I realised this year that, much like in life in general, I like simple, authentic things. When I started photography, I took much more heavily posed, “epic” kind of photos, that were beautiful maybe, but weren’t natural moments at all. Nowadays, as I changed as a person too, I prefer to focus much more on general prompts and simpler guidance (if any at all) and I think you can tell that my top 10 are all either completely candid moments, or very loose prompts with the subjects doing a natural action instead of holding one careful pose. It’s not as immediately showstopping, perhaps… but that’s my view of life, reflected in my work, I think. The quieter, but truer, moments. I hope the photos will resonate as such with some of you reading this.

1. Bride and groom in front of high altar

The dramatic light on the couple, along with the beautifully ornate high altar at St Kenelm’s church in Enstone, made this an instant must-take shot for me when I saw the scene. Dramatic side light like this and soft colours are always a winner for me.

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2. Autumn family scene in the Cotswolds

Autumn is the best time for family photos I think, and this family NAILED the styling so it went perfectly with the warm tones of the season combined with the Cotswold stone features of Bourton on the Water. Their energy and the golden sunlight makes this cute composition basically postcard level for me.

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3. High energy, colourful wedding dancefloor

I just love the contrasting, blocky, vibrant colours, the joy and fun on everyone’s faces, the dynamic angle, and the 3D light. Everything just comes together making me fel like I’m right there with them, dancing to the 80s TUNES they had going at Primrose Hill Farm!

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4. Polished City executive portrait

I love a challenge! The logistics of what Chris from Stratus Vista Advisory needed (a variety of setups and photos) meant it wouldn’t have been practical for both of us to travel to London to hire a location just for this one photo; yet he works often with City clients and does spend time there so this “hero” shot needed to reflect that. I photographed Chris on a white background, lit to mimic what we’d have if we were on location, and then I edited the London skyline in behind him! I’m proud of all the photos we got, but this one is the one I was the most satisfied with.

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5. Dramatic wedding ceremony scene

The dramatic light is back! In addition to the light on them showing the lovely details of the bride’s dress, I also love how the couple are framed by the trees on the left and their guests on the right, with the little girl in blue looking at their whippet ringbearer whose head is just outside the frame, showing there is more to the story than what this one image can show.

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6. Worried groom with worried painting

This was a moment I spotted as the groom chatted to someone during the reception – they must’ve been talking about something he had worries about (nothing to do with his partner, don’t worry, they’re fab together!) and his facial expression mirrored the painting so much that it still makes me chuckle! I always challenge myself to notice such small details/moments during what seems like “downtime” at weddings, and this was my favourite one in 2025.

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7. Relaxed yet polished corporate team photo

Posing and lighting a group this large – in a relatively small space – is a fairly challenging thing to do, when you have to make the composition look interesting, balanced, and with everyone looking their friendliest. There was a mix of warehouse and office staff in this one for Mobio Distribution, and the environment was also important to include – I was glad to say that with some careful planning, I’m 100% happy with the result and I think it’s one of my favourite team photos I’ve ever taken, not even just this year!

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8. Siblings racing in a pastel sunset

The joyful moment of friendly sibling rivalry, beautiful soft light and warm pastel tones with this stunning countryside background in the Cotswolds hills, just speaks to me as a parent myself – I’d love to have a photo like this on my own wall if these were my children!

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9. Proposal & engagement photoshoot at Wroxton Abbey College

The pastels of an early summer sunset are hard to surpass in terms of aesthetics, but this photo also has an emotional vibe for me – the couple flew in from New Jersey in the USA for a few days, and I was beyond honoured that they trusted me from so far to nail the moment of the proposal (I did), as well as the engagement photoshoot in the grounds of Wroxton Abbey!

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10. Networking over coffee at the Manchester Rare Disease Showcase

Event photography is often unpredictable, and it’s out of my hands where people stand, so when there was such beautiful light, AND two animated, lively ladies chatting over coffee during the morning break at this Beacon conference… I could hardly believe my luck! I think this photo looks like a staged stock photo, in a good way – it looks natural yet beautifully lit and flattering to the main characters in the photo! Let’s ignore the lady int he background with the bonus slightly funny hand position, I could’ve edited her out but that would’ve felt like cheating, and this way it shows that this was genuinely not a planned photo at all!

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+1 Adorable Doggy Ringbearer

The first dog ringbearer in my 10+ year wedding photo career, and he’s one of my favourite breeds too (whippet)! A supremely good boy I was very proud to get this unposed photo of him during bridal prep, and he just HAD to feature in this post!

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In summary…

Thank you for being here and for taking the time to scroll through this small snapshot of my year. If you are searching for a wedding photographer, brand photographer, family photographer or headshot photographer in Banbury or the wider Cotswolds area, I hope this gives you a sense of my approach and what working together can result in. There are some exciting new directions ahead for me in 2026, both creatively and professionally, and I will be sharing more as they unfold. If you would like to follow along, the best place to keep up with what is coming next is over on Instagram.

BUT…

…you can elevate your work beyond that.

I think a lot of photographers avoid flash because it sounds “technical”, and clients because it can be “disruptive”, although a more recent trend for direct flash editorial photos has somewhat tempered this. However, with the rise of content creators often taking photos of our setups and delivering them earlier than us… what can we do to stay relevant to couples, help them see the value to our services, and differentiate ourselves from content creators?

I firmly believe that learning flash can be a big step towards that.

In this article I’ll share examples to convince you to EMBRACE flash, either out of necessity or artistic preference for the quality of your photos – whether you’re a photographer or a client! Not all examples are from weddings, but all of them will illustrate a different point I’ll make. After the examples, I’ll explain the settings I use, too, as simply as I can!

Example 1: Messy indoor light

The direction and quality of the light that hits the subject is very important! For flattering portraits, you want it to hit them from the front, nice and even, to sculpt their face in the best possible way. In many rooms, light will be coming from the windows AND random lights in the room, that could be in all sorts of directions. Chances are, the light hitting the subject’s face is going to be kind of messy. It’s not awful, and with good editing it can be saved to an acceptable standard, but if we can do better for certain posed photos – why not?

Check out this example, two photos shot within seconds of each other. First one is natural light, the second has added flash on the camera.

Notice the difference the flash makes to the shadows on everyone’s face, the sparkle in their eyes and the overall “cleanness” of the photo. Using the flash also meant I could keep a bit more detail in the background because I didn’t have to ensure their faces were bright enough to match – the flash did that for me!

The same thing applies in any room where lighting is like that (like many register offices).

Example 2: Backlight (one light source, behind the subject)

This is something you CAN’T control with natural light only. If there’s any bright light behind the subject, they’ll be either too dark against the background, or the background will be too bright behind them. We can fix some of this in Photoshop but it degrades the image quality.

Here’s an example from a sunset, but the same idea would apply if you had a bright window behind the subject in a dark room.

I wanted to capture all the rich details of the sky behind the couple – but then they were only a silhouette as it was so dark! Sure, I could have selected just them, and brightened them a bit in editing, but it’d have made it very grainy. And if I’d photographed them to look bright enough, then I’d have lost some irrecoverable detail in the sky.

Enter a quick pop of flash to ensure we have both versions! I like both for different reasons, but the point is that my couple had the option to choose which the preferred, and it only took a minute.

Example 3: Not enough natural light

If the weather is generally gloomy and getting dark, or you’re inside in a space that’s not well lit, sometimes there isn’t enough light for the camera to rely on.

Some couples opt for a twilight ceremony, which means it’s at sunset – so by the time they come outside for couple’s portraits, it’s dark! But you still need to deliver something creative… The below example is something you can achieve with a single flash and a radio trigger (some cameras have it built in) or you can use your backup flash to trigger the first one. You do have a backup flash, right…?

Here’s a wedding portrait taken after a twilight wedding at Steventon House Hotel near Abingdon. All I did was ask an usher to point the flash at the couple from the front – it was March and pretty cold, so we were done in about 5 minutes!

You can see more examples from this wedding here; 99% of the image from the ceremony onwards were taken using one flash with no modifiers!

Example 4: Large groups indoors

To give a more technical example especially for photographers: when photographing large groups in a small space, we need to increase ouraperture setting (the opening of the lens – the smaller it is, the sharper the picture) to ensure everyone in every row is sharp enough. Unfortunately, when we do that, we aren’t letting as much light into the lens, so we need to change our other settings to compensate.

The problem starts when you’re already at the “maximum” allowable settings for the other two settings you can control! One of those is ISO speed: the higher you go, the grainier and less sharp the photo will be. The other is shutter speed – going too low will make everyone blurry due to camera shake!

We can either end up with very dark, grainy photos; no photos at all; or we can embrace flash and get better results!

Take this example of a company group photo I had to take. The client was specific that this is where they wanted the photos taken, so the option of asking everyone to move to a brighter area wasn’t possible – and it often isn’t at weddings either. I was maxed out on aperture, and had to put my camera on a tripod because my shutter speed was so low – but the background had to be bright enough and I couldn’t light that because I didn’t have more than 3 flashes!

Again, compare how the natural scene looked vs the flash version. Sure, the natural one is usable but we can do way better with the flash.

I used three flashes for this one but even if I had just used one, pointing straight at them or bounced off the ceiling, the result would have been better than not using flash at all.

Example 5: Motion blur effect

You can technically get this if your couple stay very still, but it’s not that easy and flash makes it a breeze. Lower your shutter speed to around 1/4, set up your flash and point it at the couple, and it’ll freeze their motion perfectly, while you capture a moving object behind them that’ll end up blurred, like this London bus behind the kissing couple.

How do I use my flash on camera to get these results?

You can use a flash both on your camera, and taking it off, like I did for the twilight wedding example above. But if you’re a bit scared of more techy stuff like syncing the flash with a trigger, then just start with it on your camera – you’ll still get lots of mileage out of that alone!

What’s the best speedlight flash for weddings and events?

Important: do NOT use the inbuild popup flash on your camera – it won’t have the controls you’ll need! Use a separate hotshoe mounted flash. I use a Godox V860iii and a Godox V1 round head for this sort of work. They both have TTL functionality which you’ll need, and have interchangeable batteries and chargers which is handy for organisation!

With flash, the thing we need to always keep in mind is recycle time. That’s the time it needs to recharge the lightbulb and flash again at the same power as before. Make sure you don’t push the flash to always use its full power, because it’ll take longer to recycle and it’ll run out of battery much faster.

Choose a speedlight with a rechargeable lithium battery, instead of one that takes AA batteries. For boring technical reasons, the lithium ones will provide more consistent recycle times as your battery level decreases over the day.

What should my shutter speed be when using flash on camera?

Shutter speed doesn’t affect your flash beyond the fact that if you go above 1/250, you’ll get a black screen. There’s a technical explanation but it doesn’t really matter for our purposes – just keep it below 1/250. I’m normally on 1/200, myself. Shutter speed will affect only your ambient exposure (the natural light around you). So if there’s nice lighting – try to preserve some of it. You can create fun light trails too, with a very low shutter speed of 1/4 – 1/8 – we all like to play a bit after getting our “safe” shots, right?

What aperture should I use for on-camera flash?

The word “aperture” means “opening” (of the lens to let in light). The larger my aperture is, the more light from my flash can get into the lens, so my flash doesn’t have to work so hard and put out so much light to balance the exposure!

This’ll let it recycle faster and means I can take more pictures in bursts. Win!
I normally leave it on f2.8 – f4 for general work and f5.6 – f10 for groups depending on size. Just consider what depth of field you need as a minimum for the number of people in your picture, and go from there.

For dancing/party photos like the below, people usually make so many weird faces in photos that I have to shoot loads in bursts to get one usable one! Recycle time is paramount.

What ISO to use for flash on camera?

This one’s mostly personal preference, depending on your tolerance of grainy photos, your level of pixel peeping (or general eyesight ) and, again, how important the recycle time is to you and your way of shooting.

I like not to have to think about recycle time and miss a potentially awesome moment, so if it’s dark inside and the flash is my main light source, I crank my ISO to 1000 – 3200 depending on how dark it is around me. Just like for aperture, this means the camera is more sensitive to light (both from the flash and ambient) so the flash doesn’t have to work so hard. It’d be a shame to miss nice moments because I’m worried about a bit more grain… but that’s just me. Imagine if I’d missed the kiss below because my flash was recycling!

If the flash is only filling in the light a bit, for example if you’re outside and just want a bit more “pop”, you can leave the ISO lower at a reasonable level of 400ish to still preserve the flash battery as much as possible.

Step by step on camera flash settings for beginners:

1. Set your flash to TTL mode and your camera to manual.
2. Set your shutter speed to 1/200, ISO speed to 800 and aperture to f4 – these will be good starting points that you can tweak as you go.
3. Turn your flash up and about 45 degrees to your left, so it lights the ceiling above and to the left of you. It’ll bounce off the ceiling for softer, more flattering light. OR you can just point it at people for a direct editorial style which is very popular these days. Personally I think the bounce method is nicer and I only use direct flash if there’s nothing to bounce off, like outside or in a room with dark ceilings.
4. Take photos!

Review the results and change what you need to. If your background is looking too dark, decrease your shutter speed. If you need more light overall, either open your aperture or increase ISO.

More flash techniques and settings to try if you’re feeling confident

Off camera flash & manual settings

This is mostly the same principles as on camera in terms of settings, but you have more flexibility around the direction of the light and where you bounce it from. Remember, you’ll need a radio trigger or a backup flash that can sync with other flashes (most modern ones can) so your camera can talk to the flash even if it’s far away.

You can then create these sort of backlit portraits at night that are so easy! Just put the flash on the ground, with the flash head pointing up towards the couple’s midsection. You can switch your flash from TTL to Manual to add more control to how bright it is, if you don’t like what the TTL is doing!

Flash exposure compensation

Sometimes, the TTL on your flash is just a bit too bright for your liking (or too dark). You want it to match the ambient light a bit better. What do you do? You can either put it on Manual if you have time and are doing posed photos, like above… but when you’re walking around doing candids, this won’t be possible because every angle will need a different level of light!

You can set the flash exposure compensation in this case! So the base level of flash power will still be determined automatically through TTL, but it then also lowers it by your chosen amount, relative to the setting it calculates.

You can set this up either on your flash using the buttons, or on many cameras you can also do it within your camera settings in the flash section of the menus. Personally I often keep my flash exposure compensation at -1/3 because I find it’s just a bit safer to ensure it doesn’t blow out any highlights, especially when there’s a bride in the shot wearing a very shiny white dress.

Gelling your flash

By default, flash light is similar in warmth to sunlight, so roughly neutral – not too cold, not too warm.

But sometimes you’re in a venue with loads of wood beams/furniture, or a wood panelled room, or have very warm ambient light like candles or older type (non-LED) lightbulbs in lamps. The warmer the light, the more orange it’ll look. The colder it is, the bluer.

You’ll run into the problem where your flash colour balance is too cold compared to the ambient. The parts it lights, which is usually people, will look too blue compared to the background so everyone will look very sickly! Or the flash parts will look fine but the background is so warm in comparison that it’s like a raging inferno behind them. Oh no! Flash gels to the rescue. They’re little plastic pieces you can tape over the flash to make its light also warmer or cooler to match the background better. Saves TONS of time in editing, so if you’re a regular at barns or such, pick up a few and experiment!

Summary

Flash gives you control, consistency, and creative freedom: it can tidy up messy indoor lighting, balance subjects against bright skies, and rescue dark group shots without sacrificing quality. The trick isn’t avoiding flash… it’s learning to use it well, step by step and small bits at a time.

I hope this article has helped you gain the confidence to give flash a go if you’re a photographer; and if you’re a prospective client, I hope you’ll now indulge your photographer more if they suggest using flash for certain moments of your special day!

Once you understand how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together, flash stops feeling technical and starts feeling like the fun creative tool it truly is.

We had everything planned out with Rene – where I’d hide, which way they’d walk, at what time, and where he would get down on one knee. And then of course, in his excitement, he forgot and they came a completely different way, having me ducking out of sight frantically and hoping Laura didn’t spot me Luckily she didn’t – and the following moments went perfectly. We then walked around the grounds to capture photos with their favourite buildings and views of the grounds.

It was important to the couple that I bring my relaxed, natural style of photography to this event. It was very special to me to get this right, because one of the grooms is a wedding photographer himself! Taking photos for other photographers can be nerve-wracking but also so rewarding, because it’s an additional honour to be picked by someone who knows just as much as me about how it all works! The guys didn’t want to spend too much time posing, and like always, I focused on capturing authentic interactions between them following gentle prompts without strict poses. The backdrop of Buckland Manor provided the perfect opportunity for getting beautiful and fun photos for them that look natural and timeless, in keeping with the Cotswolds country vibe.

The grooms got ready together at Swallow’s Rest cottage near Buckland Manor, and then drove over in their blue Beetle decorated for the wedding. There was a bit of drizzle as they left the cottage but luckily it cleared up enough for photos before and after their ceremony! After their photos and some drinks, the family returned to the Morning Room, now set up for afternoon tea.

The setting and the fact that it was an LGTBQ micro wedding with two grooms reminded me of this wedding at Broughton Castle earlier that year, with the colours and style – check it out if you’d like to see more photos like this!

The bride wore a beautifully reimagined vintage wedding dress, sourced from a charity shop and tailored to fit her. She paired it with classic white Dr Martens boots. The wedding flowers ad bouquets were made from dried, seasonal flowers in soft, muted tones, creating a rustic, wintery aesthetic. Best of all, these arrangements will last forever, doubling as keepsakes and home décor – another eco-friendly choice.

Leftover Christmas wreaths were used to decorate the entrance of the church and the aisles inside, containing dried oranges and pine cones. The reuse of festive decorations added a personal and nostalgic touch, perfectly complementing the couple’s eco-friendly theme. The medieval Church of St Michael’s Aston Tirrold dates back to 1080, with several major building works adding to it from the 14th century onwards.

The service was beautiful and personal to the couple. The bride is a scholar of the Bible and therefore the readings were particularly special to her; while there was also a light hearted mention of the groom’s IT background and occupation. I absolutely love vicars who know the couple so well and inject these personal touches into their sermon!

After photography coverage ended, the wedding party moved on to a relaxed wedding reception at the nearby Earth Trust at Wittenham Clumps.

Reflecting on my journey in family photography, I remember all too well the questions and challenges I faced early on. Offering tips to new photographers is my way of giving back, sharing the kinds of practical advice I wish I’d known—things like how to put children at ease in front of the camera, and finding those natural, in-between moments that show the true spirit of a family. I also offer 1 to 1 mentoring if you’re a photographer who’d like to work in more depth with me on this – just contact me for more details!

Of course, none of this would be possible without my wonderful clients. Thank you to each family for trusting me to capture your moments and for allowing me to share them to inspire others in this beautiful field. Your openness and joy make my work such a pleasure and bring these images to life.

If you’d like to check out the feature, it’s out now – grab your copy at newsstands this November, or online here! And for anyone curious about a family photography session with me, I’m always here to chat about how we can capture your family’s vibe so just get in touch with your ideas.

The celebration continued at Hadsham Farm, a gem near Banbury, perfect for couples seeking a relaxed, countryside wedding. The venue’s festival-style atmosphere, complete with bell tents and a striking all-weather tipi, offers a laid-back, yet memorable vibe. During the reception, we had Neb the magician, mentalist & mindreader wowing guests with his skills, and just before dessert there was a surprise appearance from the Surprise Singers trio of undercover singing waiters who performed a medley of musical numbers and the operatic finale Nessun Dorma which had several guests in tears! Guests were treated to gorgeous views of the Cotswolds under colourful flags after dinner as the sun went down, while the couple enjoyed a romantic boat ride on the farm’s lake. The couple had their first dance to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, holding their children and then launching into a game of Mr & Mrs before everyone let their hair down for the evening party.

From a lot of heartfelt laughter to the breathtaking scenery, it was a day filled with love, (tears of) joy, and unforgettable moments.

If you’re planning your wedding for 2025 and beyond, and are dreaming of a relaxed countryside wedding in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds, Hadsham Farm Weddings is a fantastic venue choice. As a wedding photographer with 10+ years of experience, I specialise in capturing the candid, emotional moments of your day—whether that’s your first kiss in a centuries-old church or your romantic sunset boat ride.

Want to see more of my work? Click here to scroll and explore full galleries and discover how I can help make your wedding day unforgettable. My 2025 & 2026 wedding photography bookings are now open, so don’t hesitate to get in touch for a relaxed chat about your plans. Let’s capture your love story in the heart of the Cotswolds!

However, Broughton Castle opening times are only Wednesdays and Sundays between 2pm-5pm, so with this wedding being on a Saturday morning, we normally wouldn’t have been able to take pictures inside the gardens, only outside the moat area. The gardens are absolutely stunning in June, so it would’ve been such a shame! I really wanted to make this happen for the guys so I contacted the Castle to get permission. I received a reply from the owner, the Lord Saye and Sele, who very kindly gave us his blessing to access the gardens for these special photos – thank you!

Here’s just a small selection of the beautiful photos we took that day!

“Your professionalism and attention to detail put us at ease, and you made the entire experience enjoyable and stress-free. The photos you captured exceeded our expectations in every way. We are grateful for your patience, creativity, and commitment to ensuring that every shot was perfect. Choosing you as our photographer was one of the best decisions we made. Thank you for preserving these precious memories for us.”

It was this little one’s first birthday, and the family had reached out to me to ask about a cake smash photo shoot in Banbury. I told them that I don’t offer those in the traditional sense, but we could meet outdoors and bring a cake and a picnic, and take some natural family photos together with the cake – and they liked this idea!

The family settled on a bright but neutral colour palette for their family photo shoot outfits, this is important to ensure all the colours look nice together! They requested an edit that looked like analog film photography, and this worked well with the evening sunset light that is the best for family photo shoots in the Cotswolds.

Our shoot took place early in the morning. An early start was crucial to avoid the usual hustle and bustle of tourists that flock to Bourton-on-the-Water, especially during the spring and summer season. It also means the family could treat themselves to a well deserved coffee and brunch afterwards at one of the many excellent restaurants in the area.

The family I had the pleasure of photographing had travelled all the way from Singapore for their holiday. They chose to spend some of their precious vacation time capturing authentic and relaxed moments together, and I’m so glad they did. As a family photographer, it’s always a joy to witness and document these precious interactions. Not all children are always smiley either, and I think it’s important to let them be themselves instead of pushing them to smile for the camera. These candid moments are the essence of what makes a family photoshoot truly memorable.

Bourton-on-the-Water, with its charming scenery and tranquil atmosphere, provided the perfect backdrop for this relaxed session. Whether you’re a local or visiting the Cotswolds, I highly recommend considering Bourton-on-the-Water for your next family photoshoot. The combination of the stunning surroundings and the relaxed, casual vibe makes it an ideal location for capturing those special moments with your loved ones.

If you’re planning a visit to the Cotswolds and want to create some lasting memories with a family photoshoot, do get in touch. I’d love to help you capture the joy and love that make your family unique.

For now, I hope you all enjoy this glorious UK springtime and keep making beautiful memories!