Bristol Wedding Photographer

How did my life as a photographer begin - the full story from cot to sea.

Art was my life, growing up I was crafting, ripping, sticking and painting. My Nan had her photo albums, I would spend hours looking through them with admiration, reliving her memories, occasionally I would steal a few to stick them in my collage. But shhh! Admittedly Nanna Power's photography skills was terrible. Non existent in fact! However, I admired her determination to document life. At this same time I discovered film.

When I say film, it was a polaroid camera and the family video videocam. I wandered around the house, printing mini squared photos and making documentaries that I can only imagine Louis Theroux would rejoice in. Then my Uncle got married and guess who was photographer come videographer! This was my first experience of weddings at the tender age of nine.

I then went through art A Levels focusing my time on combing photography with print medium. I was fascinated in learning about  colour theory and  composition elements,  such as the rule of thirds, rule of odds,  leading lines, negative space,  balancing elements and symmetry. I admired the work of Barbara Kruger, and Eadweard Muybridge. This concept of movement I found so captivating!  University them took me in the direction of film production where I discovered my love for lighting, 35mm and dark rooms. I used to spend hours arms deep in chemicals focusing hard, dodging and burning to create dark and light contrasts reminiscent to a Rembrandt! This said it was only when I started my career at sea that my photography really flourished. 

This time allows my to understand the camera in detail, I was holding a Nikon and shooting every day of the week. I got to grasps with the more technical aspects of photography such as exposure, shutter speed, ISO and the exposure triangle. I realised the difference between shooting in RAW and JPEG files and worked in the photo lab printing on papers and developing further. Then one day my senior photographer invited me on a wedding shoot as her assistant. On 19th May 2012 I photographed my first wedding (Uncle's aside) and begin my journey to the present day. 

Why i photograph weddings

My wedding wedding advice and how my photography has thrived!

Since my days at photographing weddings at sea,  my photography has hopefully improved! I moved to Canon as I loved the colours and began to develop my unique style of vibrancy and authenticity in my imagery. My work is noted for full on vibrancy, full of fun, interesting angles and compositions complimented with pure moments of authentic love.

The day you get married will be full of these moments, that first pop of the champagne as your bridesmaids get ready; the first tears as your dress is unveiled; to that first sight of your groom down the aisle. Every moment of every wedding is special, so make sure you do it your way and I'll capture your photo memories in my unique style. 

Now for my three most important bits of wedding advice. (1) Ignore what everyone will you you should do and get married your way. Don't want to cut the dance? then leave it! Don't want to go to church? then why do it?  Want to walk down the aisle with your mum? Least you could do really as she carried you for months! 

(2) Get to know your photographer and wedding suppliers - building that relationship is paramount. I actively seek to find out as much as i can about my couples, the more i know the greater impact your photography will have. how can you photograph authenticity if your don't know the full story? The more you get on with suppliers the better your experience will be. 

(3) Enjoy the wedding day, planning, and all round wedding experience!  You wouldn't believe how many couples say they don't remember their day or how fast it went. I know it is stressful however it shouldn't be. Used the knowledge of your suppliers and on the wedding itself try not to worry about the small things. Be in the moment and enjoy the time with your family and friends. The advice section on the blog will help you choose your perfect wedding dress, find out what to do first after your engagement, or how to select your bridal party . On the day itself, and possibly the most important advice I can give, make sure you spend some quality time alone. You will not regret it! 

Everyone has a story to tell! I will help you tell your wedding story in a series of authentic photographs, but how about me? where did my album start? how did I go from being a boy in the street of Stoke to one of the worlds top 100 wedding photographers? Finally what advice do I have for brides on their wedding day?