How to use street photography during wedding - interview with Dan Morris
We all have been to wedding and trying to capture some of the moments of the big day. Street photography (SP) can offer a new way to capture authentic and candid moments.
I discussed it with professional wedding photographer Dan Morris who is as well doing street photo on his leisure time.
Hi Dan, can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit more about you and how you started photography?
I m Dan Morris, a professional wedding photographer based in Cheltenham, England. I travel within the UK and abroad. With Australia being the furthest to date. I started photography around 10 years ago purely as a hobby. Taking photos of anything and everything. Then one day I took my camera to a friends wedding as a guest. I was having drinks with my friends and taking a few shots here and there (obviously staying out of the way of the professional) commonly known in the wedding photography industry as uncle Bob. I then put a few images on Facebook and I started getting a few people asking if I could be their wedding photographer. Obviously I said sorry I was just a guest and now here we are.
We can clearly find in your wedding portfolio some SP touch; can you tell us more about it? How is it perceived by your clients?
I’ve only been doing street photography just over 18 months. I was doing quite a few cool destination weddings in some cool countries and thought I should get out there with my camera in and around the weddings. So I basically took the skills that I already had learnt being a wedding photographer, into street photography. I document 90% of the wedding day with the ideology of capturing moments, composition and light. Usually in that order if possible. If you get all 3 in an image then you’re onto a winner. Now 18 months later the skills that I’ve now learnt in street photography are creeping into my weddings. When couples book me they tend to mention two things - moments and colours. Some of these moments certainly have a street photography input. Be it layers, juxtaposing, serendipity for example. Mixed with what I had already learnt and my style I had developed over the last few years. I like humour and I don’t take life very seriously myself. Luckily so far my couples have been super happy with their mixed final galleries.
How street photography inspires your weeding photography and vice versa? Any similarities between the two genres?
There are so many similarities at weddings and street photography. It’s the unknown and not knowing what will happen next. Being there ready to capture it. At any given moment something crazy could happen on the streets or at a wedding. One moment it’s perceived a normal day and the next something magical presents itself to you.
Any tips you could share for capturing candid moment during wedding?
Patience, listening and obviously seeing things before they happen cross over to both. Sometimes you’ll see something and miss it. Though if someone does something once they have a tendency to do it again. You won’t miss it a second time :) every wedding will have the obvious happen. Father and daughter moments, bride coming down the aisle, first kiss etc, my thought process is get the safe shot and then it’s time to think outside of the box and ask myself how can I make this different. The longer a wedding day goes on guests completely forget you’re there and get comfortable around you. This gives you the freedom to capture these moments up close. The images then give the viewer that you were in that moment and see the images from a guests point of view and not the photographers. Being friendly and relaxed early on in the day gives these opportunities later on in the day. I love telling the story of the whole wedding day.
Last but not least, can you tell us more about your street photographic work and approach?
With my street photography I tend to see where my feet end up taking me and don’t have a set plan as such. One thought process I do have is that if we have harsh sunlight I’ll try to play with it and think about framing a subject or subjects into the geometry (depending where I am) though in and around this I’ll look at framing opportunities, perhaps waiting for that cool person to walk into my frame. I don’t tend to stay in one place to long, unless it’s the best backdrop, with the best light and then I pray to the photography gods to give me that best moment in amongst it. But don’t we all? I’m constantly looking out for moments happening. A possible juxtaposition. Moments are happening all the time. It’s a case of slowing down and not chasing your tail. We’re all seeking that magic where everything lines up perfectly for us. One day it may turn up I see it as a game and a challenge. I don’t beat myself up if I come back with nothing exceptional. It’s all training the brain and good things happen to those who practice and learn. Hopefully at least. A tag line that I use is “Seeking the stillness amongst the chaos” this is how I perceive street photography and also my wedding photography.
To know more about Dan