Saturday 18th Aug will probably go down as the hottest day of 2012 for some, and for the newly weds Richard & Sonya Offen this must of been a delight…. But for me as a photographer it was very very hot, lugging cameras and running two steps in front of the wedding party all day – I had to throw in at least one shirt change each, and drink copious amounts of water.
For this wedding I stayed with the boys first then went with the girls to cover all of those important preparations, capturing every tiny detail from the dress to shoes, to make up to hair to gifts to suit carriers to bridesmaids to best man to rings to cars to speeches to pre drinks to the journey to the arrival – why having an assistant can be handy at times.
The wedding ceremony itself was held at St Mildred’s, a medieval church in the centre of Tenterden. Most of the building dates back to the 13th – 14th centuries.
Interior light that day was still a battle, as the sun was on the wrong side for me so shooting at 3200iso was still needed. As normal I worked either end of the church, as not to cause any undue disturbance to the proceedings, this time I had my new x100 in tow and 3200 iso didn’t cause it any problems whatsoever.
However the extreme hit me once the newly weds ventured outside as the new Mr & Mrs Offen – the sun could not of been any brighter!!! switching straight back to 200 iso and f11 things were soon brought back in check ( and thank you Nikon for NEF) to help bring those high lights back to print.
The reception was held at The Boys Hall in Ashford, a 30 min drive North East, the Hall was originally built in 1616 by the Boys family who had previously been known as De Bois, having originally landed in England from France at the time of the Norman Conquest. Over time their name was Anglicised through Boyce to Boys as we know it today.
Once the sun finally decided to start heading West for the evening and lowering as the hour hand ticked by the light fell like putty into our hands, creating some of the best portrait light we have had this year. It was still blisteringly warm but a joy to work in, a warm orange hue with long but soft shadows graced the stage which allowed me to create some wonderful images.
Location wise at Boys Hall you are spoilt for choice, but trying to come up with something original is always key for me – I always look at the wedding albums left in reception then step it up a notch and do something they haven’t. This is also why I always insist on a recce of the venue two weeks prior at the exact same time I plan to shoot. ( something many amateurs simply over look) and one that a lot of commercial photographers also seem to overlook.
As normal I stayed well into the evening, covering both the cake cutting and the obligatory “first dance” – where I then fade away into the night allowing the celebrations to go on, without the fear of a camera catching a silly dance or a drunken faux pas. Unless of course you would like to book me for an extension then I am more than happy to extend my presence.
Congratulations to you both Richard & Sonya for a magnificent days shooting.
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