Shooting weddings in Thailand

A wedding in Thailand is almost always a blend of the sacred and the warm: a temple blessing, honest tears, children playing “at getting married,” and the obligatory elephant somewhere nearby. The photographer's job is to stay out of the way and catch the real thing. A few observations gathered over years of shooting them.

A symbolic ceremony in Thailand often runs on a tight budget. And if you must economise on something, it's wiser to trim the décor and hire a proper photographer — even just for an hour. The décor wilts by evening; the photographs stay.

I've shot a great many weddings of every kind, and I can say this: ones like this — emotional, sincere — are the most rewarding. A couple like this is easy to work with: no special posing needed, they're already one whole.

Weddings where the guests keep to a single dress code are always a holiday for the photographer. The frames from such events come out more interesting, and more pulled-together, every time.

Long fabric always lends slimness — drapery or a full-length dress alike. It's no accident that the most elegant wedding and evening gowns come with a floor-length skirt.

During any rite, the most sensible thing a photographer can do is not interfere — let the couple concentrate on the ceremony itself. It's in those minutes that the most natural, most soulful frames come.

Even when the newlyweds have only signed a civil marriage, the session is often held within some temple complex — the temple's religion doesn't matter. It underlines the blessing from above and the sanctity of the union.

Thailand is a wonderful place for a wedding with genuine ethnic character. To render the temple evenly across the frame, down to its smallest details, the aperture had to be stopped down two or three stops from wide open.

Ceremony details, shot right, add atmosphere and a sense of fullness to the story. Here the photographer's task is to hold the balance between a beautiful frame, the background blur, and how much it actually tells you.

The main thing with child models is to motivate them the right way. Here the girls were playing “weddings,” helping their friend-the-bride get married (female solidarity in these matters, it seems, really is in the blood).

Small children will grace any frame — but they're no easy work: you have to hold their attention without a break.

A full day's shoot in Thailand rarely passes without an elephant. They're not easy to photograph, by the way: an elephant couldn't care less about your photographic efforts. Your food, now — that's another matter (a grown elephant puts away around 300 kg of fodder a day).

Holidaymakers are usually put out when a day at the resort turns overcast — all the more so if it's the day of the planned shoot. In truth it doesn't matter: an experienced photographer will make good pictures in any weather.

And a wedding in Thailand can be genuinely dangerous — especially if you've nicked a coconut from a tipsy crowd.