About me

You don’t have to book me but I think you really ought! Experience is key ….

I have been a wedding photographer for over 16 years now and to date, nothing has particularly phased me. I’ve photographed weddings with 750 guests and as small as just the bride and groom! There are a lot of reasons why one should not choose to be a wedding photographer, long hours, travel time, stress, once in a lifetime scenarios, you’ve got just the once to get it right, the broken down hourly rate sucks, the guest that knows it all, Uncle Bob (the guest with the camera and just simply get in front of you just at that moment, the very seldom bridezilla and the grey hairs, not just down to maturity (To be honest, I have never actually come across with a bridezilla)! Considering this, commercial or product photography is the best route to photography. However, I cannot deny I simply love weddings. Happiness, love, emotion, tears, (the good type), love and more love! 16 years later, I still love weddings. Each wedding is different, each couple is different, each wedding at a familiar venue is different, the weather is different …. The only thing not different is love, I LOVE ’em!!

I am not a lover of posing (I have been called a poser but that is for a different conversation) … it’s a wedding and it’s not a photoshoot! No lighting or big set-ups, no looking endlessly into the camera lens. I will direct you where necessary, I will help you to look your best and in the settings of your wedding venue. Of course, there is always the matter of the more formal group photographs and immediate loved ones. Yes, I’ll shoot them with prior planning together with your timeline of course.

Much of my work shooting weddings is documentary styling but I also love editorial styling (creating images that suit your personality) …. the choice is always yours.

HOWEVER! I do not like to leave too much to chance to capture the perfect moment, I create moments! At the right time I guide couples through certain “moments” throughout the day. This has an Editorial wedding photography slant to the day. I really do not wait for the magic to happen, I help to create it!

Time on the day is of the essence, during the lead to your day we will get to know each other, I am always here to chat about your day, timings, advice and just chat! There is little time, even with the average coverage of 10 hours to capture all during your day. After the ceremony and the beginning of the wedding breakfast we generally only have 1.5 hours … so keeping the coverage relaxed and candid is key. With the timings sorted previously we, the pros of the day will keep the day on track, and you will ride the wedding cloud. One moment bridal prep, the next the first dance!

I work as unobtrusively as possible, keeping the day real and maintaining your personality and not asking you to do or pose anything that is not in line with who you are! I will tell you not to look at me, if possible, keeping the day as candid and real as possible.

So, what’s included?

When to start and finish the coverage?

I’ll let you decide when you want the coverage to start and finish – the choice is yours

Engagement Shoot

If you are booking me for a 10 or 12-hour coverage, I will add a free local Engagement Shoot, that’s worth £400

Previews

I am afraid I cannot give you a free 24-hour preview, but I will try and select a few in around one week if so requested.

Online shareable gallery

View and share your wedding images online for 3 months

Online Print Store

Not currently available but coming in the new year (Whoop Whoop!) – Order high quality prints and downloads from a world leading photo lab in the UK directly from your wedding gallery and delivered straight to your door.

Unlimited Consultations

From the moment you book me you can have unlimited chats, Zoom or Teams with me offering advice, tips and support. Having had the experience there is not much I have not seen and done in the wedding world – so please get in touch.

Timeline Consultation

Some 6 to 8 weeks before your wedding I will send you my timeline ( Not complicated) for you to complete and email back to me. Once completed and received we will “meet” to go through all and update in the lead to your day.

Fully inclusive

Booking me gives you the knowledge that there are no extra costs from me. Travel only becomes applicable if you live more than 100 miles from IP22. If you do, it may incur a travel and or hotel allowance applicable.

How and when do I get my images?

Usually some 4 – 6 weeks after your wedding, depending on the time of the wedding season, your images will be uploaded to your private, password protected online gallery.

A second photographer or not?

If your wedding is a large one, you may want a second photographer. Should you wish this, your wedding day can seem at times, that guests do not really relax with two photographers running around. However, with a large wedding, it can be useful to have coverage from different angles. The cost of an additional photographer is £800.00

Illness or even fatality

It does happen or could happen – I do have a wide contact of fellow photographers who I would ask to step into my shoes (not literally). Should the worst happen, and it was impossible to find a replacement and I cannot guarantee such, you would get a full refund.

How many images do I get?

Good question! Typically, an 8 – 10-hour wedding delivers some 600 + edited images. This may differ depending on each individual circumstance, weather, time of start and finish can impact on the number taken on the day.

How comes wedding photography is so expensive?

I know it may sound like we charge a great deal for apparently working a 1 day a week but considering the amount we invest in your day the hourly charge is not a great deal! I understand and appreciate that getting married is expensive and there are a multitude of suppliers involved in your beautiful day. Venue, cake, band or DJ, string quartet, photo booth, flowers and then there are even more flowers, considering these, a photographer’s rate is not that great. For us, it is not one day’s work: we must market ourselves, maintain a website, business insurance and equipment, expensive pro-cameras and lenses that cost absolute thousands and then there is editing software, travel, meeting clients, scoping venues and spending days editing each individual image. Over a whole wedding this process does take days! These are just some of our costs and bearing this in mind, £1,500 to £2,000 is not bad at all, truly!

Insurance, are you insured?

Oh yes, you bet. As a pro, you must be insured up to £5m for public liability and have professional indemnity. I also work with back-up camera, lenses, and storage cards and not to forget a spare pair of trousers should the other split …. bending down often has its own liability.

Working with videographers

Absolutely not an issue with me. I may be able to recommend one or two that I have worked with before! However, there is a compromise. Obviously, the videographer needs to tell their story and therefore they would need also to take up prime positions for the ceremony and want to set up their styled shots for their coverage. This is fine for me, but this will at least halve our limited time for the couple shots. Also, they could well be in the ceremony image shots as I tend to work from the back, not ideal but cannot be helped as we both have a job to do. I always have a chat with the videographer before we start our coverage to decide how best to cover your day. We will make it work but there are compromises!!

My style of Photography?

My aim is always to be as unobtrusive as possible. To blend in with the guests and dress similar to your guests. No branded polo shirts and trainers for me. I do not overly direct you and the guests and I let the day flow naturally. There are times I will take charge, advise the Ushers, shepherd the family and wedding party for the inevitable “group shots”. The rest of the day I buzz around blending into the background capturing your day. I guess I am a fusion of Documentary and Editorial. Whilst natural is for the most key I do love setting up a more magazine style image or two, all with natural light. All performed protecting the nature of my clients. If you wish a smoke bomb shot (if allowed by the venue), groom dipping the bride or any particular shot, this can be arranged in advanced, planned and discussed. It is a wedding and not a photoshoot. Always happy to plan a photoshoot thereafter.