Looking back at 2021 in pictures

As we start the new year, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at what happened in 2021. It was far from a normal year for everyone, but for those of us in the wedding industry, it was particularly crazy.

The lockdowns meant that hardly any weddings happened in 2020 with almost everyone moving their celebrations to 2021 and 2022. This really affected wedding photographers like me meaning we had next to no work for the duration. Since things didn’t open up properly until June, effectively we squeezed a whole year (and a bit) worth of weddings into 6 months. It was busy, it was hectic, and it was a lot of fun!

2021 was also the year that I qualified for my Licentiate in Wedding Photography with the British Institute of Professional Photography, a qualification I’m delighted with even if I did have to wait 2 years longer than expected to sit it due to the lockdowns. In retrospect I wish I had joined a professional body years ago. It was never something I had thought about until 2018 when a chance conversation with a colleague got me looking into it.

Qualifications are a great challenge, they involve a lot of time, effort and commitment but they are incredibly rewarding. I have been, and continue to be, forced to really focus on my work and the creative growth this has given me is fantastic. It’s also nice (and incredibly nerve wracking!) to have my peers examine my work and effectively say ‘yes, you’re good at what you do’

I really missed photographing weddings, I make no secret of the fact that I love my job and not being able to do it for the best part of 15 months was pretty rubbish I can tell you. But open up we did, and weddings came back with a vengeance! Getting to share people’s special day again was so wonderful. I like to think I got a few photos my couples liked and that I can be proud of. Here are a few of my favourites from 2021.