{"id":35465,"date":"2015-02-04T03:09:52","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T16:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/articles\/treat-wedding-photography-like-art\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T03:46:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T16:46:14","slug":"treat-wedding-photography-like-art","status":"publish","type":"au-article","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/articles\/treat-wedding-photography-like-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning your wedding photography into true art"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Wedding photography can be likened to a private art exhibition \u2013 the most important one you\u2019ll ever curate. And it all comes down to memories.<\/p>\n

As brides and grooms often discover \u2013 much to their surprise \u2013 the payoff for months or even years of wedding planning can be a celebration that whisks by in the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n

The first locking of their eyes, the promise of \u201cI do\u201d, linking hands for the first dance, or the joy of cutting the cake \u2026 they\u2019re all wonderful moments that help to echo a couple\u2019s commitment to a life together.<\/p>\n

But, as that life grows and evolves, the memories naturally begin to fade, leaving the wedding photographs as a crucial connection back to the day. And it\u2019s a realisation that is seeing high-end photography come into its own, as couples come to understand how important it is for the financial investment to take second place to the heart.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

International wedding photographer Mauro – from high-end studio Dezine by Mauro<\/a> in Melbourne and Sydney \u2013 believes wedding photography is worth much more than just unlimited images on a USB.<\/p>\n

Instead, he sees it as a very real artistic journey and an investment in love, one that benefits from a multi-pronged approach to capturing the day\u2019s highlights, canvasing shots ranging from the avant garde to the timeless.[ew-supplier-carousel]<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a very heartfelt day for the family, so you always look to get the most emotional shots in the morning when they\u2019re getting ready,\u201d says Mauro, who works alongside three other globally renowned photographers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, it\u2019s about the ceremony itself, about capturing great imagery with the bride and groom \u2013 when they first meet and lock eyes, and also their vows, which are especially important these days as a lot of people create their own. Other great moments to capture are when they come out of the church or finish the ceremony and have people congratulating them. I think that\u2019s when you can really see and capture their character.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, with the official group and family shots safely in hand, Mauro <\/a>\u2013 who prides himself on a globally unique approach – is a big believer in taking plenty of time for the official wedding party photographs.<\/p>\n

He acknowledges some couples look to take just a short moment between the ceremony and reception, but stresses the beauty and importance of what you can achieve if you treat the break like a proper shoot, prioritising substance over speed and quality over quantity.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery bride and groom deserves to have amazing images they can look and marvel at 30 years from now,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about being in their 50s and 60s and being able to say \u2018look how beautiful I was’ or ‘look how handsome I was.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a showcase of their life to look back on. And when you put them together in a wedding album, they\u2019re the most important photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mauro says the trick to a successful shoot is to carefully plan and handcraft each shot to give the bride and groom the \u201cfairytale\u201d they\u2019ve always wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur view is that you take two or even three hours – before heading off to the reception – and you go on location, because that\u2019s where you can capture the fun and romance of the wedding day and really capture the spirit of the bridal party,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

This can be a new take on a classic prop, such as a photo frame or balloons, a visit to an urban setting such as a hotdog van, a beautifully staged tableau under a streetlight or even the chance for the bride to literally walk down the red carpet.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Other beautiful ideas involve poses that are later set against a stunning and colourful digitally enhanced background.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about giving the bride her fairytale moment, or her glamorous look, or even just the experience of being a model for a day,\u201d says Mauro<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s high art and it\u2019s fashion forward and it provides a stunning contrast to the emotions and festivities that return when you head back into the reception.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day then becomes a wonderful mix of styles, which play out in the wedding album, which is carefully handcrafted in-house by Mauro’s team.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The award-winning shooter \u2013 who says \u201cevery image should be one that has been thought over and captured in the moment\u201d \u2013 says research is particularly important when choosing settings for photographs.<\/p>\n

\u201cInspiration can be found in the cars they\u2019re using, in the dress, or even in the era of the dress, which in turn can inspire props, ideas and concepts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut again, it all needs to be relative to what the bride and groom\u2019s style is. For example, when we\u2019re planning the day, we\u2019ll hand them over ideas for 10 locations and then they\u2019ll be the ones to say: \u2018That looks interesting, let\u2019s go there\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this collaboration that ensures the magic happens.<\/p>\n

Mauro \u2013 whose photographers only handle one wedding a day – says \u201cthe beauty of great imagery is it doesn\u2019t need to be explained, it can just be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to a favourite photo (below) \u2013 which secured the honour of American Photojournalist\/Photographer of the Year – as a key example.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat image is really close to my heart,\u201d he says. It\u2019s a beautiful yet innovative showcase of a groom and his parents on the morning of the big day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you don\u2019t know from the image is that the dad hadn\u2019t struck up a cigar for 30 years. He had quit smoking, but for his son\u2019s wedding day, he lit one up. And, on the other side of the image, you have Mum taking care of her son, which is something that never stops, no matter whether he\u2019s 15 or 32.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a photo that captures beautiful undercurrents \u2013 illustrating, without words, that wonderful bond between a mother, father and son. \u201cIt\u2019s an image that says a lot,\u201d Mauro says. And that\u2019s the way it should be.<\/p>\n

As he looks to base himself in New York as his globally renowned style takes him everywhere from Fiji and America to Thailand, Mauro says it was photography that discovered him, rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a 12-year-old altar boy and one day the priest asked me what I was going to do when I got older. He said: \u2018I have a photographic enlarger, why don\u2019t you muck around with that?\u2019 And I guess the rest is history. You could almost say photography is my new religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his teens he spent several years in Rome working in fashion photography before transitioning into weddings. But that love of high art and beautiful design still remains. As does his love of a true candid photo.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many versions within the style of candid photography, and people don\u2019t realise it can be explored a lot more,\u201d he says. It\u2019s not just about catching the couple unawares but about creating a conducive environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is you get people in an environment where they feel natural and then you semi-guide the bride and groom towards looking natural in a candid shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, with a lot of photos where the bride and groom are walking or relaxing, they look natural but we\u2019ve manufactured them in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s about capturing candid emotion as opposed to a purely candid moment.<\/p>\n

Mauro <\/a>\u2013 who is again nominated for British Photographer of the Year after winning last year \u2013 says a good album will find inspiration and mood not just in people but in backgrounds as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really about taking quite a photojournalist approach,\u201d he says. In shots taken at home, for example, as with the photo below, it\u2019s about steering clear of blank walls or the garden to capture a real sense of authenticity and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to tap into the bride or groom\u2019s background, because it helped to bring them to this point,\u201d he says. Again it\u2019s about telling a story.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Modern architecture also makes for a great background. Again, it\u2019s about variety, and about contrasting home and heart shots with more fashioned-forward or high-art images taken on location.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour wedding day is about pushing the boundaries when it comes to your photography, and testing the boundaries,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about having that wonderful mix of styles, because versatility is what keeps the bride and groom interested with every page they turn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also what inspires me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always trying different concepts, so six months or a year after a wedding, my style has totally changed. And my style is exceptionally different to what everyone else is doing; it stands out like a sore thumb.” It’s about loving the process as much as the end result, which is ultimately what creates great photography \u2013 and a great wedding album – in the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13624,"template":"","au_article_tag":[64,65,107,47,63,820,105,291,83],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/35465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/35465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_article_tag?post=35465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}