HEY THERE,
I'M ALISTAIR.
ABOUT YOUR STORYTELLER
Hey, I’m Alistair. I live in Leeds, West Yorkshire with my gorgeous wife Shelly, our little boy Angus and our favourite fluff-bag cockerpoo Ruby.
Before persueing a thrilling career in wedding photography, I was a full time musician, performing at hundreds of weddings, as well as shows in theatres and with bands at international festivals. I even performed on the Lion King’s UK theatre tour, but it was performing at weddings that allowed me to study and be inspired by so many great photographers - so much so that I became one!
With lots of creative family members, I grew up being surrounded by art, photography, interesting design and music, and I like to use those inspirations when telling stories though me photos and wedding galleries. Every wedding is different, and my people-centric approach to photography allows my work to tell the story of your wedding day as it naturally unfolds.
GET TO KNOW ME A LITTLE...
I’ll be with you from prep till the dance floor, so why not get to know who’ll be discreetly documenting your most special and exciting day?! Here’s some fun, and slightly nerdy facts about me:
/// I love the outdoors. I grew up in the Lake District, so fells, peaks and lakes are my happy place. I go on long hikes, canal walks or forrest trails as often as I can, and always bring a camera.
/// I love watching and studying films and good dramas - annoyingly, I struggle to watch a film now without analysing the cinematography techniques, guessing the focal lengths or admiring the framing and lighting of a scene or subject. I’ve watched the Lord of the Rings more times than I can count, and love ‘bottle movies’ (films shot in only one location with minimal cast members) - these films rely entirely on great scripts and superb actors.. no fluff or BS allowed!
/// I studies Jazz at music collage - on paper, the most useless degree of all time, but I made some amazing friends along the way and met so many creative and inspiring people since.
/// I’ve kept the very first digital camera that I ever bought, a Fujifilm X-T10. It’s not suitable for shooting weddings on, but I enjoy taking it on holiday or days out with family and treat it like a film camera - I challenge myself to only look at/ download the photos once a year, which is a nice treat.
/// I shot my first wedding in 2022. It was terrifying and equity exhilarating. Although I’m much more relaxed and confident now that I was then, I still have the exact same amount of enthusiasm and passion for it today. Capturing the most exciting and love-filled day of someone’s life is a real privilege and I can’t imagine that passion and drive will leave me any time soon.
MY APPROACH:
LESS POSING - MORE PARTYING.
Documentary wedding photography sounds more fancy than it is.. in a nutshell, I approach weddings with this simple rule:
I want you to look back at your wedding photos and remember all the awesome things that happened, not all the things your photographer made you do.
For that reason, I’m very hands off when it comes to documenting a wedding. I’ll more than happily offer advice and suggestions when needed, and am more than happy to gently guide you and your guests through group portraits, but on the whole, your gallery will be filled with candid photos of moments that ACTUALLY happened. Apart from a VERY short and relaxed portrait session, your gallery will be stuffed with images of you and your guests having the best time, as if I wasn’t even there.
Many of my past couples are amazed at how little they noticed me on their wedding day, despite the quality and variety of candid moments in their gallery.
Want some relaxed, unposed portraits of you and your partner? That’s cool with me!
I won’t be dragging you away from your guests for ages and I ask you to pose to within an inch of your life either. I also don’t shout orders or ask you to repeat things for the camera - all I ask is that you and your guests have a great time and I’ll be there blend in and capture it.
“Apart from the portraits, we barely remember seeing him - yet somehow he captured everything from every angle! We've no idea how he did it."
AWARD WINNING PHOTOGRAPHY
Recently, I plucked up the courage to enter a few of my images to some photography awarding bodies, with no expectations, other than the experience of being a part of a community of World leading wedding photographers. To my utter amazement, some of the images I submitted picked up some of the most prestigious and difficult to win awards in the World. A This Is Reportage award is extremely difficult to win, with only a hand full of images winning each round out of over 10,000 hopeful submissions.
TIR and Photographer Keeping It Real award images caught in the moment, and are strictly unposed, unprompted and captured authentically. It requires skill, an eye for detail, luck and the ability to predict a moment and be in the right place at the right time. Winning these awards has given me the drive to keep taking extra special images at weddings.
6 REASONS TO CHOOSE ME AS YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?
1. I’ll blend in with your guests and make them all feel comfortable and relaxed, shooting your wedding from within instead of from the sidelines.
2. You’ll get some stunning portraits of the two of you without the need to pose or spend ages away from your guests.
3. I thrive under pressure and strive to be creative with all aspects of the wedding day.
4. I’m happy to travel nationwide to capture a lovely wedding, at no extra cost.
5. We’ll get to know each other in advance of your wedding day, so that you feel at home with me from the moment I arrive - (not just a stranger off the internet with a camera)
6. I’m genuinely passionate about creatively capturing weddings and telling the story of the day as it really happened.
LIKE MY VIBE?
Choosing a wedding photographer can be a big decision, but what's most important is that you have an incredible wedding day, and feel comfortable, confident and assured that whoever you entrust with your memories will do so with enthusiasm, subtly and creativity.
If you think we'd be a good fit, now'd be a good time to get in touch to organise a casual chat where we can discuss your exciting plans.. I want to be as excited about your wedding as you are!
