Alex Miller
I can’t believe it’s been a year since the last Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA)! Mainly because I haven’t even found time to put up a blog post about winning last years title of ‘Best West Midlands Wedding Photographer’ until now, a whole year later, when I’m reminded it’s time for TWIA again. Crazy!!
TWIA has been simply amazing for my business these last three years. It’s a competition that I have the utmost respect for, as the judging is essentially down to what your couples think about you, your business and the quality of service they’ve received. There’s nothing more important than that in my eyes.
So, whilst it’s been incredible to hold the title of ‘Best West Midlands Wedding Photographer’ for the last three years in a row, this year I’ve chosen not to enter. Why so? Well, purely because it takes me a fair bit of time and effort to put together an entry and at the end of another busy wedding season I just felt like it was time to finish off my remaining weddings (still 4 to shoot) and spend a little more time with my family than I’ve been able to in past years. It’s always been a bit of a struggle to put together an entry for the TWIA as September and October are typically the busiest time of the year for me in terms of shooting weddings, so it’s always a push to get photos edited and back to couples in time for them to be eligible to vote in the competition (the deadline’s mid-October). Last year I shot 32 weddings – 3 were outside of the eligible voting window and I still had 9 weddings I’d shot but had been unable to edit before the voting deadline.
I’m really going to miss my favourite part of the TWIA process – receiving the feedback from my couples. Yet again, my couples have been so wonderful throughout 2017 and I’ve received so many lovely emails and messages both after weddings and also when couples have viewed their galleries, but I’ll still miss that feeling of appreciation that wells up when I get to read my TWIA voter comments.
Anyway, onto the reason for this blog post – A thank you to all my couples. I’m immensely grateful for everyone who took the time to vote and comment for me and it was a huge accolade to be the ‘Best West Midlands Wedding Photographer’ during 2015, 2016 and 2017. If you’re a wedding photographer, I’d wholeheartedly recommend entering TWIA – if only for the feedback alone! So, very best of luck to all of this year’s entrants – whoever it is that wins will have deserved it and when they receive their voter scores and comments they’ll hopefully realise that!!
Here’s what my couples said about me in the awards last year – below you’ll see a photo from each wedding along with an accompanying voter comment.
General comments (in random order)
“Alex was amazing on our wedding day. He made both of us feel so at ease and really relaxed whilst completely being out of our comfort zone having our photos taken. He captured the day beautifully and the amount of comments we have had about our photos have been overwhelming. Alex is undoubtedly an absolute photographic superstar! Great photographer and a great guy!”
Mrs Lucy Valente
“Alex was fantastic, genuinely a nice guy. A truly consummate professional who mingled unobtrusively with our guests throughout the day. We could not have wished for a better photographer. He documented our wedding day perfectly and captured every moment beautifully down to the smallest detail. He was most attentive, remaining with us to the end of our very special day. We 100% recommend him and once again thanks to a lovely guy!”
Mrs Amy Flynn (Watson)
“We were both so impressed with how approachable Alex is. I’m a very unwilling subject but Alex’s friendly and professional manner set me very much at ease and led to many stunning images of my wife and I. He remained completely unobtrusive but somehow managed to be in all the right places every moment of the day. The photos he took of our wedding captured the feel and character of the event more beautifully and in more detail than we could have hoped. We are so lucky he was involved in our day.”
Mr Steven Veal
“Alex is a kind, modest and extremely talented photographer. He interpreted our vision for the photographs perfectly and the moments we spent with him having our portraits taken were some of the best from the wedding (he made us feel calm, relaxed and at ease). The quality of his reportage photography is outstanding. His photos display a real emotional intelligence and attention to detail that is hard to describe. He goes the extra mile to get the perfect shot and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.”
Mrs Rachel Plaistowe
“Alex was such an approachable person. We loved his photography, and how calm he was at our event, even given the fact this wedding was a learning curve for him, having not previously photographed certain Indian traditions. From all the items/suppliers we used for our wedding, Alex is the only person we would both highly recommend. I can truly say everyone else annoyed us at one point or another, all but Alex.”
Mr Amarpreet Singh Dosanjh
“Brilliant photographer! He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, captured lots of special moments throughout the day. He was very patient with us and made us feel at ease. When we watched the slideshow he produced for us, I almost cried, it was perfect!”
Mrs Priscilla Stanborough (Wong)
“From the first email, we knew Alex not only had an extraordinary talent but was also a lovely man. He took time to get to know us before the wedding and what we did/didn’t want. He was so considerate of my poorly dad and captured the exact images we wanted. The attention to detail is magnificent, his calm, efficient way made everyone feel at ease and he wasn’t in a rush to dash off – therefore Alex captured all of our day. All of our guests commented on his amazing attitude and fabulous images.”
Mrs Rachel Wakefield (Barton)
“Alex was so friendly and professional. We barely noticed he was there on the day, he was so discreet and managed to get photos that really expressed the day from all different viewpoints. He put us at ease and got on well with all of our guests. The finished photos were incredible, they were natural and captured the emotion of the day brilliantly.”
Mrs Molly Jones (Williams)
“He was very well organised, calm and flexible (a brides dream). He planned out the best time to take certain shots to absolute perfection. He was very good at working around everyone and finding opportunities to take shots. We loved looking through our final photographs which had the perfect combination of formal (as requested) and natural shots. He also did a fantastic job of capturing the venue. Alex has a very creative style and he stayed later than expected to catch the fun evening shots”
Mrs Khara Constantinou (Duncan)
“From booking to receiving our finished photos, Alex made the whole process easy. He is so professional, very friendly and fitted right in at the wedding taking some absolutely amazing photos, especially candid shots which is exactly what we wanted. He captured our day perfectly and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to friends.”
Mrs Georgia Watson
“We loved how the day was chronicled – the quality and vision in the shots taken were outstanding! Alex captured the emotion of the day beautifully and was incredibly discreet, in his very hard working approach. We had specific shots we requested and he delivered above and beyond our expectations – for the rest of the day we left it to him to work how he knew best – this trust was crucial and ensured we enjoyed the day without worrying. Alex left us with perfect memories of our day! Amazing!”
Mrs Reena Statton (Nobeen)
“Alex was a great photographer on our wedding day – very professional, organised and put my husband and I at ease. He took beautiful photographs which we will treasure forever.”
Mrs Joanna Wilman (Dalton)
“We are so glad we chose Alex as our photographer. The photos we received were such an amazing reminder of our day with all the key features, people and emotions captured perfectly. We hardly noticed Alex taking photos on the day, a great skill! Would absolutely recommend Alex to anyone wanting to capture their big day.”
Mrs Rachel Smith-Moorhouse (Bennett)
“We literally cannot thank Alex enough for the pictures he captured on our big day. He was professional, friendly and thorough all day… and stayed long beyond when we expected him to – some of the shots from late in the evening are our favourites! We cannot recommend Alex highly enough!”
Mr Chris Ball
“Alex was amazing from the minute we made contact. He is such a warm and friendly character that he could have been mistaken for one of our guests. He took on board all of our wishes and requirements and made all of our group shots look effortless. We were both overwhelmed with the final images, Alex captured every special moment our wedding day beautifully.”
Mrs Natalie Matthews
“As far as my husband and I are concerned, Alex Miller was the best, most important investment of our whole wedding, apart from the venue of course! I truly believe that there are some things you can scrimp on with regards to the decoration and details etc, but the photographer’s pictures will last a lifetime, not just a day.”
Mrs Alison Smith
“Alex was a fantastic photographer from start to finish. He was perfect in the lead up to the wedding in communicating with us and understanding what we wanted out the photography for our wedding. Photographs of your wedding are so personal so Alex was great in not dictating to us what we wanted, he rolled with it and put forward some suggestions which we went with. On the day Alex was so professional and got exactly what we wanted. It was comforting having him there. I would highly recommend.”
Mrs Kim Mitchell
“It was a pleasure to have Alex with us for our wedding in Mozambique and he was a wonderful addition to our small family celebration. He captured all the events of our special holiday perfectly and has a real knack for making people feel at ease, thus allowing him to blend into the background and capture everyone at their most natural. He’s a wonderful storyteller and we will forever cherish the memories his photographs depict. He has great artistic vision and strives to deliver perfection.”
Mrs Joss Hooren
“Alex was outstanding on our wedding day. A really nice easy going guy. He captured our wedding wonderfully. All the guests thought he was superb and he was really clicking away all day. The pictures are fantastic. I’m really pleased that we chose Alex.”
Mrs Jessica Gallagher
“Alex was brilliant. As we did not live locally to him or our venue he was very accommodating and arranged to FaceTime us so we could discuss our plans and ideas. He was very easy going and the booking process was simple. He kept in touch and the flat price and package offered was great! Alex arrived in plenty of time and fitted in so well with the wedding party. The photos he produced were amazing and just what we wanted! Special memories of a great day”
Mrs Jessica Nicholson (Bingham)
“Alex was professional from start to finish. He was very calm and presentable on the morning of the wedding. He understood what we wanted from our photos and captured all the great moments. We didn’t feel staged everything felt relaxed and fitted in with the day. (Rather than a photo shoot) we have had such amazing comments from everyone that has soon our photos and we couldn’t be happier with them.”
Mrs Jessica Taylor (Hayman)
“We were so pleased with Alex. From start to finish he was an absolute star. Alex was professional, hardworking and a pleasure to have at our wedding. Our photographs are beautiful and we are truly gratefully for all the images he managed to capture so well on our big day.”
Mrs Hayleigh Rogers
“Alex arrived on the day at 9 am and didn’t leave till 11pm. Throughout all the time he was there we barely noticed him as he just blended in with everyone and took lots of very natural shots of everyone enjoying themselves. Alex told us to expect around 400 pictures from our wedding but in fact we got over 600 pictures. I can’t recommend Alex enough for someone who is getting married as your not only getting a top photographer you will get a top guy.”
Mrs Joanne Haden-Griffiths
“Alex really understood our vision when it came to our winter wedding. He captured all the special moments throughout the day which told our story perfectly. We would highly recommend him.”
Mrs Lucy O’Connor (Davies)
“Alex was kind and consideration from the moment we engaged with him, right through to photo delivery. He answered every question with patience and during the wedding day was a calm presence, out of sight but always reassuringly close. We enjoyed working with Alex, and would highly recommend him to any bride and groom”
Mrs Emma Hodgetts (Raynes)
Why They Booked (in random order)
“His work was everything we were looking for. So that was the initial pull, from the pricing point he was also well priced compared to other quotes we received. We meet Alex for a coffee, to look at some more work and meet him. This was the moment we were sold. The additional work he brought was amazing to us, but his personality shone through. He automatically seemed to be a warm and friendly person, on the day this was no different. He was the perfect person to be at the wedding.”
Mr Amarpreet Singh Dosanjh
“It’s a really scary and anxious prospect for any couple taking the plunge and choosing the right photographer for them. Luckily, Alex was a dream come true. He is a true gent, friendly, funny, easy-going, passionate, generous with his time, highly conscientious, organised, creative, communicative, and not to mention stunningly talented!! His pictures capture the essence of the day, and the special moments you will treasure forever. Thank you Alex for being so fantastic, our wedding was made extra special because you were there. We booked Alex Miller because we believe he is world class. We hope he is successful in winning the Best West Midlands Wedding Photographer at the Wedding Industry Awards 2017. Good luck, you deserve it! Ali & Steve x”
Mrs Alison Smith
“We booked Alex primarily because we fell in love with his approach to wedding photography and the photos showcased on his website. They were (are are!) just incredible. We wanted a photographer who could capture our wedding in a natural, honest, artistic and beautiful way – Alex delivered this and so much more. His initial customer engagement was excellent – we were able to have a Skype conversation with him and discuss various aspects of the wedding and any specific ideas we had. Alex had a really friendly approach and was so easy to discuss ideas with – we knew we wanted him from looking at his work – the Skype conversation confirmed this for us 200%! We love Alex so much because, not only is he exceptionally talented, he is a really down to earth and genuine guy. We felt we could trust him from the moment we spoke to him – of course this was so important – after the wedding, one’s photos are the only way the memories are captured, so we needed to be confident our photographer could deliver that. For us, it was the perfect combination – and given all the other stress around wedding planning, we were so relieved to have booked an excellent photographer, who would give us great shots on the day. We also felt that Alex represented great value for money – we scoured the internet looking for photographers and it was a minefield! We were amazed to get Alex at what we felt was a very good price – there were certainly others who were much more expensive, but lacked the evidence of skill on their website. We loved all the wonderful feedback on Alex’s website from other clients – this is true testament to his abilities as a photographer. The fact that he is an industry award winner was very exciting and naturally, ensured we wanted him even more! We thought the fact that location wasn’t an issue for Alex was really important – we had our wedding in Northumberland and were really pleased that he was able to travel as part of his package and it wasn’t an additional cost. We decided to have an engagement shoot with Alex, to meet him face-to-face and get an idea of what we would look like in the photos… on a very windy day, we had so much fun with Alex!! He was well presented and completely professional – it was just brilliant and we were super excited to see him again at our wedding – offering an engagement shoot is a great idea. There were so many contributing factors as to why we chose Alex; the aforementioned comments are some, but there are many more! We made the perfect choice booking Alex!!”
Mrs Reena Statton (Nobeen)
“He was recommended on the wedding industry website and we liked the style of photography on his website.”
Mrs Lucy O’Connor (Davies)
“Great value, great style, lovely man!”
Mrs Emma Hodgetts (Raynes)
“Alex’s name came cropping up next to photographs I loved on wedding blogs I was reading during my wedding preparations, after speaking to him I knew he was definitely the photographer we had been searching for.”
Mrs Hayleigh Rogers
“My husband hates his picture being taken so if I was allowed to put wedding pics up around the house they had to be to his liking – as natural as possible.”
Mrs Rachel Wakefield (Barton)
“Unique photos that capture the moments during the day”
Mrs Jessica Nicholson (Bingham)
“He’s very personable, we could tell that we would get on well, and we were impressed by his portfolio.”
Mrs Joss Hooren
“Modest, unassuming, subtle but powerful web presence. Beautiful, artistic reportage photography with great use of light and shade and attention to detail. A sense of narrative continuity and emotional intelligence came across from the photos that we saw.”
Mrs Rachel Plaistowe
“Recommended by another photographer. After looking at work on his website I was drawn in by his creative, natural style. His photos also looked lively and bright and seemed to capture the ’fun’ in the weddings.”
Mrs Khara Constantinou (Duncan)
“We booked Alex through a recommendation from a friend – we were blown away when we saw our friends photographs and knew we wanted Alex to capture our day.”
Mrs Lucy Valente
“Alex captured some stunning photographs and the creativity of others was more than we could have ever imagined. From our beautiful formal shots to the natural ones of all our guests. We knew we could trust him to capture exactly what we wanted and he would blend into our wedding rather than take out. He was so professional and was so understanding of what we wanted.”
Mrs Kim Mitchell
“He was really helpful and enthusiastic and made our day feel really special.”
Mrs Jessica Gallagher
“Attended a friend’s wedding and saw him in action and the photos afterward, we thought he was brilliant so booked him for our own wedding.”
Mrs Priscilla Stanborough (Wong)
“I loved the look of his photographs online – they were very natural and not overtly ’staged’. He was reasonably priced.”
Mrs Joanna Wilman (Dalton)
“Professional and the style we liked”
Mrs Jessica Taylor (Hayman)
“I love his style, natural photos capturing emotions and really telling the story. We need for many ’posed’ photos.”
Mrs Molly Jones (Williams)
“Because our photographer friend (who wasn’t available) recommended him!”
Mr Chris Ball
“A wedding photographer who had worked with my family on a couple of occasions in the past recommended Alex very highly. The photographer in question had actually contracted Alex for his own wedding. The recommendation of one wedding photographer by another is high praise indeed and along with Alex’s incredible portfolio was more than enough to convince us.”
Mr Steven Veal
“We originally made contact because we really liked the style of his photos and were impressed with the reviews we found online. He was extremely helpful, quick to respond to emails and clearly very experienced. Once we’d spoken to Alex and filled in his very comprehensive questionnaire, we were confident that we’d found the right wedding photographer.”
Mrs Natalie Matthews
“His approach and his style of photography.”
Mrs Amy Flynn (Watson)
“I booked Alex Miller because I liked his pictures on his website then after meeting him we knew he was the photographer we wanted.”
Mrs Joanne Haden-Griffiths
“He was highly recommended by a fellow wedding photographer and having researched online Alex seemed to be exactly what we were looking for.”
Mrs Georgia Watson
“We thought Alex’s photos on his website were exactly what we were looking for and stunning. When we met for the first time, Alex was friendly and personable which we thought was key for someone we would spend the day with.”
Mrs Rachel Smith-Moorhouse (Bennett)
If you’re planning a wedding in the Midlands or surrounding counties (Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire) and are looking for a creative documentary wedding photographer, then please get in touch here. I’d love to hear from you!!
Share this story