Up Close & Personal with the Man Behind the Camera Lens. Stanley Babb Who Makes For Magical Black Weddings Worldwide
What sparked your interest in wedding photography?
I began shooting weddings with a really close friend of mine. After the first wedding, I really embraced the feeling of it. I really enjoyed telling love stories through my images. It felt good seeing my clients relive their moments all over again.
At what point in time did you decide to pursue a professional career in wedding photography?
1 year after starting my career in the I.T. field I began to get overwhelmed with weddings. At that moment I had a choice between photography and corporate America. I made the leap of faith and never looked back.
Having photographed countless celebrity weddings over the years, do you ever feel pressure to deliver?
I think most celebrities having weddings tend to allow the use of non-wedding photographers. I think their exceptions aren’t really as high because most haven’t worked with a true event photographer. I would say the pressure is really high because most high-profile weddings need the next-day turnaround. There are also many aspects that must be captured because of sponsorship or magazine features.
What is your favourite moment to capture at a wedding?
My favourite moment would definitely be the portraits. It always feels like the time to shine. These are the images that are generally most used in the media and blown up and printed in the client’s homes.
What do you wish everyone knew about wedding photography?
I wish everyone knew how much time you actually have to create some of the most amazing images. Because weddings often run late and other unforeseen circumstances, you could be left with as little as 10 minutes to photograph portraits of the couples as well as the bridal party and friends.
What has been the most memorable moment in your career thus far?
One of the most memorable moments would definitely be the wedding of Sloane Stephens & Jozy Altidore. They were like the most perfect clients. I remembered being a little nervous. Working with Celebrity clients for the first time on the wedding day can be a little difficult. Everything was perfect; they both trusted me and my team. We were able to deliver some stellar images in just 1 day after the wedding. That would have featured our images in Vogue, Brides, Espn and many other publications.
Walk us through the process from when you are hired to the point of delivering the images.
Generally, before the wedding day, we would have a meeting to discuss all of the logistics on the timeline with the client and planner. This helps us determine any special moments or items the client would like to capture. A wedding day is split into 4 main areas, Prep, Ceremony, Portraits and Reception. Through this process, there are normally 2 or more photographers to keep track of most of the moving parts. After a wedding, we start to work on the images the day after to ensure that we can deliver with the fastest turnaround at extremely good quality.
What do you hope to achieve when storytelling through imagery?
I always look to wow my clients as they receive their images. It brings great joy to see them tear up reliving the wedding through the images.
What is your advice to those looking to excel in wedding photography?
Keep practising and always strive to improve. A lot of wedding photographers get comfortable. It’s always good to keep learning.