the shortest days of the year, and the ceremony ended up being at 4pm. We were lucky it took place at all, as Joel and his side of the family were hit by the norovirus bug.

I knew that Nicola's grandmother would be a key person to photograph, and I'd already got several nice images during the church service. But on the bus to the reception at the Crypt on the Green in Clerkenwell, I noticed this image developing. So I waited until the look was just right, and then I had my picture.

Another shot from this London Wedding, and this is the reception. These guests were in deep conversation when another guest and her toddler came over. By crouching down at the same time, and continuing to be unobtrusive, I was able to stay close to the subjects to capture the laughter.

Back at the ceremony at the church, I managed to get close enough to Nicola and Joel just after the register signing to capture this tender moment.

Here are some more photographs from Nicola and Joel's London Wedding

If you're getting married and are looking for a photographer, and would like this type of unobtrusive documentary wedding photography, please get in touch.