What If We Don’t Like Posing? Finding the Right Wedding Photographer in the Midlands for the Real You
If you’ve ever said “we’re not photo people” or “we’re really awkward in front of the camera,” you’re definitely not alone. And if the thought of posing like models in a wheat field makes you break out in hives… well, same.
Wedding Photography in the Midlands by Marley & The Wildlings Photography
Planning a wedding in the Midlands, whether it’s in a rustic barn in Derbyshire or a quirky pub in Nottingham (or even world wide) comes with a lot of choices. But one of the biggest is this:
Who’s going to photograph it in a way that actually feels like you?
Not the polished, perfect version. The real you. The snort laughing, slightly muddy shoes, hair in your face, teary eyed, belly laughing kind of you.
Because if you’re anything like a lot of the couples I work with, you don’t want to perform for the camera. You just want to feel it all, and trust that someone’s quietly capturing it as it unfolds.
The Myth of the “Perfect Couple” Photos
There’s this pressure when planning a wedding, especially in the age of Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok wedding hacks, to have photos that look like they belong in a magazine. The right light, the perfect angle, the just so smile.
But here’s the secret: the most beautiful photos are never the perfectly posed ones.
They’re the ones where you’ve just stopped laughing. Where your dress is a bit scrunched from hugging your gran. Where the light falls across your shoulder while you’re deep in conversation, not even noticing I’m there.
Real moments beat polished ones. Every. Single. Time.
The Midlands Is Full of Beautiful Chaos (Just Like You)
One of the things I love most about weddings in the Midlands is how wildly different they all are. One week it’s a tipi in a field with sheep looking on; the next, it’s a cosy city wedding with mismatched chairs and fairy lights strung across a warehouse ceiling.
The Midlands doesn’t pretend to be perfect, and neither should your photos.
So if it rains and the plan B gets used, or if your dad forgets his speech but wings it and makes everyone cry laugh, that’s the gold. That’s the story you’ll tell for years.
My job isn’t to smooth it all out into something it wasn’t. It’s to catch the truth of it, the chaos, the calm, and all the real life magic in between.
How to Choose a Photographer When You Hate the Camera
If you’ve ever said “I look weird when I smile” or “we’re not photogenic,” I hear you, I’m the most uncomfortable in front of the camera person too!
Here’s the thing though, you don’t need to be “good” at photos. You just need someone who sees you properly. Someone who knows how to blend into the day, not take over it.
Here are a few gentle tips when you’re choosing a photographer:
Make sure you enjoy their work. All of it! Not just the weddings, but the feel of their entire portfolio. Because that is who they are. Their soul and the way they shoot, and the feeling they capture will shine through their entire portfolio.
Read their words. Do they feel like someone you’d want around on your most emotional, slightly chaotic day?
Ask how they work. If the idea of standing stiffly and smiling makes your skin crawl, find someone who specialises in candid, documentary style photography (that’s me, by the way).
Meet up for a laid back coffee or jump on a call. Vibes matter. You’re going to spend a lot of the day with your photographer, make sure you like each other, and connect.
It’s All About Connection (Not Camera Settings)
The best photos, the ones you’ll actually want to frame, come from feeling safe. Feeling relaxed. Feeling like you can just be yourselves.
The truth is, the technical side of photography matters… but connection matters more.
I realised that not during some styled shoot, but on real wedding days where everything went a little sideways (as those strict timings can often do). There has been lost undies, torrential rain, a very late church organist, forgotten hair extensions and so much more, but ultimately it’s all forgotten and the magic continues to be captured throughout the chaos, because when the couples see each other, or their loved ones, and they’re running through high winds battling an escapee veil, it creates such honest reactions and belly laughter that you are still capturing the most insanely special moments. The connection is what matters.
You don’t need to do anything in front of the camera. You just need to feel, so exist. The rest? I’ll handle quietly in the background.
So What If You Don’t Like Posing?
Good.
Honestly, that probably means we’re going to get on brilliantly.
You don’t need to know what to do with your hands, or how to angle your chin. You just need to show up, be yourselves, feel everything, and let the day happen. I’ll be there, quietly catching it all, the big moments, the in between ones, and the ones you didn’t even know were happening.
Let’s Ditch the Pressure, Shall We?
If you’re planning a wedding in the Midlands, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, or anywhere in between or beyond, and you want a photographer who’s not going to bark orders or tell you to “look more natural” (how?!), maybe we should chat.
Let’s make this easy, real, and actually enjoyable. Let’s make photos that feel like you.
Because you don’t have to pose to have something beautiful.
Lauren x
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