Kevin Kubota: Miles of Aisles

Kevin Kubota is a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens

When there are no big gestures, go for the small ones.

"On the wedding day we kind of play it by ear," says wedding and portrait specialist Kevin Kubota. "I get a feel for what the couple is like, whether they're outgoing or shy. I'll read that and offer suggestions for things they might do."

And Kevin's found that you have to offer. "If you just stand back and wait for them to do something, most of the time nothing's going to happen. It's all about putting them at ease and then putting them in the proper setting to get them in the mood. I might just take them out, away from the crowd, down by the water, in a field, and I might suggest that they just go off by themselves, and I capture what's happening."

And for a shy couple, one not so spontaneous, outgoing or expressive? "Well, then, I'll just go with that," Kevin says. "I might ask them what they'd like to do or where they'd like to go. If they're very quiet, then I just go for a more intimate look. I'll go with close-ups of, say, their hands touching."

If you were asked to categorize Kevin's style of wedding photography, photojournalism would definitely come to mind. But Kevin has said that he doesn't like to use that term to refer to his work "because pure photojournalism implies that you had no hand in creating the picture, and I definitely do give ideas and suggestions to the bride and groom. I'm very low-key, and I'm very casual in the way I work with the couple, but I have a lot of input into setups and poses."

To have that input, he first has to have the couple's trust. "I build the comfort level and the trust of my clients before the wedding. They come into my studio and see the kind of images I do and tell me they love the look of the pictures and that's what they want for their wedding. I tell them in order to get it, they have to trust in my suggestions. So on the wedding day, I might say to the groom, 'Grab your bride's hand and let's just run this way—let's play over here and see what happens.' So they know what to expect, and that puts them at ease. But I don't try to impose my imagination on them—it's my feelings coupled with what they're feeling at the time."