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photography
feature on the wedding bloggeesh! It only seems like yesterday I posted last weeks feature on Gordon McGowan.

What I love most about these features is that I get to show you real weddings, only without having to leave you with 50 or more photos to trawl through.  Instead you get the best of the best, of the best 🙂 to inspire your wedding planning.

And it’s about those wedding photographers making their mark in the industry by producing exceptional, unique wedding photography utilising unique wedding ideas and creating exceptional stories, exceptional art.

Down The Lens: your definitive guide to spectacular wedding photography

Today’s unique wedding photography showcase is by Andrew Billington.  Andrew’s got a very clear documentary style of photography {my favourite kind} and it’s because of this that his photos tell more than a thousand words!

Documentary style photography is less traditional in the fact that it’s not about setting up or posing shots: it’s about storytelling!

What I love about Documentary wedding photography is the result; you don’t just see, you feel!  You get an entire sense of the day: the mood, the atmosphere and the emotions.  Nothing beats seeing the elated looks on the Brides faces, or the Cheshire Cat grins of the Father or Mother of the Bride and Andrews got some pearlers of examples.

Check out the first photo… an intimate, strikingly happy moment shared between the Bride and Groom that could not have been captured by setting it up or posing the moment. Expressions like this can’t be posed. Beautiful!

© Alice In Weddingland wedding blog

Stunning B&W of the Bride (above) – meet Jen!

Even when it rains!  The photo above is pure testimony that no matter the weather your story will still be told through gorgeous imagery.  This photo reminds me of an Audrey Hepburn moment.

Down the Lens – Q & A Sesh!

When did you first start photographing weddings and how did it all begin ?

My father was a photographer so growing up there were always cameras around. I remember being so proud of my first Polariod camera and taking it everywhere. I then progressed to a 35mm camera and would spend hours developing and processing prints at home, so it’s something I’ve been doing all my life – it’s hard to imagine not interpreting the world by taking images.

How would you describe your style of photography?


I describe myself as a ‘Contemporary Documentary Wedding Photographer’ but it’s so hard to try to boil your style down into a few words. I always see my role at a wedding as the person who is in charge of telling the story of the day for the couple and future generations – for me it’s about creating photographs that lead you through the day in a compelling and interesting way and revealing some truth about what the occasion and the people were like. Most of the day is spent recording the wedding as it unfolds without interference from me (I’m yet to shoot a day without a little ‘formal’ photography but I do this very quick to keep the day flowing) – I don’t pose, ask people to repeat things or orchestrate situations; I find an honest and artistic way to tell a story.

I’m a photographer at a wedding not a ‘wedding photographer’.

What would be the favourite wedding that you’ve photographed and why?

It’s really hard to choose because each day is very different and I find that there is always moments of everyone’s wedding day that make it memorable. However, one of my favourite recent weddings would have been for Jen and Rick at Manchester Town Hall – it was just such a perfect fusion of great location, loving families and happy guests that made it feel really special; and the genuine warmth, love and enjoyment comes straight through the camera lens.

Andrew achieves beautiful skin tones and stunning colour in his photos.

What would your advice be to Brides/Grooms when choosing a wedding photographer?

Firstly, you have to LOVE their images – their photography should give you an emotional response (if you get a bit teary or smiley at someone else’s wedding photographs imagine how you’ll feel about your own).

Secondly, you need to meet them (or at least talk on the phone) and see if that’s a person you want to spend for 8-10 hours of your wedding day with.

Thirdly, look at the value you put on commissioning someone to create the record of your wedding day and be prepared to pay them accordingly.

My Down The Lens feature was originally set up so that I could show you great examples of wedding photographs and to show you the kind of quality images you should aim for for your wedding photography.  And this does not mean that you need to take out a second mortgage to get this kind of quality. Far from it!

If I was getting married today I would absolutely, definitely, in a Harry Potter kind of wizard way, go for documentary photography because it tells your story: it will capture your story more than traditionally setup photos.  I would simply include a little list list of ideas to give the photographer for the family shots – just to ensure I get all generations of my family 🙂 and don’t leave out great Granny!

I want to look back on the journey that was our wedding day: looking at it from everybody else’s eyes and reliving it kinaesthetically.

Andrew is a brilliant photographer and knows his stuff, it’s obvious from photos that he has exceptional technical ability and his creativity and his keen eye capture those beautifully romantic moments in a really special way.  My favourite (I LOVE 4 of them) but I love the little girlies on the fence – a priceless moment! Check it out in the gallery.

What do you think of Documentary style photography and Andrew’s photos?  Please leave your comments, I’ll get back to you shortly 🙂

Have a super snowy Sunday!