I have been thinking a lot lately of what I would have loved when I started out doing wedding photography all those years ago.

I ultimately just threw myself into wedding photography with very little preparation, knowledge or knowhow and while I maintain that this was the best way for me to learn very quickly as to how things work.

The first time I shot in a church, finding out the hard way the limitations of the camera and the light was at my first wedding. I had no idea how to deal with the vicar, the best places to stand, what order things happened, how to compose group shots - nothing, I was flying by the seat of my pants! Don’t get me wrong, I pulled it off bloody well, but it was not ideal for my clients or for my mental health!

I am extremely lucky that I have worked and continue to work with some of the finest photographers in the country in their respective fields and I am constantly learning from them, refining my approach and the way I work.

I have always championed the younger generation of photographers who I believe we old timers can learn so much from - and have always been happy to take on those looking to make a living from photography to learn how I do things. The fact is, I can probably learn things from them now. My very first assistant was the fantastic Ellie Mitchell who is now living my dream travelling the world pretty much constantly as a tour photographer for various bands. (check out her site here)

In addition to being a photographer, I am also a qualified teacher - so I think it is probably only fitting that I start to combine the two; to impart what I have learned over the past 15 years, to lead practical, real world training sessions for those looking to follow their photography dream dealing with every stage of shooting a wedding.

I’m only at the planning stage right now but I am thinking an affordable one day course local to Thrapston in Northamptonshire which is a great location and easy to get to from Peterborough, Northampton, Leicester, Cambridge and Bedford. My aim is to utilise a beautiful local disused church, with models - working our way through a ceremony, learning how to use natural light, exploring the difficulties of shooting a wedding while trying to remain respectful and inconspicuous while capturing stunning images for you to use for your portfolio!

I’m also toying with the idea of sessions during the day on planning, client interaction, pricing and tax (because running photography as a business is mostly admin and tax) and workflow.

I’m quite excited - and it is early days, but I would love to get your feedback as to what you would find useful from something like this - please feel free to leave comments below or contact me using the contact form on the website.

Cheers

Stu

Blog - Through the Lens

Posts tagged with church

Learn How to Photograph Weddings