Why you probably shouldn’t book us.

A guide to booking the right photographer.

We don’t ask for much when looking for the right couples for us. As much as it’s important that you find the right photographer that suits your needs, we’re on the lookout for the couples we think we can work best with. 

It’s a good thing that all we require is that you’re sound. We like like-minded people who don’t take anything too seriously. If you think you might turn into a couple of divas on your wedding day, it’s maybe best you find someone who can deal with that better. 

Modern.

Forget what you’ve known wedding photography to look like up to this point.

What do you want YOUR photos to look like?

Forget the photos even for a minute. What do you want your day to look like?

My guess is when you started planning your wedding, you weren’t thinking “I’m really looking forward to stand smiling for an hour and missing my drinks reception”.

We don’t go in for the latest trend you’ve been shown on Tiktok or want you to feel like you have to have all the extra faff on the day that just doesn’t feel like you. We have worked with all kinds of personalities but expect nothing in particular from our couples. We don’t need you to feel like you have to crack open the champagne and play up to the camera if that isn’t you. You can sip on a coffee and throw on some relaxing music if that’s what your personality calls for on the morning of your wedding.

Maybe you were part of a bridal party before. You might have been taken off for 2 hours, standing shivering your a*** off when everybody else was back at the venue having the craic. If you’re here, it’s likely you’re looking for the opposite of that and that’s what we offer.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t get some bridal party photos or take a wee breather for a few portraits on your wedding day, quite the opposite! We absolutely encourage it.

Our aim though is to work with your wedding day timeline to fit in a short portrait session which allows you to enjoy as much of your day as possible. You’ll find you will actually enjoy it, no matter how self conscious you are in front of the camera. It can be the only few moments you get to have together after your ceremony and won’t likely have again til you sit down for dinner!

We like to keep it simple.

Just the two of you taking a wee dander together and a few photos of you both to look back on years down the line. We promise it won’t be a torture and it will be over before you know it. And the bridal party and family shots, we plan on getting these done super quick too.

Non-traditional.

We do love portraits. We really do. And I hope you’ll come to love the idea of them too!

But where we shine best is in the candids.

We are massive fans of documentary photography. When I first started taking photos it was because I was inspired by amazing photographers such as William Eggleston and Martin Parr and many of the greats like Bresson, etc etc etc. They all had a unique take on documentary photography and capturing ‘the decisive’ moments. What I knew of wedding photography back then was the old-fashioned, traditional stuff that you were probably used to seeing in photo albums belonging to your parents or grandparents. They are absolutely beautiful in their own right of course but in this day and age, there is no reason that your wedding day should be so regimented or taken over by your photographer.

If you have a set idea of exactly how your photos would look, then we’re likely not the right photographers for you. We will however, photograph everything beautifully all on our own and get some messy, fun stuff too.

What we would love from you is to do what you would do if there wasn’t a photographer there. For the most part. If I see you standing looking beautiful by lovely window light before you head out the door, I *might* ask you can I take a quick portrait. We’re not 100% candid, we do shoot your portraits after all! 

Our favourite weddings and the ones where we work best, are where our couples put their trust in us to just float about; giving us the time to be in the moment so we can anticipate those lovely, natural moments that happen between you and your loved ones. (See, Megan said so below).

Going back to our first point is to forget what you think should be expected of you or your wedding photos. That’s not why you’re here.

 

“We haven’t stopped looking at all these pictures. It’s been so lovely to relive all the moments you captured so perfectly. You didn’t miss a thing.”

Most wedding days will end up with at least some of the traditional elements; the dress reveal, being walked up the aisle, the ceremony, portraits, family portraits, speeches, cutting your cake, the first dance. That doesn’t mean that every wedding *should* have these elements but more importantly, they shouldn’t look the same. If they happen, we’ll cover it but getting out of your head in terms of what it should look like, is when the magic really happens. 

There are some parts of the day that are somewhat “staged”. You’re going to want some family photos. And I encourage you to get these too. When else do you get the whole family together, all suited and booted? These are the photos you might not be feel too bothered about right now but they’re probably the ones you will find you cherish most years down the line.

It’s difficult to get your family together in a shot naturally. It’s almost practically impossible. I totally understand it would be preferable but with over 10 years experience, I don’t think I’ve ever naturally come across the whole family together in one sitting and what’s more, you’ll have so many people pulling you in all directions to chat and take pics that the chances of you being with your family and me being there at the same time? Pretty slim. The easiest way to get the most important people to you in a shot is to grab a quick group one.

What we aim to do is be as swift as possible gathering family so it’s always good to give them a heads up beforehand that you’ll need them. We’ll work out the best way to do this when we get a chat before your day. You don’t need to take umpteen family combinations of aunts and uncles and all of your cousins. Most people go for immediate family and in-laws and kids. So we’re more than happy to get a quick snap of them too.

 

It’s also worth pointing out at this stage, if you don’t want a photographer who faffs about and has a set shot list they need to get, you won’t want it from your videographer either. Something to keep in mind when choosing one for your day. Are they background? Will they be getting you to pose a lot? It’s so important to ensure they’re the right videographer for you. We know some amazing people who work like us so give us a shout for some recommendations!

 

What we want when we photograph your wedding is for you to forget that we’re there. A little hard to do sometimes when there’s at least one of us following you about with a camera but we want our couples to be carefree, to throw themselves into the wedding day and just enjoy it. It’s yours, not ours.We have no preconceived ideas about how your day should look. Which is something we love about every single wedding. No one day should look like the last.

 

The photos should be about the wedding. Not the other way around.

When we photograph your wedding, we want you to try to forget that we’re there. A little hard to do sometimes when there’s at least one of us following you about with a camera but we want our couples to be carefree, to throw themselves into the wedding day and just enjoy it. It’s yours, not ours. We have no preconceived ideas about how your day should look. Which is something we love about every single wedding. No one day should look like the last.

We don’t want to hand you a polished, perfect, fake view of your day. We want the grittiness, the raw emotion and all the craic that happens on a wedding day. You’ve probably heard before that wedding photography is all about telling a story. And it is. It is your story. Not just of the day itself but the story of you as a couple, your family and friends and the story and connection that you have with them. Your wedding album shouldn’t be filled with photos of fake setups but real-life shots of everything that went down in it’s own beautifully unique way.

There are certain elements of the day that we do like to pose. Just a bit. But that pretty much starts and ends with the portraits. We are massive fans of a great portrait. We like to get a bit creative with them. If you’ll allow us. We love a bit of connection in wedding portrait sure, though we also want something a bit more interesting too. When I started getting serious about photography, my two favourite things to photograph was documentary photography and people; in their environment and in a creative, portrait set up. There’s nothing that I loved more than great light and a blue wall. It was my go to for portraits. With a background in music, I enjoyed the more experimental side of portraits. I loved a bit of blur, grain, and bold colours. I didn’t want forced smiles but rather, something interesting. Something with a bit of depth.

Of course, we want to get some photos of you both together where are you’re having a wee moment, hugging it out or having a smooch but if I see some good light and blue wall, you’ll be guaranteed that I’ll be getting you to stand in it.

FIND THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER FOR YOU.

If you’re looking for a photographer who will pose you in the perfect position during all the elements of your day, then we are not for you. We’re going to give you flattering photos but we also want REAL photos. A real, raw documentation of what actually happened on your wedding day. Your wedding photos shouldn’t look like everyone else’s. That would be boring as f***. They need to be unique to you. And we want to make sure  that happens. Let your hair down, have the craic with everyone, cry if you want to (it’s your party after all). Just know that we will be photographing it all. And it will be super beaut.

“we love you at your most real”

If we wanted a somewhat easier work life, we’d work the old-fashioned way. We could bang out the same set-up shots at each wedding and go home.  Setting up photographs is not our thing. Not for the most part that is. Yeah we’ll get a photograph of you getting into your dress, if that’s what’s happening at the time. And it’ll be a lovely moment and you’ll look like an absolute babe. But wouldn’t you also like a photo of your bridesmaid downing champagne from a bottle cos she can’t find a glass? Yeah. You defs would. That’s the kinda s*** you want to remember. 

We love the real moments with every wedding and all that comes with it; moments with your kids, the tears and boogers during your vows, the double-chin-belly laughing with your mates, stumbling over your lines during the speeches, the initial awkward bit during the portraits, the drunken dancing when the nerves have all but disappeared.

Reportage/ documentary/ natural photography is a relatively new way of photographing weddings. Our aim with documentary wedding photography is to tell a narrative; your wedding day ‘story’. Our aim is to keep it true to how it actually happened. Not cut out all the bits that you might have forgotten. This is the craic for most of the day; we follow you about, lurk in the background and shoot everything as it happens. You’ll spend a good bit of the day with us , be with us for a few portraits. We’ll have a chat and a laugh but we also want to take a bit of a step back and let you get on with your day. We’re not there to take over.

WORRIED ABOUT YOUR WEDDING PORTRAITS?

DON’T BE. 

We goddamn love a beautiful portrait so it goes without saying there is SOME direction involved to get those gorgeous photos of you both. But those little moments in between is the sweet-spot where we get photographs of you giggling, hugging, looking so damn cute and awkward because someone is taking a photo of a private moment with you both.

 We’re looking for something colourful, moody, abstract etc to get our creative juices flowing. They have a more editorial feel. You’re not always looking directly at the camera with a ‘kill me now’ face but rather, we give you a wee bit of direction to get that perfect mix of creatively posed shots with some super beaut natural moments captured in between.

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT OUR ‘POSING GUIDE’ BELOW.

“THE DON’T HIRE US CHECKIST”

WE DON’T DO:

Pinterest boards

Don’t even think about it. Haha! Your wedding is not going to look like a California wedding with a really expensive wedding planner and a massive budget. Having preconceived ideas about what your photos will look like will just set you up for a fall. If you have ideas about where you would like to do your portraits,  that’s totally grand! We can defs do that. But don’t get any mad notions about how your day should look. It’s going to be perfect as it is and we will show it off in it’s unique glory.

wedding reception styling by Betty Williamson

Jumping in the air photos

We will literally never ask you to do this. It’s naff. It is not something you do on a day-to-day so why in the world would you incorporate this into your wedding day. It’s something you might have seen before and thought that you need to do but honestly will probably tell you the wise up, unless you can guarantee that you’re doing it ironically. Haha! That’s literally the only way we will ever take jumping in there photos. We don’t mind something like this though.

 

Recreating moments

If something emotional has happened or something funny and we just weren’t there in time to photograph it, we’re not going to ask you to redo it. If your other half sends you a card in the morning and you take a private minute to yourself to read it off camera, we’re not going to ask you to reread it just for the sake of a photo. That’s not how it happened on the day. 

Same with doing up your wedding dress or someone fixing your tie. We know you have seen these shots before but unless they’re happening right in front of our eyes at the time, we don’t need to have these shots. It’s not real.

With all that said, please don’t feel that we will hate you if you ask for a posed photo with your friends or family. It’s your day and of course we are there to photograph it for you. If you’ve a pal you want a photo with, ask us for one! We just don’t want to spend the whole day doing posed shots when you could be off enjoying everything you have worked towards for the last year. Posed photos take up so much time and we think it would be an absolute waste of your time and effort, if you didn’t get to enjoy your day. Basically, the only posed shots we will do are the ones you ask for and a few portraits. 

 

 

A really long list of what you want photographed on the day

As with the Pinterest boards, don’t do it. We’re going to photograph it all anyway. If you’re all about the details, then we’re not for you. If there are details in your reception rooms and the tables are dressed all beautiful and filled with candles etc we’re going to photograph that anyway as long as your timelines allows. We photograph your wedding day and all the amazing parts of it, as and when it happens. If you’re being walked up the aisle, we’ll photograph it. If you’re cutting your cake, we’ll photograph it. If your mum is doing up your dress, we’ll photograph it but we don’t need a big long list of things you want photographed on the day. That’s not what we do. If you take a look through our blog, you will more than likely see all those kinds of shots anyway. So don’t be stressing. An exception to this, is if there is something small that we may not been aware of. For example, if you have a photo of your granny hidden in your bouquet, let us know about it. That kind of thing is really important and we would hate to miss something important to you. Everything else? Just let it happen.

 

 

We won’t be hanging your veil from a tree

We love a good veil. We might in corporate your vail into some sort of creative shot when photographing your portraits but otherwise, it just looks silly and unnatural and we don’t need to be at that jazz.