I do - about half my couples still want
group shots at their wedding. I try to get through this part of the wedding day quickly and efficiently so if you can try to keep it under 10 combinations, and rope in a helper who knows who everyone is to help gather people it would be a great help on the day.
I don't think you need lots of photos of having makeup applied. But my aim when turning up is to capture the
feelings and relationships of the morning. The anticipation and excitement on the wedding day. It also gets you used to having a wedding photographer around early in the day. I love to capture both of the couple where possible.
Yes - I use
Folio Albums. They are beautifully crafted, local, eco-friendly and the staff have excellent attention to detail. I have a very customisable Fine Art Album, or a more budget friendly Palette Album -
full details are here.
Although the majority of weddings I shoot are around Derbyshire, and the Midlands / Peak District (Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Yorkshire) I do love to go on wedding adventures further away & charge for accommodation and travel expenses as needed. If it's less than two hours drive from Derby it's just considered local and included in the normal wedding package.
I use small
Fuji mirrorless cameras. After using DSLR's and systems with all the bells and whistles I fell in love with using a lighter system that just felt like a small film camera. I try to travel light on a wedding day, and use flash only in emergencies, as I usually like to capture the ambience of the day and I believe the natural light is a big part of that.
Documentary Wedding Photography, or reportage or photojournalism are all the same words for the same thing . It's a way of capturing the day where you don't try to control it and affecting the wedding day as little as possible. There are different ways of doing this - some photographers stand back with a big zoom lens so they're not part of the proceedings. Some like to get into the thick of things and be there in the day. I do the latter as I believe it results in more intimate, involved photographs that make you feel like you are there.
I take a lot of inspiration from press photographers and street photographers - people out in the world capturing and telling real stories about real people.
We always schedule a chat (or a meeting, if you're in or around Derby / Nottingham etc) about your wedding. I like to get to know about what you want from your day, and in particular from your wedding photography. If I'm the wrong photographer for you I want to be honest about it and help you find the right person (although If you've got this far down the page and are still reading I seriously doubt it).
After that I send out a booking form and contract and ask for a 25% deposit to secure your wedding date.
