A Hebridean Wedding

Sally and Iain’s Hebridean Wedding

For weddings, my style is best described as reportage. Rather than directing the action, I prefer to observe events as they unfold. With my cameras ready, I watch for the photographic moments as they happen, to tell the story of the day through an archive of candid portraits and a few set-piece photographs.

When photographing weddings, I have been described as unobtrusive. I like this! Despite the popularity of phones and selfies, most people are still deeply uncomfortable in front of a professional camera. My way around this is to allow events to develop as the wedding couple want, to work in such a way as not to disturb the natural flow of the day. When I do set up more formal shots, I often find it is the “out-takes”, the action and reactions immediately after a set pose, when everyone relaxes, that always produce the best and most loved pictures. Although the joy of photographic reportage is its apparent spontaneity, even with this approach, many of the best images are prepared for by the photographer’s understanding of the wedding day rituals and use of available light. However, although I might have an image in mind, to get the shot I want I constantly observe the action around me and then as things happen, shoot through the moment to allow time for all the right pieces to fall in to place.

Every wedding has its own unique elements that mark the day out as special and memorable. For Sally and Iain’s celebration on the beautiful Hebridean Island of Tiree, it was the strong bond of love and support they enjoyed with their friends that struck me the most and filled their day with an abundance of wedding-day loveliness. Family, friendship, community, island life, Hebridean traditions, kilts, military bonds, stunningly beautiful beaches, the often dramatic and challenging fast-changing weather and light and the Tiree wind! These are the things I remember from that day in May and I think are all present in this selection of images from their final wedding album.