Canterbury Weddings

A selection of photos from Katherine and Ricky's wedding, photographed on Saturday at St Thomas' RC Church and the Abbots Barton Hotel in Canterbury. Please check out their wedding gallery.

HDR (-2, 0, +2), f/6.4, ISO 125, 16 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

The sky was so much brighter than the church that I had to capture the scene as a high dynamic range (HDR) image. The three exposures were combined with Photomatix Pro.

1/1000, f/2, ISO 160, -1/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/2500, f/1.2, ISO 160, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

I put my 5D Mk II into AI servo mode for this shot. When shooting at such wide apertures I only use the central focusing point.

1/5000, f/1.2, ISO 160, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

Some negative exposure compensation (EC) prevented his head and hair from being completely burnt out. The area outside the church is compact and the public have free access, so there are lots of distractions. f/1.2 sorts this out!

1/320, f/1.2, ISO 800, -1/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

I like shooting at St Thomas' in Canterbury. There's plenty of space and natural light dominates. I was shooting between f/1.2 and f/2.8, so kept the ISO at 800 to provide me with a suitable shutter speed over this aperture range.

1/160, f/1.2, ISO 800, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

I do enjoy candid shots like this. You need to learn to spot the promising candidates asap.

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 800, 0 EV, 16 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

Having a wide angle lens allows you to capture the couple and their surroundings.

1/1000, f/3.2, ISO 125, -2/3 EV, 16 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

1/500, f/1.6, ISO 50, -1 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

We found an area of open shade in the grounds of the Abbots Barton Hotel for the bride and groom portrait session. Notice the negative EC to take into account the dark background.

1/800, f/1.2, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/500, f/1.4, ISO 50, -1/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/160, f/1.4, ISO 400, -2/3 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

The Abbots Barton Hotel deserve particular credit for having thoughtfully placed their health and safety paraphernalia (signs and extinguishers etc). Some hotels decide to place items directly behind where the couple sit - very handy if one of them spontaneously combusts, but otherwise...

1/640, f/1.4, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

A few candids before the wedding breakfast. Having a fast prime lens in your bag allows you to shoot at very wide apertures and minimise distractions in crowded surroundings.

1/800, f/1.2, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/500, f/1.2, ISO 50, -1 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/500, f/1.2, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/80, f/1.4, ISO 50, 0 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 1600, -2/3 EV, 160 mm, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

If there's enough space and light I like to use the 70-200mm lens for speeches. It obviously allows you to cover a much bigger area.

1/320, f/2, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/320, f/1.8, ISO 1600, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

Any comments or queries are always welcome.

My website: Wedding Photographers in Kent