Laura & Kieren
Durham Masonic Hall, Durham
Confidence in direction leads to confident couples
Early on, Laura and Kieren told me they weren’t PDA people, and they weren’t sure how they’d feel about posed photos.
I hear that more than almost anything else, and it’s worth addressing head on. Not being a PDA couple has very little to do with how your portraits turn out. What makes people freeze in front of a camera isn’t a lack of affection. It’s not knowing what to do with themselves. Solve that, and the affection takes care of itself.
That’s why I direct portrait time. I don’t mean chin angles or stiff poses. I give couples somewhere to go, something to do, and a reason to look at each other. The structure is mine, but what happens inside it is entirely theirs. Confidence is contagious in both directions. If a photographer hesitates, mumbles through a prompt or keeps changing their mind, the couple picks up on it straight away and starts second-guessing themselves. Clear, calm direction does the opposite. When you know exactly where to stand and what you’re there to do, you stop worrying about getting it wrong, and that’s the moment people start to look like themselves. Couples don’t need to arrive confident. They need someone who is confident enough in what they’re doing to lend them some until their own takes over.
With Laura and Kieren, it took very little time. By the time we were out on the streets of Durham in the late afternoon light, the two of them were all in. They walked hand in hand, laughed at each other, and paid no attention at all to anyone walking past. Nobody looking at those frames would guess this was a couple who had worried about being photographed.
I told them as much on the day. The confidence in those images was never mine to hand over. Their energy was always going to carry it, and my job was simply to point it in the right direction. In my experience, that’s true of most couples who say they’re awkward. The ease is already there. It just needs a reason to come out.
The rest of the day at Durham Masonic Hall had the same spirit, and it was capped off with a champagne tower they had well and truly earned. Laura and Kieren trusted the process, and they got their story back with a bit of pizzazz.
Laura and Kieren, thank you for having me.
“We wanted our wedding day to feel as relaxed and natural as possible, so I chose to get ready at my parents’ house. I was a little apprehensive about having someone there capturing such an intimate part of the day, but within half an hour Freddie had completely become part of the furniture! He captured the morning so beautifully and made us all feel completely at ease. When we moved on to the reception, Freddie was chatting, laughing and mingling with our guests, fitting into the atmosphere perfectly. He was never intrusive, yet somehow managed to capture every little moment. We had so much fun on our wedding day, and one of the things we loved most was how he never dragged us away for couples’ portraits for ages. Instead, he let us simply be ourselves in front of the camera, capturing us in short bursts throughout the day. I sent Freddie a link to my Pinterest board before the wedding, and he literally recreated the vision I had in my head! The photos are so incredibly special to both of us, and we know we will treasure them for the rest of our lives. Freddie, we absolutely applaud your attention to detail and your amazing skill behind the lens. The photos are everything we could have hoped for and more, and you genuinely helped make our wedding day so special and so perfectly us. So many of our guests commented on your skill, energy and passion for what you do. The next day, one of my good friends text me: “Laura, your photographer was amazing! He ran around all day making sure no stone was left unturned.” I couldn’t agree more!”Laura & Kieren
Who made it happen
Durham Masonic Hall- Venue
- Durham Masonic Hall (@durhammasonichallofficial)
- Dress
- Dotty Bridal (@dottybridal)
- Hair
- Harpers Hair, Shildon (@harpershair_shildon)
- Makeup
- Jaimie Leigh Makeup (@jaimieleigh.makeup)
- DJ
- Rob Agar (@djrobagar)
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