Wedding Photographer Berkshire

 Wedding Photographer Covering Berkshire

Informal, friendly and from an inside perspective. I cover weddings in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey.

The story telling concept is at the heart of what I as a wedding photographer try to deliver. Record photographs of you and your guests looking your best are fine, but it is the interactions between you and your wedding party that are special.

As a specialist wedding photographer I have a proven approach that works, however I'm also able to listen. If you have your own ideas I'm happy to try to incorporate them into your wedding photography. It is after all your wedding and I as your photographer am simply there to record it for you.

I think this is why I'm often chosen by other creative professionals and amateur photographers to capture their wedding, as many wedding photographers will simply do their own thing rather than listen to any input you may wish to give.

Why Choose Me?

There are many other photographers out there. So why should you consider me over another wedding photographer? 

Not all photographers are created equal!

Over the last couple of years photography has become a very popular profession and there has been an explosion of part-time wedding photographers who mistakenly believe that digital photography is somehow easier than film. Many of these photographers have little training, knowledge or experience of weddings and while there are some excellent part-timers out there who supplement their other jobs through a little moonlighting, there is no substitute for experience.

Having started trading  in 2003, I am a full-time professional photographer and wedding specialist. Weddings account for over 85% of my business, with the rest coming from other various forms of people photography.

I am a also a fully qualified photographer, being accredited by the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP). This is NOT simply the same as being a member, accreditation is awarded on merit only through having work assessed by a panel of experts. It is not something that is simply paid for by joining and there are far fewer photographers who have been accredited by the SWPP than there are members, in fact I am one of only 22 Hampshire wedding photographers to be accredited by the society.

Shooting up to 34 weddings a year, all year around means I have gained lots of experience shooting under all weather conditions and types of wedding venue. From lovely sunny days in the spring and summer to the cold early nights pouring with rain in winter. All I need is adequate space and time and I will provide you with a great set of wedding photographs.

My Approach

I adopt a storytelling concept and try to tell the story of your day from the perspective of a close friend rather than simply a bystander. While many photojournalists take the view that there should be no interaction between the photographer and wedding party, I believe that by having a laugh and a joke with you and your guests I'm able to show a much stronger connection between the viewer and subject in your photographs.

I'm quite informal and easy going by nature and my goal is make you feel completely at ease, my clients often comment that I feel more like a friend than a hired wedding photographer and I've received more than a couple of hugs as a result!

On the day rather than just being 'the wedding photographer' I also try to play the role of super experienced usher, temporary bridesmaid and friend. Essentially this means I help out wherever I can and am needed. In the past this has involved showing the guys how to tie their cravats, putting on flowers, calming a nervous bride by relaying messages to her room and on one occasion helping a late running florist decorate the room with minutes to spare! Most families have at most experience at the sharp end of only a couple of weddings, so having somebody there who attends a lot and willing to help out can have  a very calming effect!

Value

While I'm certainly not the cheapest in the area, or try to be, like for like my packages do offer tremendous value over what any other accredited wedding photographer I'm aware of is offering.

This is simply because whether I manage to sell you 10 prints or 200, the effort is virtually the same as all of the images still have to be created and prepared for sale. With this in mind my packages are put together in a way where I am guaranteed a reasonable sale, and by doing so able to build a lot of content into each package.

For example one of my competitors 'prints only' package is £995, slightly cheaper than my 'prints only' package, however my package contains 200 prints while theirs contains only 36, with each additional image costing £15, to obtain the same number of prints from this photographer would cost £3,455, several thousand pounds more expensive than me and that doesn't include the CD of images you receive with my package

Assurance

I understand that as a couple choosing a wedding photographer, apart from liking the images and the packages being affordable, you will also be looking for assurance that I will be able to deliver on your wedding day which is why:

• I'm a Full-time, professionally accredited photographer.

• It is me who you will meet beforehand and me who will shoot your wedding.

• Your are provided with a contract which sets down exactly what you can expect to receive for your money.

• I will offer you a pre-wedding posing session so you can get used to and become comfortable with me.

• I invest heavily in equipment and every essential piece of equipment is backed up by a spare.

• Your images are backed up and stored in two separate buildings in case one should set should be lost due to data corruption, fire or theft.

Reportage Vs My Informal Style

A reportage wedding photographer reacts to and shoots events as they unfold, strictly speaking without any interaction as a pure bystander.
I interact with you and your guests, putting you at ease and making your feel comfortable with me so that I can shoot from an inside perspective. I still shoot you as you go about your day but am able to achieve a much closer connection between the viewer and subject than a true reportage photographer.

What makes a wedding special are the people, many photographers record the event but few capture the personalities and their interactions, the essence behind your special day.

Winter, Wet and 'After Dark' Weddings

Winter weddings require a specialist skill set  that not all photographers possess. In many cases it is necessary to supplement the available light with both portable and much more powerful studio flash units.

With my own little studio working with artificial light is second nature to me and I am equipped with both a portable multiple flash system and a more heavy duty studio flash system for lighting those larger areas.

Location

I cover areas in Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey, including London.

How to Book

If you are able I always suggest you come and meet me prior to booking in order to see work in print and satisfy yourselves that I am the sort of person you will want around on your wedding day.

If you are happy you would like to book, please complete and return the wedding photography contract along with the £150 booking fee (included in the overall package price).

It is very important to make sure you get a booking confirmation back from me, otherwise it's possible your contract could get lost in transit and I would be unaware of your intention to book!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Are you a member of a professional body
A: Yes, I belong to and am accredited by the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP).
 
Q: What does that actually mean?
A: It means a body of my work has been assessed by a panel of industry experts and has been deemed to conform to a professional level in creativity, impact, storytelling, technical excellence, lighting, posing, expressions, print quality and composition. 
 
It means the SWPP accredit me as a competent professional wedding photographer, its also a qualification which can only be gained through merit. Its not simply a case of joining an association as a member as many photographers do.
 
The LSWPP is an accreditation in wedding and portrait photography, so I qualified in wedding and portrait, not art, journalism, commerce, wildlife or anything else!
 
Q: Do you work alone or have an Assistant?
A: I started using a regular Assistant who has been with me since 2006, a photography undergraduate whom I'm hoping to develop. Her role is to assist me but I also often ask her to act as a second photographer. Unfortunately I can not guarantee her availability and so all work is undertaken on the assumption that there will be one photographer. You are not charged extra if I use an assistant.
 
Q: Do you have professional indemnity insurance
A: Yes, I have professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance.
 
Q: Do you have backup equipment?
A: I always carry a backup photographic equipment in case of failure or accidents, these include spare camera body, lenses, flash, batteries and compact flash cards, basically a complete backup system.
 
Q: Do you provide a contract?
A: Yes, this protects both of us by outlining exactly what is paid for and what you can expect to receive. By formally writing everything down we can reduce the scope for misunderstanding or unpleasant surprises.
 
Q: Is there a booking fee?
A: Yes, this is currently £150, which is paid at the time of booking to secure the date and is included in the overall package price.
 
Q: Do you charge extra for putting in a gallery of images from our wedding?
A: No, this is a free service.
 
Q: Can my gallery be password protected?
A: Yes, please let me know if you want to password protect your gallery, again this is free.
 
Q: Can my guests and family buy pictures online.
A: Yes, although in many packages rights to make additional copies from the CD's provided are included. However I realise sometimes this is a hassle, so your family and guests can buy images directly from me should they want to.
 
Q: How many pictures do you take on the day?
A: I take as many considered photographs as I can in the time available, I don't shoot at anything that moves, but I don't worry about how many shots I'm taking either. I work on the principle that it's better to have too many than too few. I usually shoot well over 300+.
 
Q: Do you edit the pictures?
A: Yes, I do reserve the right to edit and control the standard of my work through editing, I overshoot to allow for this, for example by taking 3 or 4 pictures of every group so that I can remove any where people are blinking.
 
Q: Do you use digital or a film based camera?
A: As of March 2005 I am entirely digital. Many film based photographers will tell you film is 'better' than digital and digital based photographers will tell you digital is 'better' than film. The truth is that each medium has it's own strengths and weaknesses. Until February 2005 the digital medium had a serious disadvantage in that dynamic range it could capture was not as wide as could be captured on film. This means it was often difficult to show highlight details in the white wedding dress while still showing shadow detail in a dark suit in the same picture. Fuji remedied this problem when it released the Fuji S3 Pro in February 2005. I invested in one of these almost as soon as they hit the U.K and again in it's replacement, the S5 in March 2007 and no longer see the need to continue with film.
 
Q: How safe are my wedding photographs when taken with a digital camera?
A: Very. Images are captured to compact flash cards which have been chosen because they have absolutely no moving parts and are therefore less susceptible to mechanical breakdown or scratching.  Back home these cards are copied to a hard drive which is regularly backed up onto a separate disk stored in a different building!
 
Once I've finished working on your images, they are stored long term on at least two separate DVD-R media and filed for later retrieval.
 
As films don't have to sent off to a lab, it's impossible for them to be lost in the post or by the lab, if they are, another CD can easily burnt and resent!
 
Q: What about travel costs?
A: If you are based within an hour of Farnborough travel is included free. Other travel over an hour away is charged at 54 pence per mile for the whole journey. For journeys over an hour away it may also be necessary to stay in a travel lodge type accommodation. For very long journeys an additional hourly rate may be charged, please contact me if your not sure.
 
Q: What happens if your sick on the day or suffer an accident the day before?
A: This can and does happen to photographers, for this reason I have established links with several other selected photographers and we have an informal agreement that should one of us fall ill, one of the others (if available) will step forward and try to fill in. These photographers have been selected because their style and packages are similar to my own. I will use my contacts to try and find a replacement for you and negotiate on matching the package, however this is done on a 'best efforts' basis as I cannot guarantee a replacement will be available. Most photographers are in the same position.
 
Q: How long does it take after the wedding?
A: I try to have your initial previews back within 2 weeks of your wedding, although this can take up to 3 during busy spikes of work.

I try and return album designs within 2 weeks, prints can take up to 3 weeks, subject to current workloads both with me and at the professional lab I use. I can return prints quicker by using a local lab, but do not recommend this as quality is not as high.

November and December is traditionally a very busy time of year as everybody wants their prints for Christmas and many couples delay ordering from spring and summer until the last possible moment. Under these circumstances albums can take much longer, and are processed on a first in, first out basis.

While I can plan my capacity and workloads for a quick turn around close to a wedding, this does tend to fall down when couple's delay their orders by several months or more. I therefore recommend couples return their orders within a timely fashion!
 
It's difficult to give exact figures because while I do know in advance how many weddings I have on in any month and won't take on more than I can handle, I can't predict when people will place their print and album orders. It's quite common for several people to order at once, for example this December I received 1,153 print orders from 8 different weddings on the 3rd of December!
 
I tend to give the initial previews priority as brides need to be reassured that their pictures are good and I can plan around the wedding dates for this. Everything else is processed on a first in, first out basis.

Q: Can you give me any advice on planning my photography?
A: In order to help existing and prospective clients I have compiled a small article explaining key points to consider in relation to photography when planning your wedding. I'm also happy to talk to all my clients about any aspect of the wedding in relation to photography. I've written a few short self service articles here.
 
Q: How long will it take on the day?
A: That's can't be answered quickly. It depends on how many groups you want, of what size the groups are, how co-operative your guests are, the venue and a host of other factors. Typically it's the group photo's that have potential to take a lot of time. I suggest if you limit these to around 10 we can do it in around 30 minutes. If you want mainly Reportage photographs, time is irrelevant as I work around you and your guests leaving you to enjoy your day! Portraits of the Bride and Group are usually done within about 15 minutes. I can shoot all day if required, the real question is how long do you want to spend on photographs!
 
Q: How can I get across what style of photography I like?
A: Come and talk to me, I have a portfolio broken down into different styles especially for this purpose.
 
 
Q: How do I preview my images so I can make my selection?
A: All of the images taken on the day are provided to you as low resolution preview Jpegs on CD. No hard copy physical proofs are made. The advantage of this is that you are provided with the colour and Black and White version of the image, so you can choose which you prefer.
 
Q: Do I have to write all of the filenames down once I've made my selection? 
A: No, I've developed an automated process where all you have to do is copy the previews you would like as prints to a folder on your PC then run a command I will give you, this will automatically produce a list of the images in that folder.
 
Q: Do you charge extra for a mix of Black & White and Colour?
A: No, all photographs are taken in colour and a copy is converted digitally to Black & White without additional cost. This means you are able to choose either the colour or Black & White version of each image!
 
Q: What if its raining?
A: It is important to choose a venue that has a suitable large area that can be cleared on the day in which to take photographs. A large neutral coloured room is ideal. I can bring the skill and even the light in the form of flash units, but you must provide the space! If there is no space the best course of action is a compromise, breaking down larger groups into smaller groups that will fit into the space available.

Please bear in mind that you are responsible for selecting the venue and ensuring there is adaquete space. It may not be possible to remove some of it's features you find less desirable afterwards such as fixed signs or furniture.
 
It rarely rains for a whole wedding, but it has been known to. Consider your venue!
 
Q: Do you visit the venue beforehand?
A: No. This used to have some value in order to ensure we could find the venue, but with satellite navigation, AA route finder, online galleries of each venue and satellite imagery of the grounds available online, it just isn't necessary anymore, I also find it counter-productive.
 
Occasionally couples do want me to visit the venue to plan where I am going to shoot beforehand, from experience this is actually detrimental as the couple then tend to have pre-conceived ideas about where we will shoot rather than allowing me to react to the weather, prevalent light conditions and your guests as I normally would.
 
Even with a venue with hundreds of acres of land, the reality is that for the practical reasons of time constraints and sensible dress you really need to use the immediate grounds, which can be scouted very quickly on the day.
 
For those that really do want it, I can sometimes do it depending on workloads, and availability, but you have to understand this can involve taking up as much as half a working day with travel time and as a business I do have to charge for my time.
  
Q: What are the different styles of photography?
A: In terms of style, I group wedding photography into three classes:

1. Traditional
Traditional photography has been around a long time, it's associated with a more 'formal' approach. For example, it would be normal to have neatly arranged groups of people with the tall ones in the middle of the back row to form a triangle. It's very orderly, very neat. It requires good people skills from the photographer and a lot of interaction with the guests. As a style it's currently unfashionable, but still has a number of advantages.

Advantages

It's very safe. As the subjects of the photo's are usually static the photographer has time to think, make sure the camera is setup correctly and by viewing the subjects before and after the picture can more or less be certain they have the desired shot.

They can be composed. The subjects can be shown in their best light because the photographer has time to arrange people and props so they look their best and fit into the overall picture in a more balanced way.

Traditional photo's don't age as much. Wedding photographs taken 10-20 years ago still look pretty much the same as traditional style wedding photographs taken today. The wedding dress and morning suits are all very similar now as they are then, only the hairstyles have changed.

Usually provide great enlargements and framed portrait material.

Guaranteed way of getting a picture of certain relatives.

Disadvantages

The style isn't as popular as it once was, definitely 'safe' rather than 'stylish'.

The group shots can take a long time to organise depending on your family and guests.

Don't really capture the emotions of the day.

Really needs a working space big enough for organising group shots. Some hotels don't have them.

2. Informal

Informal photography is fairly new and now very popular, its characterised by an informal approach, often in Black & White and tight framing of an individual or couple. It's roots are in photojournalism and requires quick reactions and a good eye from your photographer rather than organisation or people skills.  

Advantages

Tells the story of the day much better than traditional photographs, informal is about capturing people as they really are, traditional is about making a record.

Take up less time for the couple and guests as most of the photographs are taken informally while the couple are enjoying their day.

It better captures of the emotions and events of the day.

Very fashionable at present.

Very informal, may suit people who are self conscious in front of a camera.

Disadvantages

Less scope to design balanced images, as no staging occurs photographer has to try and find balanced images rather than create them. Can sometimes result in 'untidy' images.

As reportage is based on 'picture taking' rather than 'picture making' If little excitement is happening at the wedding, the pictures can be bland. Reportage requires either action or emotion to be successful.

Pictures are not designed to show people in their best light, it is their natural body positions and behaviour that is photographed. 

Key family members and friends can be missed. Attention tends to be given to people are are animated, smiling, laughing and joking as this makes great reportage material. It is very easy to miss quieter relatives hidden away, particularly if they are trying to avoid the photographer, which isn't uncommon!

3. Contemporary

Contemporary is often mistaken for reportage. A contemporary style is characterised by a strong element of design, but designed to be fun and informal. This allows balanced images to be created that are kept informal and capture the joy of the day. Contemporary blends the strengths of traditional and reportage styles and requires a high degree of people skills and creativity from the photographer.

Advantages

Images can be 'made' rather than taken and designed to be balanced, interesting, stylish or fun.

Informal and often fun.

Better capture of the emotions of the day.

Much more modern than traditional images, much neater than reportage.

Often produces material suitable for enlargements and framing.

Disadvantages

Works best outdoors with an interesting set of backgrounds and areas to use.
Fun contemporary works needs fun people, stylish contemporary works best with stylish people.

Time consuming to setup as the photographer has to think more carefully about each shot. This means a lot more time taken out of your day.

Can be 'quirky'. You either like a shot or you don't.