From Reading to Regent Street

A profile on Dennis Orchard

The studio is something of a hybrid with, on one hand, a highly sought-after, central London location in Regent Street, and on the other, a homebased studio in Reading. The London location is not actually a studio in a photographic sense, it is more of a base to do computer work and interview clients. Also, the city base is ideally situated for Dennis’s gallery clients who commission slide duping services. The Berkshire base is largely where the wedding side of the business operates from and is situated at his home, close to Maidenhead.

His passion for photography first came about at the tender age of five, though it was not until a careers officer asked him, at the age of 14, what he wanted to do and the answer was quite simple – ‘photography’. Dennis says that the adviser could only be described as ‘dumbstruck’ and the only advice he could offer was to go away and find out about courses. This Dennis did, ending up studying in Birmingham and then Harrow. Photography has therefore been a lifelong career though, as he acknowledges, not always in weddings.

While weddings and portraits are a primary source of Dennis’s income he concedes that he is not in it just for the money. Photography gives him a great deal of artistic satisfaction plus a huge amount of personal pleasure by being able to interact with clients, fulfil the commissions and hopefully exceed the clients’ expectations. It’s not just a business or a job, it is a way of life.

Dennis’s lucky break came when he first started the wedding side of the business, in 1997, when an American client called out of the blue, and asked if he could do a wedding close to his home. They knew of him as a photographer but didn’t know at the time that weddings were not part of his portfolio. Not knowing quite what was required he instantly set about finding out what the wedding business was all about and ended up on a course with veteran lecturer, and now close friend, Nigel Harper.

The subsequent 18 months proved pivotal in his wedding business with bookings streaming in and within two years he had become the ‘Guilds’ Photographer of the Year.

Several photographers were influential in the early years, apart from Nigel Harper, who was truly inspirational and who encouraged him to have fun at weddings. This is now central to his style of photography. Subsequently he has travelled extensively to the States and attended Conventions such as WPPI and found numerous inspirational photographers such as Joe Buissink, David Anthony Williams and the Canadian brothers, Frank and Anthony Carva. Dennis says basically you start by copying these mentors and gradually develop your own style and pace based upon the various ingredients of each occasion. Each commission is different.

Direct marketing does not play a huge part in his business strategy. Dennis relies more upon networking with other leading professionals, the vast majority of his bookings are generated from bookings via “word of mouth” and through providing the very best and professional service that he can give to his clients.

I asked Dennis, “do you shoot what you feel is best for your clients or do you allow some to clearly define what they want?” He says that he is concerned that each wedding should be different and personal to his client. It is, after all, their special day and he will allow them to define what they are looking for. Some clients insist that they do not want any pictures posed and he respects that. He feels that they have employed him – almost as one would a servant for that day – and so he will go along with their wishes as best he can.

He describes his own personal style of photography as having three distinctive markers; his pictures are about life, love and laughter. This is clearly reflected in his images.

What he loves about his job is really getting to know his clients, fitting in and getting to know the interaction within the relationships. One of the highest compliments he has been paid was when a guest at one wedding he was shooting asked him if he was a family friend and he had to reply, “no I have only met these people today”. He says it was a great buzz. The other enjoyment is when he delivers the final product and the clients show their appreciation by way of thank-you cards mentioning his great pictures and amiable personality on the day. All that is as important to him as cash in the bank.

One of the more difficult aspects of wedding photography can be a client’s preconception of what a photographer should be doing on the day – to them it may mean bossing people around and herding them into groups. In most cases Dennis finds this unnecessary, as on many occasions referring to the client’s wishes, he would rather step back from the wedding and capture things as they happen. The results are better this way he finds, rather than constantly directing and controlling the course of the day.

All of Dennis’s wedding work is now digital and has been since he switched over four-and-a-half years ago. He now feels that digital is second nature to him and it’s the tool that truly allows him to produce the style of imagery that he prefers.

Dennis’s lucky break came when he first started the wedding side of the business, in 1997, when an American client called out of the blue, and asked if he could do a wedding close to his home. They knew of him as a photographer but didn’t know at the time that weddings were not part of his portfolio. Not knowing quite what was required he instantly set about finding out what the wedding business was all about and ended up on a course with veteran lecturer, and now close friend, Nigel Harper.

The subsequent 18 months proved pivotal in his wedding business with bookings streaming in and within two years he had become the ‘Guilds’ Photographer of the Year.

Several photographers were influential in the early years, apart from Nigel Harper, who was truly inspirational and who encouraged him to have fun at weddings. This is now central to his style of photography. Subsequently he has travelled extensively to the States and attended Conventions such as WPPI and found numerous inspirational photographers such as Joe Buissink, David Anthony Williams and the Canadian brothers, Frank and Anthony Carva. Dennis says basically you start by copying these mentors and gradually develop your own style and pace based upon the various ingredients of each occasion. Each commission is different.

Direct marketing does not play a huge part in his business strategy. Dennis relies more upon networking with other leading professionals, the vast majority of his bookings are Looking in his camera kit bag you will find a Canon 5D, which he particularly favours, as it has a full frame sensor (making his 28mm lens truly a 28mm lens). He has three main Canon lenses all f2.8 – the 17–35mm, the 28–70mm and the 70– 200mm image stabilised. He also carries a fish-eye for those creative shots, plus his flash and all-important reflector. Being a user of Canon equipment in the days of 35mm, he finds that these are more than suitable for the high demands of the wedding photographer, especially as the chip yields a highquality result with a degree of subtlety.