At some point when I talk to someone about what I do for a living they will ask me if it’s not getting boring to only photograph weddings. That’s usually asked right after the questions “Oh, you’re a wedding photographer? So what you do Monday to Friday then?” and “Wedding photography? Can you live of that?” (I will answer these questions in future blog posts, stay tuned ;-)
The short answer is: No, it’s not getting boring. Because not every wedding is the same as the asker is assuming. Not at all. Even if you are photographing at the same church or at the same venue, it will never be the same. Because it’s always a different day, because the weather can never be the same and mainly because there are two different families celebrating the wedding of another bride and another groom. It will never be the same again.
The most important thing for me to photograph at a wedding are the people. Not only the bride & groom, but also their guests. The interaction between them is creating the emotions and the moments you want to preserve as a wedding photographer. That are the pictures the bride wants to keep in her wedding album. The album she will pass on to her children one day. From generation to generation. It’s nice to have beautiful detail photographs of the bouquet or the wedding dress. But what is truely invaluable is the photograph of her grandmother that passed away a couple of months after the wedding.
That said it is very important to also get photographs of the scenery. As they always add to your feelings when you remember this day. Like in this picture of Vanessa & Luigi’s wedding that took place at St. Peter und Paul Kirche in Bern, on a hot and sunny day in August. When you entered this beautiful old church (built in 1864) it was very dark and a bit chilly at first. But walking down the aisle it was getting brighter and warmer and in front of the altar right where the bride & groom were sitting bright sunbeams were breaking through the windows into the church. Bringing in all the warmth and joy into this place where two families were celebrating the union of their daughter and their son.
By Hochzeitsfotograf Daniel Zihlmann
These last two blog posts have been interesting to read and the photos are just “wow”. Well done Daniel, keep up the great work!!