How I Work With Photographers
Most couples book their photographer before they book me.
That makes sense. Photography tends to come first, both in priority and in the planning process. By the time I arrive on the scene, there’s usually already someone brilliant lined up.
My job is to fit around that, not compete with it.
Two people, one day
A photographer and a filmmaker are doing something similar but through very different lenses. Literally and figuratively.
A photographer is hunting for stillness. The frame. The expression. The single image that holds everything.
I’m looking for what surrounds that. The movement. The sound. The moment before and after the one worth freezing.
Because of that, we’re rarely in each other’s way. The work tends to breathe in different directions naturally.
The intuitive part
Most of the day takes care of itself.
We’re both experienced enough to read a room, find our angles and stay out of each other’s shots without a choreographed plan. There’s a quiet professional shorthand that tends to develop quickly.
I introduce myself early. We have a brief chat. After that, it mostly just flows.
Where communication matters
There are two parts of the day where I make a point of checking in properly: the ceremony and the speeches.
These are the moments where positioning is everything and there’s no second take. We’ll talk through where we’re each planning to be so we’re not doubling up, blocking lines of sight or bumping into each other at the wrong moment.
It’s a short conversation. But it makes a real difference.
The part couples don’t always think about
Here’s something worth knowing before you book anyone.
Style compatibility matters. Not just between you and the people you hire, but between the people you hire and each other.
If your photographer works in a very editorial, posed, directed style and I’m working in a quiet documentary way, there can be a tension on the day that’s difficult to resolve. Not a personal clash. More of a fundamental difference in approach that affects how the day unfolds for both of us.
An editorial photographer will want to direct moments. I work best when moments are left to happen. Those two things can pull against each other in ways that neither of us would want.
It’s worth having that conversation when you’re booking. Ask your photographer how they work on the day. Ask me the same. If the answers feel compatible, that’s a good sign.
When it works well
When the styles align, the day genuinely becomes something more than the sum of its parts.
A photographer who works calmly and observationally creates a kind of atmosphere on the day that I find easier to film within. The couple are more relaxed. The people around them are less self-conscious. The moments that matter surface more naturally.
I’ve worked alongside some brilliant photographers over the years. The best ones share something with the best filmmakers: they know when to hold back.
That restraint is where the real work happens.
