Fine Art Wedding Photographer: Beautiful Storytelling

Name: Liam Smith Photography
Price range: $$$

In modern wedding photography parlance the fine art genre has been taken hostage by a very predictable way of shooting. The formula is this, get a 645 medium format camera, load it with Kodak Portra 400, shoot everything backlit at f/2, and there you go, now your a fine art wedding photographer. Sadly, this only works on styled shoots, anyone who has shot a real wedding knows that this way of working just isn’t feasible. That’s why I’m here to single handidly re-invent the genre, and show you how you can have your cake and eat it too. Yes I mean it, beautiful photographs without the need to spend hours posing,

What is Fine Art Wedding Photography?

Fine art wedding photography is typically defined as soft, natural images that convey the beauty of the subject. Shallow depth of field, pastel colours and ethereal beauty are also often associated with it. I take natural photographs that show each couple’s uniqueness. I don’t pose my pictures, I let the moment speak for itself. if it’s funny, sad or romantic, the moment is what matters, I produce images that tell the story of the wedding, without interfering. My pictures celebrate emotion, uniqueness and fun. although my work is often referred to as candid or reportage in style, my work started off heavily invested in the fine art style. I fell in love with wedding photography because of the ability to create beautiful images that convey drama and passion and allow clients to have a genuine connection with the images I make. My style has evolved of course and somewhat matured, but I think you can see the influence on my images that the style has had on me. Although I think weddings contain a lot of grit at times, there will always be a place for the romantic side of it.

Technical Perfection: Beautiful Photography

The Essence of Fine Art Wedding Photography

The Aesthetic of Fine Art Wedding Photography

The fine art approach to wedding photography emphasises a soft, romantic, and timeless aesthetic. Images are often characterised by their use of soft, natural light, muted colours, and a focus on the beauty of the surroundings and the emotions of the day. Fine art wedding photographers in the purest of sense often shoot on film or use digital techniques to emulate the look of film, giving the images a classic, painterly feel. I myself use a film emulation when i’m editing my digital photographs, there is a beauty that comes with film photography that is simply divine. However in the context of wedding photography, where I may shoot 5000 pictures in a day, using film just isn’t practical.

Attention to Detail

A significant aspect of traditional fine art wedding photography is the attention to detail. In the conventional application of fine art photography, you would expect to see pictures of the dress and shoes, many close ups of the flowers and the rings etc. but for me these pictures lack any kind of life. I’d much rather see your groomsmen struggling to put the flower on for example…

How I Use Fine Art Wedding Photography Influences In My Work

Using Natural Light

Fine art wedding photography taught me to see light in a brand new way. When you fully engage with seeing light the way a fine artist does, then a whole new way of shooting weddings and couple portraits emerges. You see, when you place a couple in shade and have the light coming from behind them, you get what you can see in this picture. The difference in exposure between the blight and the shadows is so great that it creates an almost ethereal setting. This technique is particularly effective with trees as the background, because the light coming through the leaves is rendered in a very unique way. The couples faces are in shadow and are evenly lit, so even on the brightest of summers days you can till take flattering and dynamic photographs without worrying about aggressive shadows and overly contrasty pictures.

Shooting Details To Tell A Story

When viewed as part of the narrative of the whole day, a detail shot is a great way to convey a sense of the atmosphere. This picture of bright red flowers illuminated by candlelight, tells a story of beauty and elegance, but also of intimacy. This table setting is for the couples own table. Flowers cost a lot of money, and they are details that are incredibly easy to overlook on your own wedding day. Like any good film maker, close ups and wide shots help keep the viewer interested and engaged in the story. When the pictures are put together into a slideshow, it tells a much richer and more dynamic story.

Contrast: Romance & Chaos

All wedding stories are complex, amd they all have an element of beauty and affection. How you choose to be romantic with your partner is entirely unique to you and your relationship, but knowing how to photograph the two separate moments so they work as part of a narrative is a skill very few photographers possess. One picture captures the elegance and beauty in the moment, the other captures the sense of action and drama.

Using Fine Art Techniques At Real Weddings

Here are a further set of images demonstrating how I use fine art techniques of using shallow depth of field and flattering lighting combined with colour or black and white to create interesting, dynamic photographs that remain true to the events of the day whilst still capturing the sense of elegance that is synonymous with a wedding.

Conclusion

Wedding photography definitions are constantly evolving, as is my style, which is why I’m always trying out new things and attempting to develop my skills at all times. Weddings inherently have an element of beauty to them, so there will always be a place for capturing the softer, more still moments in a wedding in a romantic fashion. A wedding can be gritty, it can be messy and it can also be incredible romantic…all at the same time. Being skilled enough to be able to deploy different techniques to suit a moment is what I believe makes me a great photographer. A subtle style shift at the right moment adds a visual punctuation mark to a story, adds richness and depth to the narrative and ultimately produces a much more engaging set of photographs.