​The second in my attempt to provide an alternative to the 'epic' wedding shots that social media favours with a series of my favourite documentary photographs, along the story behind them to show why these authentic moments mean so much to my clients and me...

I've deliberately chose to share this one early in the series - as much I love capturing real, un-posed moments during a wedding day I'm not going to be dogmatic about it & not take a photo if the folks in it have noticed, and then reacted to my camera -as in this photo which, serendipitously, still has a strong documentary element... it's ok to break The fourth wall sometimes!

This is Ciara & Andy's Bishop's Gate Hotel Wedding, after the ceremony during the 'receiving line' on the landing. After embracing Ciara & close friend Audrey both look straight at the camera for me to capture the moment while they're both beaming with happiness and genuine joy - it would have made a great photo in it's own right - but at the same time I'd noticed Audrey's partner was just about to acknowledge Andy, and by delaying a wee second or two I was able to add their handshake to the photo...

Storytelling wise the handshake isn’t just a random detail; it adds to the narrative of connection and togetherness that ran through the whole wedding day. Rather than the bride and her friend being the sole subject of the photos it's now both the couples naturally interacting...

For me, this photograph is a reminder of why I love capturing weddings in a documentary style - I could have stopped for the handshake to finish as it was 'blocking' the photos - missing that extra details and probably causing the smiles to naturally subdue bur It's the unscripted, unrepeatable element that makes the photo - which would be impossible to recreate...

Thanks if you have read this far & if you're drawn to the idea of wedding photography that goes beyond the traditional and focuses on authentic, meaningful moments, I’d love to hear from you...

On a wedding day my passion lies in taking a documentary photography approach to capturing real, un-posed moments that can tells the true story of both the day, and the people involved...

This is one of a series of my favourite photographs, along with the story behind them to show why these authentic moments mean so much to both me and my clients, as well delving slightly into my 'photography nerd' side to look at why they work as photographs... consider it an alternative to the 'epic' wedding shots that social media tends to prefer...

I did think I might struggle to find q first photo before remembering this one - which is meaningful to me both professionally and personally - as it's my niece/god-daughters wedding...

From a cursory glance it's an aesthetically pleasing black and white candid shot of four people dancing - from a story-telling basis it's the bride and groom, Kavina & Christy, enjoying a moment of togetherness, lost in each others eyes, on the dancefloor - they appear totally relaxed - understandably so after all their planning came together in an amazing day! Kavina is even, subtly, drawing attention to her wedding ring with her slightly raised left hand... equally as important, and the focus of the shot - photographically at least - are Ursula & Mark, mum & dad of the groom positioned slightly in the background...

There's an element of symmetry in that they are also dancing closely but at the moment of the photo Ursula steals a glance at her daughter & new son-in-law, and her pride writ large on her face...

So the father of the bride, is looking & smiling at the mother of the bride, who is looking & smiling at the bride, who is looking & smiling at her new husband...

On another level of story-telling the two, not dissimilar looking , couples one at the start of their marriage & the other (to out it delicately!) a wee bit further along - but both equally as happy...

I did warn you I was going to nerd out!

If you’re read this far and are looking for a wedding photographer who values real, unscripted moments over staged portraits, I’d love to hear from you...

This page features a selection of candid weddings, as well as my family, event and business photography work. You will get an idea immediately by looking at these posts about how I shoot weddings.

My passion is to create genuine, authentic photographs that tell the story of your wedding day, family, business or event. I hope you enjoy what you see.