Susan White

 I think of myself as a very creative person. I first got interested in photography when I was in my early twenties during my overseas travel. I can still remember visiting the airport’s duty free shop to purchase my first SLR Pro camera.

And it was from this simple purchase that I began my photography journey. During my overseas travels, I would take pictures of everything that I saw, just to show my friends back in Australia how exciting and interesting foreign travel could be. I can still remember taking photos of York castle in England and developing them in black and white so as to give them a vintage look. Besides that, I also took photos of the wild deer in Bushy Park, which was near Hampton Court castle in Surrey, England, where I lived.

During that time, whenever someone mentioned that he or she wanted to visit some exotic place, the first thing that would come to my mind was the type of photos I could take about that place. After I had returned to Sydney, I started working with a friend in taking wedding photos for others. In the course of my work, I realised how privileged I was to be able to be a part of a wedding couple’s joyous day. I also came to understand and appreciate how much the wedding couples had chosen to rely on me to capture the memories of this important occasion of their lives with my photographs. This is something which I have always kept in my mind during these occasions.

During these weddings, I love to see how the bridal couples interact with each other, and how their friends and families come together to support and witness their special day. The experience of being there, carefully observing and taking photos of all the little things throughout the entire day, is really a unique one. I have taken photos of many weddings, each of which is unique in its own way. After all, every couple has a different story to tell. This is one of the reasons why I make the effort to go to the bride and groom’s house early on their wedding day so as to be able to capture every precious moment as it unfolds.

I have since retired my old SLR camera, which has served me well over the years. I am now using my favourite Canon 5D digital camera. I love digital photo images, which allows me to widen the scope and reach of the photos that I have taken. For example, we provide each couple with their very own website to host their wedding photos. This allows them to share the photos with their loved ones and friends, instead of being restricted by the traditional wedding album and slideshow.

From these photos, we can see all the emotions, the stressful moments, the tension and sometimes even the mishaps (i.e. broken heels, ill-fitting dresses, botched tans or forgotten items).
Of course, there are also the emotions of the couples’ parents. Their own children are often too busy with their own wedding day to realise that their parents are actually secretly reminiscing their own wedding day. Deep down, many parents are probably marvelling at how differently weddings are now conducted as compared to what was done during their time.

I also take photos of candid moments during the wedding day, so as to capture things that everybody was probably too busy to notice at the time. I love taking photos of the couple, who is usually oblivious of the fact that I was merely steps away capturing these special moments. Moreover, as the couples’ parents generally expect to have traditional photos of the wedding ceremony as well as those taken with family members, I do my best to keep everybody happy by taking a wide variety of photos during the entire day.

Storytelling photography can be a powerful way to capture your entire wedding day, starting from the time you get ready to leave your house to the very end of your day. Because of this, unlike most wedding photographers, I adopt a flexible approach whereby I will start taking photos the moment you would prefer me to do so.

I also believe that you should know your wedding photographer well, This is very important as you should be able to feel at ease with the people around you on your wedding day, including your wedding photographer. Therefore, I feel that it is vital that we meet up a few months before your wedding day to spend some time going through the various locations involved in your wedding day.

This will also give you the opportunity to share with me the kind of photos you would like, the significance of some places to you, as well as provide some of your own suggestions on how and where to take photos during that day. I can also take the opportunity to share with you my professional knowledge and some ideas on how to ensure that the photos would be well-taken on that day.

I firmly believe that as your wedding photographer, my best gift to you is to capture the beautiful memories of your wedding day, a day which you will look back with joy and fondness.