So here we go again! Welcome to this year’s instalment of the Top 10 wedding photographers in the UK 2008 or what I like to call the “Quanies”. We generated quite a controversy last year doing this- mostly from people who weren’t included (you know who you are). So I figured it would be fun to do it once more and ruffle some feathers in the establishment.

So why would I do this? When I first got into this business I was looking for a way to see what the competition were up to and really couldn’t find any rankings whatsoever. I couldn’t really rely on photography competition winners since those rankings are based on those who actually participate. Secondly, Its a great way to generate discussion in this industry of ours, you should have seen all the commotion that was caused last year! Thirdly, it was a great way to “meet” some of the best in the business and learn from them. So from my point of view doing a “Top 10 wedding Photographers” list was a no-brainer. Finally, David Letterman was unavailable to do the list, so I took up the cause.

Photo by Rob Burress

So how did I decide on the Top 10 wedding photographers in the UK?

Through hours and hours of negotiation I was finally allowed to use CERN’s particle collider machine in Switzerland to compute who deserved to be included in this year’s list. In fact I was the main reason the particle collider broke, while feeding all the different candidates websites into the machine I forgot to tell the collider to have the music on everyone’s website turned to “off”, I tortured the poor thing.

I also dropped a few from last year’s list and I’ve also added some fresh new faces for everyone to have a look at.

There were a few criteria that were essential in this years list. Team Randolph Quan personally contacted everyone who was nominated, if there was any moaning involved about being included they were quickly eliminated (The particle machine dislikes moaning). We also looked for hidden gems throughout the UK. We awarded extra points if photographer’s were from less populated parts of the country.

Our team also judged website presentation. We penalized photographers heavily if they had poor websites. The attention to detail is so key in photography that even if shooters had great images we felt that a poor website detracted us from them.

Unfortunately, much like last year I couldn’t include myself in this list. I tried to sneak my way to number 4 but I was caught red handed! There’s something just not right about awarding yourself a “Quanie”. Perhaps one day I can award one of those lifetime achievement awards myself like they do at the Oscars.

So a big congratulation goes to 2008’s Top 10 wedding photographers in the UK winner Christian Keenan! This year each photographer has kindly sent in their favourite photographs of the past year and explained why its special to them. Enjoy! Cry! Discuss!!!!

1. Christian Keenan

“It is very hard to choose a favourite image from my weddings this past year as every wedding has images that I am very proud of. This image of the beautiful bride walking down a grand staircase with her father and bridesmaids I think captures their moment perfectly. The bride is just about to walk into the church and is anticipating all of the emotions which that entails, while her father gently steadies her with his hand as they negotiate the stairs.”

2. David Pullum

“I love the framing of this image, the fact that there are people other than the bride and groom in the image and that they both have umbrellas. The image appears timeless.”

3. Anil Tohani

“I l love this photo because of the emotion on the brides face, she just seems so joyful in that precise moment, you simple cannot pose frames like this. They just happen. Also I love the composition which shows off the mood of the first dance perfectly, all that falling confetti gives the images a magical feel.”

4. Julie Kim

5. Mark Wallis

6. Christian Michael

“Our shot of Lindsay and Simon walking away from Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, Cornwall is probably our favourite shot from 2008. The light was wonderful, sky detail was perfect, and Pendennis is an imposing wedding venue that really makes a feature in the background of this shot. We had been shooting some images around the Castle, previous to this, when the couple had to return to the reception to have their wedding breakfast, and whilst walking back we captured this totally natural intimate moment, which along with the technical aspects of this picture makes it our favourite shot from 2008.”

7. Nick Kirk

“This is a picture of some fireworks at a wedding I covered last August. They set them off just at the right time in the evening still with some dusky blue colour available allowing the firework colours to captured properly. Definitely my favourite photo of 2008″

8. Margaret Macatier

“I love the imagery which is artistic and creative. I work in a very traditional manner in that subjects are very much posed which usually incorporate immediate surrounding be that buildings or landscape. The results are traditional style images with a contemporary twist”

9. Keith Thompson

“I love this image, when I was looking through the lens I just got the feel that this was one of those old holiday postcards. Easily my favourite of 2008″

10. Tom Catchesides

“My approach to wedding photography is all about making images that tell stories and I find the strongest narratives in pictures that show people interacting. This image – a reaction shot from the best man’s speech – is one of my favourites because the story telling elements are strong enough that you know exactly what’s happening outside the frame as well as in it.” http://www.lightbluesoftware.com/

Honourable Mention

Rob Burress – http://www.shootinghip.com/

About the Author: Randolph Quan is a UK based wedding photojournalist. You can follow Randolph on Twitter or check out his wedding photography here.