Andrew Duncan Photography

I did a wedding in Sydney in 2019 during the big bushfires - The sky was dark grey all day, and everything had a weird orange glow to it! Unfortunately the smoke blocked the beautiful view from the coastal venue. :(

My enjoyment comes from my couples' enjoyment, so I will do just about anything to get a result!

Take the time to enjoy your day. This day will only happen once, and you don't want your memories to be of worries and phone calls. Hire a planner if you can, or rope in a good friend whose organisational abilities you trust, make sure they know what's expected, and hand them your phones for the day. Let them take the reins!

Most weddings have pretty awesome personal touches, but I think a seaside elopement with fish and chips as the wedding breakfast was one of the most intimate-feeling weddings I've done!

In 2020 things have looked a bit different, but usually I like to start with meeting the couple and having a chat. No cameras or anything, just getting an idea of who they are, what they like, and what they've got in mind. If we all feel like it's a good fit, we'll move on to planning the pre-wedding shoot, and the wedding itself. I am always available for my couples to call on anytime up to the wedding and I think that buildup of interaction helps things go smoothly. Once the day comes, I'm generally very easy-going and stay in the background most of the time, unless we've discussed specific times or shots for which I need to start gathering people together. I usually start backing up photos as soon as I get home, and then on average it takes between 2 and 6 weeks (depending on size of wedding and prints ordered) to finish all delivery.

A quiet moment alone after the ceremony often makes for the most tender photo of the day, but of course what I really wish for all my couples is a huge epic shot that can be hung on their walls for years to come!

One couple wanted a photo of them rock-climbing in their dress and tux, and I couldn't wait! Unfortunately the weather let us down on that one, so we went for ballroom dancing in the formal garden - a bit of a 180!

As far as photography goes, I look after that bit - I bring waterproof gear, white umbrellas, and anything else we're likely to need. Tips beyond that? If your venue has a lot of grassed areas, try the big flat-bottomed heel protectors for your shoes.

I always liked taking snapshots, but my real love was for sound and audio, so I went to Film & TV School in Sydney to study it. There I was introduced to the art of cinematography, which obviously has a lot in common with photography, and it became a close second for me to sound. After moving to a country where I didn't speak the language, I couldn't get work in sound any more, but the photography continued, and I started working commercially, covering events and conferences at first, as well as some product and PR photography. I found that although I enjoyed my work in general, the jobs I really loved were the ones where the clients were surprised and thrilled by some personal touch in the work - they would use my images as Facebook profile photos, or get them printed for their homes - something I'd never expected. So when I moved to the UK, I decided I wanted that to become my focus.