HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

It can be a little overwhelming when you’re trying to choose your wedding photographer, there are so many to choose from and they all offer something slightly different. So, I’ve created this guide to help you choose your ideal wedding photographer.

STYLE

First of all, I'd recommend narrowing down the style of photographer that you like the most. 'But Daryl, I thought all wedding photography's the same?' Nope, definitely not, there's loads of styles of photography you can choose from, but these can generally be narrowed down into 3 groups. 

Traditional - also known as posed, classic and conventional wedding photography. This is the kind of photography you're more likely to think of for weddings. It's the style of photography your parents are likely to have had and there's still plenty of photographers out there today offering this style. The photographer focuses on carefully posed shots, ranging from large groups, right down to the wedding couple and guest. This style of photography often requires the photographer to take charge of people by telling them to stand in positions and poses during the day, this can obviously take a significant amount of time, especially with larger group shots. This style focuses on setting up formal images that show the people and guest of the wedding, instead of capturing naturally occurring moments throughout the wedding. The words ‘say cheese’ are bound to be heard.

Contemporary - also known as fashion, creative, modern wedding photography. This style is in some ways similar to the traditional style, but also draws on magazine, editorial style of photography. Photographers who focus on this style dial up the posing instructions, and will often include lighting set ups and a greater degree of photo editing / airbrushing / photoshopping is required. The end results are individual highly polished images that are much less formal and rigid compared to the traditional photographer. The wedding album will be highly stylised and look like a model photoshoot but won't necessarily capture the full range of emotions and atmosphere of the day.

Documentary - also known as reportage, photo journalist wedding photography. This style is nothing new, but is growing in popularity within wedding photography. This is a break away from the rigid and stylised posing of both the traditional and contemporary styles, instead it captures naturally occurring moments throughout the day without any posing direction from the photographer. This style suits couples who are more interested in looking at the wedding album and seeing the true emotions and atmosphere of their wedding day. The aim of the photographer is to tell a story of their wedding day by observing and anticipating moments of both the bride and groom, but also the guests. 

SERVICE

There are lots photographers out there that the industry classes as 'shoot and burn'. The phase harts back to when a photographer would simply turn up on the day, take photos and burn you a CD containing all the images. These photographers are often cheaper than most, they just want your money for the minimum amount of effort and service on their part. The price might sound appealing, but at the end of the day, you tend to get what you pay for.

Service is key to making things clear, straight forward and most of all a pleasant experience for the bride and groom. Like myself, look for a photographer who will meet with you in person before the wedding, someone who's going to get to know you, discuss your plans, offer recommendations and basically put in the time to be there and care for you.

"I would love to say more but I don’t want to ruin the special journey that you will get with Daryl Porter Photography. Thanks Daryl, you helped make our day so special!"  -- Helen 2018

Going back to the shoot and burn example, great service includes taking the time to review and edit your photos. You shouldn't have to look at several versions of the same or similar image, a shoot and burn photographer would simply give you all the images regardless of if they're good or not, they'd be unedited (so unfinished, straight out of the camera) and leave the rest up to you to deal with. Great service means that the photographer uses their expertise to select and edit the best images for you to view. Thousands of photos might sound great, but do you really want to go through them all, try and choose the best ones (where many will be very similar) and then do something with them, who has the time or the expertise to do that? Well that's exactly what a good photographer who offers great service does for you. They make your life easier, they only show you the best images (the one's you'll want, not the rest), they'll edit them for you to make them look great and they'll take all the hassle out of the process for you. 

Great service also means being really clear about how long it'll take for you to see your photos after the wedding day and how long it'll take to deliver your wedding album. Timings can often vary throughout the year depending on how many clients your photographer has during that time. A photographer who takes on 50+ weddings in a year may be too busy to offer you a personalised service and can take a long time to deliver your images to a high standard. A photographer like myself will limit the number of weddings taken on to ensure that we're able to offer a great service throughout the whole year, even during peak wedding season. 

"Thanks Daryl for an amazing experience and for telling the story of our day brilliantly."  -- Rachel 2018

PRODUCTS

I've already touched on within the service section of this post, you should choose a photographer that understands the importance of the final product that's delivered to you. I truly believe that a photo isn't complete until it's printed. When it comes to wedding photography this often means showing your favourite photos in a wedding album. 

Having an album is the only sure fire way to ensure your wedding lives on. Storage media is always changing, when was the last time you loaded a CD into your computer for example, does it even have a CD drive? USB memory sticks are changing too with the introduction of a the new USB-Type C standard, so in future years the traditional USB stick won't fit in a new computer. Hard drives will fail at some point, so you have to worry about backing up images and possibly paying for online cloud storage. 

The albums I offer are from one of the best professional photo labs in Europe. Your album won't fade, the photos are printed to the highest quality available, you're truly getting a gorgeous album that will last a lifetime.

Me and my couples design the album together to tell the story of the wedding day.

Check out my post '5 reasons why you should have a wedding album' for more information'.

.ss-embed-container-qUjDgz {position:relative; padding-bottom:80.6%; height:0; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%} .ss-embed-container-qUjDgz iframe {position:absolute; top:0;left:0; width:100%!important; height:100%!important;}

Relax

You're going to be spending the whole wedding day with your wedding photographer, they'll normally be there from your wedding prep right through to the evening's entertainment (AKA party time) so they should be someone that you're able to relax and be yourself around. It's really important that you're totally comfortable with your photographer, if you're not then this will really show in your photos. 

This goes right back to the service section of this post, a photographer that is going to put the time and effort into getting to know you before you even book will be far better than one that just shows up on the day. For me it's vital to meet before you book, it gives both of us time to chat, get to know each other and basically relax. Only when you're happy should you commit to spending your wedding day with them.

For me, the style of photography also helps both the couple and guest relax. As a documentary wedding photographer you get candid photographs of people being themselves, not someone walking around pointing a camera and flash in people's faces and asking them to smile, that definitely doesn't help guest relax. 

PRICE

Price is obviously a consideration, especially when you want to make your wedding day as special and as memorable as possible, whilst remaining your budget. Once you've considered all the points above, i.e. you've found a photographer that shoots in the style you love, they offer beautiful products that meet your needs, they offer the personal service you crave, you've met them and you feel totally at ease being around them, only then should you really factor in the price. 

Once you've understood what a photographer is able to offer you, you'll then be able to compare them and be able to understand what you're really paying for. Therefore, don't go searching for photographers based on price alone, consider what you want from a wedding photographer and book accordingly.

After you're wedding is over, the foods been eaten, the flowers have withered and your dress has been put away, what do you have left? You have your memories and the photos that help keep those memories and emotions alive for years and even generations to come. 

We all have different budgets and priorities for our weddings, but I'd highly recommend investing in a photographer you love, that's going to capture the true emotions, in a way you and your guests are totally comfortable with, after all it's the photos that will live long after the day is complete.

Roughly 4.5 years ago Dom froze as he held my baby boy for the first time, he didn’t have a clue what to do, so like many guys holding a baby for the first time, he froze. He sat there rigid, unable to move until the pain in his arms became too much to handle and he handed him back to us.

Fast forward to today, and you wouldn’t believe the transformation. In truth I think most dads go through this, and probably many new mums too, we start off without a clue what to do with our delicate newborn. We’re afraid we’ll break them in some way. But after a few weeks, we soon get the hang of it, we grow into our new roles as parents.

I for one couldn’t believe it when Dom and Danielle announced they were going to have a baby. I thought back to the moment I gave Ethan to Dom to hold several years ago and wondered how he’d cope.

But it quickly became apparent that Dom was doing a great job as a dad. Danielle would often tell us how great he was with Finley and it was a lovely experience to document their new family life together for them recently.

.ss-embed-container-qUjDgz {position:relative; padding-bottom:66.6%; height:0; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%} .ss-embed-container-qUjDgz iframe {position:absolute; top:0;left:0; width:100%!important; height:100%!important;}

We arranged the baby photoshoot on a Sunday which Danielle informed me normally revolves around watching F1 on the TV and catching up with some housework.

A perfect opportunity I thought to document those initial father son bonding moments over sport. Not only that, a perfect chance to document Finley’s second stage of development.

For those of you who follow my blog you’d have a seen a creative shoot I did for Finley when he was a newborn (here). On that day he pretty much slept the entire time I was there, now at 6 weeks old he’s more awake, more aware and even able to lift his own head. He’s engaging with the world around him and soon he’ll be lifting himself up, grabbing everything in reach and smiling.

As soon as he passes one milestone another will soon be in sight, it just how it is, babies don’t stay babies for long. That’s why I’m so pleased that I’ve been able to document what life is like right now for Dom and Danielle, because before you know it, it’ll be gone and without photos like these, they’ll just be memories to hold onto.

If you want to learn more about Documentary Family Photoshoots click the link below.

Here’s a handful of my favourites from the photoshoot.

SO, HOW DID I DO AS DOM AND DANIELLE’S FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER?

If you are looking at these documentary family photos because you’d like natural photos have your own family? Please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss how I can help you capture your family memories.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd consider sharing this post on social media using the buttons below.

Sneak Peek | Helen & Andrew

Many congratulation to Helen and Andrew, who had a wonderful wedding at Morley Hayes, Derbyshire on Sunday!

Both Helen and Andrew are larger than life characters, who thoroughly enjoyed their wedding day that was full of little surprises.  

For example, Helen’s dad didn’t know about the beautiful VW camper van that would be taking them to the ceremony, a vehicle her dad loves to bits.

Andrew didn’t know that guests were asked to wear pins of their favourite football team, there were lots of Leicester City, Derby County and a few (me included) Nottingham Forest fans, so there was plenty of football banter during the day. Andrew received his Leicester City pin just before the ceremony.

Then there was the fantastic magician, who no one knew about, except a very select few, to the great amusement of the bride, groom and myself when Helen’s sister Sarah desperately tried to find out who he was and what he was doing there when he arrived.

I personally had a great day, I’m very thankful to be working with a great couple and their wonderful guests.

Here are some of my personal favourite photos from the day.

So, how did I do as Helen & Andrew's Morley Hayes Wedding Photographer?

If you are looking at these Morley Hayes wedding photos because you're planning your own wedding there? Please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your wedding photography needs.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd consider sharing this post on social media using the buttons below.

My oldest and closest friend Dom and his partner Danielle recently had a beautiful little boy called Finley. After a short stay in hospital and once they were settled back home, we couldn’t wait to meet their handsome little man.

Well before the birth, Danielle knew she wanted a newborn photoshoot, so she started sourcing props before Finley was even born. A plane and all things Harry Potter were high on her list of items.  

I don’t normally photograph posed set-ups like this, instead specialising in natural documentary photos (something we’ve also arranged to do), so this session gave me a different opportunity to use my photoshop skills to full effect. As you can see with these two main images I had plenty of fun with Finley’s images. Obviously a plane should be flying in the sky, and a baby Harry Potter should be in a great hall.

Finley pretty much slept the whole time we were there so he was really easy to work with for the posed photos. 

After the two set ups were complete, I took more natural photos of Finley sleeping, looking to capture his tiny features. As any parent will tell you, babies don’t stay that small for very long, or sleep as long as that either. It’s these moments that are worth remembering. I can remember a couple of months after our children were born and then seeing a newborn, it becomes a surprise at how small a newborn actually is, a case in point that you quickly forget how tiny and precious they are.  

I know Dom and Danielle love the photos and it was a true pleasure to photograph Finley for them. I’m looking forward to seeing and documenting him growing up over the months and years to come.

I had such a great time during this family photoshoot in Hucknall, Nottingham with the Hirst family. Cate won a free family photoshoot with me through my Facebook page, after we chatted on the phone I just knew I had to photograph her fantastic family.

As you can see from the photos it was such a lovely day we immediately knew we'd spend most of the photoshoot outside. After a brief spell in the garden the girls wanted to plan their doll's casual 'Hollywood' wedding. So outfits were chosen, mum's shoes were raided and the dress-up began. The whole wedding idea was pretty short lived as the excitment of heading out to go blackberry picking took hold. 

Down to the kitchen to get drinks, snakes and tupperwear, we were soon (well soon enough for any family with kids) out the door and heading for the local blackberries. 

After dad (Simon) made short work of blackberry picking, plus the on-going sampling of said berries, we then headed up to the 'Man and his dog' on The Ranges in Hucknall. 

Among the sun scorched grass lay many grasshoppers, and Simon once again went into hunter gatherer mode. This time he wasn't gathering more berries,he was hunting for grasshoppers in the long grass. After many failed moments being poised to react, he finally caught his prey to the great delight of his girls. After handling the grasshopper, they set it free and then pretended to be grasshoppers themselves, mimicking the leg actions that grasshoppers do to make their famous sound. 

All in all, we had a great couple of hours together in which I hope to have documented their personalities and the fun they have together as a family. 

Thank you so much for being such a great family to work with.

Below is a short photo film of my favourite photos. If you'd like to learn more about the documentary family photography I can offer you, head over to the Family page to find out more, link below. 

.ss-embed-container-PWWKmw {position:relative; padding-bottom:66.6%; height:0; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%} .ss-embed-container-PWWKmw iframe {position:absolute; top:0;left:0; width:100%!important; height:100%!important;}

So, how did I do as the Hirst's family photographer in Hucknall, Nottingham? 

If you are looking at these documentary family photos because you're thinking of having your own family photographed, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your photography needs.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd consider sharing this post on social media using the buttons below.

We all know that wedding albums are one of your most treasured possession, but what about family albums, do you even own a physical family album?

You invest in a wedding album because it’s a special once in a lifetime event (hopefully) which you'll want to remember forever and pass onto future generations. So why is it worth having albums for family photos, it’s not a one-off special event? 

Every day is different with young children, they grow and develop so quickly. One week they’ll be doing something that is so funny or cute, they’ll do it time and time again, you think these moments will never end, but in a few weeks time it all stops, and those moments are gone forever, you missed it. 

Personally we’re constantly capturing photos of our kids, we don't want to forget how they were 1 month ago let alone a whole year or decade ago. Each year we aim to print an album of the very best images. This can be a lengthy process though and one I wish someone else could do for us each year, although it does bring back some wonderful memories.

If you don't create an album, what happens to your photos? Well normally they get lot on our phones or on hard drives, never to be seen again, how sad is that! So if you don’t already I’d encourage you to create an album of photos each year at the very least to document their lives. 

If you're the photo taker in your house, as you review all the photos taken you'll notice that you're hardly in any of them! This can be a huge miss not only for you, but for the rest of your family as well. As you're capturing them, no one's photographing you! At the extremes it can be like you don't even exist in the family. This is when you need to hire a photographer to capture the whole family together, seeing everyone interacting together and having fun.

A family documentary photo shoot doesn't have to be for a special occassion, in fact I think they're possibily better if they're of everyday life. The normal moments that happen day to day, the real, unscripted moments are the best. 

This way the whole family can revisit that photo album again and again to remember what life was like before everyone changed, grew-up or grew old (I don't want to get old)!

So in decades time you'll want to make sure those precious family photo albums are still standing. I provide quality albums that will last the test of time, the pages aren't like pages of a newspaper or glossy magazine, these are thick, almost hardback pages that won't rip as soon as a pair of small hands gets old of them; no, these are beautiful albums that are built to last. 

You also have a variety of cover options available, from eco-leather and textile in a wide rangle of colours, right through to having a windowed image of the front or text that describes when and where the photographs were taken; there are literally hundreds of options available to you. You can even have a personalised box to keep the album itself nice and safe.

If you really want to have genuine memories of the whole family together that will stand the test of time, then we should have a chat. You can schedule a non-saley consultation call using the button below. 

Thanks for reading, talk to you soon,

Sneak Peek | Rachael & James

What a beautiful afternoon it turned out to be celebrating the wedding of Rachael & James in Ruddington on Saturday. 

Rachael and James actually tied the knot at St Mary's Church in Clifton Village and then went on to Ruddington Country Cottage for their beautiful reception. It was an emotional day and both the bride and groom held it together fantastically well. 

I actually went to school with Rachael so it was a real privilege to photograph their special day.  

I couldn't wait to share a few sneak peek photos.

Church - St Marys, Clifton

Reception Venue - Ruddington Country Cottage

Flowers - Blooms & Bouquets

DJ - XTC Discos

.ss-embed-container-164744 {position:relative; padding-bottom:66.6%; height:0; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%} .ss-embed-container-164744 iframe {position:absolute; top:0;left:0; width:100%!important; height:100%!important;}

Bank holidays are for spending quality time with friends and family. We kicked off our quality family time together by making chocolate rice crispy cakes, with a special ingredient, marshmallows, yum yum!

The night before Claire mentioned to the kids that we could bake some cakes tomorrow if they'd liked, which they were very keen to do. Offered with a variety of cake choices they landed on chocolate rice crispy cakes, which was a result as we already had all the ingredients in the house, so no trip to the shop required 😌

Our kids don't seem to forget much, so pretty much first thing the following day the kids were keen to start 'baking', so once we'd eaten breakfast and got dressed they were straight to work.

Melting chocolate, mixing the rice crispy's and dishing them up into cake cases, from start to finish only took 35 minutes, 35 minutes of fun and chocolatey mess. 

Of course, Isabelle got in a bit of a chocolate mess, but no where near as messy as I was expecting. As you can see by Isabelle's face, she decided to paint it like she was Rambo about to go into the jungle. It's only like that because she tried to pick some chocolate rice crispy pieces up off the table and missed her mouth, smearing chocolate across her cheeks.  

The kids both really enjoyed themselves, they made loads of cakes between them, in fact we've still got quite a few cakes left and now Easter has come and gone we have even more chocolate 🍫 in the house to get through. They haven't even finished their Christmas chocolate yet!!! I think I'll need to step up and help the kids out, we can't let it go to waste now can we 😋?  

The whole 'baking' process may have only taken 35 minutes from start to finish, but it's little moments like this that I want to look back on with fondness, and I'm sure when the kids are both older, they'll be grateful that we've got these memories as well.

If you'd like a guide to creating natural family photos of your family, I've created a pdf guide of 5 easy tips to help you on your way, sign up to my email list here to get your copy today.

I document because I want to remember the actual moments that matter, that quality time we have as a family, it's those moments that I want to revisit again and again.

What does the word 'pose' mean to you? For me it means asking someone to put on an act for the camera. 

That fundamentally isn’t me, I’m more of a what you see is what you get kind of person. Authentic, genuine, real, natural.  

Looking back at my childhood, I would always have a disposable camera, not always with me, but when we did something as a family or went on holiday that camera came with me, in my own way back then, I was documenting events and times in my life. These often revolved around my family. When I look back at those photos, I see real moments that I can remember.  

When I was in my teens, I brought my mum a gift voucher for a family photo shoot at a photography studio in Nottingham. We were asked to take a couple of outfits to wear and an item that represents us. At the time I didn't really know what to take with me, there wasn't anything specific that represented me. In the end I took a golf club as I occasionally played golf. 

So when I look back at those photos on my parents wall, I don't see the real me or my family, it just reminds me of what we had to do for the shoot, not the natural happy moments together like I captured with my little disposable camera or the type of photos I produce now. Ultimately, I'm remembering the experience I had when I look at the photos, whether it was the awkward unnatural photos taken in the studio or the family fun natural photos of my childhood. 

One of the problems of taking all the images yourself is that you're hardly, if ever in the photos with your family. If you want photos of your whole family, including yourself you need to hire a family photographer. Seriously, consider hiring a documentary family photographer to capture real memories of your family experiencing quality time together.

Happy new year everyone! I hope you enjoyed yourselves last night! Welcome to 2018, I hope it's full of wonderful things for you and your family.

Now you've seen my top 10 street, personal and family photos it's now time for my overall top 10 of 2017. If you want to see more top 10's click here: Street Photography, Personal Photography, Family Photography.

Let me tell you more about each image

1: Bursting Bubbles

Isabelle has changed so much over the last year, this image reminds me just how much she's changed, from a girl who was crawling around at the beginning of the year as a baby to a toddler exploring the world. She loves bubbles, chasing them and bursting them. I love this shot as it shows her enjoying herself on a bright summer's day.

2: Generational Fun

I just couldn't leave this one out of my top 10, it fits so many points that I love to capture. It's a documentary family photo which shows authentic emotion as its happening, it shows context of her living room (something that we'll want to remember in future years) and it captures a memory of Ethan with his great grandma which is just invaluable to us.

Domino's is viewed as a bit of an older person's game, but package it up with Thomas the Tank Engine and you reintroduce the game to young audience. It's great to see them both playing and enjoying a game together.

3: Take a ball

This is Isla who I photographed during a recent family documentary photo shoot. Isla makes sure you have a cup during her tea party and she also makes sure everyone has a ball to play with whether you're working or not. I love this shot as she's looking up at me handing me the ball. There's lovely window light coming through softly lighting her face.  If you'd like me to capture you and your family then you can learn more about my documentary family photography here. Keep a look out on the blog for more photos from this documentary family photography session.

4: Upside Down Fun

This image is a special one for me, to capture Ethan really enjoying himself over that wonderful weekend. Over a rare warm and sunny bank holiday weekend we spent a lot of time outside enjoying ourselves, this image of Ethan upside down with Claire captures that feeling of fun perfectly. You can see more images from that bank holiday weekend here.

5: PROFESSORS BIKE

One of the great street shots I took in Cambridge early in the year. I love the silhouette of an older gentleman walking towards the gate pushing his bike. I like to think that he's a professor making his way to another lecture or off home. If you've ever been to Cambridge you'll know that a lot of people ride bicycles to get around as the place is pretty flat. I took a series of shots as he walked towards me. There's a couple of shots that worked really well, but this is my favourite. 

6: COFFEE BREAK

The second and final street image that made it into my overall top 10 of 2017.  This photo was taken in my neighbouring city of Derby. Inside the Derby indoor market  there are several shops and a coffee shops that overlook the market stalls. I like that he's reaching for his coffee mug, almost in silhouette with the reflections of the lights in the window.

7: SHERWOOD PINES

Who knows when you'll capture I great image like this. This image was taken in Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire, we'd taken the kids to travel along the Gruffalo trail, I had my camera at the ready to take photos of the kids enjoying themselves, but as I walked along the path I saw this scene, I stopped for some reason, my photography senses telling me there was a photo to be had. I turned took a few frames and then caught up with the rest of the family. It was only when I got the photos off the camera when I realised what made me stop and take the photo. It was the patches of light coming through the trees and the path that leads you into the image and through the woods. I entered this image into the Boots Children in Need Photo competition this year and it made it into the calendar, you can read more about that here.

8: BALLET JUMP

I've put a lot of time and effort into getting this image right, it's definitely one of the most creative images I produced in 2017. It was taken in Studio 3 by Severn in Long Eaton. Ballet dancer Bethan Smith was the model for the evenings ballet shoot at Dave's studio. Bethan was fantastic to work with, we took plenty of jumping shots and several on point photos, but I like this one the best and have spent quite some time playing about with it in photoshop to create the various effects.

9: OUT TO SEA

A 2 minute long exposure taken on Blackpool beach after sunset. I think I used a 3 stop ND filter to smooth out the ripples in the water as the wind blew. They don't call it the blue hour for the fun of it, the sky actually turned blue to create this wonderful atmosphere. I've done a little bit of photoshop work to this image, removing the first 2 pillars closest to the camera to allow more space to allow the eye to be pulled into the image. Of course I could have moved further back to achieve the same affect, but the water didn't come down that far. After getting 2 of my images into the Boots Children in Need Calendar I won 2 canvas prints and I actually had this and the next image put on canvas to display in my home. 

10: MARY'S SHELL

Finally wrapping up 2017 Mary's Shell perhaps my favourite photos of the yea. It was taken at Cleveleys, just up the coast from Blackpool. It's an art installation called Mary's Shell and is a permanent icon on the beach. I was lucky to get a lovely sunset followed by some gorgeous pastel colours once the sun had gone down. Lighting can be pretty tricky, getting detail in both the shadows and highlights. To get this I bracketed several images together into HDR image. 

 Thank you for reading and looking at my images, if you missed my top 10's from my street, personal or family photography you can still see them here: Street Photography, Personal Photography, Family Photography.

It's that time of year again when we all look back on the year and pick out the good bad and the ugly bits. As a photographer it's a great exercise to review your images and choose your top 10 photos from the year. 

When I do this I break it down into different genre's of photography, this year I've broken it down into 3 categories: Street photography, Personal, and Family. After I've done that I'll then choose my overall top 10 of the year.

Today is part 3 in my series of best of 2017, looking at Family photography. Mostly my own family, but there are a couple from a recent documentary family portrait session that I've done. Documentary family photography sessions are an amazing opportunity to capture what life like right now, they provide you with a unique opportunity to save and remember family life as is before it changes forever. If you missed part 1 on Street Photography click here  and you can see part 2 on my Personal work here.

Tell me which photo's you'd pick to put into my overall top 10 (by the way I've already decided my overall 10, they're locked and loaded). 

Let me tell you more about each image

1: Bobble

Totally engrossed in watching the TV on the floor while she plays with her hair bobble. I'm a fan of black and white photography and this image really shows what I love about it, beautiful soft light on Isabelle's face without distracting colour which takes you away from the gorgeous catch lights in her eyes. 

2: Bursting Bubbles

Another photo of Isabelle as she's growing up walking/running around chasing bubbles during a bright summer's day. This image just reminds me of how much she's changed this year, from a girl who was crawling around at the beginning of the year as a baby to a toddler exploring the world. 

3:Generational Fun

I love this documentary shot of Ethan playing domino's with his great-grandma. Domino's is viewed as a bit of an older person's game, but package it up with Thomas the Tank Engine and you reintroduce the game to young audience. It's great to see them both playing and enjoying a game together.

4: Take a ball

This is Isla who I photographed during a recent family documentary photo shoot. Isla makes sure you have a cup during her tea party and she also makes sure everyone has a ball to play with whether you're working or not. I love this shot as she's looking up at me handing me the ball. There's lovely window light coming through softly lighting her face.  If you'd like me to capture you and your family then you can learn more about my documentary family photography here.

5: Photo Sharing across Generations

This is a nice record shot of 3 generations of family sitting together enjoying recent family photos being shown on an iPad. Thelma lives on the Isle of Wight so whenever we see each other we go through the latest family photos for her to see and choose some to get printed. Printing photos is really important, a photo doesn't truly exist until it's printed, something tangible to have and hold or display on your wall. We actually made photo albums as gifts for family this Christmas, documenting the kids as they're growing up. It went down very well and it'll be something they can treasure for years to come.

6: Slide Fun

I just had to include this image of Isla after she'd slid down the slide, her reaction was fantastic. Keep a look out for more photos from Isla's documentary family shoot on the blog and website soon. 

7:Isabelle Smash the Cake

Isabelle's smash the cake photo shoot provided us with lots of fun images of her destroying and eating cake. I did the shoot for Isabelle when she turned 1 year old in January, you can see more on the blog post here. I particularly like this image as it shows us a little glimpse into her developing personality and the fun we had doing the shoot. 

8: Swings

Both of our kids really enjoy going on the swings and this image perfectly shows Isabelle's excitement.

9: Upside Down Fun

Over a rare warm and sunny bank holiday weekend we spent a lot of time outside enjoying ourselves, this image of Ethan upside down with Claire captures that feeling of fun perfectly. You can see more images from that bank holiday weekend here.

10:Christmas Presents

A late entry into the top 10 family shots of 2017 is this image of Ethan opening his Christmas presents at his Grandma and Grandads house. I love the look of anticipation on his face as he finds out what's inside his present. I also really like the soft window light on his face and that shallow depth of field created by the beautiful Fuji 56mm lens. Every time I use it I love the results and this image serves as a reminder to me to use it more into 2018.

It's that time of year again when we all look back on the year and pick out the good bad and the ugly bits. As a photographer it's a great exercise to review your images and choose your top 10 photos from the year. 

When I do this I break it down into different genre's of photography, this year I've broken it down into 3 categories: Street photography, Personal, and Family. After I've done that I'll then choose my overall top 10 of the year.

Today is part 2 in my series of best of 2017, this time looking at some of my personal work which I often use for camera club competition. If you missed part 1 on Street Photography click here 

Tell me which photo's you'd pick to put into my overall top 10 (by the way I've already decided my overall 10, they're locked and loaded). 

Let me tell you more about each image

1: Light Rays

Taken in the Peak District on a pretty gloomy day, on the way back to the car a single shaft of light shone down and moved across the landscape. I followed it taking photos as it passed various areas and I love this image the most with the light rays beaming down on a cops.

2: Three Peaks

On the same trip to the Peak District as the first image, this was taken just a couple of minutes earlier looking back across 3 peaks that make up part of The Great Ridge between Mam Tor and Hollins Cross. I love the path that leads you through the image and across the peaks, I particularly love the lone tree as well. 

3: Sherwood Pines

Who knows when you'll capture I great image like this. This image was taken in Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire, we'd taken the kids to travel along the Gruffalo trail, I had my camera at the ready to take photos of the kids enjoying themselves, but as I walked along the path I saw this scene, I stopped for some reason, my photography senses telling me there was a photo to be had. I turned took a few frames and then caught up with the rest of the family. It was only when I got the photos off the camera when I realised what made me stop and take the photo. It was the patches of light coming through the trees and the path that leads you into the image and through the woods. I entered this image into the Boots Children in Need Photo competition this year and it made it into the calendar, you can read more about that here

4: Fields of Gold

I drive past this field near every week and I've always seen this barn and thought it would be a good photographic subject I just needed the right weather conditions, whether that be a stormy sky or a beautiful sunset. Anyway, the rape seed was almost at its peak back in April, so I made sure the camera was in the car incase a good opportunity presented itself. I was lucky to get the stormy sky that I'd been hoping for. I pulled over in a lay-by, walked over and was initially surprised by just how tall the rape seed was. Now I know I'm slightly vertically challenged, but they must have been at least 7-8 feet tall. There were times that I had to put my camera on a timer, lift the camera high above my head on the tripod and hope that I'd pointed the camera in the direction of the barn.   

5: Mary's Shell

This is perhaps one of my favourite photos of the year (spoiler). It was taken at Cleveleys, just up the coast from Blackpool. It's an art installation called Mary's Shell and is a permanent icon on the beach. I was lucky to get a lovely sunset (next image) followed by some gorgeous pastel colours once the sun had gone down. Lighting can be pretty tricky, getting detail in both the shadows and highlights. To get this I bracketed several images together into HDR image. 

6: Mary's Shell Sunset

Another beautiful shot of Mary's Shell at Cleveleys. This is another HDR image shooting directly towards the setting sun. I like the bit of sun flare and the golden patch of light on the sand. I also entered this image into the Boots Children in Need Photo competition this year and it made it into the calendar, you can read more about that here

7: Out to Sea

A 2 minute long exposure taken on Blackpool beach after sunset. I think I used a 3 stop ND filter to smooth out the ripples in the water as the wind blew. They don't call it the blue hour for the fun of it, the sky actually turned blue to create this wonderful atmosphere. I've done a little bit of photoshop work to this image, removing the first 2 pillars closest to the camera to allow more space to allow the eye to be pulled into the image. Of course I could have moved further back to achieve the same affect, but the water didn't come down that far.  

8: Smokey Joe

Something I've done a few times this year is to attend special photography portrait sessions at Studio 3 by Severn in Long Eaton. It's a photography studio run by fellow Beeston Camera Club member Dave Severn, where he'll arrange model evenings. This was a Film Noir evening with actor and model Daniel Grey, a very nice guy who doesn't actually smoke, I added that in photoshop later, and his name isn't actually Joe. 

9: Rise and Fall

Taken back in March at Huntingdon Racecourse's family open day. Again I've done some photoshop work to this image, first removing some of the distracting sponsorship boards from the background and slightly burring the background further so the focus is directly on the 3 riders. I love the contrast in fortunes between the 3 riders, one who fell at the last fence and the other two who are racing for the finishing post. I called this Rise and Fall as you'll see both from horses are galloping with all hooves off the ground with the fallen rider in the background. 

10: Ballet Jump

Finally another image from Studio 3 by Severn in Long Eaton. No photoshop work has been done in this image...well maybe a little, haha! Ballet dancer Bethan Smith was the model for the evenings ballet shoot at Dave's studio. Again Bethan was fantastic to work with, we took plenty of jumping shots and several on point photos, but I like this one the best and have spent quite some time playing about with it in photoshop to create the various effects.

It's that time of year again when we all look back on the year and pick out the good, the bad and the ugly bits. As a photographer it's a great exercise to review your images and choose your top 10 photos from the year. 

When I do this I break it down into different genre's of photography, this year I've broken it down into 3 categories: Street photography, Personal, and Family. Once I've done that I'll then choose my overall top 10 of the year, so over the next 3 days I want to share these images with you, starting off today with my top 10 Street photos of the year. 

Tell me which photo's you'd pick to put into my overall top 10 (by the way I've already decided my overall 10, they're locked and loaded). 

Let me tell you a little bit about each image:

1: White Fur on Black

This shot was taken in Nottingham in November, I had to react pretty fast to capture this as I'd just walked round the corner and saw this lady walking towards me, I stepped to the left to get her against the black shop front.

Timing is key when capturing people on the street and this one just works for me, capturing the contrast between the coat and wall as she is mid-step walking towards me.

2: Shapes and Clouds

Taken in Cambridge in one of the collages, I photographed this building for a little while, there was hardly anyone around at the time. I was actually on the steps to the right of this photo as I saw the guy walking along the top, so I quickly got down and knew I wanted to take the photo when he was directly between the two trees.

3: Cold Silhouette 

After taking my car in for a service early one cold morning I headed off into Nottingham to do a spot of street photography. The light was lovely and was coming down this street. I probably stood there for 20 minutes photographing different people cross the crossing, as you can imagine I had quite a few images to pick from, but this one has become my favourite, capturing the man walking across with the coldness of his breath visible to see.

4: Jogging Break

Taken during a beautiful sunset, I saw this jogger taking a little break looking at his phone. I saw him from a distance away and quickly moved closer to get the photo, all the time hoping he wouldn't move. I've processed this in both black and white and colour, I love both versions, but there's something about the colour version I prefer, it's probably the golden colour of sunset.

5: Sunset Map

Another sunset image in Edinburgh. I particularly like the contrast of one person shielding their eyes from the sun and the other looking directly out the window with the sun lighting up her face.

6: Sun and Umbrellas 

I love the layers of umbrellas in this photo and the lady in the pink coat looking directly towards the sun as she waits for someone. It was quite difficult to capture her alone, in fact if you look closely there are 2 people in this image, but one is hidden behind an umbrella. 

7: Punting

Obviously this was taken in Cambridge. I tend to stick to my Fuji 23mm lens for street photography, but on this occasion I also had my Fuji 50-140mm lens in my bag which proved to be very helpful capturing people as they took a punting ride. 

8: One Handed

Also in Cambridge and another shot where I needed to react fast to get the shot as I walked around a corner. I find the bike fascinating as it only has one break leaver, the other is totally missing. The bike might be designed this way to allow for both breaks to be operated from one leaver, leaving the other hand free to carry things like this guy is doing. I'd love to know more, so if this is a thing in Cambridge please let me know.

9: Professors bike

Another shot from Cambridge, I've just realised how many shots have come from a short trip there this year. I love the silhouette of an older gentleman walking towards the gate pushing his bike. I like to think that he's a professor making his way to another lecture or off home. If you've ever been to Cambridge you'll know that a lot of people ride bicycles to get around as the place is pretty flat.

10: Coffee Break

Finally this photo was taken in my neighbouring city of Derby. Inside the Derby indoor market  there are several shops and a coffee shops that overlook the market stalls. I like that he's reaching for his coffee mug, almost in silhouette with the reflections of the lights in the window.

Have you ever taken photos on Christmas day and they left you feeling disappointed? The kids just want to open their presents and totally ignored you're calls to "look this way", "smile", "say cheese". It doesn't have to be this way. I specialise in documentary photography and I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way, you can tell the story of your family Christmas another way. A way that doesn't leave you frustrated, a way that captures the real moments of joy as they happen.

If you follow these simple tips you'll be taking great photos this year, even with your phone.

Look for the light. Light is the most important part of photography, without it, it's impossible to have a photo let alone a great one. Now the kids will probably be up early, so the light is likely to be very low, or still dark if your kids (or big kid) wakes up before 7am, so you'll need to turn your lights on, the more light the better really. Notice where the light is coming from, if it's come from a big window then photograph areas of the room or parts of the face that are well lit, this usually means photographing with the light behind you or to the side of you. Of course, you can use flash if the light is really bad, but I'd try to avoid this at all possible as it'll totally change the feeling in the photograph. If you've opened the curtains, turned on (and up) all the lights (including Christmas lights) and still can't get a decent shot, then turn on the flash. It's better to capture the moment than miss it.

Look for expressions. Once you've found good light, timing your photograph is key. You want to look for good expressions. That doesn't mean that you should be aiming to capture just one photograph, keep taking photo's as the action develops. This will increase your odds of capturing the best expressions at the height of the action. You'll be looking for that big smile, those 'wow' moments when they open their presents and you capture the wonderment on their face.  

Tell the story. Like with any good story, you need a beginning, middle and an end. Documenting Christmas Day is exactly the same. You can take photos of the presents out under the tree to show the beginning, or before the mayhem begins, however you'd like to interpret it, followed by unwrapping the presents and playing with them. The middle could be all about that delicious turkey. Capture the stories within the day, making Christmas dinner, drink in hand, singing to Christmas songs, then everyone enjoying Christmas dinner, well maybe not the sprouts. You get the idea, capture the day as it unfolds.

Before and after shots. This tip is more of a continuation of point 3, before and after shots are great ways to tell a story. Presents under the tree before and after being wrapped; Christmas dinner being cooked then out on the table. The kids and grandparents before when they have energy and at the end of the day when they're fast asleep in bed or on the sofa (grandparents).

Wide and detail. Sometimes when you're shooting away, you're in a rhythm, you'll find yourself taking photos that all look similar, they're all from the same distance away from your subject. So this tip is to remind you to photograph the scene from a great distance, like setting the scene in your story, get lots of elements in the frame (but not too many that they become distracting). Then also get in close and capture little details as well. These could be of the food, the special table cloth that only comes out at Christmas, that one present the kids wouldn't put down that totally took you by surprise. 

Bonus tip - While you'll want to photograph throughout the day, you don't need to have your camera constantly in your hand, enjoy the day, be part of it and snap a few shots when the moments right. Christmas Day is a family day so make sure you enjoy that family time as well.

Two weeks ago we enjoyed one of the worlds rarest events, no it wasn't the solar eclipse over the USA, it was actually that the UK bank holiday weekend with warm and sunny ☀️!

During the week leading up to the weekend my wife asked me what we were going to do over the weekend, to which I replied, I don't know, the weather's bound to be rubbish, so probably something indoors. I then checked the BBC Weather app and to my utter amazement it was meant to be nice. Still despite it saying so I still had my doubts, years of being let down by the weather man has taken its toll on all of us, but he came through and actually delivered the goods. 

On the Saturday we were invited to spend the day in Warwick with the in-laws. We went to St. Nicholas Park just down from the castle. Having not researched the park, I was just expecting a nice park that we could sit down, enjoy a picnic and play with the kids. But the park has so much more than that, there was a good kids park with swing, slides etc, a cafe, 2 mini golf courses and the best bit a permanent fun fair. As you'll be able to see from the photos everyone had a great time.

Following that beautiful day we spent a lovely Sunday at home in the garden. Our little ones love bubbles, creating them, chasing them, you name it they can't get enough of them. Believe it or not I'd actually cut the grass the week before, don't judge me. 

Sunday morning is an early start in our household, we take both of the kids swimming, where they both have lessons back to back. Good friends Laura and Ian take their daughter Isla at the same time, our daughters are in the same lesson. Laura invited us to out to Sherwood Pines on the Sunday to explore the Gruffalo trail and have a picnic. Sherwood Pines was very busy, loads of families enjoying the bank holiday Monday, taking a stroll or going for a bike ride through the woods. We embarked on our adventure to find all the Grufflio plaques, admittedly we took a few wrong turns, found the last one first, got the middle ones in totally the wrong order, but we had fun nonetheless. 

After our adventure we enjoyed our second picnic of the long weekend, swiftly followed by fun and games (more bubbles), plus story time with Ian.

How to choose your wedding photographer

There are so many different wedding photographers out there at the minute, especially here in Nottingham and across the East Midlands, it can be a little overwhelming to start with. So, if you follow this guide, I hope to make choosing your photographer a little easier.

 Style

First of all, I'd recommend narrowing down the style of photographer that you like the most. 'But Daryl, I thought all wedding photography's the same?' Nope, definitely not, there's loads of styles of photography you can choose from, but these can generally be narrowed down into 3 groups. 

Traditional - also known as posed, classic and conventional wedding photography. This is the kind of photography you're more likely to think of for weddings. It's the style of photography your parents are likely to have had and there's still plenty of photographers out there today offering this style. The photographer focuses on capturing the key moments of the day and carefully posed group shots, ranging from large groups , right down to the couple. This style of photography often requires the photographer to take charge of people by telling them to stand in positions and poses during the day, this can obviously take a significant amount of time, especially with larger group shots. This style focuses on set up formal images that show the people and guest of the wedding, instead of capturing naturally occurring moments throughout the wedding. 

Contemporary - also known as fashion, creative, modern wedding photography. This style is in some ways similar to the traditional style, but also draws on magazine, editorial style of photography. Photographers who focus on this style dial up the posing instructions, and will often include lighting set ups and a greater degree of post production is required. The end results are individual highly polished images that are much less formal and rigid compared to the traditional photographer. The wedding album will be highly stylised, but won't necessarily capture the full range of emotions and atmosphere of the day.

Documentary - also known as reportage, photo journalist wedding photography. This style is nothing new, but is growing in popularity within wedding photography. This is a break away from the rigid and stylised posing of both the traditional and contemporary styles, instead it captures naturally occurring moments throughout the day without any posing direction from the photographer. This style suits couples who are more interested in looking at the wedding album and seeing the true emotions and atmosphere of their wedding day. The aim of the photographer is to tell a story of their wedding day by observing and anticipating moments of both the bride and groom, but also the guests. 

Service

There are lots photographers out there that the industry classes as 'shoot and burn'. The phase harts back to when a photographer would simply turn up on the day, take photos and burn you a CD containing all the images. These photographers are often cheaper than most, they just want your money for the minimum amount of effort and service on their part. The price might sound appealing, but at the end of the day, you tend to get what you pay for.

Service is key to making things clear, straight forward and most of all a pleasant experience for the bride and groom. Like myself, look for a photographer who will meet with you in person before the wedding, someone who's going to get to know you, discuss your plans, offer recommendations and basically put in the time to be there and care for you.

Going back to the shoot and burn example, great service includes taking the time to review and edit your photos. You shouldn't have to look at several versions of the same or similar image, a shoot and burn photographer would simply give you all the images regardless of if they're good or not, they'd be unedited (so unfinished, straight out of the camera) and leave the rest up to you to deal with. Great service means that the photographer uses their expertise to select and edit the best images for you to view. Thousands of photos might sound great, but do you really want to go through them all, try and choose the best ones (where many will be very similar) and then do something with them, who has the time or the expertise to do that? Well that's exactly what a good photographer who offers great service does for you. They make your life easier, they only show you the best images (the one's you'll want, not the rest), they'll edit them for you to make them look great and they'll take all the hassle out of the process for you. 

Great service also means being really clear about how long it'll take for you to see your photos after the wedding day and how long it'll take to deliver your wedding album. Timings can often vary throughout the year depending on how many clients your photographer has during that time. A photographer who takes on 50+ weddings in a year may be too busy to offer you a personalised service and can take a long time to deliver your images to a high standard. A photographer like myself will limit the number of weddings taken on to ensure that we're able to offer a great service throughout the whole year, even during peak wedding season. 

 Products

I've already touched on within the service section of this post, you should choose a photographer that understands the importance of the final product that's delivered to you. I truly believe that a photo isn't complete until it's printed. When it comes to wedding photography this often means showing your favourite photos in a wedding album. 

I have 3 collections, two of which contain albums with my starter collection providing all the main services with the option to add an album at a later date. If you'd like to see my collections, follow the link you here. 

Having an album is the only sure fire way to ensure your wedding lives on. Storage media is always changing, when was the last time you loaded a CD into your computer for example, does it even have a CD drive? USB memory sticks are changing too with the introduction of a the new USB-Type C standard, so in future years the traditional USB stick won't fit in a new computer. Hard drives will fail at some point, so you have to worry about backing up images and possibly paying for online cloud storage. 

The albums I offer are from the country's best professional photo lab. In fact they're award winning, as are their albums. Your album won't fade, the photos are printed to the highest quality available, you're truly getting a gorgeous album that will last a lifetime.

Relax

You're going to be spending the whole wedding day with your wedding photographer, they'll normally be there from your wedding prep right through to the evening's entertainment (AKA party time) so they should be someone that you're able to relax and be yourself around. It's really important that you're totally comfortable with your photographer, if you're not then this will really show in your photos. 

This goes right back to the service section of this post, a photographer that is going to put the time and effort into getting to know you before you even book will be far better than one that just shows up on the day. For me it's vital to meet before you book, it gives both of us time to chat, get to know each other and basically relax. Only when you're happy should you commit to spending your wedding day with them.

For me, the style of photography also helps both the couple and guest relax. As a documentary wedding photographer you get candid photographs of people being themselves, not someone walking around pointing a camera and flash in people's faces and asking them to smile, that definitely doesn't help guest relax. 

 Price

Price is obviously a consideration, especially when you want to make your wedding day as special and as memorable as possible, whilst remaining your budget. Once you've considered all the points above, i.e. you've found a photographer that shoots in the style you love, they offer beautiful products that meet your needs, they offer the personal service you crave, you've met them and you feel totally at ease being around them, only then should you really factor in the price. 

Once you've understood what a photographer is able to offer you, you'll then be able to compare them and be able to understand what you're really paying for. Therefore, don't go searching for photographers based on price alone, consider what you want from a wedding photographer and book accordingly.

After you're wedding is over, the foods been eaten, the flowers have withered and your dress has been put away, what do you have left? You have your memories and the photos that help keep those memories and emotions alive for years and even generations to come. 

We all have different budget's and priorities for our weddings, but I'd highly recommend investing in a photographer you love, that's going to capture the true emotions, in a way you and your guests are totally comfortable with, after all it's the photos that will live long after the day is complete.

Documentary family photography is something I love to do and wish I could do more of. So today I wanted to share a few family photos from our break to the Isle of Wight last year. 

Documenting our own lives and our loved ones around us is so important, particularly with small children, they grow up so fast it's unbelievable. Ethan turned three last month and Isabelle is a proper little girl now, walking about, causing mischief, it feels like she is so much older now than in these photos which were taken just 6 months ago. 

During half term week in October we went from Nottingham to visit and stay with family on the Isle of Wight, the children's great grandma to be exact. This is pretty much an annual trip for us and it's lovely for the kids to be involved as well. This trip was Isabelle's first time across to the island and Ethan's second. 

With Ethan being 2.5 years old at the time, it was the first time that he really appreciated the ferry ride across to the island, he had a whale of a time (haha).

Most of these photos were taken in at great grandma's house (isn't it funny that you talk in terms of the children's relationships), with a few from the park and of course a trip down to the beach and the amusements. 

My favourite images from the set are of Isabelle having a melt down in the patch of light coming from the kitchen, the kids on the swings and Ethan's cheesey grin. 

It's great to look back at these photos and see the changes in the kids, and this is just after 6 month, I can only image what these images are going to mean to us in 5, 10, 15, 20 years time. It's like money in the bank with a high interest rate, they'll be worth so much more to me in years to come than they did when I took the photos.

I encourage you to take plenty of photo's of your loved one's and one day you'll have a treasure trove of memories to share.