We get asked this at almost every wedding.

Usually it’s while chatting to a guest or a family member in a quieter moment , though not always a quiet one. We talk a lot to people at weddings, it’s a happy occupational hazard. Anyway, it’s a really common question.

For a long time it didn’t strike us as particularly significant question. But maybe it is.

When we reply, “They probably found us on Google or Instagram,” that only really tells half the story. There are hundreds , thousands, even, of wedding photographers out there. That answer doesn’t explain why us, and it doesn’t really get to the heart of what’s being noticed.

What’s actually happening is that people often assume we’re friends of the couple, or that we’ve known them for a long time. We look comfy. We look like we belong. Like we’re at home in the environment.

There’s a lot to unpick in that, and all of it matters.

Anyone who’s booked us to photograph their wedding knows this already: we only book people we’ve met (usually online), get on with, and genuinely like. That’s not accidental. We made that joint business decision a long time ago, and it’s fundamental to how we work.

Being self-employed isn’t really about being your own boss. For us, it’s about working for people you like.

Reading this, you might be thinking, “Well… what if they don’t like me?”
That’s fair. But we try very hard to be honest, sometimes blunt, in how we market ourselves, what we say, and what we offer. If those things resonate with you, there’s an excellent chance you’re our kind of people.

It’s also very easy to get in touch and have a chat. We love that part anyway.

Those chats have a framework in that we’re all talking about wedding stuff. Though we often drift off topic, there’s something in common right off the bat. It won’t take very long to see if you like us and vice versa.

It sounds a bit odd written down, and we know plenty of wedding photographers who aren’t especially bothered whose wedding they’re shooting, as long as the fee’s right and there’s a vendor meal. We get stick for this in online forums fairly often, from people who think having a good relationship with clients is unimportant. Good luck to them. It’s just not our way.

We don’t want to work for just anyone. We don’t want to attend random weddings.

Here’s the thing, one of many ‘things’ tied into all this: we shoot people we like.

If we’re shooting people we like, it doesn’t matter much what you’re wearing and even less what you look like. Your venue isn’t terribly important and we absolutely don’t care if you went for the stretchy seat covers in the dining room or the Rose Gold cutlery.

It’s easy, and fun, to make photographs of people we like.

The extrapolation of all this is that if we like a couple then there’s a good chance we’ll like their friends and family. That makes for a comfortable day where everyone can relax and enjoy the atmosphere etc. Most importantly though, us two and the couple will have fun!

And fun shows.

It’s almost impossible to make meaningful photographs of people we don’t like.

When we were kids, we both loved The Twits by Roald Dahl. This quote has always stuck with us:

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

That’s pretty much it, really.
Good people, Good thoughts, Good photos.