Story behind the shot : Syon House First Dance

This image from Tallulah and Joel’s wedding was taken over 5 years ago when I was still shooting on Nikon cameras.

The amazing D750 was the first digital camera I honestly trusted to produce great shots at really high ISO levels. The camera was also the first one I loved so much that I bought three of them!

NIKON D750 CAMERA - NIKON 20MM F1.8 LENS - ISO 4000 - 1/200 SEC @ F/1.8

When I shoot a first dance I always like to have two cameras to hand, one with a flash on top, and usually my 35mm lens. And the other one (in this case the D750 with the 20mm 1.8 lens) to shoot with the aperture wide open and capture a shot using just available light.

Normally within seconds of the first dance starting I can tell which setup is going to be more successful. If the venue / dancefloor is already really well-lit I will opt for the natural light option. And if its really dark, or just horribly lit from things like pink or purple uplighters (why do venues think we like those?!) I will light up the foreground with direct flash and therefore kill-off/darken the horrible/messy or just cluttered background.

I know what some of you photographers might be thinking... “Why don’t you just shoot off-camera flash with multiple flashguns?”… and I have a simple answer to that. I really don’t like the look of images shot with multiple light sources/OCF. It doesn’t suit my style of shooting, or fit in with the rest of the natural looking images that I take on a wedding day. My photographs are often referred to as gritty and edgy, with an authentic and documentary feel. If I blasted a load of light into a scene I would feel like I was taking over and interfering, and that’s something that just doesn’t excite me.

With this particular wedding I remember it was a really bright sunny day, and all day I had been impressed with the stunning conservatory structure, and by the time the sun had gone down, and the evening entertainment lights had came on, it just brought the whole building to life.

I didn’t have to think twice what lens to use for this shot. To really emphasise the amazing interior I immediately chose my widest lens for maximum impact.

As you can see from my camera settings, I didn’t actually have to pump the ISO ridiculously high to get this shot. I could’ve easily handheld the 20mm lens at a lot slower shutter speed, but I opted for a shutter speed of 1/200 sec because I wanted to freeze the people dancing. Having the bride and groom in the centre, with the parents to their sides was the perfect arrangement for me to fire off a burst of frames.

Like SO many first dances, this one was over before you knew it, the lights in the background were dimmed, and the dancefloor was soon filled with evening guests. So it was a quick swap of the flashgun onto the camera with the 20mm lens, and shooting the action for the rest of the night with direct flash. I could’ve easily chosen to shoot this scene with the flashgun, but because it looked so impressive to my eye I trusted my camera and lens to capture what I saw in front of me!

Having a camera I feel comfortable with and completely trust is of HUGE importance to me when I photograph weddings. I also have to be aware of its limitations. Cameras and lenses are pretty expensive, but also very responsive and reliable. So next time you think you need to blast the hell out of a scene with your massive flashgun, have a quick think to yourself before you kill the atmosphere with an already well-lit scene that your camera will be able to handle.

Don’t be afraid to trust your camera more in low light conditions, you might just surprise yourself and end up with a timeless image that looks exactly how you saw it with your naked eye.

Story behind the shot : The champagne rush!

NIKON D850 CAMERA - NIKON 35MM F1.8 LENS - ISO 800 - 1/80 SEC @ F/1.8

This image from Hev and Alessandro’s wedding in Summer 2018 isn’t just one of my favourite photos I took that year, but is also one of my fave shots I’ve captured as a wedding photographer. As soon as I pressed the shutter I knew I’d caught a perfectly imperfect photograph.

Yes its blurry, but its the movement and energy in the shot that makes me love it so much. My choice of lens (the 35mm f/1.8) combined with the strong, contrasty black and white edit, and the fuzzy motion blur makes this documentary style photo look like it was shot on a film camera rather than from a DSLR.

Despite it not being a technically perfect photo I really like the atmosphere and drama created by the imperfections of the slight blur in the background. If anything, this blur brings the whole frame to life!

So how was this movement and blur created? Well, pretty simple really… slow shutter speed!

I had been shooting the speeches, the room wasn’t very well-lit, and to shoot handheld and get sharp images I wouldn’t normally go lower than a 1/100 second shutter speed, but here I had dropped it just a little bit under that. As much as I like to think I can always tell whats going to happen at a wedding, I didn’t on this occasion.

As Alessandro’s speech came to an end he quickly left the stage with his champagne bucket under his arm and glass of champagne in-hand, and swiftly passed right in front of me. I only just had time to lift the camera to my eye and fire off a couple of frames!

My main storytelling lens at so many weddings in the past has been the 35mm, a fantastic, wide, and quick-focussing lens. I quickly put the camera to my eye, locked-on focus to Alessandro, and panned (swept the camera from right to left) as he walked back to the top table. With such a slow shutter speed this is a technique you would normally use when shooting motorsports to freeze fast moving cars, and blur the road/background. But when a speedy Italian Groom wants to get back to the top table with his delicious bottle of champagne, who am I to stop him!

5 years on from this wedding, and now in 2023, blurry images are very much on-trend at the moment. Shooting film is becoming more and more popular again, so maybe I’ll take inspiration from this, my very own image, and try this slow-shutter atmospheric technique out at a few weddings this year!

Lambeth Town Hall / Admiral Hardy Pub, London wedding

 

“Words can’t express how perfect Ed was, but I’m going to try!

I first met Ed at a friend’s wedding, where I had a great time chatting to him at the bar. He took the most beautiful shot of James and I (which we actually used on our wedding website) so when James proposed, I already knew that we were going to book Ed.

Ed is so friendly and easy to talk to that everyone is instantly at ease with him. This, his fantastic eye for detail and his perfect timing means that you end up with a wonderful gallery of photos that capture the wedding day as it actually was (instead of a series of posed or unnatural images).

The only issue you will have is trying to decide which photos to have printed!

Thank you so much Ed- you really captured us as us.” - Elle + James

The Courtyard Venue, Oswestry wedding

 

“Wow! Wow! Wow and wow! 

They’re more incredible than we could have ever imagined… thank you so much! We’re gonna have one huge photo book

Honestly - they’re all amazing. Fabulous memories that we will be howling at for many, many years to come!

There really are some BELTERS.”

Becca & James

Naas Court Farm wedding

 

“Thanks SO much Ed! We had a great day and I’m glad you were there to capture and enjoy it with us!

Can’t wait to get some poster prints to stare at in our house. So amazing Ed!” - Roxanne & Piers

Lower House Farm, Herefordshire wedding

 

“Thank you so much for all the wonderful photos, we're really conscious that you went massively above and beyond the call of duty both on the day itself and at the editing stage.

Many of the shots are already printed and dotted all around the flat - the rest are finding their way into an album (once we've bought enough of those little sticky corners). 

It would be wonderful if our paths crossed again. If not - all the best. I'm sure we'll continue to see your work in all the luminary places. 

With many thanks.” - Jonathan and Rhiannon

The Fire Pit Camp, Norfolk wedding

 

“Ed was an absolute joy to have on the day. Super chilled yet always managed to be there for the epic candid moments like the groomsmen shedding a tear during the ceremony or one of our guests break dancing (surprisingly well!) on the dancefloor.

My husband and I are incredibly awkward in-front of the camera and tend to default to a goofy grin and thumbs up. Ed manage to overcome this by making us feel relaxed and encouraged us to forget he was there and enjoy the moment. It worked!

We’ve got some stunning photos of us, our family and friends.

When we received the gallery we were blown away by the number of amazing photos and how they perfectly encapsulated the day. Ed is so much more than a wedding photographer he’s a storyteller and a lovely chap.”

Thanks so much Nikki + Dan

Plas Dinam, Wales wedding

 

“Hi Ed, we just wanted to send a huge thank you for the beautiful photos you took of our wedding day. We had the most wonderful weekend and having all these photos is such a lovely way to reminisce about it all.

Over the Christmas period we must have done about 8 different photo show and tell sessions and not only did we love going through them each time, we were still noticing little details of people in the background laughing, sipping fizz or throwing some serious shapes on the dance floor (the night time photos are incredible!).

We feel you have an amazing way of capturing people and it's lovely to have these photos of our family and friends.” - Chris & Merrie

Wildwood Bluebell Cotswolds wedding

 

“When looking for suppliers for our wedding, I went with my gut. I did no different when I came across Ed. My gut was telling me that this was the guy to photograph our most important day. And it was NOT WRONG.


We love the candid, moody and relaxed style of the photos, catching all those perfect moments. We were allowed to just be us on our wedding day, rather than asked to hold a load of unnatural poses!


As one of your only physical memories of your wedding day, the photos were so important to us and I can't wait to keep reliving the day every time I look through these incredible photos.


Ed, you are an artist. Thank you so much for creating something that Jacob and I along with our friends and family will treasure forever.”

Jade & Jacob

Hackney Town Hall Atria wedding

 

“Ed is a true artist! He captured every moment of our wedding from the beginning to the end in the most beautiful and natural way.

We felt immediately at ease with Ed and having him as our photographer was just effortless and fun! He managed to see moments of our special day we would have otherwise missed, and for that we are so grateful!

We would recommend Ed to any couple who wants a brilliant eye, and a very honest approach to capturing your special day!”

John Paul & German

The Tithe Barn, Bolton Abbey wedding

 

“As soon as we got engaged, the only thing I knew for certain about our wedding is that we would be booking Ed to photograph it, after he has captured several of our friends’ weddings so fantastically over the years. He didn’t disappoint.


Ed is a joy to be around - it’s like having a good friend around with you at all your key moments. Less than a week on from our wedding we already had a taster of some of the photos and they capture the joy, feeling and setting to perfection.

If in doubt, book Ed!”

Lucy & Nick

Southwark Register Office wedding

 

“We had the pleasure of having Ed as our photographer back in October. When the big day came he was ready to go from the off. We really appreciated the fact that he had done a reccy on the venue / area so found some good spots for a few snaps outside of the conventional.

For us looking through his portfolio we knew that the pictures were going to be awesome, but the one thing all our family mentioned when looking through our pictures was just how comfortable Ed made them all feel, which for us was so good to hear!

Ed was both professional and relaxed in a way I think brings out the best in people when it came to grabbing either staged or candid pictures. He was exactly what we hoped from booking through to receiving our pictures!”

Lisa & John

The Coin Laundry, London wedding

 

“Ed is a superstar. Our wedding was an amazing day and Ed captured it perfectly.

We chose Ed because of his editing style and documentary approach, and it worked perfectly for us and our wedding. He completely understood the type of wedding we were going for, and the way we wanted to capture it.

Thanks to Ed we now have a gallery full of amazing memories to look back on and so many of our friends have their new favourite pictures of themselves. He even managed to achieve the near impossible and capture pictures of our parents smiling, with their eyes open.

Thank you Ed for helping make our day even more special than we thought it could be, for bringing so much energy and fun to a wedding that wanted to have both of those things in abundance, and for giving us so many memories.”

Ed + Wen

Rosebery Steading, Scotland wedding

 

“We are thrilled with Ed's incredible photos from our wedding. Looking at our photos was like reliving the day (plus lots of little moments that we had missed) - just amazing work. Cannot wait to look and relook at these for the rest of our lives - and to share these with our guests.

Ed is such a pleasure to work with - so calm, laid-back and professional in the run up, and great fun on the day. Loads of our guests mentioned to us how great he was and how much they enjoyed meeting Ed.

Thank you so much for everything, Ed - other couples would be so lucky to have you photograph their wedding.” - Megan & Roger

Oakhill, Derbyshire wedding

 

“If you are lucky enough for Ed to be available on your wedding date, book him without hesitation.

Ed was our photographer when we got married in September and was without a doubt, the best decision we made.

It's clear from his website and Instagram the sort of incredible photos he takes but he's also absolutely lovely and a joy to have at your wedding. We met him a few months prior at our pre-wedding shoot - Gethin and I were very nervous and weren't sure what to expect. Ed totally put us at ease, chatting away and we love the photos he took!


It was so nice to see him again on the morning of our wedding. From the photos of our day, he seems to have been everywhere all at once without any of us noticing. He even hurried down the road to where Gethin was having a pint before the ceremony to capture the scene.

His approach is fun and relaxed which is exactly what we wanted and we have been blown away by the photos he took. So many of our family and friends (plus our other suppliers) have commented on how brilliant his photos are, as well as how lovely he was on the day.

We can't believe how many photos he's sent us and we love them so much!! He's captured so many moments we may otherwise have forgotten about or missed, they're funny, emotional and tell the real story of our day. We can't recommend him enough. Thanks so much Ed!!” - Katie & Gethin

Trading Boundaries, Sussex wedding

 

“Ed was amazing throughout the whole day! He captured every moment and everyone mentioned at how friendly and fun he was.

The whole process of booking with Ed was smooth and I will certainly recommend him.

Thank you Ed for capturing our special day, we will be arranging all of our photos into special album to send to our loved ones!”

Lily & Chaim

Devon home marquee wedding

 

“Ed was the best wedding photographer we could have hoped for, and I would not hesitate to recommend him to everyone who wants their wedding day captured with all the fun, beautiful and personal moments at the forefront.

He was relaxed, supportive and highly professional in the run up to the wedding, especially with all the changes we had to go through with covid postponements.

On the day he was the perfect blend of capturing moments unnoticed, and when we knew he was there working his magic, he was, funny, reassuring and provided beautiful, honest and hilarious photos that we will treasure for a lifetime.” - Emily & David

The Depot, London wedding

 
The Screen on the Green Islington wedding

“Book Ed. Now!

Ed’s work truly speaks for itself. Just look at his website. He manages to spot and capture all the beautiful, fun and strange moments from your day.

Ed personally edits every photo, and it shows - artfully replicating the tone and atmosphere from the day, so that looking back over them feels like travelling back in time.

Ed claims to work alone, but he must have 2 or 3 identical brothers. That, or he has more energy than a Duracell battery. He pops up everywhere and keeps on going all day long.

Ed’s passion for his work is clear to see in the quality of his output. Our wedding day wasn't easy to shoot (a ceremony in a dark cinema room) but his use of natural lighting generated stunning photos. He is a true master of his art. We guarantee you will be happy with the end result.

But above all this, working with Ed is like having an extra friend celebrate with you - he just so happens to take all the photos for you. He’s one of the nicest, humblest, warmest people you can meet. From the moment we spoke on zoom, he understood us, made us feel relaxed and in completely safe hands, and overdelivered on all his already generous promises.

Thank you Ed. We're so happy we chose you!” - Matt & Ellie

What's in my camera bag 2023

Cameras + Lenses

2 x Sony a7iv camera bodies, one with the 50mm f/1.2 GM lens and the other with the 24mm f/1.4 GM lens.

1 x Fujifilm XT5 camera with the 90mm f2 lens. (This will stay in my shoulder bag and only come out when I really need it).

Also pictured - 35mm f/1.4 GM lens.

(I go into more detail about the cameras and lenses further down this page).

Holdfast Skinny Moneymaker harness. I’ve had this for something like 7 years / 7 wedding seasons and it still looks brand new. I find this harness the most comfortable way of shooting a wedding day with two cameras hanging off me!

2 x Peli SD case (one to hold my empty formatted cards, and one to hold my used (shot on!) memory cards.

Tiny USB dual camera battery charger (this is my emergency charger, not my main one). I have 6 camera batteries on me at a wedding and this is always enough to see me through even the longest of wedding days… but its good to have a backup plan.

Vanguard battery holder/pouch. This holds 4 Sony batteries inside the pouch, as well as a zipped compartment that holds 4 more SD cards (in case I use all the ones in the Peli case). It also has two compartments on the outside that hold 8 AA batteries (spares for my flashgun).

Giottos Medium Rocket Air Blaster. A must for removing dust from the camera sensor.

Godox TT350s Flashgun. This tiny (and VERY cheap) flashgun is probably my favourite flash I’ve ever owned. So small and light. Only needs 2 x AA batteries, and recharges really fast (fast enough for me anyway!). I also love its discreet size because it makes it less-intimidating when photographing people up-close on the dancefloor.

And finally… my iPhone and 13” M1 Apple MacBook Pro laptop. (Please n.b. the laptop isn’t on me all day… I’m not that strong! Its just there to show what I generally take to every wedding. I do tend to back up all my images/SD cards onto an external hard drive when I get back to my hotel room/home).

(Not pictured - the camera bag I use all day on a wedding day is the Lowepro Passport Sling III Bag / LP36657-0WW.)

I also have a Lowepro roller case I use for destination weddings. And when I need to take my laptop to a wedding I swap out the Passport Sling III bag and use my Lowepro CompuDay Photo 150 Shoulder Bag which comfortably holds all the cameras along with my laptop.)

The nitty gritty! (prepared to be bored to tears… or interested… there’s no inbetween here!)

I consider myself to be a documentary wedding photography with the added bonus that I love taking editorial/stylish portraits in a fun and fast manner! So for me the 24mm focal length covers my documentary needs, and the 50mm provides the beautiful bokeh and character for when it comes to portraits and detail shots. As for the 35mm GM, well this has been my favourite focal length for almost 10 years now and I know I could easily shoot a whole wedding on this lens alone… because I have done!

For many years I’ve shot with 35mm lenses along with my 85mm f/1.8 lens and have loved that setup, but last year I bought the 50mm f/1.2 lens and have been blown away with its performance and the amazing quality of the images i’ve got from it… despite it weighing nearly as much as my 3 year-old son!

The 35mm GM lens is also an absolutely stunning lens, which is why I have to have it in my camera bag even with the 24mm and 50mm focal lengths covered. I just find the 24mm and 50mm lenses to be a better combo for me RIGHT NOW… check back in with me at the end of 2023 and who knows. If Sony ever get round to releasing a better 28mm lens option then my preferred pairing could change again!

I bought the Sony a7iv camera body last summer and have shot 30+ weddings with it and I honestly cannot fault it in any way! I loved it so much after my first wedding shot with it that I immediately bought a 2nd one.

The improvements they made on the a7iii body weren’t enough to please a lot of people, but for me I thought they did a brilliant job upgrading an already amazing camera into an even better one. Both from a performance perspective AND an ergonomics point of view. The deeper grip on the a7iv makes it a much nicer camera to hold, especially as weddings can be very long days of holding our kit. The larger AF-ON button is fantastic as I use this to select eye AF. The previous model had the tiniest AF-ON button and I was forever struggling to press it. The a7iv also has a larger joystick on the back… thank you SONY! My thumb never ever slips off this joystick, and its very responsive.

As far as improvements in performance go, the quieter shutter is a great addition… the better/faster autofocus is noticeable compared to the a7iii… and the extra megapixels on this new model mean I never worry about quality if I have to crop into an image.

So, the Fujifilm… whats going on there then? Why am I mixing brands? Its not the first time I’ve shot with two different camera brands. Back when I was a Nikon user I was shooting with a D850 and a Fujifilm XPro2 and had no problems at all. That was a good 5 years ago though, and Fujifilm cameras have come on so much since then, or I should say their autofocus system has come on a long way since then! I’m really excited about using the the megapixel beast that is the Fuji XT5 alongside the absolutely stunning 90mm f2 lens at my weddings this year. In full-frame terms this lens is close to a 135mm which means it will be ideal for when I need that extra bit of focal reach. Mainly speeches, and when a grumpy vicar forces me to shoot a wedding from the back of a church.

Yes, I could’ve got the 135 GM lens from Sony, but after testing it I just found it was way too big and heavy for me. Even more so as I already have a bulky heavy lens on me in the form of the 50mm GM.

So thats it! On top of the kit mentioned here, I also have a few spare lenses knocking around at home in case anything ever breaks… (and because I’m a complete camera geek that loves kit!). I also have other Fujifilm cameras (XT4 and XPro3) that I use for my personal photography as I just find them such a joy to shoot with.

Thanks for taking a look at my work, and I really hope you’ve found this info on the kit I use to shoot weddings helpful in some way!

The Slaughters Manor House, Cotswolds wedding

 

“Ed, I have just looked at the photos and they are simply wonderful.

Thank you- we couldn't have asked for a better wedding photographer.

It was a pleasure to have you with us on the day, and I cannot quite believe how many pictures you managed to capture and edit!

Thank you again for everything.” 

Ellie & Nick