ARTICLE

Lyndsey Goddard's top 8 wedding photography tips

A man dances with his daughter on his shoulders, both laughing and looking at the camera.
Once you’ve found your style as a wedding photographer, make it clear to potential clients. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

Lyndsey Goddard describes herself as a documentary wedding photographer – that might not sound very different to simply being a wedding photographer, but her approach is fresh and candid.

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The London-based photographer's intimate, off-guard shots seem to have been taken by an invisible onlooker, totally in sync with the unique atmosphere of the day. "I aim to get under the skin of the wedding," says Lyndsey, "and to tell the honest story of it, not just by capturing the big moments, but also by photographing all the little moments in between."

Lyndsey's wedding photography career started in 2003, when a family friend gave her carte blanche to cover the big day. She shot it analog, and cross-processed the prints [the deliberate processing of photographic film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film] and, while the hyper blue skies and green and yellow bridesmaid's dresses weren't exactly a hit, they fuelled her fire to document weddings in unique, creative ways.

Here, Lyndsey reveals her eight best tips for making forward-thinking documentary wedding photography.

A blurred foreground shows a bride and groom exchanging rings. Behind, a child lies in the aisle looking tired.
Capturing funny, human moments that the bride and groom may have missed is the sign of a great documentary wedding photographer, says Lyndsey Goddard. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

1. Find your identity

"In the early days, although I was quite sure what type of wedding photographer I wanted to be (one who tells the story of the day without orchestrating or influencing proceedings), I wasn't booking the clients who wanted that style of photography. I had the odd wedding where I wasn't the right photographer for them, and they weren't the right clients for me. I'd get booked, maybe because I was cheap, and then get sent images that had been screen-grabbed online, with a request for me to 'shoot like this'. I'm now quite upfront about my style, and what couples can expect – it weeds out the people who want me to be somebody else."

A bride’s leg is seen as she steps into her wedding dress, held by three bridesmaids.
Lyndsey makes sure brides, their families and friends are comfortable with her presence during intimate moments. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard
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2. Read the situation, and always accept tea

"Often, the first time I meet the couples is on their wedding day. I'll arrive in the morning, say 'hi' to everyone in the room, unpack my camera bag, and always accept the inevitable cup of tea. I think the people in the room – usually bridesmaids, the bride, occasionally parents – then get used to my presence. Once the tea has been drunk, I'll start shooting. I'm really aware of being 'the photographer' at this point, so I'm careful to not be overbearing, or too close, too soon. I think being female can help – you're often walking into a room full of girls, and adding another one to the mix doesn't unbalance the vibe.

"As far as the bride getting ready is concerned, I get a feel for whether she's shy or confident enough to get dressed with me there. If I have a huge open space with a lot of natural light, I may try to get a nicely framed silhouette of her getting into the dress, or use a lot of negative space from, say, a white wall. If the room is cluttered, or just aesthetically rubbish, I'll expose for the highlights and just photograph a bare shoulder going into the strap, for example. Or I'll focus on a certain moment, such as the bride stepping into the dress."

A little girl hides under a bride’s dress. The bride bends down to talk to her, while bridesmaids and guests smile.
Rather than darting around in the bushes, Lyndsey mingles with wedding guests to put them at ease. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

3. Hide in plain sight

"This is perhaps the opposite of what you'd think. For me, it's not standing at a distance shooting at 85mm or longer – it's being right up close to the people you're photographing. If you're darting in and out of bushes, you'll be spotted, and then people will start to feel self-conscious, as if you're trying to catch them out. At the drinks reception, I'll mingle with the clusters of people chatting, listen to their jokes, then raise my camera at the punch line. I also chat to people a lot on the day – it breaks down barriers and they accept your presence a lot more. I'm nearly always asked how I know the couple because it's assumed I'm a friend rather than the hired pro – it's great because it means I'm remaining unobtrusive."

Waiting staff pour champagne into glasses as a boy walks past, playing with his tie. A woman’s arm is obscured in the foreground.
Lyndsey enjoys thinking outside the box with her composition. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

4. Be spontaneous

"Some of my favourite shots have happened at completely unexpected moments. A lot of the clichéd wedding images you see have had a lot of input from the photographer – the subject will have been guided, posed or told what to do, or shot several times to get it 'just right'. What may have been unique to that photographer when they first took that type of image becomes a bit of an Achilles' heel for them, because future brides then start asking for that same shot again and again. If you always put human interaction at the forefront of every image, it's difficult to repeat yourself, or create clichés, because you never know what people are going to do."

A little girl wearing a flower crown gazes at the bride’s bouquet on a table in front of her, while wedding guests chat in the background.
Having taken the big shot (the newlyweds signing the register) at one wedding, Lyndsey moved around and captured this photo of a young girl lost in the moment. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

5. Wait for the small moments

"I make sure I get the safe shot ­– the 'big moment' – then keep moving and shooting to get a different angle, or to capture the moments afterwards. An example of this would be my shot of the flower girl staring intently at the bride's bouquet (above). It was taken during the signing of the register, after I'd taken the safe shot of the couple from the other side of the table. With the safe shot in the bag, I went around the back of the table so that I could focus on the parents and the bridesmaids, and got this picture."

A crowd of smartly dressed wedding guests look up at the camera that’s positioned above their heads, as confetti rains down on them, making them smile.
Though much of what Lyndsey shoots through the day is improvised – capturing unguarded moments of the revellers – some of the big moments, such as the group shots, need a little planning. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

6. Plan key shots in advance

"I always schedule a phone call with couples in the week leading up to the wedding, to discuss finer details – group shots being one of them. It's important to do them as soon after the ceremony as possible. If the reception starts and the group shots haven't been done, it's difficult to focus 100% on the documentary shots because you're keeping one eye on the time. If the call for dinner comes and you haven't got the group shots done, you're in trouble! I look for an area of open shade, preferably with a darkish, uncluttered background. I'll place my groups a good distance from the background, and myself a good distance from the group, and then shoot them on an 85mm.

"In some instances this is impossible. For example, Islington Town Hall – a venue I work at a lot – has steps at the front and is the logical place to get your group shots done before heading off to the reception. But it's so busy that if you try to do them on an 85mm lens, you'll just have people walking between you and the subjects. So you need to shoot wide. To my mind it's less pleasing, but it's the best approach for the job in this instance."

In a dimly lit car, a shaft of sunlight from the window lights up a bride’s face as she looks out, smiling slightly. A man sits next to her.
By the end of the day, Lyndsey is so embedded in proceedings she can capture intimate moments like this. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

7. Work with the available light 

"For the above photograph, we'd been travelling in the car for the bride's February wedding and the light was all over the place; mostly very dark, but with the occasional shaft of sunlight now and then. I exposed for the highlights where the sun was hitting the side of the bride, and then just waited until the moment was perfect – the light on her face and her looking out of the window. It was a more controlled way of taking the picture, rather than having to keep changing the camera settings in order to accommodate the changing light, which ultimately could have resulted in missing the moment while being too engrossed in the technical side of things."

A woman in a white wedding dress and a woman in a black dress hold hands as guests throw confetti at them on the steps in front of a beautiful stone building.
With two Canon EOS 5D Mark IV bodies on her at all times, the photographer can set one for the lower light inside, and one for outside. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens. © Lyndsey Goddard

8. Use a second body for speed

"I shoot with the camera on manual, rather than on shutter priority or aperture priority. So for example, when a couple is leaving the church, I may shoot them walking down the aisle on the 85mm lens with the camera set up for that: no slower than 1/160 sec and no wider then f/2.8, with whatever ISO I need for the light in there. I will have the 24-70mm lens on my other camera with the predicted settings already dialled in, having seen how light it is outside. I'll choose my shutter speed and f-stop, then just adjust the ISO if necessary once they are outside."

Written by Beren Neale


Lyndsey Goddard's kitbag

The key kit pros use to take their photographs

Lyndsey Goddard's kitbag

Camera

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

This full-frame 30.4MP DSLR captures incredible detail, even in extreme contrast, while continuous 7fps shooting helps when chasing the perfect moment.

Lens

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

With a fixed f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range, this lens performs brilliantly in low light conditions, and gives optimum control over depth-of-field.

Lens

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

A short telephoto lens that produces sharp images at all apertures, its Super Spectra coating ensures accurate colour balance, enhances contrast and reduces flare and ghosting.

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