Fusing Photojournalism and Fine Art – Lindley Battle

With a background in fine art and a fusion of creative influences, wedding photographer Lindley Battle has a signature etched distinctly into every frame. Both nostalgically classic and refreshingly modern, they’re the wedding pictures you dream of in decades to come, but never predict – wrapped in elegance, spilling with light and rich with emotion.

The stylist in us can’t help but be drawn to the way Lindley captures the most intricate of detail – tracing your eye over fashion & decor moments that only a lover of aesthetics could do with such intricacy and poetry.  Lindley’s frames bring textures to life, they romanticize undulating folds of fabrics, they hone in on palettes that layer together to tell an overall story. 

Blend this together with an innate ability to dissolve the discomfort couple’s feel behind the lens, and you have a pretty potent mix.  Capturing moments between lovers with wild spontaneity and poetic composure, Lindley’s photographs are beautifully emotive and brilliantly devoid of wedding portraiture cliches. 

In between shooting celebrations dotted throughout the U.S. west coast and jetting the world to capture destination weddings in places like Egypt and Istanbul, we caught up with Lindley to chat all things wedding photography… 

“I try to naturally facilitate moments of connection between a couple throughout the day that will result in images that feel authentically them. This is so different for each couple, which is why I am as much invested in the process before their wedding day as I am the actual wedding.”

With fifteen years of experience as a technically trained fine art photographer – at what point did you fall for wedding photography?

During the very first wedding I photographed, I knew that I had fallen absolutely and irrevocably in love with the unique storytelling that comes with a wedding day. Despite an art school background and years in a darkroom, I didn’t initially start off as a wedding photographer – but was asked to photograph a wedding by a couple that I had photographed on numerous occasions for a brand photography client of mine. When they approached me to capture their wedding, they said it was because they knew that I could innately make them feel comfortable in front of the camera, and that was the biggest priority on their wedding day. Seeing the unique blend of their lives, both together and before meeting each other, woven so seamlessly into their entire wedding day design, I knew that I wanted to immerse myself in the world of wedding photography from that point on.

You have an innate ability to capture all of the sartorial elements of a wedding flawlessly, illuminating all of the carefully curated fine details with an understated elegance. How do you create such sophisticated mementos, seamlessly blending fashion with all of the magical moments of a wedding day?

I think the editorial and fashion element of photography has always come incredibly naturally to me – I very much see the world around me in terms of light, angles, and style, so the visual aspect of my photography is truly nothing more or less than a reflection of how I perceive the world. To me, the real part of what I offer my couples is that I put all of my focus on the people and authentic connections that are taking place around me. By being completely present and dialed in to the connections and emotions around me, the beautiful moments of a wedding flow naturally.

Your signature aesthetic spills with a nostalgic classicism, inspiring iconic and timeless wedding photos that could just as easily fit into a luxurious magazine spread as a wedding album. What inspires your unique style and how have you developed this over time?

I have always been incredibly inspired by constantly consuming as much art and experience as I can ever get my hands on. Traveling regularly around the world, and constantly visiting new places and cultures, is one of the biggest ways that I keep myself out of my own head and very much in a constantly present and inspired mindset. Eating intentionally crafted meals, appreciating unique fashion moments, enjoying art in the classic museums of Europe and in the streets of an African village, I have truly been lucky enough to live a life that keeps me open, excited, and inspired.

Although I don’t think I could give one artist or artistic style that inspires the way I photograph a wedding, I think it truly is more of finding open-hearted inspiration in every single day, and embracing connection with each of my unique and amazing couples, that allows me to do what I do. Although I’ve taken the time to learn from photographers that I admire around the globe, ultimately the most significant development in my photography journey has been truly learning to hone in on a deep connection and a constant sense of being in each and every moment.

Your secret to capturing those heart-stopping moments between a couple, that transport you long after the celebrations have faded?

I truly cannot say it enough, but I think that it mainly lies in creating a unique and authentic connection with my couples, so that I’m approaching their wedding day with not only a deep understanding of the images that they hope to cherish forever from this day, but also a very keen understanding of who they are as people, and where the most authentic interactions will take place. I don’t do much posing when it comes to photographing my couples, although I always make sure to go out of my way to make them feel confident and comfortable, but instead I try to naturally facilitate moments of connection between a couple throughout the day that will result in images that feel authentically them. This is so different for each couple, which is why I am as much invested in the process before their wedding day as I am the actual wedding.

One of the most soul stirring moments from a wedding you’ve captured so far?

I am a hopeless romantic, so I often find myself moved to tears at least once during most of my couple’s wedding days – after the countless months getting to know them and what brought them both to this day, it’s always precious to see the day finally unfolding before them. That being said, I recently had a groom who swore up and down that he wasn’t an overtly emotional person, and that I would likely not see tears from him on the wedding day. He kept it perfectly stoic throughout the first look, the couple’s portraits, and even the moment where his bride walked down the aisle – but in the middle of his vows, without warning, he got so choked up that he had to pause for a minute before finishing. Moments like this are so grounding in the significance of what a wedding day truly is, and are the most powerful to me.

You frequently travel the globe to shoot weddings in some of dreamiest destinations, where and what are you looking forward to shooting next?

I have a multi-day wedding in Austria that’s quickly approaching, and I am so excited to see the fashion-forward elements that my amazing New York City couple plan to infuse into this celebration! Beyond that, I’m looking forward to upcoming work in Istanbul, Egypt, on the East and West Coast of the US, and plenty of personal travel as well.

See more of Lindley Battle’s work over on her website.