An Isle of Wight Wedding

My name is Jason Swain, I consider myself very lucky to be able to say that I live and work as a full time professional photographer on the beautiful Isle of Wight, and that I love my job.

I’ve been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. Initially I used photography as a tool to gather information to support my love of painting and work as an artist. Then, over the years, I grew to appreciate it as an art form in its own right, and I gradually became hooked. It was a little over 11 years ago when I decided to also make my passion my livelihood, and took the leap to become a full time professional.

In that time I’ve shot an incredibly diverse range of subjects, covering everything from major pop festivals and sporting events to stately homes and product launches. I’ve been on TV sets and in cages with monkeys, and of course, I’ve shot a lot of weddings, which is why I’m here today writing this blog.

For me, weddings are the most demanding of photographic assignments, as well as the most exciting and most fun. You are entrusted with capturing these special moments, and unlike say a commercial shoot, there’s no second chance, no take two. There is only the one “I do” moment, there’s only one "you may kiss the bride” there’s only one “first dance” and whatever the light, whatever the conditions, you’ve got to get the shot, and it's got to be a good one.

To try and stay at the top of my game and keep fresh, I set myself a limit to the number of wedding bookings I take each year. The hope is that by doing this, I don’t become one-dimensional and by continuing to work as a professional photographer in other fields, I will continue to develop my skills and experience. All of which should hopefully result in better photos for all my clients.

I think when I started out, my wedding photography style would have been described as natural light / reportage / candid, and even now I still like to take a low profile and catch the candid natural moments that show the real emotions of the day. But often a couple will also look to the wedding photographer to provide the spark and creativity to help create extra special moments, that special sense of occasion, because it’s not just another day, its the BIG day. So as I’ve become more experienced over the years, I’ve become more comfortable with taking the lead, and making sure there’s an interesting and fun set of photos to look back on with a few fun set piece shots alongside the candids.

I’ve chosen a very recent wedding (September 2017) to take a look at here, as Jonny and Sally’s wedding was everything I love about the occasion. As a couple they couldn’t have been more happy and smiley and photogenic. The friends and family were super helpful, the location of church and reception was perfect, and the Isle of Wight itself as a backdrop was on top form on a splendid late summer's day.

We created a couple of fun scenes with both the bride's party and the groomsmen, and I instigated a bit of competition for the best shot between them.  Using the vintage bridal car (an old Austin) as a prop, we tried for an untouchables / peeky blinders / goodfellas pastiche with the gents (only slightly spoilt by the groom who couldn’t stop smiling). Then with the additional borrowing of a few instruments from the band for the ladies, they performed an acapella version of ‘Caravan of love’ to get some real animation and life into theirs.

But it’s the clifftop shots with just the bride and groom that I really love. Taken at Whale Chine, and looking back along the South West coast of the island, standing there arm-in-arm with the world at their feet, I love how it symbolizes the life they have ahead of them, a life full of possibilities.

 

http://www.jasonswain.co.uk/

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