I often talk about how when it comes to wedding photography, the smallest moments are just as important as the big ones. I also never forget that a wedding day is the opportunity to see the crazy experience through a child's eyes - such as this moment, taken at a wedding at Brympton House in Somerset.
Do you remember attending your first wedding as a child? Do you remember how exciting and overwhelming it all was? So many people, so much going on - and such a long day! I certainly do - although I did love the experience and in fact wanted to wear my bridesmaid dress at every opportunity after that, until I just grew too big for it.
Photographing a weddings gives me a unique opportunity to observe children and see how they react to the spectacle of the celebration. Whilst many of the pictures I'll take are candid and unobserved, there is also a power in the moments where the child suddenly becomes aware that I'm there, but they are relaxed enough not to change their behaviour to 'act for the camera'. It allows me to capture wonderfully natural portraits of the children at the wedding and document a sense of their own emotions in response to the event.
That's why I love this particular image, shot during the evening wedding reception at Brympton House. The adults have moved from the wedding breakfast to take coffee in the Great Hall, and this little girl, undoubtedly starting to feel tired, takes comfort in the caressing hand of her mother. At this part of the day, this was far more interesting a shot to capture than that of simply the adults drinking coffee.
I wonder if you have a picture of you as a child at your first wedding - that isn't the awkwardly formal lineup shot, but one where you were allowed to be yourself? I wish I did!
