Martin Bignell Photography

Photographing my fiancées best friends wedding in New York in 2002.

natural, relaxed, informal, unobtrusive, happy.

Still being in business after 11 years and still being a photographer after 26 years.

Try and get ready early, there is nothing worse than having to rush at the last minute and being flustered.

Having a small collection of objects at the reception that are personal to the bride and groom, whether that's photo's of parents or an object that has some kind of sentimental meaning to the couple.

A couple will normally contact me about my pricing and availability, sometimes the couple will request that we meet up for a chat and to see some examples of albums. If they decide to book my services then there is a non refundable deposit of £100.00 to reserve the day in my diary. There is an offer to take advantage of my free pre wedding shoot which is a good opportunity to meet up and get to know one another and have a practice in front of the camera to help you both feel relaxed and confident on your big day. I will normally ask that the couple email there schedule and list of groups and any other specific photographs they would like taking about a week or two before the wedding. After the wedding day I will download all of the images onto my computer and go through them making any corrections that are needed before processing them for print. I will then email the couple with a link to a private online gallery where they and friends and family can login and view there wedding images. If the couple have chosen a DVD only coverage they will receive all of the images on either DVD, Pen drive or via download. If the couple have chosen have chosen an album then I will choose a selection of images for the album and design each page individually, once finished I will email a pdf of the design to the couple where they can give me feedback and instructions on any changes that are required before printing.

Now that's a very difficult one as there is so many to choose from, the first kiss, the exchanging of the rings, the confetti shot, the walking down the isle shot, the cutting the cake and first dance, the list is endless, I guess it has to be a beautiful and romantic shot of the bride and groom together.

Well I've never been beaten yet by the weather, there is always another option available whether that's taking the groups and other photographs inside or simply waiting for a suitable gap in the weather to take a shot outside.

I was always interested in photography but I really set my sights on a career in photography at about fourteen when one of my best friends at school gave me the Hasselblad catalogue for that year which followed a photographic expedition to the Australian outback, the photography was amazing and really captured my imagination. My other best friend at school had a brother in law who was a commercial photographer working in London and when I left school in the summer of 1989 I went to work with him before finally applying for a job at one of the biggest commercial studio's in the UK (at the time) which had sixty five full time staff.