This is the Laher Engagement Ring Journal.

Today, we’re talking wedding photography…

My Favourite Wedding Photo I’ve Ever Seen…

Wedding photography is a funny one. 

There’s a strange dynamic between something deeply personal for the couples - along with a task that is ultimately quite repetitive for the photographer. And in-between this relationship, you need to find the ‘unique’.

We feel it on the engagement ring side of things as well. Although every piece is distinctly special for the couple, there are many characteristics to the process that are unchanged and we need to be able to imbue a sense of uniqueness into the process. 

On the wedding day, I imagine that shooting is a completely organic process. You can’t force those moments. Humans have a strange way of identifying anything unauthentic. I feel that this is likely a byproduct of the over-saturation of advertising. We can sniff out anything that is remotely forced.

I’m not sure if you’re the same, but when I am scrolling through social media,  it usually takes me under 3 seconds to recognise brand-based content and flick my thumb upwards. 

So herein lies the complexity of shooting weddings. 

Ask any couple what their favourite photo is from their wedding, and I will guarantee you that its not the one you first noticed. It’ll be a shot that captures a moment of a guest that is contextually significant and authentic to them. 

Jimmy Raper, recently captured my favourite photo I have ever seen of a wedding. What makes it uniquely special is the fact that I can’t describe what I love about it. Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 different answers.

I could sit here and rattle off technical photographic relevance of the snap, however on that side of things - its comparable to other shots. So what is it then? 

‘A moment in time’ is referenced far too much for me to rely on this term. So let me try and re-package this phrase. 

Back to the point of ‘asking 10 people’… Let’s flip this.

If you look at this image, 10 different times, I’m banking on you discovering something new each time. The image just keeps on giving.

The chaotic absurdity of what is happening during this moment, is what I love. 

From the little kid who’s obliviously intrigued by something on the ground, to the old men perched around the statue - whom I’m assuming weren’t changing their daily routine for no wedding shoot. I bizarrely love the harshness of the shadows of the pigeons in the foreground - don’t ask me why, I just feel that it's a beautiful touch. 

To wrap it up, it feels to me that this photo is a moment captured BEFORE the planned photo. And, that’s the genius of Jimmy. I don’t know what position the groom was heading into, but I guarantee it wouldn’t have topped this. 

I’m trying to avoid overly poetic language - I don’t want to sound like a clueless arts student meandering through a museum. This photo doesn’t need that.  

I guess, it's those in-between moments that make the perfect shot. Subtly spontaneous but also just a perfect alignment of some many chaotic variables that you can’t orchestrate. 

Wedding of; Rebecca & Madison

Photographer; Jimmy Raper

Dress; Elly Sofocli
Videographer: Dear Vincent

Location; Hvar, Hvar Island, Croatia