Yes, I do shoot 'reportage' too!

Okay, I confess - I love creating images. I get huge pleasure and satisfaction when I get an idea, see it through and create a picture with my 'mark' on it.

Loads of wedding photographers just short this 'reportage' thing- snapping away at what they see and never having any involvement. Which means you're relying all day on luck. Light, expression, location - all have to line up perfectly to get the image. Yet 'posed' sometimes gets used as a dirty word in the world of wedding photography. The key is to make the shoot fun, and make it look...like it wasn't posed!

I don't like to rely on luck. That's why lots of what you see on here - my favourites -have been created - but each wedding does throw up quirky and lovely moments. And just to prove I do shoot without any involvement, here's a few grab shots from the last few weddings!

Alan & Shao Shizhen at Hever Castle, Kent

Alan contacted us just a few weeks back to shoot his wedding at Hever Castle and we were delighted we were free! Hever Castle is an amazing venue and the only other opportunity we'd had to shoot there was a pitch black winter wedding a couple of years back. So this time, the sun shone (of course!) and we had lots of time and a gorgeous bride in an amazing dress - brilliant! It was great to be able to use the beautiful gardens this time too.

Alan and Shao Shizhen met whilst they were both working in Dubai and it's pretty much straight back there with the honeymoon having to wait a while until more holiday time becomes available! Good luck to you both, it was a pleasure to shoot your day.

Here's a few of my favourites from the day.









Mia making friends with the pets!







The banner reads (i'm told!) "Best wishes to all my family in China." I did smile when it was being unfurled when I overheard a guest ask the question everyone was thinking......"Which way up does it go?"

Charlene & Ross at St Peter's Church and The Pavilion, Broadstairs.

It was great to shoot at these two places again, it's been around 5 years since I shot in the beautiful St Peter's Church - actually one of the first paid weddings I did was there. Seems a long time ago!

Charlene & Ross are a great looking couple, full of life and we had great fun on their pre-wed shoot so i was confident of a great day! As usual, managed to duck the worst of the weather (it was truly torrential at one stage, but we were safely indoors!) and got some lovely stuff, starting when I joined the boys for a brekky in the cafe - is that comprehensive coverage or what?

Anyway, here's a few - starting with my favourite from the pre-wed shoot!
















After breakfast, Ross & His best man went to the hairdressers - not a barbers, a hairdressers....!

Tanya & Joel, Whitstable Evangelical & Great Garthingloe Farm, Dover

It was an absolute pleasure to photograph the wedding of Tanya & Joel on saturday. Their wedding ceremony in Whitstable Evangelical Church was a high energy, up-tempo celebration with enthusiastic singing (none of the embarrassed muttering we often hear!) and so many guests that the church had set up an 'overflow' room with live video feed!

Afterwards, a pretty long journey took us to a new venue called Great Farthingloe Farm where a fabulous barbecue was laid on, followed by a live band and party.

A really positive day full of love and happiness - good luck to you both and have a great time on honeymoon!

Steph & Paul at Newick Park, East Sussex

My good luck with the weather continues! We left home in the pouring rain yesterday heading into East Sussex, and bythe time we got there - sunshine and blue skies. And the sunshine held - all day - with a thunderstorm occasionally crashing away in the background and the nearby M23 motorway closed for a while due to flooding! Meanwhile, the wedding was outside....how lucky is that?

We're thinking of a new offer - Guaranteed good weather with every 2009 booking....LOL!

So, Steph and Paul's wedding! Steph just looked stunning in a gorgeous designer dress from Justin Alexander. She managed to avoid being upstaged by Paul's 1961 Beetle, which as you can see, was a guest of honour. Paul arrived in a helicopter and we had a jealous little Beetle. Despite some pretty tough time constraints, we got some great photographs and I can't wait to get on with designing the wedding album! Paul and Steph were leaving today for two weeks touring New Zealand.