Best of 2018

2018…what a year, and how quickly it’s flown by!

Me and my cameras have been all over this year, with weddings in Montenegro, England, France, Wales, and a little 1500 mile round-trip drive up to Dornoch in Scotland! Each and every one has been unique; each and every one has been an absolute pleasure – I still pinch myself that I do this ‘job’ as a living; the fact that couples choose me to capture one of the most special days of their lives is, and will always be, such an honour.

Doing these ‘Best Of’ posts is always a labour of love for me; it takes a *long* time to go through the tens of thousands of images that I’ve taken during the year, but it’s also really fun; taking me back to so many moments and memories, remembering things that really make me smile. For this year, this includes a wedding at ‘Our Lady of the Rocks’, a man-made island in Montenegro that, as legend has it, was began in the early 15th century. It includes the first photo of someone else’s bride making my top picks, as my couple walked through Cambridge (one of my favourite cities in the world) and passed another couple who had just got married, with them both raising their bouquets in joint celebration. It includes broken ankles, emotional fathers, emotional grooms – incredibly nervous grooms! – dogs (Oh I do love to see a dog at a wedding; you’ll notice a few in my selection below!), punting on the river Cam with the whole wedding party, numerous boat trips along the Bay of Kotor with another wedding party, coach trips, car trips (so many miles, eeek!), plane trips, a few late-night McDonald’s, my very first Wiccan wedding, city weddings, beach weddings, barn weddings, laughter – so much laughter – and so much more…

As well as weddings, I’ve taken my documentary wedding photography workshop, ‘Law School‘, to Birmingham, Bristol and London this year, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting other photographers and talking ‘shop all day (and, a lot of the night too!). I’ll be announcing my next workshop, to take place in early 2019, very soon – go on the mailing list over here to be the first to know if you’d like to come along.

Photographers may be interested to know that I completely changed systems at the beginning of this year, too, as I switched from Canon to Sony. I’ve not looked back since; absolutely *love* the Sony A9 and the affect it’s had on my work. You can read more of my thoughts about the change to Sony here.

A major thing for me this year, has been running This is Reportage – a worldwide community of photographers, where we feature the documentary-side of our work. It has been the site’s inaugural year, and wow, what a year it’s been! We have over 500 members already, from literally all over the world, and it’s been an absolute honour and pleasure to feature their amazing work – showcasing the art, skill – and huge importance – of capturing real moments. The community is also *so* lovely, and it was amazing to meet so many of them at our TiR Christmas party in London a few weeks ago, with members coming over from Portugal, Germany, Holland and Hungary, to meet fellow photographers, celebrate their 2018 wedding season, and maybe have a drink or seven…

But anyway, I digress…! Back to this ‘Best of 2018’ post:

Like my 2017 and 2016 Best Of posts, I’ve made a selection of just 100 images. It’s tough to do this – oh so tough! – and there is generally no rhyme or reason as to why an image makes this selection or not. Saying ‘Best of’, even, is a bit of a misnomer, as who can really say what is mine – or anyone else’s – ‘best work’? What I really love about wedding photography – and about photography in general – is that it is one hundred percent subjective. There is no right or wrong; there literally isn’t one photo better than another. All it is, is someone’s opinion, and so these are, really, just 100 images that I love, that stand out to me, that make me smile.

So, without further ado, here are 100 of my favourite images from a wonderful year of weddings:

By the way, this last image above may look posed, but it 100% isn’t; taken very late at night (about 3.45 am), I had been capturing Jenna and Stefan say goodnight to their guests (after a *brilliant* party), and I turned around to see this: The newly married couple, just having this little quiet moment together, just looking so much in love.

If you’ve got down here (or even if you just viewed the first image and then scrolled directly to the bottom – ha, busted! ;)) then I thank you for having a look. I hope you’ve had a brilliant year; here’s to 2019!

41 comments

  1. Dave says:

    Absolutely amazing! Every frame – what a year! Especially love the Cambridge shots (assuming with the bikes) and the tieing the tie shot. So much laughter!!

  2. Take. A. Bow!!! Sensational!!!! With everything you’ve done this year, for the love of god put your feet up and have e a few ciders! Every frame is gold, but that two brides frame is crackalackin’!!

    • alanlawphotography says:

      Man, super kind! It was so lovely getting to meet you this year; hope we get to chat again soon. Looking forward to your best of; sure it’s going to be brilliant!

  3. Paul Fox says:

    Sooo much gold in there Alan! The two brides crossing paths in the street, the guy flipping into the sea, so much emotion and laughter, oh and dogs, there has to be dogs! Love it, well done mate!

  4. Will Dolphin says:

    Boom, awesome stuff as always Mr Alan- high, low, near, far, love, laughter, tears, joy- a super collection full of beautiful stories. Have a great Christmas man and see you again soon no doubt 🙂

    • alanlawphotography says:

      Thank you, man, really kind and really appreciated! Ace catching up last week; such a good night! Hope you have a fab 2019 and see you soon!

  5. Lee Maxwell says:

    Aaaannndddd relax…. What a busy year for you eh! Lovely set, Alan. Those guys swimming must have such a fun capture. Love the bride on the boat drinking away! Have a great Christmas!

    • alanlawphotography says:

      Thanks so much, man – ha, yeah, has been a bit of a busy one! Not complaining though 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind comment; loved your ‘best of’ too!

    • alanlawphotography says:

      Ah dude, thanks so much! Really means a lot, dude, thank you. Ha, maybe I should post a bit more often! Looking forward to seeing your round-up!

  6. If I’d started this blog post not knowing who the photographer was, I would’ve known it could only be Alan Law by the time I got to the bottom, and that’s the best compliment I can give you. You’ve nailed your style and approach and every image is full of life. THIS is reportage folks!

    • alanlawphotography says:

      That really means a lot, man, thank you! Ha, love that last line, too 😉 Really appreciate it, thanks loads; looking forward to seeing yours! Hope we get to catch up in 2019 🙂

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