Andrew Gardner - Wedding Photographer in Essex

My wife Fi and I in a bookshop cafe

Hi, my name's Andrew and I'm a wedding photographer in Essex. This is my story of how I came to be where I am today.

At school I was 'the quiet one'. My teacher's reports would seem to always say 'Andrew is a quiet and conscientious student'. I was the sort of person that preferred to observe rather than participate.

I guess that's why I became interested in photography at a young age. After all, taking pictures is about observing and recording. You can't really be 'doing' whatever it is you're photographing at the same time.

Photography allowed me to participate, without participating.

I had a close group of friends outside of school, and most of the photos I took were of them. I think they found it a bit annoying at times, but I kept on taking pictures.

Just before heading off to university, we got a bit nostalgic about all the years we'd spent together - the skateboarding, house parties, and general mischief! I realised, out of the 10 or so in our group, I was the only person to really have any photos of us all. (Remember, this was pre-digital cameras, internet, camera phones, even mobile phones for that matter!)

University

At university I did my degree in Media Production, which was a practical training course for a career in TV/film production. Being observational by nature, I wanted to make documentary films. I've always been good at blending into the background and going unnoticed!

I had free access to video editing suites in my department, and decided to put it to good use. I made a video of my favourite photos of my friends, and edited it in time to music. I made enough copies to give to everyone as a Christmas present.

I thought that was just a nice thing to do, but it had a massive impact on my friends...

This video helps them re-live their youth. It brings back memories, tells stories, and gets them emotional (in a good way!). Then I realised something very important about photography.

The value of a photograph increases over time.

Even though my friends may have found it a bit annoying that I was always snapping away when we hung out, looking back, they're glad I did.

After university things changed, as they always do. Our group spread out throughout the country. We occasionally keep in touch, and when we do it's like no time has passed. But people move on.

I know my videos may be gathering dust somewhere or temporarily forgotten about. But when they are re-discovered and watched again, I'm confident of the effect they'll have on my friends.

So what happened after university?

After Graduation

I worked part time for a year whilst promoting a documentary film I made for my degree. It ended up receiving a Royal Television Society Award as well as winning a national competition run by fashion magazine Dazed.

After that I got married, and 11 days later set off on a 9-month, around-the-world, backpacking honeymoon! Our tour included South Africa, Malawi, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and America.

Obviously I took loads of pictures, but it made me realise how they didn't have the emotional connection that the photos of my friends had. After all, there was nothing so unique about my travel photos that somebody else couldn't reproduce.

However, photos of people can never be repeated. Once a moment has passed, it's gone.

When we arrived home from travelling, I pursued my original ambition of working in television. I got a job as a runner on the first and second series of Gordon Ramsay's F Word. Working in TV was pretty fun most of the time, but it was long, hard and poorly paid.

So when my contract came to an end I started thinking about other career options. My dad and brother both run their own businesses, so I thought I'd follow the family tradition!

Wedding Photography

The natural choice for me was wedding photography as it combined two of my passions. First, documentary-making - observing and recording real life events by blending into the background.

And second, taking intimate and personal photographs of people that will help people reminisce and become more precious with time.

So I did it! And from the testimonials I receive from my wedding clients, I know I do a good job. Life is such a precious gift, as is marriage. Your wedding album, just like the photo-video I made for my friends, should bring back all the memories and emotions of your special day.

The Boutique Photography Company

As soon as I formed The Boutique Photography Company, I knew I needed a website to promote my wedding photography.

The problem was, I had zero knowledge or experience of building websites. I was actually a bit of a techno-phobe!

By chance I found a simple, step-by-step website-building process. It's creator claimed anyone could build a profitable website based on something they know about, like a hobby or interest.

To read about how I built this website, make money from it, and how you could do the same, click here.

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