Mark J Hillyer Photography

I love photography that tells a story. Great photographs that convey a story are so much more than just images, I believe they provide us with our most valued possessions, reminders of the greatest moments in our life and our best and closest friends. When I look back through my old photographs of travelling, or family & friends, they all prompt a memory or emotion, hardly any of the best ones were posed. That’s why I prefer to shoot in a natural, spontaneous and unobtrusive way, photographing events as they happen naturally rather than orchestrating and posing in a set way. When you look back at your photographs I want you to remember how you felt, the happiness and the emotion, not how long the photographer spent trying to make your arm bend in just the right way.

To me, your wedding day is just that, a whole day. I want to capture the events of the day in the most natural way, I don’t want to shoot fake moments, staged for the camera. I want to be there when they happen for real, and for that reason, my price includes me being there past the first dance until the late evening.

Every wedding is different just like every couple is different and I aim to capture what is unique about you, your guests and your day. That’s why I don’t work to a formula or use a set of fixed poses. I don’t want to repeat someone else’s wedding. I want you to have a set of photographs that are as unique as you are and tell the full story of your special day in a creative, imaginative & artistic way. I like to find a good location and then let you interact naturally. I’m happy to give a little guidance here and there with how to stand to look your best, but it’s the interaction between you that’s the key. I love couples who talk to each other and joke while I’m taking their photograph and, like the image of Dani & Olli below, I like it when couples make the most of some quiet time together … Unposed … Natural.

If you want shots of you waking up at 7am on your wedding day, I will be there with my camera and a mug of coffee. I will be there all the way through the day, and, I will still be there in the evening, capturing all of the special moments as your guests party the night away. You will never have to ask me “is there time for just one shot of…?”. There is always time. I regularly spend 14+ hours at a wedding because I don’t want to miss anything. The secret is that it’s more than a job to me. I love doing it.

You can’t tell the story of a wedding day if you miss the last chapter, the part where everyone really lets their hair down. The speeches are over, the nerves of the first dance in front of everyone are done, all that’s left is to enjoy the rest of the evening in the company of your closest family and friends. Let your hair down & bring on the dancing!