GUESSING by THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER  IN PORTUGAL

A photograph that suddenly appeared when the couple were in the first dance of the wedding party

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

Challenges of the Day for Wedding Photographers

Photographing the opening of the dance, or the dance floor as it’s now called, is one of the day’s biggest challenges for wedding photographers. They can never know what lighting conditions will be available, and despite a brief agreement, they’ll never be sure of the couple’s rhythm, how they’ll engage with each other, or if, from one moment to the next, they’ll change “style” or even stop altogether because dancing just isn’t their thing.

This could be something that discourages a wedding photographer. Hovering around a couple who won’t stay still and who might, without warning, abandon the task could wreck the nerves of any photographer. But only someone who doesn’t know a photographer, whatever their specialty, would think that the greater the difficulty, the greater the challenge. Anything that raises the heart rate of this professional, devoted to the couple and everything around them, is a challenge they won’t back down from.

The wedding photographer didn’t waste time

That’s why, when sorting through the photographs sometime after they’ve been taken, a positive surprise is always possible. The photo came when everything seemed like it wouldn’t work—and it did. It appeared suddenly, instinctively, like a lightning strike on a calm day. The wedding photographer, alert, didn’t waste a second reacting and… there it was. I love that.

Point by point:

• Since I shot my first wedding as a photographer, I realized that capturing the couple’s first dance, opening the dance floor, was a true enigma:
  • I don’t know what the DJ will choose for lighting
  • The couple’s rhythm when dancing
  • How do they connect
  • If they change style
  • Or if they suddenly stop
• This could discourage a wedding photographer, but it doesn’t:
  • It’s just a challenge
  • You only need to know how to react in time
  • Match the couple’s rhythm
  • Follow their choreography as if you’re part of it
• That’s why, when selecting photos, I sometimes find a great surprise in a photo that might not have been one.

You need to know:

• Photographing a wedding day in a photojournalistic style has the advantage of discovering the images as they happen. With no control over them, I must find ways to capture them before they disappear and add nothing to the story of the day.

• The couple’s first dance to open the wedding ball is a perfect example. No matter how much they’ve told the wedding photographer about what they’re going to dance or how they’ll do it, one thing will always happen: there will be no second chance if the photographer doesn’t manage to capture the dance perfectly the first time.

• That’s why a special kind of training is required for that moment. The photographer must become the third dancer in that choreography, whatever form it takes. He must be able to follow the newlyweds in the same rhythm, as if he knew exactly what they were feeling, dancing together for the first time as a married couple, without once stepping into their intimate space.

It will be a pleasure to anticipate your dance steps at the opening of your wedding ball. For that to happen, first, you’ll need to book a meeting, and I’ll gladly welcome you to show you my work and talk about your big day. I’ll be waiting for you.

• You can see a full wedding story: