My first wedding

A little while ago I shot my first wedding for a young couple in york. At the time I wasn't sure if I was ready but i met with the couple anyway, they had advertised through gumtree for a low priced local amateur photographer. It was actually a friend that pointed out the advert and I decided to take the plunge and email them. Being perfectly honest I wasn't sure if I would get a reply but when I did I must admit I got a flutter of excitement in my stomach. This all started at my best friends wedding when I realised at the end of the day id missed most of the actually ceremony because I had spent all my time watching the photographer. His interaction with the guests when it was needed but then how he would just melt away for the candid shots I was fascinated by the way he worked. So a year and a half later I found myself sitting across the table from a young bright eyed couple showing off my portfolio with bated breath. 15 minutes later I walked out the door with my first wedding booked beaming from ear to ear. Going into this I knew my gear wasn't up to the job to get the best results so I decided to hire some better equipment. In the end I actually lost money on this wedding but for this year I currently have four weddings already booked ( thankfully no funeral ). The day was a huge learning curve but enjoyable from start to finish. If I took anything away from this experience its to be honest with potential customers but more importantly be honest with yourself. If your not sure about your skill level then pick the jobs you put your name to carefully. Keep shooting keep reading join sites with large helpful communities that are willing to give help and advice, a personal favourite of mine is 500px there are some amazing photographers there for tips and advice. Utilise your social media set up a Facebook page  and a photography specific Twitter account. Advertise and answer ads on gumtree but if your just starting out be prepared to work for a low price whilst you build up your portfolio and your confidence. If you want others to believe in you you've got to believe in yourself.

Get in touch with your blogs and pages I always love to share my work and love of photography.

Home town history

26 years the city of York has been my home town born and bred here, funny thing is until recently armed with some of Nikons finest I have never taken the time to appreciate my surroundings. Its amazing how when you visit somewhere new you look around and take everything in and admire a foreign beauty, but when your moving around your home town for years on end it just turns into your everyday A to B head down journey. In York there is a lot of history and when you look around its so easy to fall in love with some of the architecture. At the moment I don't know the names or history of these places but I am setting myself a small project of learning more about the city I call home for my blog.

The middle two images have been sat on my hard drive for a while not doing a lot and the other four were just a recent day out in the city. Hopefully I will get a chance to add to these images very soon and maybe a little bit of information to go with these current shots. In the mean time arm yourself with your camera walk out the door and appreciate what you have begun to take for granted.

So why the name ?

Like I said in my first post I am not a professional, so why the name right? By now at some stage you've probably read the quote or seen a captioned picture reading something along the lines of, " Oh, you have an expensive camera? You must be a professional photographer ". And if you haven't you will at some point i'm sure of it. This is an image I want to avoid for myself at all costs, I know i'm not an amazing photographer or artist but I want to do it right. I am fortunate enough to have a very nice camera and most of my dream kit, my main body is a Nikon D800 with a 24-70 mm 2.8, 70-200 mm 2.8 vrII and a 50 mm 1.8 in backup I have a D7000 body and also have sb600 and sb910 speedlights.

It almost doesn't feel real that i'm able to write that as my kit list, granted the majority of that list is from a bank loan but I feel blessed that I have an opportunity that people far more talented may never have. So I need to earn this opportunity I need to propel myself from the image of being a "fauxtog" that guy with all the gear but no idea, to being a "protog" the one you can rely on to get the job done.

This is my son Tyler he is my world and i'm soon to be a father again. Family is what drives me to be better to make them proud of me. I'm not a great writer but I want to keep this blog going as a record of my achievements and also my setbacks and downfalls. Please feel free to comment below and join me on this journey of life and self discovery.

About this blog

About This Blog

First of all i'd like to say a big thank you for stopping by to check out my brand new blog. Firstly I want to say I am not a Professional photographer just a keen and passionate enthusiast. I have had a strong interest in photography for the past 7 years but in the last couple of years I have begun to take it a lot more serious. I have learnt a lot in the past couple of years but the more I look at it the more I realise I still know next to nothing. A big problem I think I have is trying to learn too much too quickly. As this is my first post I haven't even really figured out want I want to achieve, at this time I would say it is a log of what I have learnt as a record for mine and others future reference. But also it is to help me reflect a little and slow me down to a quality over quantity style of learning. 

Again for those of you who has read this many thanks and I hope you join me again in the future. In the mean time if your on twitter stop by and say hi here.