Also find me at: Tom Ashmore Reportage Weddings | Ashmore Creative

A Stranger's Invasion

The Reportage Wedding Offer

Welcome to the information page for Tom Ashmore’s reportage wedding photography offer.

You’re most likely here because someone you know shared a link to this page about me offering free wedding photography. Well, it’s true, you read that correctly – absolutely free of charge. Now, I may be wrong, but I’m guessing you’re thinking one of two things.

1. This must be some kind of spam/scam thing. No thanks!

2. Free wedding photography? His work must be rubbish.

Well, it’s not spam or a scam. I am a real person. This is a real offer, and I am an established reportage photographer based in Cardiff with over 12 years experience. I’ve worked for The Guardian, John Lewis, Cardiff Life Magazine, Energizer, and Wilkinson Sword, amongst many others. I shoot with professional Canon equipment that I have spent years saving for. I have shot weddings in the past, and have the experience necessary to go in and do a great job on your wedding right now!

 

So why, you may ask, am I offering to shoot your wedding for free?

 

There are a few factors that have influenced my decision to do this. Firstly, I don’t have any reportage style wedding images to my name. I know I can do a great job, but I’ve nothing to show anyone, so I can hardly expect you to financially invest in something that currently only exists in my head.

 

Second, I’m experimenting with my style, which involves a different style of wedding photography – including no posed shots. If I was getting married, the thought of my photographer ‘experimenting’ with my wedding photographs, when I’ve paid him to do a job, isn’t very appealing. You pay for a professional job, and while I take a stringently professional approach to any job I do, I’m not going to take your money whilst I ‘experiment’ with my style.

 

And finally, I have a business plan requiring I have a full portfolio of images to launch my business at the beginning of 2013. As long as I can translate the style I have developed in documentary through to wedding photography, I’ll be likely be charging upwards of £1200.00 when I officially launch my business. You can get those images for free, here and now, if you are getting married up until the end of September 2012.

 

EnquireContact me about this offer here


The term ‘Reportage’ evolved from the genre of photojournalism, and is regarded as a factual and accurate portrayal of an event. Applied to wedding photography, a photographer will attempt to tell a story of your day as it occurs without his, or her, intervention. This is the opposite of setting up shots or asking people to smile or pose for the camera. That is not to say that any picture where a person looks down the lens will get deleted; if they have done so of their own accord without prompt, this is indeed regarded as reportage.

In doing so, a far more intimate and honest depiction of your day is told through the images. Other than creating timeless memories and unconventional aesthetics, it provides a practical solution – freeing the bride and groom to soak up the experience and forget about the photographer, allowing him to operate in the background; picking out those telling moments; a joyous expression; a mothers tears. The memories of the day will naturally fade with time, leaving a hole filled almost entirely by the images your chosen photographer captures -images that are truthful, honest, sincere – holding a mirror to the vows undertaken by the newly-weds.

EnquireContact me about this offer here

You will get:

1. Me for as much time on the day as you wish, or as much time as I can physically provide without falling over dead from exhaustion.

2. A disk of approximately 50-60 high class images. These images will provide a candid story of your day, so that in years to come you can look back and remember how the day was in reality, rather than remembering posing for shots but being asked to ‘look natural’. They’ll be a mix of black & white, and colour images.

3. A letter of copyright approving usage of the images however you wish to use them.

4. (Optional) A top of the range album, crafted by Jorgensen of Australia. This will need to be paid for but I will take care of it’s production and only ask you to pay the cost price.

In return you will allow me to:

1. Shoot your wedding in a beautiful and natural reportage style.

2. Use the images to promote my business in the future. To clarify, promotion will most likely consist of the pictures being published on my website, and being displayed at future wedding promotional events. For large posters, if I decide to use them, I will seek your permission first.

You accept:

1. That I will not be providing a standard wedding photography service, which means there will be no posed shots of the bride and groom, and I will not be asking the best man and his ushers to walk towards me – lined up in a cliche Reservoir Dogs fashion – trying to look mean. If they just so happen to do this on the day without my intervention, then that’s just fine with me 

2. That this is a free and experimental service.

Remember, if you’re not paying me anything, you’re free to hire a photographer who will shoot exactly how you want them to, so you get two lots of photographs for the price of one! Everyone’s a winner.

EnquireContact me about this offer here

Obviously you’ll want to see at least a bit of my previous work. Having not done a reportage wedding before it’s difficult for me to paint a picture of how your photographs will look, so I’ve decided to provide a selection of images from my street party project that were taken on the day of the Royal Wedding. It’s the closest thing to a wedding I’ve photographed in a reportage style, but I advise you to browse the rest of this website to get a good idea of my style and skill level. Enjoy!


EnquireContact me about this offer here

 

EnquireContact me about this offer here

From the Blog

A collection of informal photographic essays that tell the stories behind the work found in my portfolio - a 'behind the scenes' look, for want of a better phrase.

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