Real moments and Portraits

The two things which I love to capture the most on a wedding day are heartfelt genuine moments and beautiful creative portraits. You can find out more about why I love being a documentary wedding photographer here, but this page is all about my love of creative bride and groom portraits and how I work with my couples to create these photographs.

Why I love taking creative portraits

For the vast majority of a wedding day I photograph your day in a way which I hope helps you forget that I am even there. The short time that we take for portraits however is a nice chance for us to create some really beautiful and natural photographs of you both and a chance for me to become creative and produce images for you which you will love. This can also be a really great time for you both to spend a little bit of time together on the wedding day, away from your family and friends for a few minutes.

Many of my bride and grooms can be quite nervous about having their photograph taken but that is completely normal (I would be the same!) and I love how, when you see that there is literally nothing to worry about, they can really enjoy this time and that really comes across in the photographs and because of this my bride and grooms are often shocked at how much they love their portrait photographs – and there is no nicer feeling for me than that.

How long do the portrait sessions take?

Although I absolutely love taking portrait photographs of my bride and grooms, the last thing I want is to take you away from your family and friends for very long. So I tend to ask my couples if I can take them away for two little twenty minute sessions on a wedding day. 

The first twenty minute portrait session would tend to be after your ceremony but before you are seated for your wedding breakfast. And the second one would be in the evening, either at sunset or in the dark when I can get creative with my flashes to create some really creative and unique wow shots for you!

We don’t know how to pose – is this a problem?!

One of the most common things which my bride and grooms say to me is that they don’t know how to pose or they always feel awkward in front of the camera. But I can absolutely promise you that more or less every couple which I have ever photographed over my 15 years as a wedding photographer has said exactly that. As long as you can stand next to each other, that is all I ask. I may sometimes ask you to play little games with each other to create very natural moments but I can promise you I will never ask you to “pose” as such.

For your portrait photographs to be natural, it is really important that I make my bride and grooms feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible so all you have to do is be yourself. I am sure that every bride and groom which you see on this page would have said to me that they can’t pose, don’t like having their photograph taken and don’t know what to do – so don’t worry, that is completely natural but nothing at all to worry about!