Ladies and gents, we would like to introduce you to a fantastic duo – Marianne and Mark, a husband and wife team who prides themselves in being partners not only for life but also in their passion for wedding photography. Many of their clients love their work and the fact that they can capture all the beautiful memories from start to finish – morning preparations, ceremony and reception as it gives so many more opportunities for stunning wedding photography. Like many wedding photojournalist, they work in an unobtrusive documentary style capturing the magic and the spontaneous emotions. Their award winning photography has been shown in international exhibitions and their work is regularly publicised in national magazines.

At a Glance

• World’s Top Ten WPJA Wedding Photojournalist 2006, 2007 & 2009
• Style – reportage/photojournalism
• 2 Photographers husband & wife team both award winning WPJA members
• Wedding album – Jorgensen – Production time 4 weeks
• Camera  – Nikon D3′s bodies plus an array of fast lenses
• Wedding photography package starts at £2,600 based on all-day coverage
• London based wedding photographers who travel regulary for destination weddings
• Destination wedding will have extra incremental costs

Wedding Photographers – Mark & Marianne Earthy

W: www.earthyphotography.com
E: mark(at)earthyphotography.com
T: +44 (0) 7853 194205

Photos courtesy of Earthy Photography

Related posts:

1. Mark Wallis
2. David Pullum
3. CKP Weddings

Julie Kim is a London based wedding photographer who has recently been named as one of UK Top 10 Winter Wedding Photographer. She is known in the industry for creatively infusing documentary approach and contemporary quirky portraits at weddings that many past clients love.

At a Glance

• Part of an overall list for Top 10 UK winter wedding photographer
• Style – reportage/photojournalism
• WPJA member
• Wedding album – Jorgensen & other major suppliers
• Production time – 4 weeks
• Camera  – Canon 5DII bodies and Prime lenses 24,35, 50, 85
• Wedding photography package starts at £1,950 based on all-day coverage (albums, extra photographer are charge seperately)
• Destination wedding  will have extra incremental costs

Wedding Tip: Trust your photographer, especially if you have booked one for a particular style.  Communicate how you’d like your wedding to be remembered and then leave them to surprise you with a set of amazing images.  Kick back, relax and enjoy yourselves – that in itself will provide them with all they need!

Wedding Photographers – Julie Kim

Email: julie(@)juliekimphotography.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7772 524 334

Photos courtesy of Julie Kim Photography

Related posts:

1. David Pullum
2. Mark Wallis
3. Xander Casey

It is always a pleasure working with some of the best and top UK wedding photographers and I am always grateful when they share some of their precious time with us at Dolce Sposa. Mark Wallis has kindly shared with us some of his wedding photographs and you will see on this page which made up our top 10 favourites. The images are very impressive and striking. His description about his style of wedding photography which he personally wrote for our readers sounds so good, romantic and very thoughtful.

“I shoot using a pure documentary approach to capture all the action, emotion and detail of the wedding day. I work for most of the day with the available light to stay as discreet as possible, but I don’t hang around on the fringes of the wedding. I prefer to get in close and be a part of the action that I am documenting. I start my day when the bride does, capturing all of the preparations, through the ceremony and reception, ending with the speeches and dancing. This way I can tell the full story of the day and create a record that will bring back many memories for the couple, and give them a set of timeless images that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.”

At a Glance

• Top 10 UK wedding photographer
• Style – reportage/photojournalism
• WPJA member – award winning photographer
• Wedding album – Iris Book and Couture Book
• Production time – 6 weeks
• Camera  – Canon 5D MKII and Canon 5D plus Prime lenses 16, 35, 50, 85 and 580EX flash
• Wedding photography package starts at £1,795 based on all-day coverage
• Destination wedding  will have extra incremental costs

Mark would like to share with our beautiful DS brides-to-be a wedding tip: “Remember that your wedding day is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you and your family and friends to celebrate your marriage, it’s not a photo shoot. If booking a documentary photographer, you will get the best results if you ignore them and enjoy your day. They will be able to capture lots of genuine emotion and you will be able to relax and remember your day for all the fun you had.”

Here are some of our favourite wedding photographs taken by Mark:

Wedding Photographers – Mark Wallis

Email: hello(at)markwallisphoto.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7841 703111

Photos courtesy of Mark Wallis Photography

Related posts:

1. Mark and Marianne Earthy Wedding Photography
2. David Pullum
3. Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer

Which Wedding Photographer? The Big Decision

Finding the right wedding photographer may well be the one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make in your wedding planning. Don’t treat it as an after-thought, for long after your wedding day has passed you’ll find that the memories that stick are the ones that are captured forever in the photographs. And you want those photographs to fully capture the beauty, the emotions, the people present and all those priceless moments on your wedding day.

Reportage Photographers And Why You Should Use Them

For this reason, DS very highly recommends photographers who specialise in the photo-journalistic style (also called reportage/documentary style) of wedding photography. This is because their approach is to capture events as they unfold during the day, rather than focus on taking posed shots. For what better way to capture those memories than to have candid photos of events during the day. And this is where the skill of the photographer plays a huge part – the ability to anticipate as well as compose and capture artistically those special moments in the day through their photographs. And these are the photos that can, even many years on, bring back a flood of emotions of your wedding day.

But this is not to say that you should ignore posed shots, as they can produce some truly stunning images. However you’ll find that most reportage wedding photographers will also allocate some time on your wedding day for you to take posed photos. And the rest of the day your reportage photographer will be focused on capturing and documenting the wedding in an un-obstrusive way. What you do want to avoid is photographers that leap out in front of you as you are walking down the aisle so that he can capture the moment! A good reportage photographer will be prepared for that moment and will have the skill and right equipment to capture that photograph without having to stop you in your tracks! After all, photography is important but your wedding day should be about enjoying yourselves and sharing that special occasion with your loved ones rather than being ordered around by a photographer to continuously pose for one shot after another.

Tips on Choosing The Perfect Wedding Photographer

You simply won’t go wrong with any of the wedding photographers that we work with closely here at DS. We take photography very seriously as we’re also photographers in our own right (but primarily nature and wildlife photographers)! And we’ve therefore hand-picked some of the very best wedding photographers to work with and would very highly endorse all of them. But don’t take our word for it, photography is an art and appreciation of photography can be subjective. You should still check out their portfolio and see if their work captures your imagination.

Without further ado, here are DS’s top 7 tips on choosing the perfect wedding photographer:-

1. Check out WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association | www.wpja.com) – it’s a professional organisation of wedding photographers from around the world. The WPJA also hosts regular contests and photographers can receive awards/rankings as a result. This is a good guide but bear in mind that individual photographers can be more highly ranked than others due to more active participation in the contests and therefore don’t disregard a photographer simply because they’re not ranked.

2. Check out Dolce Sposa’s recommended list of Wedding Photographers - we don’t inundate you with an extensive list of wedding photographers, instead we’ve handpicked some of the very best wedding photographers in the business and therefore every photographer we feature and work with comes with our seal of approval

3. Always review complete albums of weddings from start to finish – photographers’ websites will often have a portfolio of photos which are a collection of favourites accumulated from lots of weddings. But you’ll want to see a complete album shot by your photographer(s) (rather than others on the team) to ensure a consistently high quality of work for the whole day. A full album will also allow you better see the photographer’s style, his ability to capture the special moments and also highlight any potential weaknesses or bits of his style which you may not like.

4. Meet the photographer - make sure you like the person, or at least don’t dislike them! Get him to talk about his style – and also get an idea of how obstrusive his style might be and whether it’s something you’re comfortable with.

5. Look at an actual printed album – yes we’re in the digital age but there’s still something to be said for having a high quality printed album to share with friends and family. Fortunately however, having the high resolution digital images will allow you in the future to re-print an album but why not get it right the first time round?

6. Consider photographic style – we’re not referring to the reportage style which we’ve already highly recommended, but to certain artistic styles e.g. over-use of fish-eye lenses. Some of this can look cool/interesting initially but the novelty factor can wear off pretty quickly. For lasting appeal, go for styles that are classic and timeless. For this reason black and white photography works well for wedding photography. Most photographers will give you an idea of the approximate mix between colour and B&W photography that they tend to shoot at a given wedding, so make sure you’re comfortable with this.

7. Number of photographers on the team (and who they are) – ask how many photographers will be shooting on your wedding day, and whether the principal photographer will be present. Some photography companies have different packages which may not necessarily always include their principal photographer. Ideally you should have at least two photographers, although some of the best photographers in the world do work alone and therefore it may be a compromise you have to make. But one photographer can only be in one place at a time and it may therefore not be possible to capture some aspects of your wedding day (eg pictures of both the bride and groom getting ready, or the groom’s expression as the bride walks down the aisle).

We wish you the best of luck in your search for your perfect wedding photographer, and hope that you find this article a useful guide. If you have any questions or have anything to add, feel free to comment below!

Photos courtesy of CKP Weddings, Jeff Ascough and David Pullum

Related posts:

1. CKP Weddings
2. David Pullum
3. Mark and Marianne Earthy Wedding Photography

Being a wedding photographer is not an easy job and in order to be successful in this field, one should really have the passion, talent and love for both weddings and photography. That is what David Pullum is all about and he is one of the wedding photographers we like here at Dolce Sposa. We love his documentary approach and his knack of capturing the special, romantic and fun moments that are just so priceless in every wedding celebration. Seven years and counting, David continues to be successful in what he does and he also recently won an award as one of the Top 10 UK Winter Wedding Photographers.

At a Glance

• Top 10 UK wedding photographer
• Style – reportage/photojournalism
• WPJA member – award winning photographer
• Wedding album – Queensberry
• Production time – 4 weeks
• Camera  – Canon 1D MKIII and 2x Canon 5D MKII plus Prime lenses 24, 35, 50, 85, 135, 1 Qflash, 580 EXII
• Wedding photography package starts at £1,975.00 based on 8 hours photography
• Destination wedding  will have extra incremental costs

We managed to get David to share with us and all our readers a tip when choosing a wedding photographer and here is what he has to say. “Choose a photographer that you bond well with and whose images you love. Do not worry about any details that you think are wrong, most people do not notice, have fun and enjoy your day!”

Here are some of our favourite wedding photographs taken by David:

Wedding Photographers – David Pullum

The Drive, Farringdon
Exeter, Devon EX5 2JD

Tel +44(0) 1392 314662

Photos courtesy of David Pullum

Related posts:

1. Mark Wallis
2. CKP Weddings
3. Mark and Marianne Earthy Wedding Photography

Christian has a great eye for special moments and his photographs will tell the beautiful story of your wedding day. His reportage style of photography is incredibly discreet so that most of the time neither you nor your guests would even realise you’re being photographed. He has won a lot of awards in the country and internationally but remains firmly grounded, good-natured and passionate about what he does; and will make you feel at ease right from the start.

We can only praise his work so much, to really appreciate it you should check out his breathtaking online portfolio. We constantly return to CKP Wedding’s website for inspiration and often the beauty of some of his shots will bring tears to my eyes!

Getting married is a blessing and is for life. The emotions, love and joy you feel that day is magical and absolutely priceless and you want to have the best photographers there to capture those special moments that you will treasure forever. CKP Weddings have consistently impressed us with their  outstanding work and we rate them as one of the top wedding photographers in the world.

At a Glance

• Top Ten UK wedding photographer
• Style – reportage/photojournalism
• WPJA member – award winning photographer
• Wedding album – Graphistudio and Queensberry
• Camera  – Canon 1D and Canon 5D plus L-lenses
• Wedding photography package starts at £2,500.00
• UK based wedding photographer but can travel the country and the world for great weddings
• Advance booking highly recommended to avoid disappointment

Christian Keenan and Andy Le Gresley, his associate at CKP Weddings and a talented photographer in his own right, make an excellent team and work together to document your wedding day. Together they produce some world class wedding photographs and here are some of our favourites:

Photos courtesy of CKP Weddings

Wedding Photographers – CKP Weddings

Email: carol(at)ckpweddings.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1534 888752

Related posts:

1. Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer
2. David Pullum
3. WPJA – Wedding Photojournalist Association

Named one of the world’s top ten wedding photographers by American Photo magazine, DS also considers him to be one of the best in the world. He has an incredible eye for detail and his compositions are awe-inspiring.

Jeff Ascough specializes in the documentary approach and enjoys shooting in black and white, though of late he has experimented with and used a lot more colour in his work to great effect. His images are powerful and evocative, and can transport you into the photograph as though you were there to witness that very special occasion in person.  Over the years, he continues to develop his impressive style in shooting weddings and he certainly knows how to work with lighting no matter how much or how little is available. This has also earned him the title “A master of shooting in available light.”

At a Glance

• Top Ten UK wedding photographer
• Style – reportage / photojournalism
• WPJA member – award winning photographer
• Cameras – 1D mk IV’s, 5D mk II’s
• Wedding photography package starts at £3250.00
• UK based wedding photographer but can travel the country and overseas
• Advance booking highly recommended to avoid dis-appointment

Below are some of Jeff’s work – moving, powerful and impressive.

Wedding Photographers – Jeff Ascough

Email: enquiries@jeffascough.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1253 737950

Photos courtesy of Jeff Ascough.

Related posts:

1. Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer
2. David Pullum
3. CKP Weddings

The whole process can be very daunting especially since there are plenty of good wedding photographers to choose from. But there is one organisation that we love here at DS and it is the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). It is one of the best resources we can recommend to anyone looking for a wedding photographer here in the UK or abroad. We at DS check it out regularly to get inspiration and to see the many beautiful weddings happening around the globe. And the photographers at WPJA never fails to inspire us and with  some of the most artistic, romantic and impressive wedding photographs.

WPJA is an international, membership-based organization which represents all the professional photographers in the world who all share the same idea on how to take award-winning reportage photography that captures the emotions, the atmosphere, the spirit  and the job during an event. And they all pride themselves by doing this in a non-instrusive way which we believe is an absolute must!!

Your next step after setting the wedding date and finding your wedding venue is finding the perfect wedding photographer. And we can guarantee you that checking out WPJA can certainly help make the research process faster, easier and more enjoyable. You can see a list of wedding photographers in different countries including their contact details, view their breathtaking wedding portfolios, get idea on their service fees and check their availability.

In a nutshell, you won’t go wrong using WPJA to help and you in finding your wedding photographer. We also recommend reading DS’s article, ‘Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer‘. Here are some wedding photographs from WPJA members that have captured some of the memorable moments…

Wedding photographs courtesy of WPJA.

1st photo taken by Christian Keenan of CKP Weddings

2nd, 3rd and 4th photo by Amy Newman, Carl Bower and Daniel Kudish

Related posts:

1. Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer
2. CKP Weddings
3. Xander Casey

Xander Casey is an internationally renowned lifestyle and wedding photographer with A-list clients and a favourite amongst some of London’s most prestigious wedding venues like the The Ritz Hotel, Claridges and The Berkeley to name a few.

At a Glance

• Style – reportage, contemporary and stylish
• Wedding album – Queensberry
• Production time – 6 weeks
• Camera  – Canon1D MKIII Prime lenses 24-70, 70-200,24,85
• Wedding photography package starts at £1,895 based on all-day coverage
• Destination wedding  will have extra incremental costs

He has a very good reputation of making clients completely comfortable with him and his camera from start to finish. This I think is great as it will allow him to capture the very essence of your wedding day, your character and the overall atmosphere. If you think about it, a wedding photographer will be with you from the time you get ready and will be really close so it will surely make a big difference if he is a nice person that you can be comfy with and this will surely guarantee you great wedding photographs.

Here are some of our favourites:

Tip: It is important to go with reputable wedding photographers but it is also crucial to get to know them first and to find out if they are the type of people you would like to work with on your wedding day. We also recommend reading our article ‘Guide to Finding a Wedding Photographer‘.

Wedding Photographer – Xander Casey

Email: xander(a)xandercasey.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1372 842 522

Photos courtesy of Xander Casey

Related posts:

1. CKP Weddings
2. Mark Wallis
3. David Pullum