I’m so thrilled to have Ian Weldon join me for this conversation, who insists that he’s not a wedding photographer yet has a book about it. He also has a solo exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation.

A Little Background on Ian Weldon

Ian predominantly photographs weddings for the last 20 years, although he doesn’t identify himself as a wedding photographer. 20 years ago, he got interested in photography history and documentary photography. He tried to follow out on the path of his mentors, and became a photography lecturer.

He also needed to earn money. He wanted to make money out of photography, since he’s already doing personal projects as a documentary and fine art photographer. He didn’t want to go back to being a truck driver, car salesman, and various other jobs. 

Weddings came along as a way for him to make money. He quickly came around to the understanding that wedding photography doesn’t have to be what the industry says it is. He says that, “Wedding photography can just be photography.”

What Ian Thinks of “I’m a Photographer at a Wedding, Not a Wedding Photographer”

For Ian, he is only photographing his response to the wedding. The wedding itself is not the subject, it’s his response to it. He’s not running a wedding photography business and it wasn’t his plan to be a photographer at a wedding.

For him, the clients hire him based on what it is that he does for them. They’re interested in photography. They’re interested in the documentation of the day. They’re not really interested in the pomp and ceremony. 

How Preconceived Notions Affect Ian’s Work

Ian says that people get married for different reasons. A lot of his clients are not really interested in the big fairy tale wedding day. They don’t want a document of their families, friends, and of them getting married that looks the same as everything else on the Internet.

Ian photographs for his clients because they’re hiring him to do the job. He’s photographing for him, for a long-term project, and his clients are happy and willing to be a part of that. He says that he’s not the photographer for those who have a shot list of specific things.

Industry Trends are Constantly Changing

Ian cares more about the idea of his long-term projects. He doesn’t care a lot about the camera, the lenses, etc. He emphasizes that there’s a new trend, new camera, new thing, every year so he focuses on the idea itself.

How Ian Manages Expectations at a Wedding

Ian acknowledges that some guests in a wedding typically have expectations as to what he should be photographing. In these situations, he usually tells the bride and groom about it. If things get out of hand, his clients usually tell guests to stop. Sometimes, when somebody just grabs him, he just takes the picture.

Ian also shares that there are guests who are suspicious of what he’s doing – especially when there are other people in the venue who have more expensive gear. He usually does close knit family weddings, though. So they know him and leave him to it most of the time.

How Ian Got to the Point Where He Does What He Does

Ian believes that he just started to become aware of my own personality in the photographs. He started to become aware of things that have influenced him.

He also admits that he doesn’t really take things that seriously. He photographs seriously but he likes to have a laugh and joke around with stuff – which starts to get into the pictures, as well. He started noticing that the images were becoming representative of who he was, and that was because he was responding to the situation rather than going in with a preconceived notion of what the wedding should look like.

“What a good photograph is to me is different than what a good photograph is to you, unless we all start reading from this rule book that was never written, that everybody seems to preach from.” -Ian Weldon

Ian’s longer term personal projects are working men’s clubs in Northern England. He wanted to document these before they actually go away for good.

If you want to know more about Ian, including what camera he’s using, his process, his style, and his inspiration, listen to the full episode here.

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