From Passion to Profession: My Journey into the World of Wedding Photography
Photography is a powerful medium that has the ability to freeze moments in time, allowing us to relive memories and experience emotions long after they have passed. Behind every stunning photograph is a skilled photographer who not only possesses technical expertise but also a deep passion for their craft. In this blog post, I will delve into how I discovered the love for photography and what inspired me into the wedding industry.
Growing up I was always had a camera in my possession, mostly one of those wind-up Kodak cameras you’d take on holiday, or on a school trip. Those were the days! Getting them developed was always a joy and funnily enough I still have some of those photos and albums. As I got older, I got pretty decent at swimming, with plenty of trips abroad representing club, county and country. This gave me plenty of opportunity to experience the World and the World through a camera lens. I then spent several years coaching and camera technology had moved to smart phones, which meant I probably took more photos, but printed less. However, the passion for taking photos was still growing. When I moved out to Singapore for two years coaching at an International School, I got asked to take some photos for a swim meet and I was hooked. A few days later I picked up my first ‘proper’ DSLR camera and I’d say I’ve never looked back. I will talk about my inspirations shortly, but once I moved back to the UK, I continued to grow my equipment, but photography was still a hobby. Roll on a pandemic and once we came out the back-end of those interesting times, I’d taken a lot of photos in my down time and decided to make the switch full time. And here we are, and I love it.
Like many photographers, there is always a spark of inspiration. In regards to my inspiration for wedding photography, it came on my own wedding day in 2017. As mentioned above, the fire was definitely burning in the background, but on my wedding day I was truly motivated by not only our photographer, but also the videographer we had. I delved in to a bit of wedding videography, bought a Sony video camera and really enjoyed doing weddings getting some lovely reviews on the way I captured their day. However, it was my photography that was really taking shape. So once I switched full time in 2021, the motivation to photograph weddings was through the roof. The hardest thing with getting started though, is being seen.
It started when I was first invited to photograph a friend's wedding. This initial experience sparked a deep fascination with capturing the emotions, the details, and the beautiful moments that unfolded on the couple's special day. It then led to a few more friend’s weddings, which meant I could not only start to master my craft and style, but to also build a website portfolio which is pivotal in this industry. The key thing I’ve learned working on those initial weddings for my friends is finding the balance between capturing authentic moments and creating beautiful timeless, breath-taking images that couples will cherish for a lifetime. On wedding days themselves, I pride myself on offering both a friendly and professional service. I think there is a cross-over from my swimming and coaching days where I am disciplined, but also love getting to know my couples. Most of the times I am at a wedding, I will leave the wedding feeling like I’ve known the couples for years and will admittingly well up on speeches.
Like my own journey in photography, a wedding day for a couple is the beginning of a lifelong journey together. I love being able to work with couples to help capture this moment in a fun and joyful way. Passion is one thing, but knowing I’ve been able to deliver “perfect and personal” photos in a “friendly and sociable” way is key to me.
