Your London Wedding - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 70)

69 PHOTOGRAPHY Belinda Burton, Belle Photo Journey bellephotojourney.com | 07891 390 297 How would you describe your photography style? My style is a combination of natural reportage photography and fine art portraiture. I love to capture the natural and unstaged expressions of joy, anticipation, excitement of the couple and people around them. I tend to be relatively ‘invisible’ and capture the events and moments as the day unfolds. However, when it comes to wedding portraitures, I would gently guide the couples to make sure we have some natural but flattering photos.  What’s your favourite London venue and why? It’s a difficult choice but I would probably say Cutty Sark. It’s visually stunning, filled with treasures, spacious with multiple levels for different impact, and right by the waterfront. What’s your favourite part of the job? The people element is one thing that keeps me smiling in my job. Not everyone is lucky enough to be in a job surrounded by happy people. I love meeting people and am more than pleased to be an important part of the big day. What are your top tips for nearlyweds? Write down three things you love most about your other half and put it somewhere easily accessible. Then, if you’re ever really mad at each other, look at your list and remind yourself why they’re the one for you. Genevieve Hawks, Queen Bea Photography queenbeaphotography.co.uk | 07376 157 985 Tell us about your background – how did you become a wedding photographer? I’ve always had a passion for photography, and got through a steady stream of cameras in my youth – several of which I broke as I took them everywhere . I wish it had clicked (pun intended) sooner that I could turn my passion into a business as that would have been more exciting than the law degree and subsequent journalism qualification that I put myself through. In May, 2018 I married my wife, Emma, after a five-year engagement. After the wedding, having spent years researching photographers, their styles etc, I began to wonder if it was something I could do. And once we got back from our honeymoon, I began to set up Queen Bea Photography. How would you describe your photography style? I would say I fall under the ‘documentary’ style of wedding photography. I like to keep things as natural and unposed as possible – and fun What’s your favourite London venue and why? I love Chelsea Old Town Hall for a number of reasons. First, it’s around the corner from where I live and I like getting to know other London wedding suppliers. I think the obligatory confetti shot on the steps is such a quintessentially ‘London’ wedding photo too, and I love that And your favourite area of the city to shoot in? That’s a hard one. I’ve lived all over London and have so many favourite places. However, I recently did an engagement shoot in South Kensington and had such a lot of fun. It was great seeing somewhere I spend a lot of time through a completely different lens (apologies for another pun). There are so many great, iconic places to shoot in around there, and we took some around Cromwell Road, Exhibition Road, and inside the Natural History Museum. What’s your favourite part of the job? I love, love, and that’s why I enjoy photographing weddings so much. I’m a huge romantic, and weddings are so full of fun, they just make me smile.