One of the things my clients always tell me after the wedding day, is that they hardly noticed I was there. I’m the invisible man.

It’s not something I’d considered before, as I take it for granted that the focus of the day is the bride and groom. I’m often told horror stories by guests, of weddings they’ve attended where the photographers ego is bigger than the congregation and people are ordered, lined up and shot ! Not quite the relaxing day they expected.

The only time I’m ever asked to take charge of proceedings is the group shots and formals. Every wedding I’ve shot has asked for formal shots and lineups, and whilst I’m not keen on them myself, its probably the parents and grandparents who still expect this type of photograph. Photographically they aren’t always that appealing today, however historically tradition still hangs on to them, a hangover from cameras on tripods and shallow depth of field, where everyone had to be the same distance from the camera and keep still. Thankfully this is no longer the case. I still worry that generally speaking, guests really hate lining up for photos, and if with that in mind I try to keep the formal shots as quick as possible if they are requested. Hopefully thats all they remember of me, until they see the final album.

With modern digital equipment, fast lenses and digital processing the constraints on the photographer are gone, allowing for more creativity and a reportage style giving that fly on the wall look. I don’t use flash if I can avoid it, and certainly not during the ceremony, where in most cases its frowned upon. I tend to stay out of the way and shoot the fly-on-the-wall images that capture the emotion of the day.

Of course this relaxed style of photography means that guests are free to take their own photographs without concern for ‘getting in the way’ and I actively encourage guests to ensure they have their own shots. Its often the case that I’ll even take a few family groups on the cameras of guests just to be sure they can all be in their own photographs.

Clients are buying my style of image, something only I can produce, and remaining mostly invisible means I’m better set up to capture the emotions of the day.