You won’t believe how many times I’ve been asked how I shot this image. It couldn’t have been documentary, could it? Well, it sure is. I don’t stage my images, because I don’t like to and because it is my trademark. If I would stage them, people would find out soon enough. Trust me, there are plenty wedding shooters claiming they shoot 100% documentary, while they don’t. In fact, that’s why I quit the Wedding Photo Journalist Association. Too much posing and no moderation.
So, this picture, what happened? Well, this couple decided to take a bike to get to their wedding venue. I knew that upfront, so I took a little clamp from Manfrotto and stuck my M8 on it. I wanted to show the movement of the couple on the bike, so I set the camera on base ISO, 1/15th of a second and closed the aperture to f11 or maybe even f16. I took quite a few shots, carefully maintaining the same speed as the couple did. When I saw this little tunnel I waited till they rode into the light and then I hit the shutter. Very simple, without interfering, without any posing. Just following on a bike. The funny thing is that the picture is almost monochrome, except for the balloons. I’ve won quite a few awards with this shot and I like the fact that I took it with the M8. Every time people tell me the M8 isn’t such a great camera, all I have to do is show this shot.
Here’s my wedding website. I am available for destination weddings and weddings abroad, as long as you’re looking for a documentary approach. I don’t do any staged settings, nor pre-wedding shoots. Bear in mind that my calendar fills up quickly and that most days are booked more than a year upfront. Feel free to send me an email.