If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll already know that I’m not like most other photographers.
When I tell people that I only photograph 10 weddings a year out of choice, they look at me as though I’ve gone mad! But then I explain why, and then the penny drops…
My photography journey started as a family photographer. I loved the fun, relaxed nature of our shoots; the intimacy, the candidness; the story telling, connections, love, warmth; the quite little moments and the laugh out loads moments!
I remember when I started photographing weddings; the excitement every time I got a new booking. ‘Wow look’ I’d say ‘I have 20/30/40 weddings booked!’. If the date was available I’d very rarely say no to a couple. I Thought ‘the more the better right?’ Then off I’d go at the weekend, photographing one wedding after another. It wasn’t long before all the couples started to blur into each other. I started taking the same photos, set up the same way, at the same angle and ‘posed’ my couples in the same way. Sure my couples ‘liked’ their photos but it soon started to feel like I was on a conveyor belt. I soon realised that I was falling out of love with being a wedding photographer.
All the things I loved when taking photos and that were such an important part about me were gone. Just like no one family shoot is the same, neither is a wedding or the people in it. I didn’t have time to really get to know my couples; to hear about their story; to build an intimate relationship that would allow me to photograph their wedding in an honest and authentic way. Each couple is unique and I wanted my photos to reflect this. I wanted to give them something that was exclusive and special to them.
It wasn’t a hard decision to make. I soon started to limit the amount of weddings I would book. Sure I wasn’t making as much money but once again I was totally in love with my job. At the end of a wedding day I’d walk away with a spring in my step, a smile on my face and a warm heart; excited to upload the photos and start telling the story of two people who I have a wonderful connection with; immersing myself in wrapping up all their memories in photographs to relive over and over again….forever.
