Hi!
I’m Dan – I live in Liverpool (best city in the country) with my wife (best woman in the world), my three children (best kids I know) and a black labrador (best excuse for a dog you’re ever going to meet). I’ve been here for nearly 20 years, having started my life in the south of this wonderful country. Frankly, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be living!
Naturally, I love all things photographic, but particularly people. We’re all wonderful things and nothing delights me more than spending a day in the company of new friends, camera in hand, taking photos of a couple starting their married life together. It’s hard to describe how much I love my job as a wedding photographer in Liverpool, but one of my brides summed it up by saying, “You were born for this, mate!” I’ll leave it there!
What wedding photography style do you use?
My photographic style is best described as “photo-realist, artistically-managed documentary”. This means that during a wedding day, I’m shooting whatever is occurring without intrusion but also that I’m not shy of stepping in to manage groups or pose couples using my extensive creative experience to make you look wonderful together. Stylistically, I try to ensure that my photos reflect how the scene looked on the day (unless they’re black and white wedding photos of course) – I don’t do filters, selective colour or pastel colour palettes. My clients often remark how natural the photos seem – even when I’ve posed them. I will never get a couple to do anything that would make me feel awkward if I had to do it – and certainly nothing cheesy or fake! I want your photos to celebrate your love and commitment to one another – wedding photography allows me to continue experiencing the joy of a couple coming together in love, just as I did on my wedding day. Take some time while you’re here to look at the photos on my site – I hope you’ll be able to see how natural-looking they are.
I specialise in looking after my couples on their wedding shoot.
I’ve met many couples who say they don’t photograph well, or that they hate having their pictures taken. Yet on their wedding day, my friendly professional approach allays their fears and I get to do what I do best – taking beautiful wedding photographs. I love showing wedding photographs to camera-shy couples and seeing their faces when they realise that they chose a wedding photographer who overcame all their concerns and produced the timeless artistic wedding photos they’d dreamed of. I do all this without taking over, barking orders like a drill sergeant, or upsetting your guests.
Do you photograph family groups as well as portraits of the bride and groom?
Yes, I do – but without the interminable delays this can cause if not properly managed. I do this by combining reportage style candid photography at some parts of the day with a few formal posed group and family shots, along with beautiful shots of the happy couple together. When I’m shooting weddings, my methods mean that the family group photographs generally take no more than about 20 minutes to complete. This allows the guests to relax and be quickly released from what is sometimes seen as the most boring part of a wedding. Quite often, guests have come up to me at the end of the family group shoot and asked, incredulously, “Is that it? All done?” and I’m delighted to be able to direct them to the bar!
How long do you shoot for?
My assistant and I shoot all day – from bridal preparations to wedding evening party. On average we will be with you for about 8 hours.
Who will actually be taking the wedding photos?
Me! (That’s me, standing in the lake whilst shooting Stephanie and Fergus’ wedding at Combermere Abbey) I always bring an assistant with me – they help me with equipment lugging and setup, but also act, on occasion, as second shooters, so that key moments in the ceremony and speeches are covered from more than one angle. Depending on their skill level, I also allow them to shoot at other times in the day too.
My assistant took this shot of me knee deep in a pond during a couple shoot!
How long have you been taking photographs for?
I’ve been obsessed with photography ever since receiving a 110 film pocket camera as a birthday gift, over 30 years ago. That simple point and click toy camera got my photographic juices flowing. It was followed by a Pentax Auto 110 (the world’s smallest production Single Lens Reflex camera – I’ve still got it!) a few years later. It was then that I decided that photography was something I wanted to pursue as a career.
When did you start shooting weddings?
Over 10 years ago, following many years in graphic design and commercial photography. In this time I’ve shot hundreds of weddings. This level of experience means you can rely on me to capture all the important parts of your wedding, meaning you can relax and enjoy your day. As the years have gone by, I’ve realised what an amazing privilege it is to be with the happy couple in some of the most special moments of their day.
Why do you love shooting weddings so much?
I’ve been married for over 10 years and I love everything about marriage and weddings. I get a real thrill from photographing the moment every couple tie the knot. People at weddings are (almost) always so happy – photographing them is a real joy to me. The human face conveys more emotion than any landscape or animal shot. Put me in a wedding with lovely people having fun and I’m as happy as can be. I hope you enjoy looking at my photography and that you pick up that phone at the end!
What equipment do you use?
My trusty Pentax Auto 110 didn’t cut the mustard when it came to college in 1998, so I upgraded to a Canon AE-1 35mm SLR and haven’t looked back since. The AE-1 was stolen (Lesson 1: Never leave your cameras in the car), the replacement Canon 1000F went for a swim in a river (Lesson 2: Never lend your cameras to a friend) and the subsequent Canon EOS 300 was put out to retirement on eBay when the digital camera age arrived with the Canon 300d. The 300d is now starting to fall to bits, and my next camera, the Canon EOS 5D, has become my 13 year old daughter’s plaything. My 5DmkII is always in my bag, playing emergency back-up to my two primary cameras, 5DmkIIIs. There was a Canon 40D rolling around for a while too, but I gave that one away a few years back. Anyway, great wedding photographs have very little to do with the cameras they were shot on; it’s really all about the glass in front of the camera and the eyes behind it. I mostly use my Canon 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8 lenses along with my 16-35mm f4.0 L for groups and amazing wedding landscapes and architecture. If those numbers make no sense to you, don’t worry – that’s why you hire professionals to shoot weddings. My bag also contains many other items for shooting weddings – flashguns, battery packs, lights etc. I always carry extra backups of everything – cameras, batteries, memory cards etc.
Are you insured?
Absolutely – this is essential for any professional photographer. When meeting potential photographers for your wedding day, make sure they’re fully covered for both Public Liability and Private Indemnity.
Are all the photos on the site from real weddings?
Every wedding photo shown on this site is from a real live wedding in Liverpool, Cheshire and other parts of the North West. Every wedding image has been taken by Daniel Charles Photography – that is, either by me or one of my talented assistants (I’m at every single wedding as the primary photographer). I love to do wedding photography in Liverpool because of the compact size of the city – I’m originally from London, where to shoot a wedding in the suburbs and then to wish to travel into the city centre to take advantage of stunning architecture and Royal parks was a logistical impossibility. Here in Liverpool, wedding photography can take place at the church or other venue in the ‘burbs, and then, a mere ten to fifteen minutes later, the bridal party can be in the city centre, with its World Heritage sites and incredibly beautiful period architecture. Wedding Photography in Liverpool is a dream come true for me. I also am happy to travel – wedding photography in Manchester, Cheshire and the surrounding areas is equally as exciting as wedding photography in Liverpool.
My assistant got this one of me, hard at work - lying down!
I’m convinced – how do I book Daniel Charles Photography?
Please fill in my contact form to start the process. I’ll get back in touch with you as soon as possible – normally the same day. I’ll arrange a meeting with you to meet me, see more of my work and to discuss your budget and requirements. Should you decide to book me, then there’s a £300.00 downpayment to make. This is neither refundable nor transferable and is stored in my client account until after the wedding when I spend it on your amazing wedding album. The final balance is due two weeks before the wedding day, when I meet with you at your venue to draw up a detailed schedule of the day. Once the shoot is completed, I edit your images and present them to you in a post-wedding meeting, when we’ll also sort out the album cover options. To me, the job isn’t finished until I’ve seen and heard the reaction of the couple when I hand the completed album over to them. The best part of all though, of course, is when the couple see their photos for the first time.