One of my favourite wedding venues is the Golf Club at Brocket Hall, in Hertfordshire, and it is there that Leanne and Matt will celebrate their wedding this summer. I love wedding photography at Brocket Hall! We met there to combine a recce with a pre-wedding portrait session, and instead of walking down to the lake, we decided to explore the formal gardens above the club house.
These sessions often start out a little awkwardly, as we all need to get used to each other. Having booked their photographer, a lot of couples won’t have any idea of what it’s like to be photographed by an experienced professional photographer. Part of the process on pre-wedding shoots is to show the couple how I work, and re-assure them that I don’t shout, bark orders or boss anyone around! What a relief! And it’s just as important for me to see how couples are with each other, the camera, and me.
I gently started the session by getting Leanne and Matt to simply stand together, maybe talking together, maybe walk over here a little, try sitting on that seat over there… It’s all gentle and considerate, and if anything feels awkward we change direction and try something else. It’s worth mentioning that I’ll gently direct images far more on a pre-wedding shoot than on the wedding day, as most of the images on the day itself will be documentary wedding photography, and much more observational.
Here are some of my favourite images from our portrait session – what do you think?
