Some of my favorite wedding photographs have absolutely nothing to do with posing, directing, or asking someone to look at the camera.
This moment, photographed at the magnificent Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, is a perfect example.
The groom, clutching his rosary, appears lost in thought just moments before one of the most important events of his life. The priest stands quietly nearby, and the beautiful directional light adds another dimension to an already powerful moment.
As a former photojournalist, these are the moments I'm always looking for. They're unscripted, authentic, and impossible to recreate. You can't manufacture genuine emotion, but you can anticipate it, recognize it, and understand how to use light and composition to tell the story.
After photographing more than 1,300 weddings throughout Philadelphia, South Jersey, and beyond, I still believe the most meaningful wedding photographs are often the ones nobody knew were being taken.
Grey Towers Castle is an extraordinary historic wedding venue, but on this occasion, it wasn't the architecture that made the photograph.
It was the moment.
Location: Grey Towers Castle – Arcadia University 450 S. Easton Road Glenside, PA 19038.
1/500; f/2.0; ISO 3200; 85.0 mm.