Photography: Captured by Leslie

“Hello! Thanks so much for visiting my photography page. I grew up in Louisville, KY (where I was known as Leslie McClure) and currently reside in Nashville, TN with my husband Javier Rodríguez. Javier and I work as a team to provide the best photography service available… As you might have guessed, I’m the primary photographer, but we often work together to capture events from as many angles as possible. Besides occasionally manning the camera, Javier is the business guru who does a lot of work behind the scenes.”

I don’t really ‘do’ weddings, but strangely I do know a few wedding photographers, and keep finding more – like Leslie Rodriguez – whose range goes way beyond veils and layered cakes. That’s not to dismiss shots like ‘the bride and the band’ (my title, Leslie doesn’t title them on the site). That’s pure joy.

Take a browse through the Rodriguez portfolio and you will find some great creative takes on the Big Day.

‘Back of the Venue’: wedding photos are all lush gardens, soft sunshine and a rosy glow filter over the lens. Leslie can do those. But what do you do when you have none of the above? Go out back of the venue and find a spot. Shoot in strong colours around those bold blue dresses.

‘Bride on the Bridge’: there are hundreds of bridges like this one across America, a solid, blue-collar engineering triumph of function over form. The setting for a wedding shot – the bride and bridesmaids? Is it the contrast of soft and hard? The abstract form the bridge takes on, framing the shot? Never was a steel bridge so right.

‘Kissing on a cab’: just a bland yellow cab under a gloomy station forecourt. With a couple kissing. Bam! It’s a sexy shot that begs for a big billboard and an expensive, branded product placement in a corner.

‘Portrait in a cafe’: – I don’t know who they are, but they’re looking good together. We know nothing and it’s fun to speculate. Mature people, you assume to be a couple. Been together long? Or finding renewed vigour with someone new? It doesn’t matter. There’s a connection. You wish them well.

Finally, something playful – Leslie with her dog. Do take the time to look over the portfolio, there’s so much more here, and so many favourites, I could only show a random selection. RC