“My prices are higher than the average
wedding photographer and I know this from
the inquiries I receive.
"Couples often tell me I am a lot more than
what they had budgeted for, but then again,
many couples base their budget on what the
first two or three photographers tell them they
charge.
"At first this worried me, but I have never
dropped my prices and I have managed to stick
around. Sure, it’s been tempting to drop my
prices at times, but I’ve stuck it out because my
clients have continued to confirm for me that
there is something about what I do that keeps
them coming back and that's enough to push
on."SO, WHAT IS DIFFERENT?
So, what exactly is the difference that Dan is
talking about? What makes his photography
different to the work of other, more mainstream
photographers?
“The new style is more relaxed with its
posing and framing. I think that many of the
past generation of wedding photographers
(not all) pushed back against this change, rather
than seeing how they might adapt. Or, maybe
they and their clients loved what they shot and,
since they had a good client base, saw no need
to change. I don’t know!
“With the older way of shooting,
photographers also tended to use zoom lenses,including the 70-200mm quite a bit, whereas
the way I like to shoot is with just two prime
lenses, a 24mm ultra wide-angle and a 50mm
standard.
"This is another thing that I think helps set
me apart a little, along with a more free-flowing
approach to how I shoot with a couple. There’s a
lot of composition and available light play.
“The standard wide-angle lens for wedding
photography when I started was a 35mm f1.4,
so I used a 24mm. "I know these are all subtle
separations, but when you add them up, it
creates a significant difference.
"Using a 24mm lens at a mid-aperture of f5.6
or f8, instead of a 35mm at f1.4, was different.
I was influenced by the work of documentary
photographers like Stephen Dupont and
Sebastiao Salgado.
"I know they shot wars and conflicts and I’m
photographing weddings, but those are the
photographers whose work I love and I have
their books and photos all around our house.
“I didn’t find the work of many other
wedding photographers particularly interesting.
I loved the photos by Marcus Bell and David
Oliver, but otherwise I was more influenced by
non-wedding work – and then when I applied
this approach to weddings myself, people
thought it had an original vibe.”NO RISK APPROACH
While many of Dan’s award-winningFEATURE