What is your most memorable wedding?
Every wedding is unique but one of my favourites was in a forest, with under 20 guests! Very relaxed, fun, beautiful surroundings, gorgeous couple and happy faces. What more can a photographer want?
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Fun, informal, professional, reliable, contemporary
What about your business are you most proud of?
I'm so proud to have couples trust me to capture their big day, it really is an honour and watching two people in love marry each other surrounded by family and friends is magic.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Make your day as personal as possible, and don't get too caught up in the small stuff. The best weddings are when the couple are true to themselves, and they haven't spent weeks arguing about the font for the menus!
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
On the back of the place names at the wedding meal, the couple had handwritten a personal note to each guest, a nice surprise for them to discover!
Describe your typical process with a couple.
After a couple get in touch, I invite them for a chat in my office. This is an opportunity for us to learn more about each other, and to show my range of albums, and talk about their photography requirements. I give some impartial advice and encourage couples to go home and have a think instead of booking me on the spot - it's important that couples find a photographer they can communicate with and trust. After the contract is signed and retainer paid, the booking is complete! In the run up to the wedding I keep in touch, usually adding them on Facebook to keep up with their lives and wedding plans. Around 2 months before the wedding we have a final meeting where I come up with your schedule, and we finalise all of the details before I see you on the big day. Around 3 weeks after the wedding, I get in touch to let couples know their photographs are ready, and I activate the online gallery for them to share the photos with friends and family, then we turn our attention to designing the wedding album.
What is the No. 1 photo that you think every couple should take?
A photograph of you looking at each other. It sounds so simple but all of the posed looking-at-the-camera shots will never convey the same personality, expressions and emotions as a photograph of you looking at each other!
What is the most original photo you’ve been asked to take at a wedding?
Too many to mention!
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
A back-up plan for photographs is a good idea but I believe a good photographer can work with anything and everything. I always bring extra equipment for doing high-quality indoor photographs, so you know your photos won't suffer if we can't get outside. Don't be scared of the rain, I've taken some beautiful under-umbrella shots that we'd never have if the weather was fair.
Describe how you got into photography.
Photography was the perfect hobby for someone caught between the worlds of art and tech, and most importantly it got me away from my computer screen while studying at university. I didn’t start taking my photography hobby more seriously until I bought my first “big” camera in 2004, and begged friends and family to pose for me. After a few years of commercial and portrait work, I tentatively stepped into the wedding industry, fell in love with wedding photography, and the rest is history! 150+ weddings later, I still get an amazing rush spending such a fantastic day with two people in love, and their friends & family.