1. How many years have I been a wedding photographer?
I have been a photographer for 12 years, during that period I have photographed over 250 weddings. What I love about photographing weddings is that for every shot I take, whether it is a shot of a dress or a first dance photograph, I'm trying to be as creative as possible. I'm dialed in all day, looking for potential vantage points, dramatic light, and candid moments. To me, it's like an amazingly photogenic photography playground! I love capturing the raw emotion of a groom looking nervously towards the front of the church or the comedy of the bridesmaid’s dropping the groom during the groomsman shots. The skill of a documentary wedding photographer is to be unobtrusive but also within all the action. I love to also capture the humour that weddings ultimately bring and make people comfortable so they can act themselves. This means the candid moments and the wedding couple’s personality can be captured.
2. How would define your style?
This is always a hard question to answer. I think it's much easier for others to define my style than me. I'm a massive fan of black and white photography and it works so well for weddings. My style is 'reportage' or 'documentary-style' for 95% of the day but I do 'direct' during the couple shots, but importantly I do not 'pose'. This means that I'll see some dramatic light or a beautiful background, probably get a bit too excited about it, and ask you, as the couple, to naturally find a pose that feels comfortable. I may tweak it but it's important you feel like you. That's really important to me. If you don't usually hold hands but more often link arms, we'll do that. I don't have a pose ready for every scenario as the spontaneity is lost.
3. How long are you there during the bride getting ready?
I usually photograph for an hour and a half before the wedding which allows enough time for me to capture shots of the dress before it’s put on in an artistic manner. I also have a second photographer which can be hired if you would like the photos of the groom getting ready. As you can imagine, I cannot be everywhere at once, so a second photographer allows for more moments to be captured. I feel that there are great moments in the morning with the groomsmen that would not otherwise be photographed without the second photographer. I always think the bride and groom getting ready shots make the wedding album to flow as you can put the images side by side. The groom may not keen on these shots initially but I promise the end results will be worth it.
4. What do I get in the first package?
With the first wedding package, I photograph for 8 hours. Which usually covers from the bride getting ready up to half an hour after the first dance. I also take family group shots which I feel is a very important part of the day. It is crucial to get these organized properly beforehand, so I ask for a list of who is going to be in the formal family photographs and which location they're taking place. I think the best time to do these formal family photographs are during the reception, so the guests are occupied.
5. What are extras that can be added?
Your wedding photographs can be collected into a luxury album that are hand made in Italy. As mentioned in question 3, you can also have a second photographer working with me all day, meaning that every possible angle and action is captured including the groom getting ready in the morning. You also get a customised USB with some prints contained within a presentation box so that you show and upload your wedding images. Once I send you the photos of your wedding day you can do anything with them.
6. Why should I have a wedding album?
I'm often subconsciously taking images throughout the day that present well as a collection. Every shot I take is to enhance the story of the day, so without an album, the little personalised details on the tables, flowers, shoes and other important details lose their value as these only work well as a collection. Having something tangible and seeing the photographs presented in a hand-crafted, well designed album shows the story of your day in the best possible way.
7. How will you show our personality?
Due to the nature of the documentary photography style, your personality shines through as there is little constructed direction, meaning I am not influencing the natural moments at your wedding. I also enjoy having meetings with the couples before the weddings face to face or online in order to get to know you on one of the most intimate days of your life.
8. How do you approach the wedding day?
Most of the time, seeing the venue first doesn't necessarily add anything as most of the time. It either doesn't exist as its a marquee in the garden, or if its a wedding venue, it will look completely different depending on the time of year/ lighting conditions and with all your personal touches. I do arrive early on the day to scout out potential spots for the formal photographs and pin point a few spots for the couple shoot. We can then be as efficient as possible so you can get back to your guests. Part of my work ethos is I like to be spontaneous during the couple shoot and I think that rubs off on the couple.
9. What do we need to do to get the best out of our photographer?
Together, we should have done all the hard work before the wedding day. I ask you for a list of the formal photographs before the day so I can tick them off as we go. You can print this list off and give this to the groomsman before the day so they can find the relevant people when needed. Then its the job of the ushers! Prep them beforehand that this is one of their most important jobs on the day!
For the couple shoot, its really important to give me enough time so we can get some amazing shots of you both. Weirdly, this is the only time in the day you will have together by yourselves so its also a really special time. My couples always say that it was so nice to have a few minutes away.
10. How long should the couple shoot be?
Half an hour is the ideal amount of time for the couple shoot. As mentioned above I like to do these as close to sunset as possible so the photos potentially take place in the best light of the day