Henri Cartier-Bresson was arguably one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. He coined the term “The Decisive Moment” which he roughly defined as
Henri
His influence in documentary work, reportage, and even wedding photography is extensive (albeit he was rarely commissioned for wedding photographic work).
Cartier-Bresson also famously said that the “camera is an extension of the eye”. Whilst I’m sure he meant this in compositional terms, his choice of equipment certainly seemed to match that ideal. Cartier-Bresson used to prowl the streets of Paris with his Leica 35mm camera (he being one of the early adopters of this format) with a 50mm lens and sought to capture moments of fleeting reality.
The 50mm lens is the closest focal length to the human eye. The field of view and range is most similar to how we see the world. Using this focal length, Cartier-Bresson made tremendous imagery that was both engaging, provocative, and recognisable. Whilst he rarely positioned his subjects, he always actively composed them within the frame such that when that “decisive moment” happened, he was there ready and waiting.
For those of you who have followed my work over the years, will know that I love capturing those little moments. Having a variety of zoom lenses at my disposal, it’s made it easier for me (than it did for Cartier-Bresson) to widen or narrow my field of view to include or exclude subjects. Whilst this zooming in and out has made life easier, it can at times make one lazy as a photographer. Too often, photographers are so drawn into a moment that they zoom right in and miss some of the interesting subject matters surrounding that moment and crop it out of the frame. I shudder to think how many of these frames I’ve missed!
So, when I went to my cousin Tim’s wedding a few weeks back, I tried a bit of “Bressonism”. Seeing as though I was a guest at the wedding and didn’t have the pressure of covering the day, I did not need to pack all my gear. I only took one camera body (my beloved Canon 5D mkII) and a recently purchased Canon 50mm f1.2 lens. No flash, no telephoto lens, no wide angle lens. Not being able to zoom in and out, and moreover not being able to move about (as I had to sit still like the rest of the guests) I was forced to compose what was in my field of view whether I liked it or not. True, I could have cropped them out in post production, but that would be cheating.
Here are a few favourites, all in black and white as well as some commentary about each frame. (None of these are posed at all).
1. Tim (my cousin, the groom) looks back toward the slowly filling church. The people out of focus in the foreground are his parents (my aunt and uncle).
2. The classic shot of the bride (Jackie) walking down the aisle with her Dad. A tight crop of father and daughter would have been fine, but for me this image is made by the expressions of the people to the right of the frame as well as the guy in the gallery looking down on the procession). I love the expression on Dad and daughter’s face too!
3. Tim looks at his folks as the married couple walk down the aisle together. Tim looks at his family and friends on the right hand side of the church, whilst Jackie looks at her family and friends sat on the left hand side of the church.
4. You can make up the story here. 
5.This and the next image were taken a few minutes apart. I love how all the attention in this image is focussed on the bride (even the boy in the tree to the left of the frame).
6.
7. As any married couple will tell you, getting the guest list and the sitting arrangements right for the reception is probably the first major challenge a couple will have. The impossible task of arranging hundreds of guests at amicable tables is always a source of great difficulty. This was a real ‘grab’ shot of the guests looking to find where they will be sitting for the reception. I don’t know why the lady has that expression on her face and is covering her mouth, perhaps it’s just a yawn, and perhaps it’s not…
So there you have it. I, like hundreds of photographers before me, have been really inspired by Cartier-Bresson’s philosophy of the ‘decisive moment’. I love how this approach adds so much more depth to an image. In my opinion, too much wedding photography is about just capturing the beauty and glamour of the day. There are so many hundreds and thousands of stories to be told on such a big occasion. Hopefully these and many other of my images don’t just challenge you the viewer to see the beauty of the day and the bride, but also challenge you to look a little closer and a little longer at each of stories told in the frame.
To end, here is my favourite quote from Cartier-Bresson:
“For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder.”
Please leave a comment or two, I’d LOVE to get your thoughts and feedback.
