A groom who photographed his own wedding has explained why he decided not to hire someone to capture his big day.
Mark Condon, a British photographer living in Sydney, took photos of his own wedding so it would be as “natural and uncomplicated as possible” rather than a staged photo shoot.
Speaking to The Huffington Post UK, Condon said he wanted the focus of his wedding day to be on their family and “the rare occasion we’d be spending together”, rather than creating something for viewers to enjoy.
“Being the one to document the day seemed like the most natural choice,” he explained.
“I had the freedom to capture only the moments that spoke to me, the moments that may have been insignificant to another, the moments that I hoped would, one day, allow us to relive it all over again.”
In a blog post, Condon said that he’d originally planned to set up various shots which would tell a story: “Positioning the tripod here and there, taking a photo of the guests from my point of view, the ring being put on Elissa’s finger, the registry being signed.”
But then he realised that his desire to be creative with the storytelling was making their plans become less and less about a simple, natural ceremony and more like a photo shoot.
“I wanted to remember the day as I saw it, warts and all,” he wrote. “So in the morning as Elissa and her family were casually getting ready, I lifted my camera and started clicking with no particular plan. I was just taking pictures of what was happening – things that would hopefully jog our ever-fading memories and evoke the feelings that we were experiencing, every time we saw them.”
The result is a stunning collection of images, not staged or awkward, that tell the couple’s stories through their eyes, rather than that of a third party.
Condon said he has no regrets about shooting his own wedding, despite all of the “missed photo opportunities”.
“Another photographer could have captured far more and much better photos, but we’re happy with what we have,” he said.
“Ultimately, this story isn’t about ‘the groom who shot his own wedding’. It’s just about two people who tried to keep their wedding day as simple as possible.”
It’s not the first time a bride or groom has taken the matter of wedding photography into their own hands. Last year, Liisa Luts made headlines after she photographed her own wedding in a series of intimate photos.
“It was like a small and fun challenge to get the bride’s perspective of the day,” she said.
“People think that it’s a creative yet simple way to save memories from that day as a non-glamorous and genuine photo essay.”