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Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
00:04 – 00:42
Hello folks and welcome to the supplier spotlight tales of the trade. My name is Liam Ball, I’m your magical wedding host also known as the gentleman magician. Today I’m joined by a wonderfully talented photographer, somebody who I have had the pleasure and the honour of working with. She’s really known for her warm approach and the knack of catching fleeting moments that couple’s treasure so if you’re dreaming of wedding photos that are going to feel genuine heartfelt and beautiful she’s definitely somebody to know so let’s settle in and we’ll start talking about some sparkles and uh shutter clicks uh i’m very very pleased to welcome to the podcast zoe mills
Zoe Mills Photography
00:44 – 00:45
hello oh there we
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
00:45 – 00:46
are how’s it going
Zoe Mills Photography
00:46 – 00:49
really good thank you how are you excellent
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
00:49 – 01:18
yes i’m i’m very very well thanks uh thanks for coming along and joining me it’s uh it’s really great to have you here in fact you’re you’re i think we spoke about this you’re not only the first photographer that i’ve had on the podcast you’re the first podcast uh that i’ve been able to record so uh so that’s that’s pretty exciting all around certainly for me yeah it’s uh of course it’s wonderful warm weather at the moment everybody’s melting um i’ve got all the makeup on making sure i don’t look too awful uh
Zoe Mills Photography
01:18 – 01:20
indeed
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
01:20 – 01:28
so uh so yeah i mean as a wedding photographer what was it that drew you into being a wedding photographer and how did you get started
Zoe Mills Photography
01:28 – 02:07
oh that’s a good first question okay um so i mean even during school photography was the only thing that i really thought yeah this is sort of what i want to do um i just really loved taking pictures um you know there were it wasn’t that deep back then you know I love taking pictures of sort of flowers um my cat at the time family cat um but then I studied photography at uni um and then I worked with some wedding photographers and some other photographers but um slowly then built my work up from there became self-employed in the very end of 2017 and um haven’t looked back
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
02:07 – 02:19
so plenty of experience doing it which is which is great and by the sounds of it much like me as a magician something you’ve loved always what would you describe is your style of photography what makes it different do you think from everybody else
Zoe Mills Photography
02:20 – 03:01
yeah okay um so i try and keep my work quite true to life so um you know i won’t edit too much um i mean there is editing involved but i’ll keep them quite bright um so it is definitely one of the things as well as um quite natural and storytelling um so capturing the moments as they unfold and then sort of for the couple photos if you do need some prompting I’ll do that but I’ll try and keep them quite relaxed nothing too staged and stiff um I think it looks a little nicer and there’s a bit of movement in the photos so yeah quite natural moments and the three words that I sort of tend to use at the moment are storytelling timeless and joyful
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
03:01 – 03:17
awesome that’s yeah that’s great I certainly know that because it was Hannah and Jack’s wedding that we met at and there was certainly a lot of that going on in the background. What is it that draws you to weddings specifically? What do you love about weddings?
Zoe Mills Photography
03:19 – 03:53
To be honest, weddings, you kind of have to be an all-round good photographer because there’s people, there’s landscapes, there’s still life, your nice details that you need to photograph. There’s so many elements to a wedding and so many lighting conditions that you have to think about that it’s a little bit of everything. So that’s one of the things that sort of keeps you on your toes. It’s always a bit different. No, two weddings are the same. And they’re just amazing days, aren’t they? They’re just happiness and, you know, everyone’s all dressed up and looking their best. And yeah, what’s not to love, really?
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
03:54 – 04:31
Yeah, that’s definitely true. I mean, I know that I just enjoy the atmosphere at weddings, I think. And there are so many people that definitely add to it. But like you say, there’s so much going on. And I always wonder about people and I think they’re sat there, they’re planning this wedding. It’s going to be feasibly one of the biggest, maybe even the most important day of their life. And I sit back and I think to myself, what have they not realised about what I do when I’m doing it? What do they not know that I am going to do or need that I need to tell them? Do you ever find that? I mean, what do people often not know about what they need to do to have a great, great set of photos?
Zoe Mills Photography
04:33 – 04:56
I think, yeah, I think sometimes people get a bit too caught up in it all looking perfect and wanting to go their way when really the best photos happen when you are enjoying the moment and just, yeah, sort of living at your wedding rather than, oh, I need to look this way and do a thing to make sure I look great. No, let’s just let go and enjoy exactly your day as it happens.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
04:56 – 04:58
So it’s all about being in the moment then really, isn’t it?
Zoe Mills Photography
04:59 – 05:01
100%. Yeah. That
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
05:01 – 05:06
is great. What are some of your favourite moments at weddings that you like to look out for to photograph?
Zoe Mills Photography
05:09 – 05:48
So many. I love a confetti shot. We love that shot. Just the movement, the happiness, it’s normally quite colourful. Even if it’s white, it’s just white confetti. It’s just such a great shot. Of course, I love the couple photos. Just go off and have a little bit of time just for themselves, often the first time on the day, just for themselves, which is quite nice. So I often shoot sort of from a bit further away at that point. So they get a bit of time to just chat and enjoy their time together. And I love a first dance as well in the dancing. Can’t go wrong with a bit of fun dancing movement shots.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
05:49 – 06:22
Yeah. Do you know, so I’m constantly saying to people, a lot of people don’t know this, but I’m actually an amateur dancer, for want of a better phrase. I do modern social dancing so modern jive, blues, west coast swing and I’m constantly saying to people when they’re talking about dancing if you’re going to do anything clever or funky tell your photographer first so that they know where to be when the moment happens because isn’t it the worst where you’re in that position and suddenly they do this big sweeping turn on the floor and a big drop and you’re like, I’m behind you
Zoe Mills Photography
06:23 – 06:24
yeah, that’s true
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
06:25 – 06:32
yeah, that’s crazy what other advice would you give to couples their about their photos in the day um
Zoe Mills Photography
06:32 – 07:35
oh right let’s try and keep it to a minimum um so that’s obviously enjoying the day as the anafo you know um and listen to a photographer so i mean i have a call with couples about four weeks before their day um usually it’s after you’ve had your final venue chat so we can just go timeline um but it’s really great to yeah just chat to your talk for about it because timings can really help and or hinder you know what happens with photos for example I usually recommend brides to get ready um and have their dress on sort of an hour before the ceremony depending on sort of how the day’s unfolding you know 40 minutes is fine um but in case they want some pictures with their you know lovely dress once they’re ready and with any of their bridal party um and then you know if they’ve got a content creator if there’s lots of other people involved they will also want pictures so it all adds to the timing of the day so just yeah really listen to and help your photographer guide you on the day um for your timeline of the day
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
07:35 – 07:54
cool okay and when it comes down to booking a photographer because i imagine there’s going to be a lot of people who listen to this and think there aren’t many options where we get to listen to what a photographer would say if it’s somebody out there right now and they’re thinking about booking a photographer aside from go book zoe what other advice would you give them okay
Zoe Mills Photography
07:54 – 09:07
yeah there’s a few things um so definitely look at a few different photographers style and work um yeah photographers will tend to have their certain style of how they like their photos to look so whether that’s more documentary or more editorial um those are two sort of options in the style aspect so documentary tend to be um quite natural and candid photos following the day as it unfolds trying to get yeah the moments whereas editorial can tend to be a bit more set up or at least look that way and look a bit more sort of high fashion magazine type shots and then you also have the sort of colour and that sort of feel of the photos so they can be a bit more dark and moody they can be light and airy and there’s lots of sort of varying ranges of what photographers offer and I tend to be in the middle of all of that but yeah those options and then Another one is making sure that they have experience, really, because weddings are such a fast-paced environment and there’s lots to sort of know about them, really, to be able to do the best job possible. So experience can help and making sure they are a valued business. So with insurance and a contract to share with you.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
09:09 – 09:36
Yeah, some really great points there about insurances and contracts. and it’s something that I am constantly banging on about both to both to couples and to other colleagues the number of people who say to me Liam do you have a contract and I’m like why would I not have a contract that’s crazy so what what does a wedding day timeline usually look like with you what sort of time do you arrive when do you leave and what do you do in between yeah
Zoe Mills Photography
09:36 – 10:16
and so if couples book a full day which is the most popular um I will arrive roughly two hours before um your ceremony sometimes a little earlier depending on if you are getting ready in the same space you’re getting married in um I’ll capture your day sort of ceremony through to confetti group photos couple photos cake if you’re having it dance if you’re having it um through to you know about an hour after the first dance depending how that looks tend to stay for about 10 hours um but yeah every wedding will vary slightly um not everyone wants to follow those traditions which is lovely i love a wedding that sort of try and make or break so make their own traditions or break some traditions
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
10:16 – 10:23
do you love it when you get those moments where the couples say so we’ve just had this great idea yeah
Zoe Mills Photography
10:23 – 10:34
yeah oh it’s so good yeah we’ve got some couples having the uh i thought what it’s called now photo dash i think it’s called where they run around the the tables Hannah and Jack did it didn’t
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
10:34 – 10:37
they yes they did yeah that was fun I
Zoe Mills Photography
10:37 – 10:42
was panicked a little bit with that but it’s it is quite fun actually it sort of gets the mood going great
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
10:42 – 10:55
stuff so so what kind of um I mean obviously for all the years of photography you’ve done what kind of funny stories or sort of touching memories have you got from your years as a photographer shooting weddings yeah
Zoe Mills Photography
10:55 – 11:49
um I mean singing waiters have been quite funny over the years um they’re definitely like a big surprise for either the couple or the guests whoever’s booked them um so that sort of element of things can be quite fun um and then I love it when couples sort of have some touches of um sort of honoring relatives in their days so I’ve had it where couples will bring a photo of loved ones who’ve passed and actually have a seat at the ceremony for them as if they’re there which is really sweet um but yeah lots of great i mean speeches are a lovely way that tend to to work really well for like nice touching moments um because it’s you know one of the only chances that perhaps you know your dad might for example your dad might open up how much you know he loves you and some funny moments yeah lots of them yeah
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
11:49 – 12:04
fantastic so if there was one thing if there was one tip that you could give to wedding couples out there to make the photographs on their day the best they could be to make them really sing what’s the one tip that you would give people
Zoe Mills Photography
12:06 – 12:35
um oh i don’t know if it’s going to sound a bit cliche but um make sure you head out at golden hour with your photographer um which can be tricky because it can be around um when you sort of think for your meal or after your meal but in the summer it tends to work quite well yeah um sort of heading towards half eight nine at a peak good good time to head out because the light just looks gorgeous and they’re really beautiful to have photos that you will love and probably want to frame in your home
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
12:35 – 12:48
makes good sense right now i i often feel like one of the great things about speaking to people is that we get to know them a bit better so some quick fire questions um what’s your go-to coffee order before a wedding
Zoe Mills Photography
12:48 – 12:54
um that’s not a great one for me a decaf oat milk latte
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
12:54 – 13:01
hey a decaf oat milk latte sounds great uh when you’re editing do you do it in silence or do you have uh music in the background
Zoe Mills Photography
13:01 – 13:06
oh yeah music or a podcast or even a show definitely fantastic
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
13:07 – 13:11
if you weren’t a photographer what would you be oh
Zoe Mills Photography
13:11 – 13:22
i love that question um either something psychologist or sociology wise or um fitness instructor or personal trainer something like that
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
13:22 – 13:30
yeah yeah and uh last one um if you were handed a time machine what moment in wedding history would you love to photograph and why
Zoe Mills Photography
13:30 – 13:48
oh my gosh that’s a hard one um hmm i don’t know i feel like i love where we are right now to be honest time machine I can’t think of a specific era that I’d be like, yes, this is the era.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
13:49 – 13:58
Yeah, fair enough. Okay, but there’s a lot of great stuff going on right now anyway. Any interesting trends going on at the moment that you’re liking the look of or hating?
Zoe Mills Photography
14:01 – 14:07
I do love the sparkler exit, to be honest. But they are quite stressful with drunk people in the evening.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:07 – 14:12
Yes. I always find with sparklers, one of the biggest challenges is getting all the sparklers lit on time.
Zoe Mills Photography
14:13 – 14:19
100%. Yeah. You need as many lighters. I always forget the name of the long lighters.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:19 – 14:19
Yeah.
Zoe Mills Photography
14:20 – 14:21
As many as possible.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:22 – 14:26
100%. I always carry a blowtorch. Wow. That’s
Zoe Mills Photography
14:26 – 14:26
awful.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:28 – 14:34
Yeah. Blowtorch. Light it up. Hold it up in the air and say, right, folks, light your sparklers here. And you can have like 100%.
Zoe Mills Photography
14:35 – 14:38
Oh, and that’s it. Invest. Blowtorch.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:39 – 14:46
Yeah, that’s right. Great stuff. Right there. Well, listen, it’s been really great chatting. One last thing. If people want to find out more real work, where can they see you?
Zoe Mills Photography
14:48 – 14:56
Absolutely, yeah. So Instagram is a good one. It’s at Zoe Mills Photo. And my website is also www.zoemillsphotography.com.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:57 – 15:05
Brilliant. I’m going to put those in the link down below on the YouTube video and on the podcast. Zoe, it’s been great chatting. Thanks so much for coming along. And I’ll catch up with you soon. Take care.
Zoe Mills Photography
15:06 – 15:09
Thanks for having me, Liam. It’s been awesome. Cheers. Bye.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
15:11 – 15:37
And there you go, folks. that was the wonderful Zoe Mills every bit as charming as her work is wonderful um if you again if you want to see it you can pop along to Instagram or her website zoemillsphotography.com and remember if you are looking for a team to build trusted suppliers on your day go and check it out come along for more supplier tales and supplier spotlights and we’ll see you next time take care folks bye like.