Sometimes, when you're photographing a wedding, a shot suddenly presents itself to you that absolutely HAS to be photographed! That was the case during this bridal preparation session for a wedding at Orchardleigh House in Somerset.
As I was photographing the makeup artist at work, I noticed that her lovely large earrings were the perfect 'portal' for me to shoot the intricacies of the bride's eye makeup being applied... and not only that, the tones of the golden earring hoop were in absolute synchronicity with the gold eyeshadow she was using. The alignment was only there for a moment - and luckily, I was able to get into position quickly to capture what is now one of my favourite bridal preparation shots of the last year!
Photographs such as this are moments of opportunity, and I'll probably never photograph another shot like this again... unless, of course, the makeup artist (the wonderfully talented Elle Hitchens who I've had the pleasure of working with many times) happens to wear these earrings again when we work together next time.... just a hint!
The bridal suite at Orchardleigh House is a wonderful place to photograph in, for not only does it have lots and lots of lovely natural light, it's also huge, which means that I can generally move around the room and work different angles whilst the makeup artist and hairdresser are at work, without disturbing them. This isn't always the case at other weddings, where space is very often at a premium during the bridal prep, so in these instances, I'm adept at treading carefully and moving slowly - not only to avoid creating a distraction, but also to make sure I don't tread on anyone, or anything!
