To date, I've NEVER had a couple come to me saying they LOVE being photographed, and in most cases one (sometimes both) will tell me that they hate being photographed, or they always look terrible in photographs, or they hate their nose/eyes/mouth/smile, or they hate posing, or... etc. The painful truth is that we're pretty much all caught up in how imperfect we are and how horrible we all look in photos, and while there's not much I can do about a wonky nose there's a LOT I can do to make you feel more comfortable being photographed and also to make the most of what I see in front of me

First off those – posing! 'Posing' is what happens in HELLO magazine and that ilk, its often slow to do and uncomfortable for those posed. There are several poses that look good from the camera angle, but ridiculous from anywhere else and you have to be snapped just before you fall over! That is NOT what I do you'll be glad to hear !!!

In any private session together with you as the newlyweds I'll first put you in flattering light, and ask you to stand as you normally would and do what you'd normally do. If a twist of the body or head can be even more flattering then we can try that, moving a hand to avoid it looking like the THING from the Adam's family is a good idea too, but generally my kind of 'soft posing' is really about tidying you up a bit; I don't believe in any forced positions as ultimately it won't make you look like you, and what's the point of looking like someone else on your Wedding Day!

I also talk to you (a lot) about what we're doing and why, offering encouragement, and adding humour to lighten any tension you may be feeling. It really is relaxing & fun – as you can see by reading some of my many Testimonials HERE – from couples who, just like you, thought they'd feel awkward and look terrible. They didn't and you won't either

Documentary with a hint of WOW

If you read through my Testimonials you'll get the idea that I'm always nearby, hardly noticed, but ready to step in with guidance & ideas when needed

To be clear though, the VAST amount of any Wedding Day is covered by ALL photographers in what's known as a Documentary style; which just means I don't, often can't, direct what's happening and so I have to use my experience & skill to anticipate & record your Wedding Story as it unfolds

For most couples the only times I need to jump in and take control is if there are any Bride or Groom Portraits, so when you're ready to be married and just before any weather hits you; if you want any organised Group photos (and if you do I'll give you a plan of how that works best); and if you'd like a private session to create some FAB photos of you as the newly-wed B&G, B&B or G&G; this can mean just a 10-15 mins stroll around your venue, something longer if you want really WOW photos creating, or even an offsite trip in my car to a local beauty spot of a lake, mountainside, castle etc.

This question is largely about 'Trust', and generally the more Weddings a Photographer has shot the more Trustworthy they are likely to be – so you'll be delighted to hear that I've shot over 330 Weddings in the last 11 years

And to help you decide if I'm 'right' for you, here's a link to some of my many Reviews, Testimonials and just Kind Words from previous clients; to make this more valid, they are almost all from couples who married within the last 18 months – see HERE

Here's the shocker – I'm one of only a handful of Lake District Wedding Photographers that have bothered to prove themselves capable by attaining Distinctions, where I've attained those with the Guild of Photographers, the Royal Photographic Society and the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers; the latter being the most relevant and with whom I'm currently preparing a panel for an even higher level of award

The majority of my Lakes' couples marry in the early to mid afternoon, and the last thing they want covering is 1st Dance, which typically takes place between 8:00-9:00p.m.

And having covered over 100 Lakes' Weddings now I've found that 8-hours is enough for the vast majority of my couples, hence my basic coverage is up-to 8-hours to cover from the final Preparation stages right through to 1st Dance

Some couples may only want coverage for a few hours and some want merely their Ceremony covering, but I can only ever shoot one Wedding per day so its difficult for me to offer a service less than up-to 8-hours unless its very last-minute

For those wanting more photos of getting ready, or later photos such as a summer sunset or evening's Sparklers, then we can simply add on as many additional hours as is necessary

Please CONTACT ME so we can discuss exactly what sort & length of coverage you're looking for

Once we're both happy with each other we need to put in place a Wedding Contract and there's a £250 Booking Fee; once both of those are sorted your Booking is confirmed – YAY

We then need to be in touch again around 4 weeks prior to your Wedding, or as soon as you've received your final schedule of timings that you'll have agreed with your venue. If you can forward that document to me we can use it as the basis of planning your Wedding Photography

Its at this time we'll also discuss if you'd like any Group photos, and I'll advise on how best to make that work to keep everyone happy, and we'll plan your private session too; whether this is just in the grounds of your venue or where we plan to nip out somewhere special to create those WOW shots you'll want BIG on your wall

While its definitely true I'll need to both eat & drink during your Wedding Day, its not your job to provide that. That said, most of my couples do offer a main meal of some kind, which is greatly appreciated as it can be hard to find somewhere to get a meal otherwise. What I don't want though is the full 3-5 courses you'll probably have, I just need enough calories to keep going and not so much I'm stuffed and ready for a nap lol

It can sometimes be useful to do so but its really not necessary, especially as most of my couples travel from all over the UK to marry in the Lakes and hence most live many, if not hundreds, of miles from me making a meeting inconvenient for us both. Everything we need to do & discuss is easily done via email or phone call(s), just as I've done for hundreds of other couples

Your photos will appear online in your own Gallery and you'll be sent the link to access them; you can also send that link to any Family & Friends too if you wish

Its impossible to put an exact number on this, but the short answer is – as many as I feel are worth you seeing! So that's after editing out duplicates, which are the ones taken to try to ensure you have your eyes open; any test shots; any with technical issues; and any where you don't look great – such as half closed eyes, your mouth caught mid-word looking odd/ugly, etc.

Looking back over my last 330+ Weddings, and especially the last 18 months or so, the average is somewhere between 450-650; the range mostly being dictated by how many Group photos there are as each can take several minutes to arrange just one photo, whereas candids of your Guests can lead to a LOT of photos, and how long your Wedding Breakfast lasts as I don't photograph you eating – its never pretty!

Of course! While most couples Book Me for a 30-page Wedding Album holding around 75-90 photos, its very common for you to then want to put 100, 120, 140 or even more into your Wedding Album, and to cram them all into just 30-pages would look ridiculous

I always send guidance post-Wedding re How to Choose for your Wedding Album, but in short you just need to initial pick EVERY photo you'd like in it, and also the ones that are most special to you as these will always be a page to themselves or even larger. Once I have that list I can estimate the total number of pages needed, and advise you of the likely additional cost; if that's too much, then you can reduce the number of photos.

My aim is always to try to have them ready for you to view within just 14-days!

And if you're a Facebook user then I also try to post a few “Initial Tasters” to Facebook the morning after your Wedding, so however rough you're feeling you can see that you did in fact look amazing the day before lol

The actual time it takes to ready your photos is tempered by how busy I am, and some periods of the year are much busier than others; and very occasionally I go on holiday too, which obviously slows me down

That said – none of my couples from 2018 onwards has had to wait more than 4 weeks, and the vast majority are ready to view within 2 weeks as planned