Spotlight: Nathan Walker
In this series we are sharing some of the wonderful photographers who make up the NineDots Community. Finding out what makes them tick and the what, why and how behind some of the work they are most proud of. Today Nottingham Wedding Photographer Nathan shares his favourite 3 images and why he loves them so much.
WHY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY?
After my daughter was born I become inspired by seeing all the throwaway photos on social media, I wanted to document family life in a way that didn’t make me cringe (now me and my wife have 4 children as you can see in my profile photo!). So, I learnt how to take photos that I’d be happy to print and share with my family as gifts. I quickly became hooked on seeing the joy my photos brought to other people.
In 2017 my sister-in-law asked me to shoot her wedding (so no pressure there!). I loved it. There’s just something about being surrounded by ridiculously happy people all day and doing something that is meaning full for other people that is so satisfying. Since then I dreamed about starting a career as a wedding photographer. At the end of 2019, I left my day job and have not looked back.
What I love most about shooting is not knowing what I’ll come away with at the end of a wedding. Every wedding has a unique photo waiting to be found and I love the creative challenge this brings.
Nathan’s Spotlight photos
I love how this photo brings together interesting light with a humorous moment. On arrival at the Carriage Hall, I noticed two strong streaks of light that were surrounded by thick shadows on the wall and I thought it looked pretty cool. All I needed was a ‘moment’. Just before the bride headed down the aisle she came into the light where her bridesmaids were waiting, one of her bridesmaids noticed that there was something that needed to be scrubbed off her face!
This is one of my uncomfortable shoe shots from my West Mill wedding. It’s a little game I play to see who is wearing the most unusual or painful-looking shoes because it always amazes me the lengths to which people will go to look their best. I just find it so funny that her little toes are just poking out and the petals left over from the confetti at the bottom of the frame help anchor the details of the wedding.
There were a lot of comings and goings during bride prep during this wedding at Foxtail Barns. I noticed that the wedding coordinator popped her head through the door at one point and I anticipated she’d do it again soon. I wanted to make a photo out of this happening because I thought it would add to the story of the day by capturing the on-the-ball and very helpful wedding coordinator. The bride’s mother started rummaging through a box as I waited by the door. I love this photo because everything came together and it’s an unusual moment with a great facial expression too
WHY NINE DOTS?
I wanted to learn from the best in the industry. NineDot’s pool of talent is insane and it’s home to so many of the photographers that I admire.
I’m a fairly new member and I’ve started getting involved in the Facebook community. It’s great to feel able to ask for help and advice from photographers that are way more experienced than me. This helps me feel that I’m not going solo because similar challenges to ones that I might be experiencing have been faced and overcome by many others.
The education side of NineDots’ is some of the best around too. I’ve found things like having my photo critiqued so valuable because it has helped to make me a better photographer.