Beyond the obvious

On the swings. Click on the image to see a larger version. The radiant bride. Click on the image to see a larger version. I had stopped shooting weddings and now I'm back at it again. Never say never again. There's something really wonderful about sharing these life changing precious moments with people. In a way its a gift to be able to record and document the couple's special day. And then when you deliver the wedding book and see everyone in the family pouring over the over it, tears of emotion and joy in their eyes and they want to give you hug - what more reward do you need for your work. As wedding photographers the images we produce become part of family history. In the same way that you and I look back at photographs of our grandparents and great grandparents, in generations to come people will look at our wedding pictures and wonder about the people in them. The photographer will be long forgotten but our images will continue to touch and intrigue. Wedding photogra...

These two little bridesmaids decided they'd had enough of being photographed. The family watched, highly amused as I battled to get these two little devils to pose. I got the shot later after giving it a few minutes break. I don't do weddings anymore, mostly corporate and advertising work now, but this wedding could not be refused. The reportage went brilliantly, the couple are thrilled, and they want this shot too. I find that people often like the off-beat moments. The days of the stiff formal, traditional wedding shoot seem far away, certainly in my neck of the woods. People want photography that reflects real life and has emotion. So although at the time it may seem a challenge that the child bridesmaids don't want to be photographed it is in fact a great opportunity to make a shot that's a bit different. The picture sums up my attitude to photography and life. Every hurdle and challenge is in fact a great opportunity to make something special. The best stuff in lif...

Every once in a while someone expresses what they feel about your work as a professional photographer. For me the greatest joy is when a client is really happy. Today I received an email from a client, Hayley, who wanted the say thanks to my wife Magda (also a professional photographer) and me, and she wanted to provide a testimonial we could use on our website. "A wedding day is an important day, and as a bride and groom you want everything to be exactly right. The last thing you want to be doing in the midst of all the excitement is trying to manage a photographer, and worrying that your photos aren't going to be exactly what you want. Luckily for us, our choice of photographer meant this was one less job to worry about and although hundreds of wonderful shots were taken I can honestly say that most of the time I forgot Paul and Magda were even there. In fact, when we showed our album to our friends and family they were amazed to see themselves in a lot of the lovely snaps w...