Depth of Field: Haydn Rydings

I first met Manchester Photographer Haydn Rydings whilst working at Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester City Centre last year. After chatting to him once, it turned-out he was a mutual friend of another photographer on my Level One/Two City & Guilds course of that year, Andy Brown. He is mainly a wedding photographer, and it is this work that has most impressed me (especially in terms of his creative use of depth of field), but he also does gigs and interior shoots for magazines. Below I will discuss some of his wedding images in view of depth of field.

This is typical of Rydings' reportage style, and his ability to capture the differing emotions throughout the day. Here we have another example of an image where the shallow depth of field is used to highlight the figure in the foreground, instead of the more traditional front-to-back shot. This helps juxtapose the bride's sense of frivolity with what look like the groom's best attempt at keeping composure. Add to this the traditional working men's club wallpaper in the background, and we have an image that works on more than one level.

The depth of field chosen here to highlight the level of expectation of the bridesmaids as they wait for  what looks like the bride throwing the bouquet, but what could alternatively just be her arrival. I like the way they have been arranged in a line waiting for the bride. Again the focus is on them.

Rydings has the knack of combining both the street and reportage styles of wedding photography in a mix of black & white and colour. Here I like how the expanse of the public acts as a leading line to the wedding couple, which is obviously the focal point.