I’m going to be sharing my best documentary wedding photography of 2025 (of course you can just scroll down for that bit.) But I thought I’d give a snapshot of where I am at the moment.

Happy new year.

I hate all the New Years resolution, goal setting and even these summaries that come with the New Year – and since reading Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, I’ve taken a different, more freewheeling approach to goal setting and the way I move through life that suits me a lot better.

Saying that, I’m going to try moving through this really quickly. So what has this year bought? Surprise tickets to a Radiohead gig (and also Nathan Walker’s documentary wedding photography workshop), mentoring with two of my favourite photographers (who just happen to be married to each other), festival inspired weddings, garden parties in massive gardens, churches and stately homes, family time, a London wedding (me swearing I’m never doing the big smoke again, but always realising that I will), some experiments with portraiture and a big corporate party.

Big industrial dance parties, dogs attending ceremonies, people drinking out of shoes (this seems to be a new habit?) kids, buses, speeches written at the last minute, gallons of confetti, live bands that got everyone up and involved and a couple of hilarious drag acts.

A lot of love and laughter. A lot of experimentation and a lot of taking a breath, a step back and seeing what happens.

Because I think this year I realised that how I showed up on the day was as important as the photographs (I always knew it affected the photographs, but that’s a different thing)

So this year I’ve been wanting to make photography that is:

Quieter: Doesn’t make you want to pat the photographer on the back, hopefully bypasses the brain and heads straight for the gut.

Transparent: How do you thin the wall (photographer) between the event and viewer?

Small Footprint: I’ve always believed the best moments happen organically and the best weddings don’t feel like a media circus. How can I blend in and work in a way that supports the natural process of the wedding?

Not falling into trendy traps: Speaks for itself, but I always think authentic, natural photography survives the test of time a lot better than whatever in style this season.

Wabi Sabi: If anything, this would be my word for 2026, if I still did that. Wabi Sabi is aJapanese philosophy centered on finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness, appreciating the natural cycles of growth, decay, and weathering rather than striving for flawless, unobtainable ideals. (I think this is a defiant reaction against social media and AI for me)

And next year?

I want to be working more one on one and making portraits. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to make this happen yet. I’d love some studio space with a huge window, but that stuff’s expensive to own and rent, so it’s an experiment (series of experiments?) I need to run.

I’ve also just bought myself a sweet (mid-life crisis) acoustic guitar with the intention of making music again on some level.

And as much time as possible spent with friends and family, because that’s why we do this.

As for weddings – I have no goals this year and that feels weird. I think the extracurricular work will feed back into my wedding work (it always does).

That , and working with a wide variety of couples (this year is already looking like a diverse and exciting collection of events)

Final Word

I’m also going to mention this now, as most of you are going to be reading this in January. It’s engagement season and most of my best bookings come from recommendations from past couples.

If I have worked with you and my photography rocked your 2025 (or, indeed, any previous year), please recommend me to anyone you know who’s looking for a Derbyshire wedding photographer and would be a good fit for a more laid back, documentary approach.

I’m going to leave you with my best documentary wedding photography from last year.