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BE YOURSELF…natural wedding photography explained

To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up” Oscar Wilde

IMG_0372 She said, “Just look at your MAN!!”, everything stopped. The whole bridal party looked at me, their eyes said “Help!”.

I’d let my new second photographer just take over for one moment while I changed lenses. One second to spoil the whole mood and trust that my wedding couple had invested in me. I quickly took the reigns and all went back to normal. It wasn’t really my second shooter’s fault that she’d been taught a bunch of cheesy lines to say while shooting.

But her words froze my clients up immediately. Getting along with your photographer is crucial to looking relaxed on front of the camera.

Your photographer should naturally understand you, your sense of humour and how to behave around you to make you feel at home. Effortlessly natural looking photography doesn’t just just happen by accident.

An experienced photographer, like an experienced chef, makes it look easy. The right light, the right spot, the right mood, the right direction, the right exposure, the right moment, the right vision. All these ingredients must align so it looks like you had no idea the photo was being taken, and it just happened. You don’t need to know why the chef’s meal is so delicious, it just is.

What’s the difference between hipster, modern, traditional & natural photography?

Styles go by many names. What was traditional, posed, preconceived photography has pretty much given way to a new ‘hipster’ style of posed & preconceived photography. Different look, different poses, same idea. But one things for sure, both will look a bit dated in a few years time as trends change. Apart from clothing, the other thing that really dates wedding photos is obvious, not so subtle editing techniques. From soft focus & hand-colouring in the ’80s to cross-processing in the ’90s and to the current filter trends of yellow stained, faded ‘vintage’ looking photos and ‘high definition’. These will become the ‘mullet’ of the early 2000’s. How do you think you’ll feel looking back on those in a few years time?

Natural, candid photography doesn’t date, it’s classic and timeless, it’s a little bit candid, a little bit photo journalistic, and a lot realistic. But it’s always beautiful, as a wedding should be. A natural style photographer puts careful thought and consideration into how they tell the story , with clean colours and true black & white. no gimmicks, just great images. This isn’t Masterchef. You don’t get another chance next week, this is peoples lives and memories and dreams that we’re being trusted to record.

How my photos make people feel :

  • We like the way you use light and colour to make your photos quite bright, happy and striking and the way you capture the beautiful surroundings as well (this is very important as all our photos are likely to be taken outside in the forest, which needs to be captured in different ways and dimensions, e.g. peeking through, from a distance with the enormity of the tree height captured, etc).- Jessica
  • We have both had a chance to look at the website and love how natural all the shots looks – its very much what we are after, something very simple, elegant yet gorgeous images. – Valentina
  • We both love the variety in your compositions and I love that there is no headless hipster shots. – Felicity
  • I just love your photographs, they look beautiful, relaxed and happy, which is exactly what we are after. – Rhonda
  • You shoot with such grace and highlight colours beautifully – Sue-Lyn

In the end, the proof is in the pudding (sorry, I’ve been watching wayyy too much Masterchef) and genuine happiness cannot be faked, not for a whole wedding, anyway.

So check out my wedding galleries, I hope you enjoy them, and feel free to give me a call if you want to talk about YOUR wedding!

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Zonzo Wedding Megan Aldridge Photography-0120

 

Megan xx

I love, love, love weddings!!!

 

Megan Aldridge Photography

Serving

Melbourne & Beyond