Despite living in a digital age whenever someone whips their phone out you will often hear “Oh no! I hate having my photo taken”! An increasing number of filters means we are less than accepting of something that we don’t see as the “perfect image”.
Your wedding photos are capturing one of the most important days of your life so we chatted with Derbyshire based photographer, Denym-Jai Taylor about the role that she plays in creating last memories of your special day.
What inspired you to pursue a career in photography?
As a child my grandparents would take me on holiday to the family caravan in North Yorkshire and I was fascinated by the landscapes and agriculture around us, taking photos on my (very old) tablet and I loved having these memories to look back on. The tablet was upgraded to a bright pink compact digital camera then the family DSLR was handed down to me. Whilst studying photography at GCSE level I was using more advanced equipment and I gathered my savings together along with some money that Granddad had left me and bought a brand new DSLR camera. It felt as if Granddad was continuing on the journey with me, definitely the next step on the right path.
How does wedding photography differ from other projects that you do?
I work in e-commerce as a “day job” and this requires a totally different skill set. Weddings are so unique and special, I love talking to my couples about their vision for the day and how I can help them achieve that.
What is important when building a relationship with your couples?
I always offer a phone call or face to face consultation before any booking. It’s imperative that the couple are happy and at ease with who you are as a person as well as your photography work. With any wedding package I include a pre wedding photo shoot as this allows the couple to understand my photography style, how I work to get the best shots whilst encouraging them to relax. It’s a great opportunity for us to chat, in an informal environment, and get to know each other better whilst capturing some amazing images.
Everyone always tells me that they’re awkward in front of the camera or they don’t like having their photo taken. I don’t believe any of this! I’m a very relaxed photographer, quite goofy and I love to just have fun. This is another reason why the pre wedding shoot is such a bonus, it’s wonderful to have photos of couples when they are laughing together and just being themselves so there’s no awkwardness at all!
What emotional value can a professional photographer add to the day?
The majority of people now have camera phones but a professional photographer sees a lot more than someone who is savvy with an iPhone. We capture the detail, emotion and all the small things that the bride and groom don’t get to fully embrace on the day as it goes by so quickly. There’s only so much a phone camera can do and whilst the quality is good for social media most people want printed photos on canvas or in albums and you need the best quality for these. Something you will always get with a professional.
We will capture moments that can be cherished for a lifetime.
