WHY I MAY BE THE PHOTOGRAPHER FOR YOU
So, you Google wedding photographer in your local area, Google throws you a few names, you look at their website, you speak to the photographer, perhaps meet up with 1 or 2 then ‘hey presto’ you’ve chosen your wedding photographer.
01
Personality
One of the most important considerations when choosing the person to photograph your wedding is… Do I like this person? Would this person fit in well with my family and friends?
Your photographer is present throughout your day. From when preparations begin, during the ceremony, mingling with guests and organising group photos. So, you want your photographer to be a person you like and feel comfortable having as a part of your day.
You will want them to be somebody who can organise you all well but who isn’t overbearing and loud.
You will find me to be very approachable and friendly. I am a good communicator with people of all ages and am well skilled at assessing a situation and how people are feeling and what it requires to get the best out of people to make great photographs.
Couples feedback
“Darren, you were fabulous; really polite and friendly to all the family and friends, but also to the people helping me get ready, florists, hotel staff etc”
“Your relaxed and happy manner are brilliant”
“Darren is calm, collected, fun and importantly for us, inobtrusive”
“Everyone on the wedding day commented on how lovely he is and how he made everyone feel so relaxed…”
“Darren was also a fantastic addition to our day; many of our guests commented on how lovely, funny and unobtrusive he was.”
“During the wedding, Darren was calm, approachable and incredibly professional”
“He has been professional, yet very friendly”
“He has a wonderful, fun manner and was great with all the children”
02
Style
Every photographer has their own unique style, be it black and white, vintage, classic, destination and many more. Sometimes it can be difficult to work out what the style is and what style you like but the best way is to view the images and see if the colour profiling, the emotion and the composition match the style that you like.
I am a contemporary photographer who uses natural light where possible to showcase the beautiful colours that make your wedding unique. Some moments are best photographed in black and white and I certainly will provide you with black and white images but the majority of my photographs utilise natural light to bring out the beauty of your day.
I like to capture the love, happiness, fun and emotion of your wedding day. Those tender moments between the wedding couple, laughs between friends and tears at the ceremony; through experience, I have developed the intuition and anticipation to ensure I am in the right places to get these photographs.
Many of the photographs I take are reportage style, documenting the day as it happens. However, I do like to take a short time with the wedding couple getting some portraits in some beautiful settings at the wedding venue. Some couples like formal group photos too. I am always happy to do these but just be aware that they can be time-consuming if the list is long!
Couples feedback
“Our wedding photographs are exactly what we wanted and capture the day perfectly”
“The shots you got are gorgeous, you managed the ever changing lighting brilliantly”
“Given the weather restrictions, the tricky outside photos came out really well and showed off the colours of the day brilliantly”
“Our whole wedding album is testament to Darren’s sense of fun, tradition and artistic flare”
“Darren disappeared into the background throughout the day, yet was brilliant at organising family photos”
“At times Darren was like an undercover spy, he was there, but never in the way”
“The end results is the most wonderful collection of photos sharing the most important day of our lives”
03
Making you feel at ease
I believe an essential skill of a wedding photographer needs to be to make you and your guests feel relaxed and comfortable when having their photographs taken. Most of us feel a little embarrassed or uncomfortable when in front of a camera, especially when asked to pose in certain ways, or to show affection to our partners, so to have a photographer you can relax with is so important.
Over the years I have become skilled at noticing when people are uncomfortable in front of the camera and have developed certain techniques and poses to make you feel good and importantly look good in your wedding photographs.
Couples have often told me that I have a knack for making the feel at ease when having their photos taken, just look across the page…
Couples feedback
“I think your relaxed and happy manner are brilliant, you really made me feel relaxed about it all”
“He is very professional but also very friendly and put us and our guests at ease throughout the day”
“Everyone commented on how lovely he is and how he made everyone feel so relaxed”
“He made me and my wife feel very relaxed and it eased away any tension she had regarding our photos”
“Darren was a first class photographer, he made us and our guests feel so comfortable”
04
Quality
I am proud of the quality I offer throughout my services.
From the first time you make contact, you can be assured that my reply will be swift, courteous and helpful. It’s very important to me that you feel comfortable when dealing with me. You can be confident that whilst I am super organised and attentive to every detail, I always do it in a friendly and relaxed way.
The equipment I use to photograph your wedding is supplied by Nikon. I use a 50mm prime lens for many of the portrait shots and when in low light situations and I utilise a telephoto lens for most of the rest of the day. Your images are saved onto the market leader in memory cards, Lexar Professional.
After the wedding day is over my work continues. I use the very best editing software available, Adobe Lightroom, on the best computers available, Apple Mac. Together they make the editing process so much more efficient. Each of your photos will be carefully edited to ensure they are correctly composed, have a perfect colour profile and together tell the story of your wedding day.
Once the photos are perfected they will be uploaded to your personalised password protected online gallery. This gallery is the perfect way to view your online wedding photographs. I work with a leading online company that specialises in the presentation of your images. There are various ways of viewing your wedding gallery and even has the option to purchase prints if desired or share on social media.
When the images are completed I will post to you a beautifully packaged USB. On which will be all your wedding photographs. I don’t hold any photos back! What’s more, you have the licence to print them as you wish without watermark. I would, however, recommend ordering prints through a professional printing lab. I have print packages available that provide archival quality, fingerprint proof prints.
I offer some of the best products available to display your photographs. I have spent a long time over the years seeking out the best printing companies on the market and have settled on a fantastic British printing company that I now work very closely with. I offer archival quality prints that are guaranteed to maintain their colour for a lifetime and are also resistant to fingerprints. You can also purchase mobile apps, calendars and thank you cards but without a doubt, the most stunning way to display your photographs is via a Fine Art Wedding Album. When you see them and feel them I challenge you to not want to purchase one. They really are something special. You can read more on the Wedding Album page.
As you can see I am very proud of all the products and the services that I offer. It has taken me a long time to seek out my suppliers and equipment but I believe they are the best available. I would love to bring all of this to your wedding day!
Couples feedback
“The service we received from Darren right from the word go all the way until after the wedding has been nothing but amazing!”
“We have so many beautiful photos to choose from we are struggling which ones to pick for our album”
“Our whole wedding album is a testament to Darren’s fun, tradition and artistic flare. The package of albums, contents and prints is impressive”
“We are absolutely thrilled with the pictures”
“We could not be happier with Darren’s photography. the photos are fantastic!”
“We are incredibly happy with Darren’s service before, during and after our Big Day. Darren’s tailored service enabled us to get exactly the kind of photos we wanted. On top of this, Darren’s wealth of experience meant he was able to give us some really valuable advice about how to get the photos we wanted”
“Darren’s photography has captured our day perfectly. We could not have asked for a more personal or tailored approach”
“Our wedding photos are absolutely what we wanted and they captured the day perfectly. We cannot thank you enough!”
“Our photos are absolutely fantastic and remind us of every moment of the day, from getting ready to the first dance. The end result is the most wonderful collection of photos of our friends and family sharing the most important day of our lives.”
“We are really sooooo please with the quality of the photographs and quantity that we received and we were surprised at how quickly we received them too.”
“After the wedding we received the photos very quickly so that we could share with friends and family”
05
Trust
Selecting a photographer to document your special day is obviously a very important decision. The photographs will provide you with the memories of one of the most unforgettable days of your life.
To choose this person to photograph your day you must feel you have absolute trust in them.
I am an obsessed list maker. I love lists. No task I do escapes being put up on one of my highly organised ‘Evernote’ lists. I have lists for each wedding with every small task detailed and when it’s completed it gets ticked off. This gives every wedding couple the peace of mind that you can rely on me to cover every aspect of your wedding photography.
I leave nothing to chance in ensuring that your wedding is captured just how you would like it. I even have a bookmark on my web browser of various traffic reports to spot if there is potential for road works or diversions that may affect my journey to your wedding venues. I check the weather reports to see what we may expect over the course of the day. Often, even if there is poor weather forecast for the day, there may be a chance at some point in the day to capture those all important shots.
On the wedding day, I bring more backup equipment than I do equipment that I actually use. I have spares of everything from spare camera bodies, spare lenses, spare memory cards, batteries and even clothes and shoes!
After the wedding, I will be left with a handful of memory cards packed with your wedding images. I never truly relax after a wedding until all these images are saved onto my computer hard drive and then backed up onto 2 separate hard drives and eventually onto cloud storage. At this point your images are safe and here they stay so that even if you misplace your images or accidentally delete them, you can be safe in the knowledge that I will have back-ups waiting for you!
Couples feedback
“Darren arrived at the venue first and from start to finish was fabulous – he thought of everything and more.”
“Darren is a well-organised photographer and knows exactly what it is you are looking for”
“We met Darren 3 weeks before the wedding at the venue, which was unfamiliar to him, to find that he had been there for some time surveying the property and views for interesting photo shots. He had requested a list of photos with group/family members etc so that we could avoid missing the one composition you think of after its too late!”
“Darren was very professional and made sure we go the photos we wanted for our special day”
“Our wedding photos are absolutely what we wanted and capture our day perfectly”
“Darren’s photography has captured our day perfectly. He has been professional, yet very friendly, from our first phone call enquiry to our photographs arriving in the post.”
“Darren’s manner is one that does not interfere with the day but makes sure all the key photos get taken. He has a very laid back approach and a can-do attitude”
“This meant that he captured the most amazing moments of happiness and laughter. The photographs were exactly what we had asked for and the quality was second to none.”