With an appreciation of people, love and happy times, Emma of Photography by Emma Pointon celebrates each wedding she photographs with a joy that is infectious. Her enthusiasm for using the beautiful natural light at different times of the day to create sparkle and an ethereal quality are a hallmark of her work. Always wanting to create a natural image Emma is committed to a casual approach with little posing, and you being who you are in the moment. And isn’t that the magic of photography – images that are as lovely as the wedding day you remember. We meet Emma today and take a peek into her photography ideas and business.
Where are you based?
I am a Fremantle-based photographer.
How long have you been a professional photographer?
10 years this year!
What or who initially made you passionate about photography? What excites you about your chosen profession today?
I travelled extensively when I lived and taught in London, and felt the travel snaps were not enough to capture the experience of my travel. When I headed to Africa for 6 months I found that the best photos that spoke about the adventure I was on were the photos of the people and capturing the emotion. I still love capturing the emotion between people at a wedding, a bridesmaid squeezing the bride as they get her into the dress, Dad tearing up just before walking his daughter down the aisle, a moment between a groom’s Dad and his Mum during the ceremony. A friend choking down sobs during the ceremony. Then all the fun and frivolity after the important moments are done, letting lose on the dance floor and the partying atmosphere of a wedding celebration.
How would you describe your photographic style?
Very natural and candid, almost documentary, although I do shoot family formal photos (using those teacher skills of wrangling humans from all those years ago). I don’t want to capture a couple in poses that I think of, I want to see how a couple are together and capture that so the ‘portrait’ time is really about relaxing with your new wife or hubby and taking in the fact that you just got married while I skip around you and place you in good light. As a couple get more relaxed and into the spirit of the portrait session, I do a little gentle posing but I am not going to force anything that I haven’t already seen the couple doing in the way they hold hands or snuggle into each other.
There is something about the light in WA – how do you use the unique qualities of this light in your photographs?
I like to say that I let the sunshine soak into the images. I most often put a couple with the sun behind them and let it creep into the images but then last week I shot while there was a bushfire a few miles away so the quality of the light was spectacular due to all the smoke particles (terrible I know) so I just turned the couple to the light and bathed them in this yellow sun.
How would you describe your approach to photographing a wedding?
Very very very casual. But I am still a professional, directing the timing, getting people moving (groomsmen dressed, getting people out of the aisle so the bride can walk down, getting bridal parties moving from portrait locations into the car and back to the reception). I am like a duck gliding across the surface during the photos but madly paddling underneath to keep all the cogs moving on the day, especially when couples do not have a wedding planner, the timing is really important. If I don’t keep one eye on the time I lose all of the portrait time as you can not hold up a reception taking photos, people need to be fed!
What attracts couples to your photography?
I think it is that nothing looks forced or posed and my editing style is light, bright and sunny, like it actually looks on the wedding day rather than over edited with dark hues.
Where do you photograph weddings?
Mainly WA but I am off to Melbourne for a wedding at the start of December and have photographed weddings in Fiji, Indonesia and Greece.
Where are some favourite places you’ve photographed weddings?
Broome during the winter, OMG the light and the red earth in that part of the world. I do love a country WA wedding too, the wheatbelt during September and October is a fabulous photo location. But give me a Freo wedding every weekend and I will still be a happy photographer. 5 minutes from home, with beach, rustic sheds, beautiful heritage buildings with doorways and tiles and steps, I could shoot there all day, every day.
Ideally do you like to shoot an engagement session with the couple so that they are more relaxed in front of the camera on the wedding day?
It is really up to the couple, I don’t push it, especially now it is going out of fashion. My style is documentary so an engagement session actually is harder for me to shoot than a wedding because I do have to do more posing and direction than on a wedding day so it isn’t as relaxed as the wedding day!
Do you find more couples are using this as a ‘practise run’ for their big day?
Nope it is definitely going the other way.
Do you offer packages or any special deals?
I have small intimate wedding packages all the way up to big kahuna packages with everything in it!
In your experience, what are the five things that make a wedding special?
- Remembering that it is about the marriage not the wedding day.
- Allowing enough time between the ceremony and the reception so you can soak in the congratulations with guests, have a relaxed portrait time and then join your guests for the canapé time (seriously this is the best food, enjoy it!).
- Get all planning out the way as early as possible so the lead up to your wedding is not stressful.
- On your wedding day remember all the planning has been done, just let it go and relax and enjoy every moment, what will be, will be.
- Take time away from your reception to have 5-10 minutes with your new husband or wife (and if your photographer is around, invite them to get some sneaky night time portraits for you).
What are the images you find you are most excited about time and again (and the ones your couples remark on the most?)
Any images that show joy in faces. Yes I love the pretties at weddings but nothing can replace an image of a couple having a full belly laugh or a couple that just cannot take their eyes off each other…
What is unique about WA brides?
My WA brides are well travelled like me! And a lot of the time there is family and friends flying in from around the globe for the wedding rather than just coming from down the road, so the wedding celebrations are just that extra special with all these people coming in that haven’t seen each other for months or years.
Five things to love about WA…
The light.
The relaxed, beach vibe that infuses itself into most weddings.
The wind on a hot summers day (although not all the time, we do have a few more updo wedding hairstyles here than anywhere else I feel).
It is very rare to get a traffic jam on a wedding day (bonus!).
People that embrace the fun atmosphere at a wedding. Some days I seriously laugh all day and night.
How do you spend your leisure time?
Hahahahahahaha I am a wedding photographer that runs her own business, what is leisure time???
Nah I get winter off, and luckily my partner’s job is less full on in the winter too so we try to escape up north camping with our puppy dog. He goes surfing and kite surfing while I read lots of books and have the occasional SUP when the ocean is glassy. I also love hiking so also a great winter activity in WA, as you don’t want to go on a three day hike in bushfire/snake season! This winter we are heading to Gnarloo camping and I am going to book in the Cape to Cape trail one week in June after all my editing has been completed!
Thank you Emma for sharing your story. We’re loving the natural qualities of the light in these images – and who doesn’t love mans’ best friend taking a role in the wedding! To find out more about Photography by Emma Pointon visit the website.
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