We Ask the Professionals: What’s Your Favourite Wedding Photograph?

Wedding season is at its height and we’re taking the opportunity to chat to a few of our favourite professional wedding photographers about the work they do. Whether you’re looking to choose a wedding photographer, searching for inspiration for your own wedding pictures or perhaps you’d like to pick up a few wedding photography top tips – this one’s for you!

Join us as we meet the professionals, discover their work and find out the stories behind their favourite moments captured.

Esme Fletcher – Esme Fletcher Photography

Esme, based in Leamington Spa, has been into photography since her late teens, opting to study it at both College and University. She opened her own photography business eight years ago and has developed her own style of wedding photography, which she describes as a mixture of documentary and romance.

For Esme, the story of the wedding day is the most special part, ensuring each detail is captured to bring back those memories each time the photos are looked at. The romance seems incredibly natural in her couples’ shots, and she admits that these sweet, candid moments are most often captured by encouraging the pair to whisper silly things in each other’s ears.

This is one of my favourite images, but there are so many that I love so it was a very hard choice! This one’s a post-wedding shoot where Yanny and Gary came over from Hong Kong to have some photos taken in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon. We tied the boat under a bridge and they got to have giggles and cuddles while I shot from above.

Natasha – Honeydew Moments

Natasha has been photographing weddings since 2016 and describes the photography style she offers as heartfelt and for modern romantics, captured with real dedication and genuine warmth. She prefers to remain relaxed and unobtrusive throughout the wedding day, preferring to let each moment unfold without interfering too much, in order to get an accurate and honest record of the day’s goings-on. Natasha is based in South Wales.

Her quirky style and crazy ideas mean that the couples she photographs often end up getting their hands – or dresses – a little dirty in order to snag the most epic shots. Affectionately known as ‘The Queen of Sunsets’, Natasha loves pretty natural light, so you’ll frequently find her incorporating this into her work.

The sun was setting just before they had their dessert so I quickly pulled them outside for a wander down to the pool and to take some time to themselves in the olive groves under the Italian sunset.

This photo was taken in Florence, Italy in the olive groves which roll down the hill away from Villa Tolomei and head towards Florence. The villa used to be a historic Renaissance home but has been renovated and restored into a five star luxury hotel. The villa is surrounded by the green hills of Marignolle and has a panoramic view of the Florentine hills down towards the old town.

Tom Jamieson – Thomas J Photography

Tom is the lead photographer at Thomas J Photography, based in Leamington Spa, and has been in love with all things photography for 10 years. His work is split directly three ways between weddings, corporate portraits and automotive photography.

Tom aims to make a true connection with each couple he photographs, listening carefully to their wants and needs to get a picture of the kind of photos they desire. For Tom, producing work that each client is happy with is the most important thing, and he especially loves to spend time perfecting different colour styles to capture the feel of the wedding.

As we were shooting, the time came where all the ingredients came together.

I always come back to this wedding image simply because of the colours. We had been shooting the bride and groom for a while, mixed with a few of the bridesmaids too, and this had been the “very, very, very last one guys” shot! The light colour and direction were in our favour, so we reflected a little bounce light back on to the groom to match the already well-lit bride. As well as the great colours, this shot just reminds me of how good it feels when all the stars align and the perfect image comes together!

Samantha Kay

Sam is a wedding and elopement photographer currently based in the North West of England. She first picked up a camera at a young age and quickly fell in love with capturing moments and snippets of daily life. When she shot her first wedding some years later, she realised that she had found her calling. Sam particularly enjoys the unbeatable feeling of being a part of a couple’s most special day and being able to present them with a story containing all of the emotion and love.

Sam’s style is very much documentary. She opts to shoot the day as it happens, capturing all of those special little moments, the big confetti explosions, the little glances you don’t think anyone has noticed and everything in-between.

Instead of confetti, they exited Stoke Newington Town Hall to a sea of bubbles, and their faces really do paint the perfect picture of how amazing the whole day was!

The image I’ve shared with you is one of my absolute favourites. Amalia and Nicole were married in London surrounded by the best wedding guests ever, with so much love and excitement. When I shoot confetti (or in this case bubble) shots, I always get my couples to walk towards me. I like to have a lot of movement in my images and you capture so much more emotion this way too.

Keagan Badenhorst – Keagan Badenhorst Photography

For Keagan, it was his own wedding day that inspired him to get into wedding photography. An already passionate photographer, the thought of being a part of someone’s wedding to capture was something that really appealed to him. Having spent the last 7 years shooting weddings from his Northampton-based photography business, he believes that great photography is less about composition or lighting and more about capturing the emotion of each subject. Keagan defines his style of photography as being less documentary and more art orientated, and he lives by the motto “great photographs are not taken, they are made”.

Keagan recommends giving couples a few simple instructions on posing to create calmness and confidence and to avoid them being overly rigid, allowing the photographer to then focus on composition and lighting to nail that perfect shot. He also suggests arranging an engagement shoot for those that are shy in front of a camera, firstly to build up a friendly relationship and then secondly to work on getting comfortable in front of the camera. This eliminates a lot of the awkwardness in front of the lens by the time the wedding day rolls around!

This photo is very special to me as the couple were both shy in front of the camera, but I wanted to create something unique for them.

After the cake cutting and speeches were done I could see they were now relaxed so I asked if I could take a close up portrait of them and to trust me on it. They obliged and I took them and two of the bridesmaids out into the car park away from their guests. I asked them to stand in front of a large hedge, I gently posed them and asked them to close their eyes, I then asked a bridesmaid to hold my Octobox above our heads, the other bridesmaid to hold the veil and I fired a test shot to check my settings. With everything perfect I asked the bride to open her eyes. I pressed the shutter at 1/200 F2.5 and ISO 80.

Tara Winter – Pudding and Plum Photography

Tara is the photographer and owner of Pudding & Plum Photography, based in Leicestershire. Her wedding photography is romantic, bright and modern and her approach is relaxed and personable. She loves to help her couples feel calm and confident in front of the camera, particularly during their portrait times, which are her favourite parts of the day.

Tara has always enjoyed photographing people, starting off with family sessions and ultimately falling in love with weddings. She’s always honoured to be asked to document such a special occasion. As a bit of a romantic herself, she admits that you will often find her welling up at the ceremony, laughing at the speeches and wishing you all the love in the world as she leaves at the end of the night.

Tara’s top tip for great couple photos: Take your couples out for a few short couple portrait sessions, over the course of the day. Limit them to 10–15 minutes, that way your couple doesn’t get stiff or bored, you have a variety of light to play with and you get a sense of their journey across the day.

There are so many reasons that I chose this photo to share with you. I love the real sense of affection and peace in the image that is given by her resting towards his chest and his gentle kiss on her head. What truly adds to the intimacy here is the use of her veil, which is pulled over the two of them; I’m under there too of course! If you have a bride with a veil then use it for everything, couple portraits, draped over the shoes and bouquet, thrown in the air for movement and laughter.

In this photo though, the veil not only acts as a shield and a creator of privacy from the hustle and bustle of a busy wedding day, but it also is a fantastic diffuser. We were stood in an open field with harsh light, no trees nearby for open shade plus we were contending with random heavy showers and strong winds. We wanted to make the most of a dry spell and this was our chance! By using the veil as a diffuser, the heavy dark shadows you would normally get from direct sunlight were eliminated. Furthermore, her face is completely relaxed and allows for that absolute connection with my camera as I talk to her.

I love that only the bride is looking at the camera and the groom is oblivious to anyone but his new wife. As a wedding photographer, you have to make your couples feel relaxed enough to go against what they would usually do when they see a camera – which is either a huge grin at your lens or run away at speed! It is a skill to practice, talking through the couple portraits, gently prompting and anticipating, keeping them busy enough to not notice you and give them just the right amount to think about so they forget about themselves too.

Marc Bates – Photos From Me

For Marc, wedding photography is without a doubt his greatest passion. There is nothing he loves more than capturing the magic and emotion that you only find at a wedding. To be able to create images for brides and grooms is a huge honour and is something Marc honestly believes to be the greatest job in the world. His work photographing weddings spans across the UK.

When Marc takes photos at your wedding, he aims to tell the story of your special day but to also record a part of your family history. Marc loves the idea that these images will be passed down to the next generations, and describes the thought of these photos being looked at by people that haven’t even been born yet as a wonderful feeling.

Marc’s favourite wedding photo is his own brainchild, and something he thought of and created himself.

This was the first image I ever had published in a magazine. The editor liked it so much that she made it a double page spread as image of the month. A copy has been framed and hangs above my desk!

I had seen other photographers take photos of a bride and groom under an illuminated umbrella and I have done the same, but I am always pushing myself to do better, always asking “what’s next?”. When the bride told me how many bridesmaids she had, I wanted to do something special.

A lot of work went into the creation of this photo. From sourcing the ladders, umbrellas, individual speedlites and triggers, to putting it all together and also setting the shot up in a field in the dark. Each umbrella had a receiver and a Canon speedlite inside, and my camera had the trigger attached. As a wedding photographer, you get used to people not really understanding what you’re trying to create. It was up to me to direct and the bridal party, who had no idea what the result would be. It was a huge effort, but it paid off.

Nicholas Georgiou – NG Photography

Nick is a family man with three children, born and raised in the North East of England and currently living in Stockton. Nick’s photography journey started at a young age, where he would mostly be found capturing his family’s special moments on his very first camera. Nick enjoys receiving his feedback in the form of smiles, commenting “I don’t need to hear a single word when I get feedback on my work, as the smile on people’s faces is enough when they take a look at their photos.”

His style is typically relaxed, natural and candid in order to capture peoples true emotions and expressions. Nick describes his nature as easy going and approachable, yet professional, which is conveyed in his work and in the reviews from his clients.

This photo was taken in August 2017, at the beautiful Middleton Estate, near Richmond in the North East of England.

This was a fun wedding with lots of energy from the couple and their guests too. I was spoilt for choice with this wedding.

We started early with the bridal preparations in the bridal suite. It was an early ceremony which meant plenty of photo opportunities. I was one of two photographers, the other was Paul Murray, who I help out and in return, he helps me too. This was one of the last photographs we took that day, apart from the first dance of course.

As a professional photographer, I have lots of equipment, and I shot this with my Canon 6D, this is one of two cameras I use. I believe that good quality photos come from a great photographer but having the correct gear does help! I mainly use ‘Canon L prime’ lenses with my cameras. This particular photograph was taken using my Canon 24-105mm IS L lens as I needed a wide lens for the shot.

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