As a wedding photographer, you can suggest poses, you can light, you can direct anything you want. But nothing is more rewarding than capturing the most candid moment between the bride and groom. And this image taken during the dance absolutely demonstrates that.
It was towards the end of the reception at the Big House Lodge when everyone loosened up and started getting down. Everyone had a drink in their hands, and so did the bride, Abigail - you knew it was party time.
To be able to capture a moment like this, I believe sometimes you just gotta be prepared, keep shooting, and hope for the best. Because you can never anticipate what’s going to happen, especially on the dance floor. Huge shoutout to my assistant who was holding my Speedlite with a portable softbox on just a grip handle the whole time. I was able to just click the shutter without having to worry about the position and the direction of the lighting. And back then I did not have a monopod yet, so my assistant had to hold the light modifier up high and over time her arms would get extremely sore. You bet I thanked her a million times for that!
This was the 2nd wedding I had ever done in my career. And I couldn't be more proud of what I created for the bride and groom. The raw emotion, the tears, the joy, the mood at night along with the celebration with everybody made this photograph so treasurable. Up until this day. Abigail and James' wedding is still one of my favorite weddings of all time.
Location: 751 Big House Rd, Cle Elum, WA 98922.
Keywords: Big House Lodge, bride and groom dance (2), Cle Elum, dance (3), Roddy Chung Photography (19), wedding reception (3).