Ever dreamt of getting married in a woodland? If so, you're not alone. If you're like me then you'll find woodlands mysterious, magical, breathtaking. It's a perfect place for a special event, and a truly wonderful place to share with a loved one. That's why I was super excited to photograph this beautiful Dorset wedding in a private woodland.
However, as a photographer there are definite technical challenges to shooting in a woodland wedding location. Without boring you too much with technicalities, here are few of the main problems which could make your woodland wedding idyll definitely less than magical on your photographs.
Firstly, all that green - so lush and bountiful - that's going to create issues with the colour balance on any camera. Cameras take an internal measurement of the colours in any scene, in order to work out what should be white - and adjusts from there accordingly. So, any scene with a large amount of one colour is going to end up incorrectly balanced by a camera. It's not a huge problem as these things can be adjusted in post processing with knowhow and skill, but it's definitely going to be an issue for your guests with their point and shoots!
Secondly, when there is full leaf on the trees then inside a wood is actually pretty dark, even on a sunny day. That's why this particular woodland scene is so perfect for me - as in this little glade the tree cover thins out a little, allowing beautiful light to filter down to ground level. And thirdly... when light does filter down through the trees, on a sunny day you're likely to get 'dappling' on your skin where patches of light hit it - not a great look. That's why a location for a woodland wedding shoot has to be precisely planned and the couple positioned really carefully to ensure that they gain the best of the light.
No matter all the challenges that a woodland wedding shoot throws up at you, I absolutely adored photographing this truly gorgeous Dorset wedding - and a challenge is there to be met, right?! In the portrait images after the wedding ceremony I was determined to capture the magnificence of the location, how awe inspiring it was. This shot, for me, tells that story. As soon as I found this softly light glade, a little walk away from where the main wedding ceremony had been held, I knew that this was where we were going to shoot this image.
I love love love LOVE woodland weddings. It doesn't matter that they're difficult to photograph, because finding a moment like this makes it all worthwhile.
