Your ad agency background comes through in many of the pictures of the Berkeley Fieldhouse wedding. Many of the beautiful pictures have captured the heightened emotional impact of a wedding. How do you achieve this?
Since our background is so different then other wedding photographers – we naturally capture moments from a very different perspective. There are no preconceived notions of what will take place & how to capture it. For us, capturing authentic moments: real laughter, true tears, kick ass dance moves is most important. We never ever want to recreate the bride laughing her face off with her bridesmaids. We want to capture it in the moment. Really truly happening. Amazing moments are happening all day long. You just need to keep your eyes open for them. Having 2 pairs of eyes on a wedding day is also really key. Since we are two photographers – we have the ability to be in two different places at once. Which is mega important on a wedding day – when so so so so many moments are constantly happening. We don’t want to miss any of them! Capturing rad moments is only part of the equation – capturing them with creativity and bringing that moment to life – so you can practically hear the joke that was told that got the bridesmaids to guffaw is what we adore doing.
What if any reference did the couple give you for their desired look for their wedding pictures ?
Our couples tend not to be prescriptive in this way. They come to us for authenticity and to capture their day as it really happened. Not to sound nerdy but we become their wedding storytellers. Which means that they don’t just want to remember that they had a super rad band play during cocktails (which Marieke & Mark totally did – the Hairy Holler band is beyond incredible!) – they want to remember what it felt like to be there, that the lead singer rocked it out like nobody’s business and to be able to hear the songs again playing in their head. Whether they look at the photos – a month later, a year later or 20 years later – we want the collection of images to instantly transport them back to that incredible day in the heart of Toronto where they were surrounded by friends and family.
One picture in particular of Marieke & Mark standing on the bridge crossing the Taddle Creek stream looks like they could be in the middle of a stretch of wilderness rather than in downtown Toronto. Was capturing the outdoor charm of the venue something you had in mind?
120%. Capturing the inner and outer amazingness of the venue itself is always really important to us. We remember when we got married a few years ago, how incredibly important finding the perfect venue is to the day. The venue sets the tone and mood of the wedding. And our couples have likely searched high and low for their perfect place. The venue really is an incredibly important character in telling the story of the day and we want that to come shining through in the images.
Each picture has a quality of finding a great colour palette. Is this something you are looking for in general compositional terms?
Thanks so much! Our ad agency background and art direction experience has trained our eyes well – it is something that we naturally look for and are drawn to.
“At a wedding, there is never any shortage of sweet, funny, touching, heartfelt, awesome, moments. You just need to keep your eyes open.” This ability you have to be alert to the special moment is really apparent in the range of expressions and emotions in the photos of the guests at Marieke and Marks wedding. Can you elaborate on this?
For us, these moments are really what make up a wedding and truly tell the story.
What informs your choice to present a picture in black and white versus colour?
It is hard to explain – it is an art and a science LOL – some images just scream out to be in Black & White.
Your pictures at night time have the same popping vibrant quality as your pictures during the day with the natural lighting. How do you maintain this level of intensity in the shifting light?
Knowing how to work our equipment in any and all lighting situations. We are always shooting in different venues, different countries, different times of day – and the one constant is that the light will always be changing. So we need to adapt and be true pros in that regard.
The pictures of the set up and decor of the wedding really communicate its unique feel and capture all the choices the couple made in their preparation. The photographs you took do this with an appreciative eye. How do you plan for this to get all the details?
When we got married a few years ago – we designed all the details ourselves. It was a crazy amount of DIY. All our free time was taken up designing and putting together our custom design and decor items. It was a slightly insane amount of work. We completely understand that for our couples some of their details are going to be a labour of love and it really represents the vision and hard work/planning they put into their day. We also know that on the day – our couples are super busy chit chatting, mingling & cheersing with all their guests – that often times they don’t get a chance to see the ceremony and reception decor and setup that they worked so hard to put together. So we always want to make sure we shoot these items beautifully – since more often than not the only time they get to see the items is in our photos.
If there was a poster for this wedding what picture would you choose and what would be the caption?
That is a tough one! I would have to say this one. The caption would say: Best. Day. Ever.
