Award-winning wedding photographer Kevin Then shares his thoughts with Fotoflock.com on the many different factors, and people, that go into making the perfect wedding photograph.

Who introduced you to photography?
I should be thankful to my brother-in-law, who is a professional photographer and also the owner of a bridal shop. He was the one who first allowed me to use a professional camera. I should also be grateful to my wife, who happens to be the first model to be captured by my camera lens. After that, I just couldn’t help but fall deeply in love with photography; I became crazy about it. That’s when I started learning and exploring photography.

Which photographers have inspired you?
To be frank, there isn’t anyone who I would say is my idol. Personally, I feel that each and every photographer has his/her own talents and aspects that we can learn and explore. In short, I respect talent, creativity, innovation and art…

What attracted you to wedding photography?
The passion of love.  As a wedding photographer, I get to share in a couple’s joy and capture their precious moments together using my own expression and creativity. I then present the images in a beautiful and artistic manner so that they are everlasting images.

What special challenges does wedding photography present?
The main challenge is the “Passion”! In my opinion, “Passion” should be applied in three ways.  First of all, the make-up artist, stylist, dresser and lighting technician needs to be passionate about beautifying and grooming the models (i.e. the couple). Secondly, the passion to lead the models in the frame to express their enthusiasm and love for one another. Lastly, the passion for wedding photography by capturing the models’ postures, gestures, facial expressions, spirits, every single precious moment, using different angles, lightings, graphics editing and so forth. In short, it’s all about the passion of the team – when everyone is passionate about their role and believes in producing great pieces, then the photo will be a fantastic photo full of passion!

Your photographs are very dramatic and seem to come from a fantasy world. Is this the effect you were hoping to achieve?
Yes, that’s my aim. As a norm, an ordinary wedding photo is just about the couple hugging each other, and posing and acting intimately…….. I want to fuse the commercial and the artistic to present a strong and dramatic effect which makes the photo longer lasting and high in value.

What responses have you had from couples, on seeing your shots?

In a word, they are impressed! Haha…. That’s why they ask me to be their photographer.

What do you think is the most important aspect of a wedding photograph?
I think it is a combination of all the following factors: overall appearance, make-up, styling, lighting, colour adjustment or enhancement and the cooperation of the models. Only when all these elements come together will you get a good or perhaps perfect photo.

You recently won a Hasselblad Master Award. How did that feel?
It was a dream come true! It’s extremely important for me; truly an honour for me and family. It’s no doubt a great encouragement which will drive my passion for photography. Its great to have my hard work recognised. I’m also truly proud to get the Hasselblad Master Award as an Asian!

What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning to have my own photography exhibition, to allow people around the world to share in my expression of art.

Printing wedding photos is a tricky task... especially with longevity being an issue. How do you tackle this?
In order to make a photo last longer, it should be laminated, under room temperature and kept in dry air or condition. The photo paper quality also matters. Most importantly, it is necessary to educate the client on how to handle and take care of the photo album.

What printing equipment would you suggest for best results?
I would suggest the one that I’m using now i.e. the Epson High: a large printing format printer which I use mainly for photo printing.

Photos by Kevin Then | Fotosocial