WEDDINGS
Here are some common questions I am often asked by potential clients. Do contact me if you have others.
Q: Why do we need to bother with a Wedding photographer? There will be so many people there with cameras and now everyone's digital surely this is something I can cut out of my wedding budget?
A: When I got married in 1999, I wasn't practising as a wedding photographer and the photographic element of the day wasn't at the forefront of my mind. That was the one regret I have about our day - I didn't employ a professional photographer. Yes, I have some images, taken by relatives and friends which form some kind of record, but there are only one or two that I'd rescue in the event of a fire. When it's all over and you've spent the money on the dress, the venue, the food, the champagne, the car and the flowers, apart from one's own recollections your wedding photographs are one of the few things you can take away from this very precious moment in your life that will provide you with a lasting record for you and future generations to look back on. In hindsight the photography should have been right up there at the top of my list.
Q: What is your style of wedding photography?
A: If you look at the galleries on the Weddings Home page, and the images generally on my site, I hope this will answer your question visually for you. My aim is to provide you with a variety of images that encapsulate the spirit of your day and which combine reportage, candid, some posed and some constructed images that you will not even be aware I'm constructing. If I have done my job well the bride and groom should be moved by the results. The other important key element is to have comprehensively told the story of your day and to include elements that you both might have missed. I want to move and surprise you.
Q: I'm getting married in the winter when it's more likely to be bad weather and also dark early. Is there any point in having an official photographer?
A: Absolutely there is. It is a myth that bad weather equals bad photographs. In fact the most challenging weather conditions for any photographer are bright sunny days with a wedding at midday when the sun is high and constantly going in and out of clouds and casting lots of shadows and with everyone in shades. Some of my best wedding photography has been conducted in the dark in howling gales and I will be able to show you examples of this when we meet. Also, don't be persuaded that natural, available light is the only way to shoot a wedding well. Yes, it is always best to take advantage of the natural light and use it as your predominant source but adding some flash or some artificial light when you need it is part of being professional and ensures that you get all those key moments and well lit formals and it can make so many more shots possible.
Q: I've been to weddings where the official photographer takes over the day, rounding people up and directing them into groups for long drawn out posed photo sessions. It interfered with everyone's day and the pictures are really quite dull - a series of posed formals. How do I avoid that?
A: Choose a photographer whose skill, approach and style is what is often called reportage or documentary. The best pictures in this style are relaxed and natural and often of people caught unawares. The photographer will keep in the background capturing the moments as they happen. But be careful. Look closely at the work your photographer has already done. Good documentary and reportage is a skill and there is a world of difference between snatched, candid shots (though they too have their place at a wedding) and good documentary/reportage. Look at their work and whole weddings they have photographed. Do the pictures tell the story of a day and have they consistently produced images loaded with all the ingredients you expect from a wedding - romance, emotion, humour, drama and beauty. The best wedding photographer will be a people person too and be able to produce beautiful relaxed portraits within a few minutes of meeting someone.
Q: Does that mean you won't do any formal posed group pictures then?
A: No, I'm happy to do them and to tailor my services to your requirements but I recommend to all my wedding clients that they limit their set piece shots to a maximum of 6. This will ensure that you come away with a record of all the key people with you at your wedding but this element of the photography can be done and dusted in about 15 minutes without starting to take over your day and keep you from your guests. The key to good formals is being organised with this prior to the day and knowing where you are going to shoot them and having a back up plan for heavy rain. The only other interruption is when I ask the bride and groom to sneak away with me for 15 minutes or so so I can take some portraits of them together. Usually they are happy to have a bit of a breather away from the crowd and I capture those first moments of them alone as husband and wife.
Q: What training do you have as a photographer and what equipment do you use?
A: After a number of introductory and smaller courses, I trained for a year at the London College of Printing where I obtained a diploma in Professional Photographic Practice in 2002. Since then all my training has been 'on the job', learning by experience and thinking and practising the art of photography every day, be it learning a new lighting technique to honing my skills in post production to ensure my clients receive the very best and most up to date products and service. Never was the saying 'The proof is in the pudding' more true than when choosing a wedding photographer. There are loads of us out there but if you like the work, and you can see they get consistent good results, you're 99 per cent there. Then it is down to personality and how much you can trust your photographer to put 110% not only into your day but from the moment you meet them to the moment you receive those finished results. In terms of equipment, I use 2 professional Nikon digital SLR cameras, the top prime and zoom lenses on the market and a couple of flashes as back up to our British natural light! Occasionally I will set up lights for group shots. I have another camera as a back up. I'm very organised - you should see my checklist I go through before I shoot a wedding from checking that my car is fully serviced to thoroughly checking the route and the Sat Nav, checking the travel news and allowing plenty of time to get to you on the day with time to spare.
Q: Are you insured?
A: Yes absolutely. I have both public liability and professional indemnity insurance.
Q:What happens if you are ill on the day and can't cover our wedding?
A: I am very well and pretty fit and this hasn't happened to me yet. I've not missed a single wedding I've been commissioned to cover since 2002 but of course this could happen. I have regular contacts with other photographers many of whom work in a similar style to me and I would do my utmost to get your wedding covered by one of them.
Q: How do we book you and will we meet you before the day?
A: Wherever possible I like to meet up with you before your day at least once for many reasons but not least so we can get to know each other and so that I can show you my work and also the quality and beauty of my Queensberry Albums for which seeing and feeling is believing. Once we have made initial email or telephone contact, and prior to meeting up to discuss everything in more detail, I send you my information form designed to find out more about your wedding day and to help you focus on what you want photographically. You fill this in and return it to me before we meet or bring it along to our meeting. We can meet in my office in London or Suffolk or sometimes I can come to you especially if we are able to meet at the wedding venue. I am happy to meet up in the evenings and some weekends as well as weekdays. A £600 deposit confirms your wedding date in my diary so if you want to book me in advance of our meeting to ensure the date is secure, that's fine.
Q: Digital files, prints or an album. Which should we go for?
A: Everyone is different in what they want from their wedding photography, and over the years, having offered all three of these options at different times, I now offer all three of them as different main packages and then the opportunity to add on digital files, prints or framed prints and products etc. Basically I will tailor my services to your needs. Having the digital files just depends what sort of person you are, how much time you have on your hands and how happy you are/how much knowledge of photography/printing you have yourself. When we meet I can show you samples and discuss all this in more detail with you so you make the right decision for you... As I say there is always the option of buying additional files or prints in addition to what's included in the package you choose.
Q: Do you shoot in colour or in black and white?
A: I used to shoot with film and use a mixture of colour and black and white film, but over the last 7 years have been fully digital. This means I shoot your wedding in colour using high end Nikon cameras and lenses. Every image you receive will have been fully edited. This means that as part of the post production service to you I will look at each image individually and decide on colour or black or white treatment. Black and white conversion and getting this right is a skill in itself and as someone with experience of the wet darkroom, I have the advantage of really understanding what makes a great black and white image which I can bring to your final prints. You should know too that all digital images need other skilled work in post production - colour correcting, cropping, retouching and often subtle but clever tricks that I have learned in photoshop over the years that will not take away the naturalness of the image but ensure it really sings in print.
Q: How do my family and guests order prints from our wedding?
A: Once the post production processing stage is complete, your images will be available for viewing in your own online gallery. Your family and guests can then order reprints direct from your gallery.
Q: Do you require food and drink on the day?
A: I do not expect or require you to spend extra money feeding me on the day. I will bring snacks and water with me and usually I snatch a moment here and there to refuel. I am very focused on the day and don't really stop until I leave, but when I am photographing a full day and evening wedding, I will often take a natural break when you and your guests sit down to eat and if a small sandwich or a snack is available from your caterers, this is rarely turned down. I never drink alcohol at anyone's wedding!
