Q: Ben… You’ve shot in many castles, stately homes and the like, around the Uk. Do you only shoot high end weddings?
A: No I tend to shoot weddings I feel I can make a useful contribution to. That could be a wedding with ten people, or one with 400. I’ve shot in venues big and small.
Q:You’ve been shooting weddings for more than ten years. What has been your most memorable wedding?
A) well they’re all pretty memorable in their own way. Made even more so because I tend to hold on to the pictures I’ve shot for a while, so I tend to look through them every so often, having a little refresher. I suppose one of the most memorable has to be this delightful couple who got married in a stately home. I believe that was up in the midlands somewhere. Anyway, the groom was 87 and the lovely bride was a very youthful 76. It was a very emotional wedding, and I also shot their wedding video, working alongside another videographer I’d hired to assist me. I believe he’s shooting Tv adverts these days.
Q: Speaking of Tv adverts, didn’t you feature on Sky TV?
A) No not me personally, but a video I made for Sussex Crocket team featured on Sky, and I was lucky enough to watch it on the big Screens at the Sussex home ground, which was great. The way technology has moved though, I’d loved to have shot the piece with my current gear
Q: What made you decide to shoot weddings ?
A) To be honest I hadn’t really thought about weddings . I started off shoot street photography and band stuff , as I’m also a musician . I shot cover art and publicity shots for my band actually, as well as making our music videos . And if I remember right , a friend of a friend was looking for someone to shoot weddings for their company and our mutual friend suggested that I contacted him, which I did. I got taken on given a Hindu wedding in East London that weekend. And I really enjoyed it. There’s not much to dislike to be honest, seeing people enjoying themselves and capturing the biggest day in a couples life.
Q: What’s the furthest distance you’ll travel?
A) Antartica? I’m kidding .. though I might have to give that one some serious thought, ha. I tend to stick to the UK mainland for the most part. So up as far as Newcastle so far, and as far south as Cornwall. Though lately I seem to be going back and forth to the Midlands, and around Bristol or south west England, which are areas I love being in anyway
Q: How much do you charge for a full days wedding coverage?
A) The average cost for all day wedding coverage inc editing of the photos etc, is around £1595. I edit and present each photo individually, so it can often take me a couple of weeks work after the event . I think the average cost of wedding photography in the US is around $5,000 in 2022, with $10,000 being the fee that some of the YouTubers charging. I’ve even heard of one photographer who admittedly is pretty good, charging `$25,000 so I don’t think fees over here are too bad. I wouldn’t want to feel that I’m bankrupting my clients or adding to their stress levels, the guilt would have me hospitalised, ha.
Q: What makes you unique?
A) Well I like to think we’re all unique in our own way. Tough one really… I like to think I have my own unique way of seeing colour, for instance and I like to think I put my couples at ease and let them be themselves instead of trying to force them to be someone else. There’s probably also not many wedding or event photographers who have written an X factor winners single, or had songs on a million selling album in America . Well not others that I can think of , though Bryan Adams is an amazing photographer, just not doing weddings, ha.