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A taste of Romance - part 2 of 1 2

by Louise Sumner Published 01/12/2012

"In this case it helped me that the bride was a stunning Keira Knightley lookalike and she was wearing a wonderful art deco style dress and so I had a lot to work with. The inspiration I drew on that day, and at many of the weddings and pre-wedding shoots I do, came from romantic films,

novels and music. Even as a child I liked to listen to classical music and if this can be playing in the background during a shoot it can help to put everyone in the right frame of mind.

"There are also experiences that I draw on, that I think about when I'm looking for inspiration. For example, as a child I was often taken by my parents up to the village of Haworth in West Yorkshire, where the Bronte sisters were brought up. It's such a melancholy kind of place and you think about how these girls died at such an early age and yet were so creative during their lifetimes. It's quite a romantic concept, and you can create a narrative based around these thoughts that you can use in your photography.

"I tend to have what I call a vocabulary of poses in my head, and if I ever do get stuck I can call on some of these to get me out of a corner.

I also ask the couple to place themselves in certain situations to get them into the mood. For example, I might ask them to imagine that they hadn't seen each other for a while, and then to act out how they might embrace each other in that situation. Once again it's just creating a little narrative, and making it easier for the couple to relax and to be natural.

"I also try to direct people a little and I'm not above getting involved and acting out a pose I might want the couple to try out. One of the big things that most photographers expect to capture on a wedding day, but which is very difficult to stage in a natural way, is a kiss. It can just end up looking awkward: I had a bride just recently who, when she went to kiss her new husband, tensed her neck and her cheeks were sucked in, and it just didn't look right.

"To me, the best thing to do is not to try to photograph the kiss at all, but instead to set up a situation that is the prelude to a kiss. Ask your couple to move close as if they are about to embrace but keep them apart, and have them looking into each other's eyes. It can be quite a sensuous moment, full of expectation, but make sure that neither side goes over the top and puckers up, or you'll get 'chimpy lips', which look awful!" The romantic strategy that Louise employs stretches all the way through to the post-production and presentation, and she works on every image individually rather than relying on the vagaries of batch processing.

"Every image is individual," she says, "and will need particular attention to different things. I might be looking to work on the tonal contrast in a portrait, for example, while if there is a lot of foliage in a scene I'll be looking to bring out the detail in that area.

"I'll also design my own albums, and it's here that I think the romantic element of the work can be further enhanced. I'll talk to my couple and will find out things that are perhaps special and personal to just them, and will then incorporate these into the design. For example, I might have a line from a song or a poem that they love ghosted on to a page, or there might be small visual references included that mean a lot to them. "For example, I recently photographed a wedding where the bride told me about her sister who had unfortunately passed away. Her symbol was a butterfly, and so I used this in my design in a subtle way, and it's now an integral part of their album. These are the kinds of things that ensure the book of pictures goes on to become a treasured family heirloom: they're like small family secrets and these touches make the album so much more personal and precious."

At a time where there is so much competition out there and so many couples are basing their decision about a photographer purely on cost, having something about your work that differentiates it from the crowd is more crucial than ever. If Louise's romantic inclinations are the kind of thing that you feel could benefit your own wedding approach, then her upcoming workshop is one that you really can't afford to miss.

More information:

www.louisesumnerphotography.co.uk

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1st Published 01/12/2012
last update 09/12/2022 14:59:33

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