This photograph was taken at our friends Julia and Carl’s wedding at the Adam’s Beach Hotel in Cyprus in May 2008. It has long been a favourite of mine, not only because it was taken at a friends wedding, but because of it’s unusual perspective and composition – I have not worked in another wedding venue where I would have been able to take this photograph.
I first had the idea for this shot whilst we were visiting Julia and Carl in their hotel room a few days before the wedding. Whilst we were stood on their balcony, which overlooked the hotel gardens where weddings in the Adam’s Beach hotel are held, another bride whose wedding had just finished walked underneath and it struck me that the unusual angle would make a great photograph.
On the wedding day itself I obviously couldn’t be in two places at once(!), so once the ceremony had finished, I set up Julia and Carl and their bridesmaids downstairs before going up to their room to take this shot looking down from their balcony, whilst they walked below me.
Apart from basic levels and contrast adjustment, I did very little to the photograph in post production so the final image is more or less as it was straight out of camera. I was lucky that Julia chose black bridesmaids dresses because, together with the usual angle, the contrast of the black against the white floor is what really makes the photograph work.
This image will always be a particular favourite of mine as it was the photograph which won me the title of SWPP Members Choice Wedding Photographer of the Year 2008.
Each week on the SWPP (Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers) forum, members are invited to participate in a wedding photography competition with each of the weekly winners going forward to the final vote for the annual title. I was really pleased that my image won as there were some exceptional wedding photographs nominated.
The award was given to me at the SWPP’s annual Awards Dinner at the Novotel Hotel in London in January 2009 by Jon Jenkins, a fantastic wedding photographer based in Wales. It was a real honour to pick up the award in front of some many of the UK’s best wedding photographers.
by Neil
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