Autumn 2026 — three weekend dates left before the light goes.

Check a date
Pearl Notch Photography
A couple walking away from the camera along a grass path in late afternoon light, the bride's veil lifting behind them.
Pearl Notch · Film & digital

SlowLight

I photograph days as they actually run — the long table, the borrowed coat, the ten minutes when the room finally goes quiet. Booked by the date, one commission at a time.

How I work

Two cameras, no choreography

Most of a day is spent close by and out of the way. I carry a digital body for the fast parts and a film body for the slow ones, and I'd rather wait four minutes for the right light than ask fourteen people to stand somewhere they don't want to stand.

If you want directed portraits, we'll make time for them — twenty unhurried minutes, usually at the end of the afternoon. Everything else is watched rather than arranged.

Format
Digital throughout, with two or three rolls of colour film woven into the day.
Crew
Me alone up to eighty guests; a second photographer above that, named in advance.
Light
Available light first. A single soft flash after dark, kept off faces where possible.
Weather
Rain is fine and often better. We plan a covered alternative for portraits at the booking call.
Travel
Coast and valley towns without a surcharge; anything further is quoted with the date.
Selected frames

The index

Six frames from the last two seasons, chosen because they show how a day is covered rather than how it photographs at its best moment.

A long dinner table laid with candles, glassware and greenery before guests are seated.

The long table

Digital · May

A couple standing close together outdoors at dusk, photographed in soft low light.

Twenty minutes at dusk

Film · September

Guests throwing confetti in bright sunlight as a couple walks through the crowd.

Confetti, second pass

Digital · July

An outdoor ceremony under an arch of flowers with guests seated on either side of the aisle.

Ceremony in the orchard

Digital · June

Morning preparations by a window, a dress and small details laid out in daylight.

Morning, north window

Film · April

A crowded dance floor late at night lit by warm string lights overhead.

Half past eleven

Digital · August

What can be booked

Sessions

Three ways of working. Rates travel with the availability reply, because the hours and the distance change what a day costs.

A full wedding day

From the last hour of getting ready through to the floor filling up. The most common booking, and the one that needs the earliest date.

Hours
Nine or ten continuous hours, agreed against your running order.
Where
One or two locations; the second is built into the timeline at the planning call.
You receive
A private online gallery, roughly 500–700 edited frames, printable at full size.
Ready in
Around six weeks, with a short preview set within four days.

Portraits, one or two people

A walk rather than a sitting. Good for an engagement, an anniversary, or simply because no one has taken a decent photograph of you in years.

Hours
Ninety minutes, timed to end at sunset.
Where
One location — coast path, town street, or your own kitchen.
You receive
A gallery of 45–60 edited frames, plus any film that came out.
Ready in
Around two weeks.

A half-day at work

Documentary coverage of a studio, kitchen, workshop or small team — made for people who need honest pictures of what they actually do.

Hours
Four hours on site, scheduled around your quiet and busy parts.
Where
Your premises; no lighting rig unless the space genuinely needs one.
You receive
80–120 edited frames with a licence for your own website and print use.
Ready in
Around three weeks, or ten days if you have a launch date.
Booking

First note to final gallery

  1. One

    You send the date

    The form below is enough. I reply within two working days with availability and the rate for the hours you've described.

  2. Two

    We talk it through

    A half-hour call, in person where that's easy. We go through the running order, the light, and the handful of photographs that matter most to you.

  3. Three

    The date is held

    A signed agreement and a holding payment take the date off the calendar. Nothing else is due until the week before.

  4. Four

    The gallery arrives

    A preview set within days, then the full edit. Your gallery stays online for a year and downloads in one go.

Before you write

Questions

What should we wear for portraits?

Something you already own and can walk a mile in. Deep or muted colours hold up better than bright white under strong sun, and texture — linen, wool, corduroy — reads far better on film than a flat print. Avoid anything you'll spend the session adjusting.

What happens if it rains?

We photograph anyway. Overcast light is kind and rain gives a day its character, so I carry clear umbrellas and know the covered spots at most venues I work in. We agree an indoor alternative for the portrait window at the planning call, so nothing is decided in a panic on the morning.

How many photographs do we actually get?

Between 500 and 700 for a full day, 45 to 60 for a portrait session. Every frame is individually edited; near-duplicates, blinks and technical misses are removed before you see the gallery, because a hundred versions of the same moment helps no one choose.

Do you travel, and is there a fee?

The coast and the valley towns are included. Further afield I quote travel with the date rather than hiding it later, and for anything needing an overnight stay I'll say so plainly in the first reply.

When do we see the pictures?

A preview set of around thirty frames lands within four days — enough to share while the week still feels close. The full gallery follows in about six weeks for a wedding, two for portraits, three for a half-day at work.

We hate being photographed. Does that matter?

Not really, and it's the most common thing people tell me. The documentary half of the day asks nothing of you at all. For the directed twenty minutes I give simple, physical instructions — walk there, stand in that doorway, talk to each other — rather than asking anyone to pose or hold a smile.

Availability

Request a date

Tell me the date and roughly what the day looks like. You'll get a straight answer within two working days: whether it's free, what it costs, and what I'd suggest for the light.

Dates are held in the order enquiries arrive, and nothing is confirmed until we've spoken.