Why do you like to photograph weddings?

This is a question I’m asked often, from couples inquiring about my work, my two teen daughters and honestly, sometimes I do ask myself this question. I have after all, been photographing weddings for 20 years!

Well, it’s not a straight forward answer.

I could simply say I do it as a job.

That’s the obvious answer. This is my business and has been for some time.

But that’s not it. That’s more the what than the why.

The other answer could be related to the flowers and decor and being able to photograph people that are dressed up. It helps to be in an environment where the stage is set of course. That part makes what we do very easy. Photographing a wedding isn’t hard. Paying attention, and knowing when to make the photograph is the hard part. That’s the difference between someone who makes easy and safe template cookie cutter images and those of us that dig a little deeper.

At this point you’re probably wondering why I’m bagging on wedding photographers, and I guess I can because I shoot weddings for a living as well! Wedding photography historically has been looked down as the lowest rung on the creative ladder, but the reality is, wedding photographers have to perform in all sorts of environments with countless personalities and in a space that’s an emotional roller coaster and still go home with a decent body of work to present. Regardless of the quality of work or the level of their experience, it is one of the more challenging areas of Photography to work in.

So back to my why. I suppose a lot of it, for me, has to do with my own upbringing, and my life now with my wife and children. My own personal experience with our wedding photographer 19 years ago also influences me - that’s a long story… but let’s just say I’m not that much taller than my wife yet my head is cut off in almost every shot. I once photographed a wedding between a groom that stood six foot nine and a bride who was five foot two and I managed to get them both in the frame perfectly so that says a lot about the images we got from our wedding!

I’m drawn more to the intimacy and relationships between parents and their children, stories of friendships that have lasted for decades, and the expressions and reactions to the stories that I heard during a wedding day.

I am far more interested in the people at a wedding over the things at the wedding, and when it comes down to it, I suppose that’s what makes photographing a wedding interesting for me, and why, after 20 years, several hundred weddings, I still enjoy doing this work.