blog.alakija.com » A resource for photographers by Alakija & Co Photography

I’m still away from my base and as a result, it’s been challenging finding time to put together some content for the blog. I’m actually quite lucky to have this piece with me as I normally don’t take along the next blog material.

Below is pretty much the largest number of photos I’ve ever posted from one wedding, I would not normally post 175 photos as I really think that’s way too many. However for the benefit of my viewers with slow connections who aren’t able to view the slideshows on their devices, I’ve decided to show pretty much what a whole wedding would look like from start to finish. Well… this is not the WHOLE wedding (as I have removed the formal shots and a few in betweens) but you can get the gist of it.

I maintain the fact that a wedding photojournalist doesn’t have to focus all his efforts on the most cliche of moments while covering an event. It’s become customary to have standard compositions for certain key moments such as the first kiss, exchange of rings, toasting, portraiture etc. The trouble with keeping to safe and standard compositions is that you tend to work in autopilot mode through the event, thereby missing some of the most unique moments you’d never find in any other wedding. This is not an easy thing to do but it’s always a good idea to ask yourself at each event how you can capture these standard moments differently from the last event whilst keeping the standards of your photography high.

Please enjoy the post below and if you have any questions about anything, let me know!

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I’m often asked what my best covered event is and why. I usually respond by pointing out an event where I have been allowed to express my work with total freedom. One would expect that this should always be the case— after all that’s what the photographer does best, right? Well… not exactly. Most couples still insist on demanding from the photographer EXACTLY what they want them to photograph. Not to say this is such a bad thing as the couple should be open with the photographer, but it can be almost like taking an exam. The photographer MUST take certain shots to pass their acceptance as a job well done. Of course you want to just make sure that they get the kind of storybook photos that will make your day even more memorable, as you have put a lot of effort into the planning of the event and you don’t want your labors to disappear unrecorded. But it is important to remember also why you hired the photographer. Most wedding photographers have made a mark in their trade because they have uniquely developed their art in recording these moments in ways you cannot even fathom. They have perfected the art of making your day an even more memorable and beautiful one. Getting in his/her way will only limit how creative they are.

When you are determining who you want to photograph your wedding it is important that you do the following:

-       Determine why you are hiring their services in the first place. Maybe you are really looking for someone to just record specific points as per your strict instructions. Or contrarily, you want him to express his art through your event without constraint.

-       Research how they work so you get an idea of what you need to prepare for them. (i.e. do they prefer to work alone? Do they need to be introduced to certain people in the family within the context of the wedding? etc.)

-       Give them an idea of the vision you have for your day and what is important to you. Again, too much instruction can stifle their creativity.

-       Find out from your photographer how best you can help them work.

I do hope these tips will assist those of you on the search for wedding photography in the future. But on a totally unrelated note, I recently documented the white wedding ceremony of a lovely couple in the UK. Really enjoyed working with these two!  Check out the images below!

I’ve just got back from Chicago. Very tired and haven’t much to say today. So I’ll let the pictures do the talking this time. Enjoy.

I’ve been away in the United States and the Cayman Islands to see my wife and to assist a good photographer friend of mine at a destination wedding respectively. You could say I’ve had a bit of a break over the past couple of weeks. One would think I’d be refreshed from such an adventure but really this isn’t the case. I feel like I need another break from the break I’ve just had. It was really exhausting. Not only do I feel burnt out but I was sunburnt on my forehead. The one place I forgot to protect against the sun was my face and I have suffered for it. I’ve certainly learnt my lesson…

Anyway, here are scenes from a recent wedding I covered earlier this year. Enjoy!

I’ve just recently gotten back into the swing of documenting weddings in the UK again. I normally take a wide range of focal length lenses with me, 6 in total ( 16-35mm f/2.8L, 24mm f/1.4L, 35mm f/1.4L, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8L). This way I have a lot of options in what I can do at the wedding. Recently I’ve had 2 lenses at the shop that are being serviced and repaired. It’s good practice to send your lenses in for recalibration and general servicing as high frequency of use tends to wear them out. At the moment my 50mm and 70-200mm are both out and so I’m having to shoot all telephoto shots with the 85mm. This obviously has proven to be challenging as there are certain key shots I would have normally captured using the compression effect of shooting at 200mm.

Nonetheless, it has been really interesting having to find new ways of shooting without my standard combo of lenses. In my last event I took only 3 lenses with me (24, 35 and 85mm). I found myself having to modify and adjust my approach to capturing moments and compositions in ways I would never have had to had I been in possession of all my lenses. I think a photographer should challenge him/herself once in a while in capturing images. Always ask the question, “how can I take this shot differently with a different lens?” Or “how can I use the light differently in this moment and convey the same mood?” You will start to notice things in your pictures that you took for granted. For instance did you ever notice that the colour red is such a striking colour that if your subject was red or wore a red dress they would stand out more than any other colour in the photo? This information is really handy when your subject is not the one who’s red but the dullest colour in the frame. I noticed this once on my travels in shooting a portrait with two different lighting conditions. Think about it for a second.

In the meantime, enjoy the wedding below!

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