For the 20 years that I've been a wedding photographer, I've specialised in candid/documentary style wedding photography. I don't do much setting up (apart from the group photos and maybe the cutting of the cake) but something I've become quite well known for are my nighttime photos, especially when it's raining. This sort of thing:
The only trouble is (contrary to what most people will tell you) it doesn't actually rain that much in England. I mean sure, when it rains it can really rain (I got drenched in the image above and I really put the waterproof-ness of my camera bag and camera to the test!) but at the vast majority of the weddings I go to, it doesn't rain.
This gives me a major headache - so many of the people I meet, know me for this kind of photo. If I had £1 for every time I heard 'I've seen your nighttime photos and really hope it rains on my wedding day' I wouldn't have to stand in the rain and take photos at weddings. But what do you do when it's not raining? Or you don't have stunning architecture that lends itself to this type of imagery?
Some people turn to smoke, like this:
One option that's becoming more popular however (thanks, America) is the champagne spray. And when I say 'champagne spray' what I really mean to say is 'the-cheapest-bottle-of-sparkling-wine-from Aldi spray' but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it... Still, if you wanted to use Pol Roger (my personal favourite) or a bottle of Dom, be my guest!
Location: Bredenbury Court Barns.
Keywords: Photographer-directed image (128).