Joe Buissink

Wedding Photographer Joe Buissink

I am in the process of studying various wedding photographers which will help to broaden my knowledge and understanding of this branch of photography which may also contribute to perhaps developing  a style of my own. I particularly like the work of this photographer whose style is a very distinct old fashioned,dark moody type of ambiance

Joe Buissink is a talented photographer, who has shot the weddings of  many famous people such as Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Kelsey Grammar, Christian Slater, Angie Harmon & Jason Sehorn, Lauren Holly, Christina Applegate, Rebecca Romijn, and many, many others. He is a highly sought after photographer and is renowed for his wedding photography throughout the world and voted as one of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World.

I have added some of his images to this page to give an insite into his style of wedding photography. A lot of his images are created using a monochrome style which has a distinct aged type feeling, a style that seems to be in vogue at the moment. A lot of wedding phtographers are copying this kind of style at the moment which seems to be in demand from brides and grooms alike

Shown here are some of his images with the distinctive "Vignetting" style where the edges of the images fade off and darken towards the edge of the image. This technique is used to draw the attention and focus directly to the subject

I am in the process of sourcing a model to pose as a bride for a day where I can begin to experiment with this style of photography. I intend to post produce a lot of the effects in Photoshop to achieve this aged monochrome feel

Shown below is one of his famous images from his book which explains the techniques and camera settings that he uses 






The bride and groom were actually waiting for me to come down to take their formal portrait—but this was a perfect moment! This image was heavily burned in and vignetted in the darkroom, a technique that brings the focus where it’s intended, on the bride and groom kissing. Your eyes settle first on the couple, and then wander outward to take in the rest of the image. 

Nikon F6, 17-35mm F2.8 lens, f/6.3 at 1⁄50 sec.

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I really love the image below which is not an easy image to capture,this is just an oppotunist moment, I must learn to look for these moments and to think out of the box

The bridesmaids were enjoying a toast, and I first photographed them from the front. However, the more powerful image was actually cast on the wall behind them. The shadows tell a better story, right down to the maid of honor holding two drinks. Had I not had a second camera set up and ready to go, the moment would have been missed.
Canon 5D, 24-70mm F2.8 lens, f/6.3 at 1⁄125 sec.

Detailed below is an abstract from one of Joe Buisisnk's books which I feel is a very useful piece of information. I agree with what he say's here but maybe he has all the time in the world to ponder and create such shots. For most of us, this is not that simple,we only have a few split seconds at a wedding and the shot needs to be bang on the button. We have to concentrate on getting all the formals correct with no room for error. I think the only way I could  produce shots like this is to get the couple to come back to the wedding venue and set up all the poses with lots of time to spare

Shown below is an extraxt from one of Joe Buissink's books which details the technique of  looking past or through your subjects.

Wedding Photography from the Heart: Creative Techniques to Capture the Moments that Matter,” by Joe Buissink

Looking Beyond Your Subjects: Shadows And Light Learn to look beyond your subjects—literally. Often the most powerful point in a photograph isn’t the subject, but just beyond him or her, in the shadows. It’s about learning to see and training your eyes to perceive texture and contrast. Too many photographers panic when faced with uneven light. But shadows and contrast in lighting are two of your best allies for creating truly amazing prints. Learn to understand every aspect of how your equipment performs and how your subject will look using lenses of different focal lengths.

Although this book is a few years old I find it totally inspirational which has some really distintive photography which a lot of wedding phtographers are trying to emulate at this moment in time