I can still remember watching in awe the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. I was 10 years old. Now my daughter, who is 8 years old, will get to watch the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton this month. She thinks she’s “over princesses”, but I think deep down inside she still wants to be one when she grows up.
In this context, if you asked me what I want to be when I grow up, it wouldn’t be the princess, or even the queen, but rather the hired help — the royal wedding photographer! Can you even imagine being one of the many photographers who has the great privilege [and pressure] of photographing this beautiful and historical event with all its pomp and circumstance?! So much planning and preparation; and on the wedding day, timing, technical delivery, creativity, and gracefulness will be of upmost importance. Not that it isn’t on every shoot, but especially when so many hands are involved. They’ll even have a strategy for not accidentally being in each other’s shots and getting in each other’s way.
Guaranteed there will be a large number of shooters to document every aspect and angle of this captivating day because these images will not only be for the royal family’s keepsakes, but for every magazine, newspaper and television station in the world covering the event. One of the photographers who will be shooting the royal wedding is Ian Jones, who has been a photographer to the royal family for 20 years.
You can hear an interview with Jones about his thoughts leading up to photographing the royal wedding here.
You can view some of Ian Jones’ famous work here.
What I can’t wait to see is which shot will be “the shot”. That iconic image that will stand the test of time and define the glory of the day in just one click of the shutter.
And just for fun (and for your kids), check out Lego’s miniature version of the royal nuptials as Legoland celebrates its 15th birthday.
