I don't arrange reality; it's just not me.
Hello, I'm David; a documentary wedding photographer based near Dublin and I struggle to take photos that lack originality. For the past 10 years I've been photographing Irish weddings and the images I produce are indicative of how I see life. For sure, I have a very defined personal vision when it comes to wedding photography and I've always been tenacious in my quest to produce honest and meaningful photographs. Working to a list of 'must have shots' or asking a couple to fake a kiss on a scenic cliff top, is something I just can't do. One could say I'm very single minded when it comes to photography, but what's the point in following trends or producing work that pleases the masses. Instead, I have chosen a different route; I produce work that pleases me. The photographs I take make me happy and represent the flow of life within a wedding day. Nothing I do is stage managed and the couples I work with openly embrace my spontaneity and creativity. The end result; a collection of authentic images having a profound value for those who place their trust in me.
So, as we enter yet another wedding season, I'd like to take a retrospective journey through last year's portfolio. Selecting my favourite pictures is never an easy task, as this process is invariably hampered by a lack of self confidence in my own work. Doubting oneself can be crippling, particularity in a wedding industry where we are now surrounded by the self assured, proclaiming how 'awesome' and 'epic' their last wedding was. Yes, the world I work in has certainly changed. Gone are many great humble photographers who I once admired, replaced now by a brash generation of bloggers, massaging the egos of those they photograph and the venues they work at. The quality of work no longer matters, and why should it, as the fickle wedding industry celebrates mediocrity.
To conclude, I don't expect everyone to understand or place a value on my wedding photography. What I do is very subjective. However, these images define who I am as a person, so love them or loathe them, this is what I do, and this is what makes me happy. I like being myself and I like producing work that isn't based on fantasy.'Documentary wedding photography is all about taking truthful images without directing or prompting people at a wedding.'
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