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documentary photography true to life unstaged wedding Virginia

Katie and Will – September Shendig at Little Oatlands

Where do I even begin with this super cool and laid back couple? Well, heck. That’ll do just fine to describe Katie and Will. Among the top priorities for their day at Little Oatlands: – hanging out with their people, – carefree** vibes, – dancing ’till late to the tasty jams from Katie’s cousin’s band (Wim Tapley and the Cannons). And that’s precisely what happened. And it was glorious. — Katie even afforded me the ability to show up day-of knowing basically nothing about the plans, which is what sweet wedding photo dreams are made of. Seriously, I think my best work is done when I have no idea what’s going to happen.

**carefree – soon after arriving at Little Oatlands, we encounter Will. Shirtless, in his trunks, with their dog Lincoln, carrying a bottle of whiskey across the lawn – “This. This is fascinating. Uh. Is it OK if I take a photo of this?” I mumbled something to that effect Will answered by gesturing with open arms, unspoken words “be my guest” – also gotta love on the 16mm Fujinon here…So much context.

All the regular stuff here. But for now I’ll repeat it, for the keywords! Besides the obvious (portraits), and some light interactions with guests, this image set was recorded entirely hands-off, unstaged, uninfluenced, the honest, natural, undisturbed truth. At zero points do I stop and tell anyone how to stand or smirk or how fast to walk, where to toast or how to button their jacket. This is simply an organic free-range human celebration, recorded as though Aneila and I were street-photographer guests. Katie and Will went about their day while we roamed around looking for interesting photographic material and natural vibes. There is the occasional breaking of the fourth wall (guests noticing and interacting with the camera). I think it showcases the looser side of a personality. TLDR: this is the epitome of the product I will continue to cultivate: an uninterrupted wedding experience with an image set that honestly depicts the happenings within.

wedding balloons with guests mingling at reception in the background - true to life colors editing wedding photographer - documentary style wedding reception photo
documentary style black and white photo of man in tuxedo making a goofy face at a wedding reception
live band playing at a wedding reception shot on wide angle lens as viewed behind drummer - photojournalistic style wedding photo in black and white
documentary style wedding photo of saxophone player silhouetted in front of multicolored stage lights -live band at reception
Silhouetted against an ever changing backdrop of multicolored lights. This one photograph is among my top personal favorite work ever. Is it consistent with the “wedding look”? Not at all.
groom dances at wedding reception wildly swinging his white jacket around with guests reacting in the background - documentary style black and white classic direct flash wedding photo
wide angle black and white photograph of wedding guests slow dancing at reception intentionally blurry to show movement - documentary style wedding photography