WHO AM I?
I decided to finally write a piece about me. It’s taken a while…
Why?
Why about myself and why has it taken so long?
Well first, about me. I am neither an introvert, nor an extrovert, but sit somewhere between the two.
I can lead and I can follow, but mostly I just do my own thing, usually on the periphery.
It’s not deliberate, but I have found throughout my life, I just don’t tend to fit into any of the more traditional boxes!
And I don’t much care about talking about myself. Talking yes, but about myself, less so.
As above, not because I am in any way an introvert but rather simply because I’m not one of those people who generally draws attention to himself. Or particularly wishes to.
But then again, I am in business and it is important to know at least a little bit about ‘who’ because it is just as important as what (they do).
I am not a darling of the wedding industry but I am recommended by a few select venues and a couple of respected planners but I am not huge on social media, tending to fly under the radar a little in that regard. Deliberately.
I don’t chase likes or followers on social media and currently, the only real SM I use is Instagram and more because I would like people to find me, like my work and hopefully make contact on merit, (the visual impact of that work), rather than the adulation of the masses/friends/colleagues/random people on the internet.
But maybe I am getting ahead of myself a little here so let’s wind back the clock a little…
I was born in West Yorkshire, UK, but grew up in North Yorkshire, principally the spa town of Harrogate where I went to school and college.
My grandfather did not give me a camera at the age of 5. I was 7, possibly 8.
I then studied in the town of Maidstone, Kent, at the now defunct Kent Institute of Art & Design where towards the end of the last century, I graduated with a BA Hons degree in ‘Communication Media’ specialising in; graphic design, photography and filmmaking. So a very rare thing in this industry, - an actually properly trained and qualified photographer, though to be fair, experience is more important than a a piece of fancy paper.
After uni, I took a little break from the creative world and had various jobs & careers including; a personal trainer and gym manager (I am currently a paid up member of The Cult of Hyrox), a firefighter, the estate manager of a private school and actually went back to uni for a second time but did not finish a degree in architecture after finding out 1.5 years into 7, just how long it would take to become fully qualified!
And then I drifted into weddings and drifted is the right term.
I was attending an evening course at what was my old college in Harrogate (which was a bit weird as I was back in the same dark room that I had been in around 10 years prior as an older teen) and my tutor roped me into second shooting a few weddings with and then for him.
Despite my initial resistance, I found very quickly I enjoyed it and it soon became my career and has been ever since.
A brief summary of where I am today and how I got here…
The first 10 years of my career were spent purely as a wedding photographer, ie, no video coverage offered at that time and at around the 5 year mark, found myself transitioning from being a film based photographer into the new medium of digital photography.
At around the 10 year mark, fed up with having to battle with videographers, I decided “if you can’t beat them, join them” and brought initially my brother into the business to shoot video alongside me in a complimentary rather than competitive manner.
Around that time, I was developing a more international/destination wedding portfolio and have to date shot weddings in (deep breath), England (600+), Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France (150+), Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, China, Australia and New Zealand. These days I tend to stick to France, the UK and the EU.
This was beginning to cause me a problem however as most clients were not prepared for the considerable extra expense of having my brother also cover these weddings, so I taught myself the ability to do both, ie, photo AND video at the same time.
It took 5-6 years to be properly comfortable doing that as the learning curve is steep and there is no handbook. We then phased him (my brother out to pursue other things) and me in.
Today, I could arguably be considered not only one of the better wedding photographers out there, but one of very few who can offer (and actually do!) both photo and video in one seamless and neat integrated package without compromise.
In 2016, we took the family decision to move full-time to live in France where we have been ever since. For the first 6 years in the South West and since then, in Normandy.
Today, at the time of writing, based out of Normandy, I work all over France and the EU and am fortunate enough to be able to do this by having an off-grid motorhome that acts as; transport, office, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. I actually live out of it for around 25% of every year and around 50% of the wedding season, often on the road for over a month at a time, bouncing from wedding to wedding.
What else…
Married, 1 daughter, 2 dogs, 1 cat, as mentioned above, part-time Hyrox ‘athlete’ with interests in travel, history and the great outdoors.
And to conclude, what do you actually get when you book me?
I can summarise it in 3 words: SKILL - EXPERIENCE - DEDICATION.
Skills can be inherent but are mostly learned or developed. I have spent a considerable part of my life doing just that.
Experience cannot be bought or achieved without putting in the hours. I have put those in to the somewhat staggering tune of something like 12000 hours spent at weddings. If you could imagine being at a wedding for an entire 24 hour day, I would have been at the equivalent of 500 of these 24 hour wedding days! There isn’t much I don’t know about weddings or have not seen at weddings.
Dedication to my clients and my craft is second to none. I can’t really comment on what anyone else does, but know that it would not be easy to find someone more knowledgeable and skilled, but, if not more importantly, as dedicated than I am. I literally eat, sleep and breathe weddings.
Actually one other final note before I finish and that is what is it actually like to work with me/have me at your special event?
Most couples if they had to put it into words would say, “like a low-key, professional guest/friend who is mainly in the background but you know is just getting it done”. There are a ton of reviews and kind words from clients throughout this site and on Google Reviews.
So if you like the sound of this and more importantly, like my work, (and I am available), feel free to make personal contact any time and let’s have a chat about your plans.
