a bit about me
About Paul Griffiths | Experienced Wedding Photographer
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Kensington Roof Gardens, London
I have quite the backstory.
There are very fond memories of an idyllic childhood and teenage years on a West Country dairy farm, military adventures in the Royal Navy, a London lifestyle during the 'heady' 80s and ’90s, international travel as an export executive, many encounters with the rich and famous along the way, and even a chapter as a self-employed wine merchant of all things!
Perhaps those are stories I can reveal in my blog some other time. For now though, I’ll keep it to photography and more specifically, how I became a wedding photographer...
Court farm, Wookey, Somerset
Mini Moke, Barbados
A tractor in Somerset!
Boarding Concorde, Lisbon
Somewhere rough in the Irish Sea!
With Sian & Lonnie Donegan, London
HMS Bronington, Thames Flood Barrier
With friends at Royal Ascot
How it all began
That journey began way back in 1996, when I photographed a wedding for a friend of a friend of a friend.
Little did I know at the time that picking up my camera for that wedding would eventually lead me here, all these years later.
I absolutely loved every minute of photographing that very first wedding and in my enthusiasm, I shot rather a few too many rolls of film which, as you can imagine, cost a small fortune to have developed!
But it was more than worth it. The reactions from the couple when I handed over the pile of prints were something to behold. Seeing how much those photographs meant to them planted a seed somewhere in my subconscious, the bug was biting, I wanted to do more of this, I wanted to be, a wedding photographer!
It was, in fact, another ten years before I finally fulfilled that ambition and took up photography professionally. My first professional wedding was quite an introduction to the business, with celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott as the best man and footballer Lee Chapman and his wife, actress Lesley Ash, among the guests.
It was an extraordinary wedding to have as my first and it proved rather useful when it came to marketing my new business. People simply assumed I was a celebrity photographer (which by default, I did later become) but back then, I simply just let them assume away!
Before long, I was incredibly busy, almost too busy, in fact. Meeting so many interesting people through weddings led to all sorts of opportunities — photographing events, taking portraits and working at some remarkable venues.
Chef Ainsley Harriott, Cain Manor
Beach wedding, Mauritius
Matt Cardle sings 1st dance, Notley
Most pink, most expensive wedding!
What all the years have taught me
Before I knew it, I was working more as a freelance photographer, predominantly in London, photographing wonderful people in extraordinary places and finding myself drawn into all sorts of different worlds.
Wedding photography has always been, and always will be, a very strong photographic love, but
those years of working across so many different photographic genres have given me something invaluable: experience beyond weddings alone.
It's taught me how to read a situation, anticipate what's likely to happen next, work confidently in unfamiliar surroundings and lighting conditions and adapt when things don't quite go to plan. And that's experience I bring to every wedding I photograph today.
And, looking back, I think that's been one of the greatest gifts of all and a genuine asset I can share with all my couples today.
House photographer, Playboy Club
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With photographer Terry O'Neill
'King's Speech' Oscar
With my fave, Babs x
Why I photograph weddings the way I do
I've done most of my experimenting now. After all these years, I have a pretty good understanding of what works, what doesn't, what to look for and, just as importantly, what to anticipate and when.
Experience has taught me to trust my instincts, recognise the moments that matter and know when to step in and when to leave things alone. That doesn't mean I've seen it all or stopped learning. Every wedding and every couple is different, and you never quite know what's going to happen next.
For me, it's never been about trying to be clever for the sake of it, chasing awards or creating the next social media sensation (not exactly my strong point!).
What I want to do is deliver beautiful, high-quality photographs of people being themselves, capturing life as it unfolds.
The laughter, the tears, the nerves, the excitement, the chaos and all those wonderfully fleeting moments that happen between the things that were planned.
I want to capture the details, the emotions and, most importantly, the true characters of the people involved, without turning your wedding into a photography circus. I'll never lose sight of the fact that this is your wedding day, not my photoshoot. My job is to photograph it beautifully without taking it over.
I've learned that some of the best photographs are the ones you couldn't have planned, posed or predicted. They happen when people forget about the camera, get caught up in the moment and simply enjoy being together. That's what I'm looking for.
Wedding photography trends will come and go, but photographs that feel natural, honest and true to the people in them will always have a place. Long after today's trends have passed, those are the images that will bring your wedding day back to life.
So, that's a little about me, how I got here and what I've learned along the way.
If you'd like to find out what it's like to have me photograph your wedding, from our first conversation right through to receiving your finished photographs, I've put together a guide to the whole experience.
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Click below to find out more about your wedding photography experience with me.
