Digitalab Featured Photographer: Fiona Kelly

At Digitalab, we know that you can’t underestimate the power of a truly exceptional image. The beauty of photography as an art form is in its diversity – with so many wonderful genres and so many utterly unique photographers out there, photography means many different things to many different people. That’s why we asked wedding photographer Fiona Kelly to talk us through her career, what inspired her to become a photographer, and her all-time favourite shoot.

Tell us a bit about this image and why you chose it to be featured?

Many of my favourite images involve beautiful light, a sense of place and a real and true connection between the people in the photo. That is what I always strive to capture and sometimes you just hit gold.

Why wedding photography?

I sort of fell into wedding photography. When I got married I had a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment after seeing the official photos vs the ones my photographer friend took. She was there just capturing the day and I loved all hers, whereas the more traditional ones that our official photographer took were just average. It really made me think and made me realise how much I loved the natural and candid photography style. The ones that told a story. I bought a DSLR for our honeymoon driving around California and had such fun taking photos that it renewed my love of photography.

Wedding photography appealed to me initially as something I could be really creative with, telling stories and capturing real moments and beautiful images, as well as doing something that has meaning to the people I am capturing photos for. I am a real people person so initially loved the idea of working with lots of couples, meeting new people and being a real part of something very special. My background is graphic design and photographic art directing, the skills I learned doing that job really come into their own during my work as a wedding photographer.

Who inspired you to become a photographer?

There was no one person who inspired me to start with, it was a collection of moments and events that brought it all together. I have been surrounded by many forms of art since I was little, photography being one of them. My dad is a silver & goldsmith, he’s a very creative person who loved photography when he was younger. I inherited his 1970s film camera when I was about 16. When I first started learning photography during my A-Level Art it was all film photography. As someone who has as much of a science head as an art head I loved being able to take an image and create something, and then develop and print it myself. I enjoyed being in the dark room messing around with the chemicals and different techniques during the print process.

What is your all-time favourite photography shoot?

Only one?! Every job I do brings enjoyment and special moments. These moments often come from the people I am working with as much as the photography itself. I love sunsets, soft light and beautiful scenery so this always inspires me when you combine it with amazing couples who just want a relaxed and fun wedding day.

I have been lucky to travel to some amazing places with the weddings I shoot and have had much of my work published. This is always exciting but it’s the reactions of the people whose weddings I photograph or who I work with on a shoot that makes it favourite.

Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph?

I love a bit of dramatic scenery and the great outdoors so there are a few places on my wedding bucket list. I would love to photograph a beach wedding and a wedding somewhere with mountains and lakes. I’m from the Lake District so would love to go back there to capture a wedding with the stunning Lakes scenery as a backdrop.

More than anything I want to keep working with the kind of couples who I hit it off with. When there is a real connection with someone you just know the wedding is going to be amazing and fun to shoot.

What one piece of advice would you give to any aspiring photographer?

Be true to what you love and what feels right for you. Its very easy when you start out to listen to everyone but yourself. You can easily end up trying to emulate someone, because they seem to be doing well, but ultimately you need to find your own way. This is tricky but worth doing.

Take your time, practice, take photos, learn to see light and know how to use it to create the kind of images you want. I love backlight and sunsets and have spent many hours blinding myself to learn how to make it work and get the kind of photos I want to get.

Once you know your basic skills then get your business head on. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are as a photographer if you cant run a business you will not last long. Learn about marketing, think about your brand and make sure you give the very best experience possible to the people you work with. If you don’t know something, learn it or get someone who does know to help you.

To check Fiona’s availability or find out more about her work visit fionasweddingphotography.co.uk.