Wedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographerWedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographer
Wedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographerWedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographer
Wedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographerWedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographer
Wedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographerWedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographer
Wedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographerWedding photograph by Martin Hemsley, wedding photographer

Photographs you will treasure, from a day like no other

Get To Know You Shoots - Warwickshire Wedding Photography

See older blogs in my
Blog Archive>

Friday
,
22
August 2014

As a Wedding Photographer in Warwickshire one of my responsibilities is to try to help couples relax when they are in front of, and looking at, the camera. It is an important subject that comes up in discussion both at Wedding Fayres and when meeting couples before their day. My preferred way of shooting is documentary and reportage, but of course there will inevitably be moments during a wedding day when couples will be looking into the camera and being in an arena they are not used to. The last thing we want is stage fright. So how can a friendly and relaxed photographer help out?Cue a 'Get to know you shoot', or a pre-wedding shoot as some people call them. This is a subject I've written about before, and if you are a regular reader of my blog posts you may have seen a few of these in the past. So what is a 'Get to know you shoot' (GTKYS)? Pretty much as its title suggests, we get to know each other. We have a chat about your wedding day, how your planning is going, and it is a great opportunity for me to listen to your photography thoughts, and grab a few photos.Some couples may have been shot professsionally before, for example in a studio session, but most people haven't other than those mug shots taken back in your early school days! During the GTKYS I'll be multi-tasking all the time, thinking about the light, thinking about composition, making tweaks to relaxed posing, and waiting for lovely expressions. See previous blog post for further information.

Gemma--Chris-Pre-Wedding-Shoot-10

I'll often start with a proven method called the 'Walking Shot'. It's pretty straight forward to do, making sure the couple avoid looking down at the ground whilst walking together, sometimes chatting and looking at each other, and for the adventurous throw in a cheeky piggy back. How cool and simple is the walking shot? It breaks the ice and gets the first few photos in the bag. The walking shot can also be done at the wedding, it only takes a few moments to do, and imagine how great it looks with the couple dressed up in all their wedding finery.

Jess--Kris-6

Gradually over time the couple starts to get used my bald head poking above the camera. They also start to get used to being guided with how to stand, where to put hands, how to interact with each other and quite often totally ignore me the photographer and drift into their own world. This is my goal because remember in the first paragraph we mentioned the dreaded stage fright. This is where people end up rigid and feel uncomfortable doing the 'Wallace and Gromit' smile looking straight down the barrel of the camera lens.

Jodi--Stephen-GTKYS-4

One of the things I find very rewarding at the end of a GTKYS is that couples say they actually enjoyed the session but most importantly found it a very useful experience in preparation for their wedding day. Here are a few more photos from recent shoots.

Sarah--James-GTKYS-10
Sarah--James-GTKYS-11
Jodi--Stephen-GTKYS-6

After the event some couples get their images printed and show them at their wedding. Another popular thing to do is select your favourite image, have it printed up to a large size, and have a border mounted around the edge and ask guests at the wedding to leave good will messages on the border. This is called a signature board. More and more people are having this done, and is something I can help with if needed.

Jess--Kris-7

Don't forget that for most of the day as your wedding photographer I shall be in the background and out of the way capturing your wedding in an unobtrusive manner leaving you to enjoy the day. But for those more formal moments, for example the Bride and Groom formals, you will feel well prepared after having taken part in your 'Get to know you shoot'.

Gemma--Chris-Pre-Wedding-Shoot-5

My next GTKYS is this Sunday morning with Kate and Mark who are getting married at the end of September. As a wedding photographer who lives in Leamington Spa I shall be getting a sleep in, because they have chosen Leamington Spa as their location. We'll be using the iconic 'Parade' to start with, bet you can guess what the first photos will be? Yep, the 'walking shot'. So if you are driving down the Parade on Sunday morning and see a bald chap laying down in the road with a camera in his hand, please pass carefully!I hope you enjoyed this article and found it informative. If you have any questions then please send me an email. You might be interested in another blog post about a similar subject, about when the tables were turned on old muggins here and I was being photographed. Hopefully you won't spot too many Wallace and Gromit smiles, click here for the link. Feel free to share away on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goggle+ by using the social media icons. Or leave a comment below. Have a great Bank Holiday Weekend everyone. Martin.

Read previous/next blog article: