Hitched Breakthrough Awards

Shortlisted For The Hitched Breakthrough Awards

After almost 20 years as an editorial photographer, the last 15 for The Times, I only started photographing weddings a year ago. I shoot a handful of weddings a year as well as continuing my work for The Times. I answered the phone last week to discover I had been shortlisted in the wedding photographer category for the Hitched Breakthrough Awards 2012. This award is for people who have started in the wedding industry in the last year.

The image above is Elena as she finishes her preparations before her wedding in Sauternes near Bordeaux, France. It was great to be their destination wedding photographer in France. It’s even more thrilling to find out that three of my images from that wedding have resulted in being shortlisted in these wedding awards. This is a beautiful moment as she lifts the veil before preparing to walk down the aisle. It’s sometimes a tricky shot to make because of the problems focusing on a face with a veil in-between the subject and your lens. The strong backlight helps to add drama to the moment as well.

A Bride’s Glance

This next image from the set captures the bride as she glances over to the groom at the start of the wedding ceremony. It’s the kind of photo that will bring back memories of this moment for many years to come. By shooting it on a longer lens, I’ve compressed the perspective a little, bringing the bridesmaids into the composition.

There are 10 finalists in the Wedding Photography category, the winner being decided by a public vote, open until 29th October. So, if you like these images, please follow the link and vote for me! Thanks.