Best of the Decade
I fell into wedding photography about 12 years ago, but it was only in 2010 that I really decided to focus on this genre of photography and career path. When I put my mind to something I am all in, even though the initial idea was that I would use the money that I earned from wedding photography to pay for life whilst I made art and exhibited on the side. I was rather naive to think that someone like me could do both, because there is truth in the saying which tells us that “where your focus goes, energy flows.” I had decided that if I was going to become a wedding photographer, I would work until I was as good as the best in the world. I was obsessed, and with that extreme dedication came a very fast acceleration. One minute I was figuring out how to use flash and the next I was being flown across the world to photograph the nuptials of strangers.
Now there are some who think that I was born with an innate talent for wedding photography and this is entirely untrue. My early photos were absolutely ghastly, but I worked myself to the bone to improve every single time I picked up my camera. I worked so hard that I put myself in hospital with adrenal burnout because I was a perfectionist and my own worst critic and was working 80 hours a week. I didn’t really care about accolades, only about being the best that I could be. I was so focused on improving my craft that I had neglected to work on my workflow and the business side of my business and so that trip to the hospital and the year that it took to recover put things to perspective. I loved the fact that wedding photography allowed me so much creative autonomy and that I was being paid to people watch and travel but it had taken its toll!
I put my prices up because I realised that I could not do what I did for average prices, as I was not putting in an average amount of effort. I kept putting them up and people kept hiring me. Fast forward a few years and I have been acknowledged by reputable international organisations as being one of the best wedding photographers in the world and have made some incredible memories during my career, but I haven’t made any non commissioned artwork that I am proud of nor have I had a single exhibition during this time. Over the last couple of years there has been a stirring in my soul that has been itching for a change but I felt a gigantic creative block inside of me. I still loved every single one of my clients and put my all into every assignment I took on but I knew that I wanted more.
It is interesting that I was awashed with this knowing just as the wedding industry came crashing down under the weight of the pandemic of 2020. It felt like the universe was giving me a huge slap as I fell into a pit of despair. This year has been emotionally exhausting and certainly one of the most stressful that I can remember, but I have made some enormous changes like tidying up my personal life, letting go of my beloved Mouse House which I had poured myself into whilst refurbishing, packing up my stuff, applying to Rhodes University to do my Masters in Fine Art, investing in a water housing for my new Sony gear and completing a free diving course.
I have no idea where this journey is going to take me, nor do I have a step by step action strategy. I have no five year plan. I only know that I am opening a new door to a new future and a new way of doing life.
In my time as a wedding photographer I have met some of the loveliest, most interesting and diverse people from all over the world. I have photographed weddings everywhere from sheep barns to mountain tops to white sand island beaches to 6 star hotels. I’ve had access to some of the most intimate moments of what it means to be human in so many different cultures and in so many different spaces. I have been moved, touched and transported and I know that everything that I have learnt and every one that I have met along the way are all stepping stones towards the next chapter.
Huge thanks to each and every person who has walked this journey with me. I am so deeply grateful for your thread in my life’s tapestry.
And so I present my favourite wedding photos from the last decade with deep gratitude and honour. I am still truly humbled that people have entrusted me to interpret their connection to the people and the world around them in my way.
PS I am being asked this alot. “Will I continue to take on wedding assignments?” Yes I will, but only a selected few per year.
PPS I could have chosen 1000 more photos so please don’t take it personally if your wedding pics aren’t in here. It was very hard to narrow this blogpost down as I have literally shot hundreds of weddings.
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