Sometimes, You’re Just There to Do a Job — And That’s Okay

There’s something I’ve been thinking about after a wedding I photographed recently.

Sometimes, as a photographer, you become a really small part of someone’s story.

You arrive, you do your job, you capture the photographs, you deliver the gallery, and then… that’s it.

No big friendship comes from it. No messages back and forth afterwards. No “oh my goodness, we love them!” No review. No sharing. Sometimes, the couple simply take their photographs and carry on with their lives.

And honestly?

That’s okay.

Not every client is going to feel a huge emotional connection with their photographer, and not every wedding is going to turn into one of those relationships where I still get messages years later.

I completely understand that.

My job is still my job, and I’m incredibly lucky that people trust me to photograph something as important as their wedding day — even when they would prefer their photographs to remain completely private.

I respect that too.

But I think there’s another side of photography that is sometimes overlooked.

For me, it has never just been about taking photographs.

I spend a huge amount of time with my couples. I’m there for the nerves, the excitement, the chaos, the tears, the ridiculous moments, the hugs, the dodgy dance moves and all the little things happening around the big things.

I get to know people.

I yap.

I probably tell you far too much about myself.

And somewhere along the way, I usually end up genuinely rooting for you.

That’s the bit I love.

I love when couples message me after their gallery arrives. I love hearing what their favourite photographs are. I love when they tell me their families cried looking through them. I love the reviews, the recommendations, the random messages months or even years later and the “look what we’ve been up to!” photographs that occasionally land in my inbox.

Those things aren’t why I do the job.

But they do make it feel incredibly special.

And I think that’s why the occasional wedding where I’m simply there to do a job can feel a little different.

Not bad.

Not wrong.

Just different.

I don’t expect every couple to become friends with me. I don’t expect everyone to leave a review. I don’t expect anyone to share their photographs online — your wedding photographs belong to you, and privacy is always completely respected here.

But if you do happen to send me a message saying you loved your gallery?

If you tell me your favourite photograph?

If you leave a little review?

If you recommend me to someone?

I’ll probably be ridiculously grateful.

Because behind the camera is an actual human being who genuinely cares about what she does.

So yes, sometimes I’m just the photographer.

I turn up, take the photographs, deliver the gallery and quietly disappear back into my little corner of Scotland.

And that’s okay.

But if you’re the kind of couple who lets me become a tiny part of your story — who chats to me, laughs with me, keeps in touch and lets me share in a little bit of the excitement afterwards…

That’s the stuff I really, really love.

And that’s probably why I’ve been doing this for so long.

Because the photographs matter.

But the people are the reason I love taking them