I stumbled upon a link to Snap Photography, a photography company based in Calgary directed by the husband and wife team Mike and Ashley Kitchen, and fell in love with their work. I would describe their photos as having a raw emotionality mixed with a touch of off-kilter whimsy.
What I do when I’m a fan of someone is I call them up and tell them. So while I was talking to Ashley, I asked her how she and Mike achieved this feel and she said “we really love people.” The first thing they do is get to know everyone in the wedding before it starts. That way, when the cameras are later placed in front of them, they feel much more comfortable being “real.”
Ashley and Mike don’t follow many of the traditional rules of wedding photography. For example, instead of asking the bride and groom to “pose” like they’re in love, they let the bride and groom be who they are and allow the love speak for itself. Their goal is to capture the beauty, the fun, and the emotion of the day.
I asked Ashley if she had any advice for brides and grooms about to get married. She said they are usually so stressed the day of the wedding and want everything to go so perfectly, they have a tendency to almost want to “just get through it.” But Ashley advises the bride and groom to embrace their feelings, even if that means the bride’s mascara runs down her face in the middle of the ceremony. Let it. Those will be the best pictures.
I asked Ashley to send me some of her and Mike’s favorite shots. Here they are. Lovely.
Snap Photography
Snap Photography
Snap Photography
Snap Photography
Snap Photography
