Wedding Photography - My Story.
"If I ever become a wedding photographer then shoot me." I will always remember saying these words to my wife many years ago as we walked past a church in East London and we saw a photographer shooting a wedding, more than likely on a Hasselblad. This would have been about 1998/1999 and I was busy forging my photographic career with endless shoots across Europe and USA for music magazines such as DJ and Smash Hits and fashion magazines such as Elle, New Woman and Bliss. I was shooting portraits of Misteeq in Aya Napa, SugaBabes and S Club 7 in London, Sum 41 and and Nelly in New York.
I was also shooting lots of top premier footballers for 442 and Shoot magazine such as Louis Figo in Barcelona, Thierry Henry, Gary Lineker, Frank Lampard, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. Why on earth would I shoot weddings? It was only a matter of time before I became one of the greatest portraits and fashion photographers in the UK.
OK well that did not quite happen. Digital photography was fast approaching and I was still shooting on film and lots of magazines I used to shoot for where starting to feel the pinch, Smash Hits and J17 went bust and suddenly I was out of favour, what could I do?
This coincided with when my daughter Ivy was born and living in a one bedroom flat in Hackney we knew as a family we would be leaving London soon. Long story short my wife got a job teaching fashion at Lincoln University so we where Lincoln bound.
Well I knew I would not be shooting famous pop stars and premier league footballers in Lincoln so what could I shoot? I had shot a few friends weddings in London and it was not quite the humiliating experience I thought it may be. I also found out I was quite good at it. In 2010 I shot my first wedding in Lincolnshire, the bride found me on yellow pages - remember that? I have not looked back since.
So what do I love about shooting weddings? I love that I can incorporate so many genres of photography into a wedding day. I will shoot:
portrait photography
still life photography
fashion photography
documentary photography
I can get creative and produce imaginative and beautiful images that just cannot be produced without the technical knowledge and experience that I have after working in the photogprahic industry for over 25 years.
I love the fact that the image I produce at weddings will be loved and cherished for so many years to come. The images I produce I know will have so much value for the families that I shoot for and I get so much satisfaction from this. I doubt the same can be said for the photos that I took of The Spice Girls, SugaBabes, Misteeq, Blue and Westlife.
The feedback I get from delighted brides and grooms is just amazing too and I would love to share some kind words that I have received recently.
"Paul is an incredible photographer. He was so lovely and professional. We met initially for our engagement shoot and we were both pleasantly surprised with how comfortable he made us feel as we both didn’t really like having our photo taken."
Cat & Tom
"Paul was the ideal photographer for our wedding. We were so impressed with his style and skill, and he perfectly captured our day. The photos we’ve received document how happy we were, capture the intimacy of the venue, and perfectly match the mood we hoped to curate for the day."
Dom & Katy.
I know I never received words like these from the picture editors at Smash Hits, Elle and New Woman.
So that in a nutshell is how I have got to where I am today. I could not think of anything else I would rather shoot now than a wonderful wedding. There is so much to love about shooting weddings but first and foremost I look forward to shooting the love, the emotion, the style and the excitement. I have shot so many amazing weddings over the last few years and every year I look forward so much to all the exciting weddings that I will be lucky enough to photograph - I really could not think of a job I would rather do.
So if this sounds like like I could be the wedding photographer you are looking for then I cannot wait to hear from you, drop me a message and tell me all about your plans.
https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/contact-us/
And while you are here take a look around my portfolio, there are some lovely images in there.
https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/lincoln-wedding-portfolio/