Some Frequently Asked Questions

Firstly, don’t worry about ‘what happened next’….Ben survived as Sophie didn’t follow through...in fact they seem very happy and have since had two lovely boys………

are they the same thing? - Documentary wedding photography, wedding reportage photography, wedding photojournalism?

I call what I do 'documentary wedding photography' because, other during portraits, I won’t interfere by suggesting you or your guests look here, or stand there. I make pictures of life happening in all it’s wonderful uniqueness. If you want your wedding pictures all posed so they look predictably like every other wedding, then you may just have come to the wrong photographer?

Portraits and group pictures?

Of course. A few couples don’t want either, but almost all do. We‘ll chat about how we’ll do them so they’re really effortless, but lovely.

PORTRAITS - You’ll be away from your guests for about 20 minutes, maybe twice for some variety in place and light. They’re best done before the wedding breakfast and/or later on in the evening as the light softens. You might well fancy getting away from the hullabaloo with each other for a while? I’ll place you, suggest how you might be, and easily get lovely pictures.

GROUPS - I suggest around five or six after your ceremony, but there can end up being many more. I’ll quickly and gently arrange you all. And you’ll spot me continuing to find pictures between the set ups, as that’s what I do.

And if you fancy a picture of everyone together that’s no problem, I’ll find a good way. But be prepared for people to go missing - some will have nipped to their car, the bathroom, the bar, be hiding, or gone to round up kids never to return.

Do we meet before the wedding? How much can we consult with you?

I'd love to meet you but it’s not essential. After loads of communication, video calls etc.. I mostly meet couples for the first time on the day. I'm very used to arriving somewhere new, meeting and mixing with you all as I make pictures. It always works out well.

How many pictures do you produce for us, and how will we receive them?

I don’t limit the number of images you should get, but there’ll be a minimum of about 400 beautifully processed images from me being around for a good long time during your day. Edited down from thousands, each photograph is processed with the care that I apply printing a picture in a dark room (something I still sometimes do). I’ll also supply low resolution small file size copies of all your images for social media or email.

I aim for you to get your pictures within 4 weeks of your wedding, but in the busy summer months this might stretch to 6 weeks. You’ll get a password to login to your images and they’ll stay up online for at least 6 months. Enough time for you to download them, share them (and the password if you want), and then if you want an album or book, ‘to tick’ the images you’d like me to include. And we can easily extend the 6 months online to much longer where needed.

Are all the pictures in colour? Can we choose whether we want them in 'black & white'?

During the edit I’ll find that some pictures work better toned in black and white. I'll make the decision which to go for and present the photograph to you in the tone I feel works best. I'll have made the choice for good aesthetic reasons  - the picture's light and emotion might come through more beautifully in one or other tone. Colour might make the image, or it might detract from it. I'm sometimes asked whether I could provide a black and white image in colour or vice versa, and if I can I will. On rare occasions I’ve been asked to just provide images in black and white for a classic look. You can see a whole black & white toned wedding at Emily & Will’s Wedding Story. All things are possible.

Do you use flash? We don't want the ceremony to be disturbed.

I use silent, click free cameras during the ceremony, and flash where needed at your reception and evening party. Even then I'll mostly make pictures using the available light.

What do you wear to weddings?

Usually a suit or jacket and trousers as it's the best way to blend in. Please say if you're having a themed wedding and asking your guests to dress in a particular way (it does happen) - you'd probably not want me to be the only person not dressed up, or down.

travel and accommodation costs - What if we asked you to photograph our, Welsh, Cornish, Lake District or Scottish wedding?

I’ve photographed weddings at the last two..I cover any travel and any accommodation I might need. I love wedding adventures far and wide, frankly the further the better. Living a stone’s throw from the sea on the south coast in Southsea, Portsmouth, most weddings are north from me here anyway. Mainly they’re in my diary months in advance providing time to plan any travel and any accommodation I might need. I’m very used to joining a wedding day wherever you are - and meeting you all, (gratefully accepting a coffee) and just getting on with making pictures for you. I did this for years as a press photographer/photojournalist and love exploring new places and meeting new people.

We’ve only a limited wedding budget. Might you still be able to be our photographer?

If you’re trying to keep costs down, your wedding is so far away, and on a weekday or in less busy winter months, I could join you for a small number of hours at a per hour rate.

If your financial circumstances are quite constrained and I can understand them, please talk to me. I genuinely believe everyone should have lovely pictures of their wedding day and I’ll try to find a way to be your photographer. Before a country wedding at a tiny Dorset church an elderly vicar once described his hope that my pictures of the couple’s wedding day might help sustain their marriage through the years to come. He then let me roam as I pleased, lovely wise man. I share this hope and will do what I can to be there at your wedding making timeless pictures.

Deposit, payment and contract?

Do have a look at ‘My/Our Contract’ using the button below. I hope you find it’s written in plain English - there’s no legal protection gained from jargon. The contract acts as protection and guarantee for us both. Do ask anything about the contract where you need to. To book, I add your names and the details of your wedding/ceremony/event to the contract, and you simply email back stating your agreement to it, and by paying a £50 deposit my services to you are secured. I’ll invoice you well before your wedding day requesting the remaining agreed fee be paid no less than 4 weeks before the big day. Please see the contract for further payment/cancellation details.

Do we need to feed you?

I bring food and drink to keep myself going, a basic professional responsibility. From photojournalism I’m very used to keeping myself nourished. At some weddings I’m fed, which is nice, but definitely not a requirement.

What happens if for some reason you can't come?

This has never happened. Perhaps amazingly, I’ve never missed a picture job of any kind, let alone a wedding. Although I did once do a long wedding day on an awful lot of paracetamol and Ibuprofen. I’m built with a strong constitution (and also seem to be quite lucky...given a few drinks I could bore you with some unlikely survival stories from past news photography work, but it's best not to get me started). If I did fall ill I’d find a colleague more than capable of replacing me. We watch each other's backs.

Our 'vicar', ‘celebrant’, doesn't seem to like photographers, what should we do?

Wedding venues and registry offices know photographers have to move quietly around making pictures. But if you're being married in a religious building it's quite common for a photographer to be asked to remain out of the way and of course I’ll respect this. My dad was a Church of England vicar (later a Bishop) and never let a photographer anywhere near the front, justifying this with stories about photographers treating marriage ceremonies like photoshoots. I’m sure some do. I’ve also met lots of religious celebrants who either allow me to quietly move around anywhere and trust I won’t intrude, or on meeting me have a late change of heart and allow me unexpected access. The latter happened at the extraordinary huge Italianate Church at Wilton, Salisbury. During a pre wedding chat the vicar thankfully did a 180. She moved from saying I couldn’t step inside to then agreeing I could photograph the bride’s entrance from the front, and also wander quietly down the side aisles throughout the service. I think she’d had some bad photographer experiences.

If you’re marrying in a religious ceremony, the week before the wedding I’ll make a call to whoever's presiding to see what they allow. There can often be room for negotiation.

Do you work alone?

Yes mainly, but if your day needs another photographer I can find a colleague to assist me for a small additional fee. I don’t think a wedding should be over-populated by photographers and videographers. The more people around clicking or filming the greater the chance of disturbing the fun?

privacy stuff - data, images, and GDPR.

You've probably heard of GDPR, and we all now click endlessly on website permission buttons. GDPR effects documentary wedding photography in two ways. It requires me to handle your written data responsibly, which I do, please see my policy GDPR Compliance. It also considers photographs as data. Due to the candid nature of documentary wedding photography, this potentially presents interesting questions. GDPR is still fairly new law and, in terms of photographs, we'll really only know what the regulations mean as the law is tested over time. The regulations suggest we have rights about photographs taken of us and can say if we don’t want them them shown publicly, but how far this stretches is still being worked out. My wedding documentary photography contract asks your permission for me to share some images from your wedding on social media and to use some pictures to publicise my work. You’ll hopefully see this as routine, but legally you can't give consent on behalf of your guests. My experience has been that we all now kind of accept the social media and online world and I’ve not yet had any ‘take down’ requests in any public photography that I’ve subsequently shared through my website or on socials. If any of your guests raise questions concerning their GDPR image rights with you, or with me, before, during, or after the day, I’ll of course comply with anything asked of me.

Do get in touch with any questions, I'll help wherever I can. I'd love to find out what you've planned, and a chat may assist you deciding whether you want me along for the day.

Use the button below, ring me on 07853233144, or mail me at matt@scottjoyntpictures.com.