2 Ducks Galleries

Oh gosh, there are so many for so many different reasons! However if I had to say the first that came to my mind it would be the first wedding I was commissioned to shoot abroad. On the beautiful island of Ibiza, at the Elixir hotel, what a venue! There was so much fun to this day, and with it's own beach I had the best time creating scenes and beautiful images with my couple.

Creative, romantic, natural, fun, reportage

I'm most proud of the fact that I genuinley started with nothing but an idea of what I wanted. I wanted to be free to be creative and to also travel, so I've been so lucky and humbled that with the help of all my amazing couples I have been free to do this.

Don't dress young children in White! I'm kind of half joking here, however It's a recipe for disaster and an added stress in the morning and throughout the day. Have a look at my 3 essential tips on my blog http://www.2ducksgalleries.co.uk/blog/2017/3/my-essential-3-tips-for-every-couple

Definitely the pimp my Prosecco stall! The bride and groom had gone to the effort of making their own cordials for the guests to add to their Prosecco on the drinks reception. I definitely had a try of the Elderflower one! Yummy!

My process from the get go is to find out as much information about you both as possible, how you met, how he (or she) proposed, and what your plans are for your weddings. If my couples are comfortable, then the photos will be comfortable. I look for natural laughs and realness with every shot, and you cannot do this without feeling comfortable with your photographer. I start with making a visit to my couples either at their home or chosen venue, here we can talk everything weddings and get to know each other. After this I'm free to contact when ever but I get in touch about a month before the wedding to go through your itinerary and answer any questions you may have. On the day I start with the bride, and if my couples have a booked a second photographer he will be with the groom. We shoot reportage in the morning, and then coordinate ourselves at the ceremony to get the all important bride walking down the aisle shots, while the other photographer concentrates on the grooms reaction. After the ceremony this is when I do the large group photo along with any family formal shots. I always start with the large photo as this makes rounding people up the formal shots so much quicker. After this I move onto the creative couple shots. This will last no longer than 30 mins, as I am always concious that the bride and groom want to be with their guests. From then we are straight back to reportage until after the first dance.

My absolute no1 photo that I look for is when the Bride and Groom turn to face each other at their ceremony. I know that any second the bride will look up at the groom and give him this cute cheeky smile, it's magic! Once I have the bride, I then make my way to the other side so I can get the Groom doing the same. It's my favourite little secret look of the day!

A lot of my clients really like the natural style of my photography, however I can also use off camera flash which gives a beautiful effect to evening shots that I can do with my couples. My favourite being in the woods at a venue in Cheshire. I was able to set up lights with in the woods and take a beautiful photo of my couple in the scenery at night with them lit in the centre. Luckily for us it just started to rain (on spitting) so the light reflected off the rain and made the most beautiful romantic shot! The couple were made up with the results!

BE BRAVE! I have so many ideas for a rainy day wedding, and whilst I completely understand how the couple of course wouldn't want to go out into the rain, some of the images that can be taken using the rain I think are the best. Living in England it's a gamble we take for any wedding, so keep smiling and trust me, it will be worth it!

I've always been quite creative so I studied art at college, not really knowing why but it felt like the right direction. I took photography as an add on subject, and it wasn't until a trip to London where I saw work by a photographer called Nan Goldin that it really struck me. There was a photo of a young couple, looking at each other, and the natural light was hitting a small part of her face, I can't really explain the image in words but it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen! From there I started on my natural light, natural moments journey.. and here I am now!