How did I end up becoming a Wedding Photographer in Essex?
How did I end up becoming a Wedding Photographer in Essex?
To be honest I think that this is the most asked question I get (after what is the cost for wedding photography?)
Well, it is a long & winding road that never had Photographing weddings as am intended destination. I guess to get us to the present, we must go to the beginning… or close enough that is relevant!
The Analogue years…
I have always had a keen interest in photography, right back from being a school kid & my old 110mm film camera where you would open & shut to advance the film (who remembers those?) before moving onto 35mm film compact cameras. Once I got a job & was a “grown up” (some would say that this day hasn’t actually arrived yet… but what does my partner know?) I purchased a Practica BX10 with changeable lenses – great for photos… not so much the cost of film developing or keeping my then Girlfriend happy whilst I swapped lenses on a day out. Life got busy & I decided to put a pin in my hobby for a good decade or so.
Living in a Digital world.
I remember the exact day I realised I wanted to get back into Photography – it was 14th December 2008 & at Wembley Stadium for the race of Champions sat in the stands watching the likes of Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel & co. racing round a man-made circuit on the covered pitch. As amazing (& freezing cold) as this was. It was seeing people with these massive cameras & lenses waiting to enter made me want to scratch that itch again.
10 days later (after bouncing around many different types of pocket digital camera) , my Christmas bonus arrived & I was able to purchase my 1st DLSr – my wonderfully basic Nikon D40, complete with stock lens & big telephoto lens (well I thought it was at the time). With 2 small kids I started using them as models & began snapping away, attending local car shows & attempted to capture images like I had seen in magazines (never has the phrase “all the gear & No Idea” been more apt!)
Time to Chill & get serious.
Around this time, I was an avid follower of the Basingstoke Bison, a British Ice Hockey team in Basingstoke, where the entire family were season ticket holders & I started taking my camera to games occasionally & sharing them on social media with players & fellow fans. Around this time the teams official photographer left & I was asked if I would mind getting more involved & doing it on an official basis & there started is where my professional Photography journey started in earnest!
Almost every Saturday between September & May between 2010 & 2018 was taken up capturing the team This is where I learnt how to use my camera properly & as the years went by & I invested in better equipment, my images improved (as did the team) & being there to capture the team lifting 5 trophies was something special. I finally stepped back & allowed someone else to have the honour of capturing this amazing sport & only covering one or two games a season recently.
Chasing the dream...
As I mentioned earlier, I have always had a love of Automotive Photography & really wanted to carve out a career in this field to emulate the amazing images from Motorsport & Octane magazines. I was fortunate enough to get onto the Media team as one of the official event photographers for the Wilton Classic & Supercar annual event for its final 2 years in 2014 & 2015 as well as its monthly Breakfast club – the Wilton Wake Up (that I actually named!). From there I started attending track days at Goodwood & fell in love with the place & especially the Goodwood Revival, That I attend each September for my annual busman’s holiday. Alas with the market being flooded with unbelievably talented photographers. I decided I needed to step back from this professionally & focus on weddings & events. Only capturing occasional events such as Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court each September (Yes September is my annual Car Month!!)
Carrying Wedding Trains & Chasing wedding Planners
In 2014 a very good friend of mine got in touch asking if I would photograph her wedding? Having only Photography experience in Ice Hockey, Events & Automotive, the thought of capturing someone’s wedding day petrified me. The pressure involved of getting it right first time as it is the most important day of a couple’s life was terrifying & I didn’t want to destroy that memory.
Fast forward to January 2015 & I got another message saying that she has not been able to find anyone & asking if I would reconsider & there would be no pressure if the photos weren’t great as they just wanted a few pictures & needed someone that they could trust to do it? – after a couple of days thinking I finally relented & agreed to capture the day. Two weeks of intense research ensued with all the cheesy Cliché wedding images that were popular at the time included.
For someone who like most photographers has always suffered with “imposter syndrome” I don’t mind telling for it was a very stressful day, however I made it through with no hiccups or dramas – Yay for me!
& 2 weeks later & delivered my 1st wedding gallery to an ecstatic couple.
I was hooked! – why was I so stressed about this? – It’s fun & I get the opportunity to get creative & get to hang out with lovely families as they come together to celebrate!!
So, I started saying “yes” when people were asking if I did weddings & in 2020 I actually stopped marketing myself as an “Automotive, Wedding, Ice Hockey Photographer that also captures family portraits & Corporate headshots” (Catchy huh?) & niched down to just weddings & events.
However, 8 years after my first wedding I now 100% consider myself to be a wedding & Event Photographer Based in Southend-On-Sea, Essex, covering the whole of the UK & beyond.
I found that being an introverted photographer actually helps me to capture those Candid wedding moments that people love, (although that doesn’t mean that I won’t politely shout at someone to turn Auntie Jean in the right direction to face the camera for the group photo).
So there you have it – how I became Grant King Wedding Photography. I did warn you it was a winding road. But here we are.
Thanks for reading.
- Grant
Happy Birthday to us!
Happy Birthday to us!
Let me take you on a Journey…….
I have always was obsessed with Photography from a young age where I would cost my parents an arm & a leg developing film from my various cameras I had owned growing up. This passion continued into my teens & early 20’s when Digital cameras started to become affordable!
Fast forward to 11 years ago, I was a fan of The Basingstoke Bison Ice Hockey team, watching every home game as a season ticket holder with my family. With my 2009 Christmas bonus from work I purchased my first DLSr Camera to photograph my kids growing up and eventually I started to take it to games to try and capture images for myself.
My friends on Social media started to enjoy them & caught the eye of the team and one weekend the existing team photographer decided that they could not commit to the job anymore and therefore I was asked to step into the role as official team photographer. This was a role that I kept on a weekly basis until 2018 when I stepped back from the full season commitment & just covered occasional games that I still do today (or will once we start playing again).
In 2011 Grant King Photography was officially born……
Whilst in my role as team photographer, I started getting requests to photograph the odd family event for players or fans of the team as well as Photographing for a team in the British Superbike Championship.
In 2015 I had a friend who had been asking me for two years previously to photographer her wedding (I did not have the confidence at the time) rang me in a panicking, asking if I could photograph her wedding with 3 weeks before the big day. As she was getting stressed by the whole thing, I gave in & accepted her request. It turned out to be something that I never thought I would enjoy so much! The Laughter, the emotion, the whole vibe of the day way amazing & that was when I decided to start advertising Wedding Photography as a service I could provide.
Whilst this was growing in the background, I had also been feeding my passion for all things Automotive at local car events that ended up with me being asked to join the media team as an official photographer for Wilton Classic & Supercar event in 2014 & 2015.
Once word got around about quality of my car show images, I started being approached with more & more requests to provide Event Photography services covering events at both Local & National level.
As it's a landmark Birthday We've decided to intoduce a fresh new look to ot only the website, but also outr logo, We really hope you like it as much as we do!
As we Celebrate 10 years of capturing memories, I would like to thank all my clients both old & new along with my friends & family for all your support over this time & I look forward to continuing for at least another 10 years. As well as welcoming a whole new batch of clients looking for photography services not only here in Essex, but throughout the UK & Beyond.
Saturday 3rd November 2018 “A series of fortunate events!”
I think this has to go down as one of the busiest, most bizarre & gratifying days I’ve had behind the lens.
It all started with an 11am pre-wedding shoot at the beautiful Devils Punch bowl in Surrey ahead of a wedding between Maddie & Andy. The weather was perfect, warm, blue skies & a Few white clouds dotted around.
After a 2hr meeting / photo shoot. We parted ways looking forward to the up coming celebration. As I had some free time I decided to pop in for a coffee at a friends before deciding to head to Stourhead to capture the last bit of colour before the weather turned completely! Alas I arrived & it was grey clouds everywhere! Never the less I spent an hour doing a lap of the lake.
My next job was an 18th Birthday party I had been booked for in Downton (about 7 miles out side of Salisbury) I had the event booked in as an hours worth of photography & ended up doing 2 as everyone was having such a good time!
At about 10pm I headed home & noticed that the cathedral had been lit up green to celebrate it being named the first “Eco Diocese” so with kit in the boot I headed to the cathedral close & set myself up for some photos......
After 5mins of me taking photos & see in the shadow of the spire some one say “ I want to ask you a question”. &spot a man going down on one knee to propose to his partner.
I managed to quickly grab a couple of snaps on my phone (as my camera was on a tripod taking a 30 second exposure at the time!!)
Once she said yes! (YAY!!) I stepped out of the shadows & told her that I was not anything to do with the proposal. But being a photographer would they like a proper photo to mark the occasion properly.
We captured a couple of images for them & I passed on my card so they could contact me for the images. Which they did within the hour!!
It just goes to show that sometimes fate can bring out the most amazing of moments that were just meant to be!
Getting up to speed
Well here we are again, 4 games into the new season & my perennial self doubt is raising its ugly head!
Every year for the last 5 seasons without fail & question my kit or my skill set & every year since the 1st I get reminded by folks that I do it every year!
The trouble is over the summer you simply forget how fast the sport is (especially from between the benches) & how difficult it is to get into that groove of doing a Gretzky & knowing where the puck is going. A lot of the lack of fluidity & anticipation comes from the fact that until the new guys have settled into their new lines, you struggle to get a feel of how a break out is going to flow. Hopefully now the guys have started gelling I can get my Mojo back get the shots I want to capture.
That said it’s great to be back again & Doug & the boys are producing some fantastic high tempo hockey again this season that will hopefully lead to us capturing some silverware in April.
Taking the weather with you
Taking the weather with you
The last Sunday before August bank holiday Monday. Always my favourite date on the calendar as we get invited by Disco Dion & Emma Spencer to take the Sarum Stars cheerleaders along to do a demonstration at their free charity family funday.
I always take my camera along to capture the kids in action for the FB page, this year however I had a message asking if it would be possible for me to capture the event. For them? – Of course I said yes!
The weather forecast was iffy to say the least but as Dion said “It never rains on Sunday Funday!” (Which is actually true!) so as the music got cranked up & the fun began, 1st with Durrington Rangers FC, followed by Ignite Family Mixed Kickboxing. Then the rain began to fall...... just in time for the Cheerleaders display!! Sadly this meant a major re-think of what they could do safely. Whilst discussions were going on DJ Dion did what he does best & got the arena rocking with fun & games. Until the rain subsided enough for the cheerleaders to do some sort of Demo.
The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits & even a cramped Casa De Samba drumming display played under a Gazebo managed to gather a crowd!
All in all it was another great event & game me the opportunity to shoot thinks I haven’t before in the way of Football & Kickboxing.
Why not visit the FB page & keep an eye out for next year’s event! – I can’t recommend it enough!
& a HUGE THANKS To Dion & Emma for having me join the team!!
