Original subtitles

Okay, let's get into shooting.

This is the part of the course, if

it's not already obvious, where we talk about

the kit I use, how I use it

and what visual triggers I look for on

the day of a wedding, or even just

at home with the family, because that's where

this starts.

This should be a passion that you take

to weddings, not something you just do at

weddings to make some dollar.

If you don't have that passion for creating

images and the desire for wanting to create

better images, you will be found out.

We also explore the creative process and how

the content that you choose to consume affects

your work.

We're going to talk about what kit you'll

need.

Please note, I've always used Canon, so most

references and language will be in Canon.

I will try and translate as and when

I can, but you may need to do

a little extra homework if you shoot.

Is it Nikon or Nikon?

And that Japanese brand beginning with S.

I think they're all Japanese, aren't they?

Rhymes with pony.

Sony.

But the basic principles will all be explained

and outlined and they're all transferable.

Before we dive into the lesson, I think

it's really important that you question yourself as

a photographer.

You have an opinion and ask yourself, what

do you want your images to be like?

This is really important.

Often, I think too many photographers, and I've

been guilty of it myself, just start out

shooting and try and countless techniques without really

questioning why they're using that technique.

We'll explore this in more detail later on

and discuss why it's vital to find your

style from a branding and marketing point of

view.

On the subject of how I want my

images to look, I always just want them

to feel honest and genuine and to make

the viewer of the image feel as though

they are there in the scene at the

wedding, even though they weren't there.

I want people to feel as though they're

right in front of the person I've documented

in the frame, not 20 yards back, observing

it from the edge on a 70-200

wearing camouflage wall paint.

Being up close and personal, that is my

core offering and a linchpin to my photographic

style.

And that's not to say it's everyone's style.

There are countless different approaches and techniques out

there, and you are absolutely entitled to embrace

as many or as few as you wish.

I just want you to question your style

and to have an idea of what you're

about as a photographer, because it becomes relevant

when we're trying to connect with and speak

to our target client.

I will regularly talk about my style to

an open inquiry, and I describe my work

as a visual story.

It's my interpretation of their day.

It's how I saw their day unfold.

For me, wedding photography has always filled that

creative void that other jobs lacked.

I absolutely love and feed off the buzz

of going to a wedding.

Despite feeling a little anxious that my work

will be rubbish, everything will be out of

focus, and yet I will miss all of

the key moments and totally balls up the

confetti shot.

But it's important to note that that fear

drives me, and it's taken a while for

me to realise this and to accept those

feelings as a positive mindset.

But they are.

It's those feelings that push me forward.

I often get asked, how do I handle

the nerves or pressure of shooting weddings for

that much, for a high-end client?

And my answer is always the same.

Price doesn't even come into my thoughts.

It doesn't factor.

The pressure comes from me.

It's internal.

It's my fear of not being good enough,

regardless of how much anyone has paid for

my services.

That drives me.

My standards are way up here.

My client standards and expectations are here.

And this leads me on to another one

of my personality traits.

Always wanting better.

My standards are always far higher than I

can normally achieve.

And although I may never meet them, the

important thing to remember is setting them.

It's taken a while for me to realise

how much of an important and positive trait

this is to have.

If you don't have something that's unachievable to

aim for, whether it's a style of work

or a goal, your work or your path

will never progress.

And again, it took me a long time

to accept this.

I've spent many years frustrated that my work

simply isn't good enough.

But when you speak to or hear successful

creatives talk, people you think have got it

nailed on, you soon come to realise they

all doubt themselves.

They all feel the imposter syndrome.

And even here, right now, delivering this content

to you, those same feelings exist or come

to the surface.

I doubt myself.

I worry that no one will take value

from this course.

You'll call me out as a fraudster.

I hope you don't, but you may.

But it's that worry and fear that makes

me put 110% into delivering everything I

know for this course.

The same process goes with me to each

and every wedding I shoot or have shot.

Whether it was for £900, £2,500 or

£5,000.

This here is my first ever wedding.

I honestly have no idea why I took

this shot.

Maybe I'd seen it somewhere else and thought,

hey, that's wedding photography.

I'll do that.

Needless to say, I don't take these types

of images anymore.

This may have been the only of a

time.

But this wedding was an opportunity.

It came through a friend asking if I'd

shoot her cousin's wedding, apparently because I had

a camera.

I think that was the only requirement.

But remember what I said about recognising opportunity

and saying yes.

I went for it.

I didn't hesitate.

And this was a 4pm ceremony in November.

I'd never used an on-camera flash gun

before.

And obviously the ceremony was candle lit.

Talk about jumping in the deep end, right?

But I survived.

Some frames I totally fluked.

And some are even relevant to the principles

I'm going to talk about in this module.

We're all guilty of thinking we haven't improved

or grown as photographers.

But sometimes it takes a process of reflection

to realise that we have been on a

journey.

One thing I say to so many workshop

attendees is that this improvement, it doesn't just

happen overnight.

Recognise that it is a journey.

And the only comparison you should be making

is to your previous self.

Do not compare your work to someone who

has been an established professional for 8 years.

It often doesn't end well.

It's also worth noting and remembering that you

are comparing yourself to a curated body of

someone else's work.

So in order to restore some balance and

to justify this point, here's some of my

early work for you to reflect on.

2013.

My first full season as a wedding photographer.

I took this.

I look at it now and I just

see a photography car crash.

Framing and composition is messy.

Grading leaves a lot to be desired.

There's no separation from the background.

But in the same year I took this.

I can and still do use this frame

for marketing.

This has been reddited a few times but

the foundation was there.

In 2014 I got sucked into light trails

because you know that was supposed to be

cool.

I'm not so sure anymore.

Same year I took this.

I still use this frame.

At another wedding in 2014 after a Geoff

Newsome workshop, I did this because I was

trying to be like Geoff Newsome.

More on that later.

At the exact same wedding I took this.

Still one of my favourite ever wedding images.

I've had grooms ask for jumping shots.

Yep, done that one.

I've taken backlit off camera flash rain shots.

Yep, done that one.

And I've positioned a couple under the wing

of a scrapped aeroplane.

I mean, why wouldn't you do that?

What strikes me when I go back through

my early work, the question I find myself

asking and the one I want you to

ask is this.

Who are you trying to impress?

For me now, it's glaringly obvious that I'd

fallen into the trap of trying to impress

as many different people as possible.

But here's the thing.

When you try to appeal to everyone, you

appeal to no one.

I did not need to try and book

400 weddings a year or impress every photographer

that follows me.

And you don't need to show a multitude

of styles.

It turns out that consistency is the key.

So at the end of 2015, just after

Buddy was born and I made that decision

to fine tune my business and to target

a more premium client, I made a big

call.

I stopped.

I stopped producing the work that wasn't my

passion.

And it's important to stress, I have no

issue with anyone producing those types of images.

They just aren't the ones that speak to

me as a creative.

The images I was passionate about were the

natural and authentic moments, the simple but beautiful

frames.

So I made the decision to refocus my

efforts going forward and to only shoot and

showcase work that matched that ethos.

So I've had two constants in my work

since that winter.

One, simple and relaxed portraits.

I used to print out mood boards in

the first few years.

I'd find posing inspiration, usually from other wedding

photographers, and take a picture of the mood

board as the first image of the day.

That way, when it came to portrait time,

I could just turn the wheel on the

back of the camera and voila, I had

a mood board of poses to copy.

But this had one major flaw.

It would stop me looking for the best

solution or scene.

And it would prevent couples from feeling comfortable

because I was asking them to pose and

copy someone else.

We'll explore this more over the next few

videos.

The second constant is documenting the ordinary moments,

being present, observing, being close, capturing the key,

crazy and fleeting moments in a natural manner.

Again, we'll be addressing what makes these images

consistent in the next couple of videos.

And finally, going back to the point of

curated work and comparing yourself to someone's Instagram

or portfolio, I still take plenty of dog

-awful frames.

I took this one last year.

And this one.

And this one.

You get the point, right?

Okay, cool.

See you on the next video.