Dorset Wedding Photographer

About

Your friendly Dorset Wedding Photographer

My name is Jude & I am a creative Wedding Photographer living and working in Dorset and the Southwest. I’m based in the vibrant town of Bridport which provides no end of opportunity to feed my passion for photography and people.

I am “professional”, “creative” and “one of the family”. I “capture naturally organic shots” and take “absolutely beautiful candid photos” - at least that’s what my clients say! Really I just love taking photographs that document real moments and tell a story. Actually that’s what I’ve realised - for me, wedding photography is all about storytelling. It’s about capturing those magical moments, the laughter & tears unfolding throughout the day.

How will I capture the magical moments of your day?

  • Passion

    My ongoing passion for the work I do.

  • Experience

    20 years’ experience and greater knowledge through ongoing study.

  • Knowledge

    My knowledge of local venues & locations.

  • Invisible

    The right camera gear and my unobtrusive style.

  • Friendly

    Developing a relationship with you and your guests.

  • Tasteful

    A creative but natural approach to editing.

My Inspiration & Photographic Journey.

 

Robert Frank - ‘The Americans’ - 1945.

I have always loved taking portraits right back to my teenage years shooting with my dad’s Nikon 35mm SLR film camera. But it all really started when one day I found an old Rolleiflex Medium Format camera going cheap in a secondhand shop. I got some MF film and took that camera on holiday in Malaysia. In the monsoon & streets of Kuala Lumper it all happened for me.

When I got back from that trip I enrolled on the HND Photography at The Arts Institute in Bournemouth. It’s there that I discovered all the masters and especially the documentary style of the magnum photographers. I spent hours in the library flicking through the photography books and 3 main inspirations always stay with me. Henri Cartier Bresson & his ‘decisive moment’.

Where the moment is paramount, and the photographer’s duty is to only facilitate by capturing its spirit. Robert Franks - The Americans - wow - what an incredible book! William Klein’s street photography & the works of abstract expressionist photographer Harry Callahan.

I think it was Henri though who inspired me to start hitting the streets and searching for these magical moments setting my camera to a fixed focal length and taping it up with duct tape! I have spent hours and hours walking the streets of Paris, Montreal & London taking street portraits and capturing the stories that unfolded there.

Henri Cartier-Bresson 1971.

At college we learnt about light, about how to harness it and all the intricacies of aperture / shutter speeds & light sensitivity. How the greater the knowledge of this trinity unlocks more and more creativity and control. I entered photography in an era before digital cameras or digital editing. Thinking back to the days of developing my photos in the college darkroom, I still miss the essence of the ‘latent image’ when carrying an unprocessed film to the lab. But having the experience of coming from this era of photography always stays with me and informs my work - and makes me feel very old!

William Klein - street photography.

Harry Callahan 1955.

As I got older and put my adult pants on I realised I needed to harness these skills and find a career in photography. This is what led me to starting my own portrait photography business & shooting weddings. The link though between street photography and documentary style wedding photography still lives on through my work and especially the evocative images of the masters that came before.

Dorset Wedding Photographer

Small is beautiful…

My kit & approach.

When shooting candid / documentary style wedding photos I find that the important aspect of the work is not to intimidate the Bride & Groom or the guests with huge overbearing zoom lenses. I mainly carry 2/3 small prime lenses on a very discreet full frame mirrorless camera. I also love lenses that retain retro styling and characteristics. Using only 2 prime lenses on a wedding day really challenges the photographer’s creative process and captures very intimate & emotive photographs.

I shoot with RAW files which allows for full editing creativity and I use Adobe Lightroom. I like to edit photos in a natural way without over-editing. I can create a myriad of editing styles harking back to different eras and colour styles and I adore Black & White photography.

I am currently shooting with x2 Sony Alpha A7iii mirrorless full frame cameras. I shoot with a holster strap allowing me to interchange between cameras. On each camera body I shoot with one prime lens which gives me two focal lengths. My favourite prime focal lengths are 35mm, 55mm & 85mm.