👋 Sometimes I write about what it’s like to be a photographer as well.
Intimate and Candid Wedding Photography at Sassafraz in Yorkville.
This one wedding, shared by a guest on a Reddit post has been the single most viewed wedding on my website since 2023, and has contributed to many of my bookings from couples looking for someone to photograph their intimate restaurant wedding in Toronto and surrounding areas…..
A few years back, I photographed a fairly intimate Jewish wedding ceremony and afternoon luncheon reception at Sassafraz in Yorkville in downtown Toronto.
This one wedding, shared by a guest on a Reddit post has been the single most viewed wedding on my website since 2023, and has contributed to many of my bookings from couples looking for someone to photograph their intimate restaurant wedding in Toronto and surrounding areas.
This set of photographs represents a four hour period, and I only met them and their family for the first time in person that morning.
Documentary Style, Intimate & Candid Photos of People at Weddings.
“What is Documentary Wedding Photography”? - A Question I’m asked in almost every phone call with couples lately.
And I get it! It’s becoming increasingly difficult to articulate through keywords alone what we do as photographers.
When every photographer uses these terms to describe their work, mostly in an effort to be found online when someone searches “documentary wedding photographer in Toronto”….
A scene at a wedding in Hamilton Ontario. Unscripted and unplanned on my part.
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Calling yourself a “documentary wedding photographer” means less and less lately because everyone uses the term for SEO and to be found online.
True documentary work would follow a couple long before and after the wedding day, not just the event itself.
What actually sets this work apart isn’t gear or editing style — it’s perspective.
The images aren’t staged or controlled, but they are intentional. It’s about being present inside the moment, observing, anticipating, and reacting.
Sometimes what you expect happens. Sometimes it doesn’t.
That unpredictability is the whole point — and the magic.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to articulate through keywords alone what we do as photographers. When every photographer uses these terms to describe their work, mostly in an effort to be found online when someone searches “documentary wedding photographer in Toronto”.
The term “documentary style” is a reference to the old school look of candid, journalistic imagery often associated with long form photo essays that documentary photographers would use, often black and white, often gritty and moody.
But if we were to actually be a documentary photographer of a wedding in the truest sense, the visual story would start far, far earlier, with photographs capturing the couple dating, their engagement, dinners or celebrations with family members throughout the months or years leading up to the wedding, and then the wedding day itself, and maybe even some photographs post wedding, as the couple embark on their life as a married couple together….
Now that I think of it, that would be an interesting long form project to undertake…
What sets my work apart isn’t the camera, the preset, the way I edit or retouch an image, it’s me. It’s what I find interesting in the moment I take an image, and what I’m interested in knowing about the person in front of me.
The images are random in that I don’t control the scene, but they are intentional in how they are formed - I am placing myself within a scene or an event and waiting, watching and listening for that moment to take place.
And, sometimes what I think will happen doesn’t…and that’s what makes this both challenging, and rewarding at the same time.
What it’s like being a wedding photographer…
Wedding photography is in my opinion one of the most difficult, yet rewarding types of photography to do as a business. Emotions are high. Expectations are even higher. The clock never stops, and we’re expected to make perfect work each and every wedding…..
Being a wedding photographer is something I’ve done since 2003. I also owned and operated a small specialty espresso bar for a few years, but that’s another story for another time, and before I even considered photographing weddings, I worked with advertising, b2b, industrial and commercial clients.
Wedding photography was never, ever on my radar, but I found it fit with both my personality, and interest in making candid documentary style work.
Wedding photography is in my opinion one of the most difficult, yet rewarding types of photography to do as a business.
Emotions are high.
Expectations are even higher.
The clock never stops, and we’re expected to make perfect work each and every wedding.
Depending on your personality type and what you enjoy doing, wedding photography can either be the best form of creative work, or a complete nightmare.
One of the elements of my work that I actually enjoy the most is people watching and interacting with those that I photograph.
While the majority of the work and style of photograph I produce is considered “photojournalistic” or “documentary”, there are a lot of photographs that I make during the day where I’m not just an observant, I am in fact participating in that split second moment with the person or people in front of me.
That might be a quick glance, a smile, or a short conversation, and you can get a sense of what those images look like in the “Candid Snapshots” section of my site.
The photograph above was made years ago in Bahamas for a prominent family on the island at their private residence.
The couple had hired me almost a year earlier, after a short phone call. They live in New York, and found me through a google search of some sort.
Like most clients, I don’t actually know much about them other than what we share with one another in our initial phone call. (This is one of the parts of this job that can be stressful for some).
I flew down to the Bahamas for the weekend, and photographed their pre wedding “welcome party”, and the full wedding day - this one started early in the morning and ended at about 3am!!
I met this couple during the welcome party. I don’t remember their names, but I do recall having a short conversation about living in Nassau as Canadians. They were very cute together and while I covered the event, I noticed how much attention he gave her and how affectionate he was - clearly this was something new! And I was right! I approached them, had a little conversation and then snapped one shot.
I had mailed this one to him a few weeks later, and while this was made a long time ago, I wonder if this image of the two of them remains in their family.
The Value of Documentary Wedding Photography
Documenting a wedding day is an intentional act as a photographer. It’s more than simply showing up and snapping thousands of random images. It’s about being thoughtful in the story we’re trying to capture, the sequences of moments and the details that make the day truly your own…..
Documenting a wedding day is an intentional act as a photographer. It’s more than simply showing up and snapping thousands of random images. It’s about being thoughtful in the story we’re trying to capture, the sequences of moments and the details that make the day truly your own.
From the moment your wedding day begins, it should be free to unfold naturally. It’s an emotional day, with many moving parts, which is why I think the photography of your day should be done in such a way that it’s as stress free as possible.
What I create on your wedding day reflects the traditions, rituals, and cultural details that make the day yours. My approach is simple: I’m there to observe and bear witness. It’s your day, and I’m just there to create a set of photographs of how it all went down.
I’ve been photographing weddings this way for over two decades, and it’s something I care deeply about. I’ve been married for more than twenty years and have three grown kids, and that life experience shapes how I see and photograph these days.
Anyone can take photos at a wedding, but I believe these images should be viewed as more than just content for what a superficial online audience. They’re a lasting record of this milestone moment, made in the moment and meant to reflect who you are now, and to be lived with by the two of you for years to come.
Intentionality in Wedding Photography…
Lately, the words “intentional” “authentic” “genuine” “natural” are being used, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Unlike saying your work is “fine art editorial journalism” or whatever other set of words strung together, saying you are intentional with your photography says one thing only - that you care about your craft…..
Lately, the words “intentional” “authentic” “genuine” “natural” are being used, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Unlike saying your work is “fine art editorial journalism” or whatever other set of words strung together, saying you are intentional with your photography says one thing only - that you care about your craft.
And when it comes to photography, it’s an art that is based almost entirely on being intentional…with our timing, composition, lighting, camera settings, subject matter, creative “voice”.
When it comes to wedding photography, I think being intentional is super important because it signals that we’re paying attention to what is happening in front of us, and we’re going in with our eyes and ears open, observing, paying attention and creating photographs of what matters the most, rather than simply photographing every single “moment” and thing in front of us.