If we provided the client with a whole series of static posed wedding pictures, they would probably still be happy because they would be receiving images from one of the most beautiful wedding venues on the West Coast. Yes, that venue is San Francisco City Hall. But we don't just rest on that advantage, we want to take our wedding photography clients to the next level. In our opinion, doing that requires including photos with movement and with a more candid feel. Whether it's just a simple walking shot or the bride and groom strolling down the Grand Staircase, we want to give you that extra dimension. There are a number of ways to produce believable wedding images involving movement. Obviously, a lot is up to the couple, but they need to be coached properly to make a convincing statement that this candid picture was not staged. in many ways, the picture really wasn't staged, they really did need to walk down the stairs to get to our next photo location on their San Francisco city hall photo tour. We had just completed capturing some wonderful photos on the Staircase and it was time for them to walk down. In order to make the photos appear more candid we made one small suggestion and that was to NOT look at the camera.
We are trained since we are little kids to smile and look at the camera, but in this case it is not needed. Often time when I am shooting a wedding and want to catch a candid moment, the subject will see that I am taking their picture turn their heads toward the camera and smile. So frequently, I need to redirect them back to what they were doing before they noticed me taking pictures. In this case, the bride and groom really should be looking down to make sure they don't trip. Isn't that what you do when walking down the stairs? One of the small hazards of the City Hall Grand Staircase is that it is super wide with only hand rails on the outside. This means that the vast majority of people walking down these stairs are not holding on to anything except each other. For those reasons, we always suggest that our newlyweds hold hands as they walk down the staircase. It not only makes for a better and more convincing picture, but it helps with safety issues as well. Here is a short list of the suggestions we make to our brides and groom while walking together in San Francisco city hall.
