Craig Williams: A Man of Few Words and Many Photographs
“Don’t quote me directly, it’ll be rubbish,” Craig promises me. “I am Craig—and that’s all I know. I am a wedding photographer—that’s it.”
I’m tempted to publish those words and be done—I think they say a lot about the Essex-based, London wedding photographer and married father of three. He’s straight-forward; what you see is what you get: an experienced photographer who prefers to be the one behind the camera, not talking into it.
Craig and Kate Photography first began in 2012. After welcoming twins and with a toddler already at home, Kate, Craig’s wife, left photography to pursue other passions and in 2016 it became Craig Williams Photography.
“I guess I’m an influencer,” Craig says and visibly cringes. What began as a household and lifestyle launch of their shared Instagram platform has become all about plants, which Kate originally used as an accessory to fill out the shots she posted to great acclaim. There’s a rather rude looking cactus just over Craig’s left shoulder as we chat over Zoom. “I’m so sorry about the phallic cactus,” he says, pointing out the single pot and the tall cactus that’s growing towards the light. Though it’s the lone bit of greenery in the otherwise nondescript room—his studio is in Colchester, this is just an office in his home — the rest of the house is abundant with greenery.
Given this passion for plants, I ask Craig what he might like to do if he wasn’t a wedding photographer, but still wanted to be part of the weddings world. He would be a venue owner and fill his venue with plants. “I would probably say it changes a fair bit—you can decide it’s going to be London, but put it in Wivenhoe—“ his idea for hanging and standing houseplants through the imaginary, transient venue comes in part from a wedding venue local to us both which suspends paper cranes from the ceiling. Craig admires their attention-to-detail and commitment to providing a bit of interior design inspiration. Of owning, not running the venue—he’d find someone else to do the bit he knows he’d be rubbish at—Craig says, “I would probably be terrible, but it would be fun.”
There’s another reason a venue really appeals to Craig—he has a thing for symmetry and a love for straight lines. In his own words, “I’m a massive architecture fan. I am a fan of… how can I explain it? The atmosphere of architecture. I like textures, lines, light, everything a photographer likes—I like what I like.” He’s photographed the Barbican once before and appreciates the brutalist architecture meeting with, well—“plants,” we say at the same time.
Where else might he like to shoot a wedding? He lists The Barbican, again, as well as Palm House, Kew Gardens, The NED. “Anywhere with nice light,” he says.
But, actually, “—I love a badly lit wedding—I love good light and bad light. Winter weddings can be so beautiful—everyone starts partying early, as soon as the sun sets.”
He’d love to get back on airplanes sometime soon, “I’ve been on one plane in the last year,” he says, remarking on this result of the pandemic. He’s shot on location several times—in Jakarta, for a wedding that saw endless rain. “It was amazing, there’s one picture surrounded by fairy lights at one in the morning, but it didn’t even look like Bali,” he tells me. He’s also shot in America, “I really adapt well to arrogant New York—I adapt to the angry undertone, which I was shocked at.” And Greece: “People in Greece are very party-heavy. [It was] a five day thing and I was there the whole way through.” He finds that instagram has brought him closer to his ideal clientele, but they’re shockingly 80% Americans by his own estimation. I imagine he’ll get the chance to travel more soon with those numbers.
“I’d photograph something in Palm Springs—on a ranch or something like that—somewhere cool.”
He likes to work with relaxed couples with whom he can share a mutual trust. “I would say, they’re just nice people—that’s what everyone has in common—they’re just such nice people.”
“I don’t really photograph extroverts—or people who don’t want to be photographed—they don’t want to be overly posed.” He works to create a relaxed, stripped back experience that still revolves around the standard shots, but taking them as they come, rather than forcing the moment. He also loves portrait photography and regrets he doesn’t do more of it! His challenge for this year is to integrate film photography back into his work—he loves the “bad practices” that can be incorporated through film photography. He’s an over-analyzer, not a perfectionist.
With this in mind, I ask if he has any tips for couples who are anticipating their own wedding days and want the most out of their photographs. “No loose sausages,” he remarks gravely, before raising his hands to give me jazz hands!
“Most people show their nerves in their hands.”
If you don’t know where to put them, Craig suggests tucking a single hand into a pocket, holding a suit lapel, or some flowers, linking arms, or holding hands. The group shot is a big one for this—put one hand into a pocket and the other around someone. Still, he’s wary of over-producing shots, preferring to walk around with the couple, particularly right after the ceremony, and observe them being together without too much interference.
“I don’t want it to be a photoshoot, I want it to be a wedding,” he says.
“I just want to photograph weddings and I love photographing stories and I don’t see that there’s anyone who shouldn’t be included in that. There’s nothing I wouldn’t want to photograph—as long as the people are nice,” he shares.
Wary that his portfolio doesn’t display a very diverse range of couples, he appreciates Most Curious’s commitment to becoming a more intentionally inclusive wedding fair. He has high hopes for his stand this year—inspired by past years chock-full of creativity, most often put forward by his fellow suppliers.
“I am a minimalist at heart—when I go shoot a wedding I don’t take lots of stuff with me, but I have two tables and albums…I want to do it properly this time. [Most Curious is] the only wedding show I’ve ever done that isn’t intimidating…I don’t have to be the person who talks to everyone,” he says, although he’s mentioned that post-pandemic, speaking with people, interacting and being present with people has become a need, whereas before his introverted tenancies kept him from centering himself too much. He’s really looking forward to our neurodivergent-friendly quiet hours, implemented this year as a result of the formation of the Most Curious Coalition.
I ask him what he wishes more people knew about wedding photography: “That it’s a lot more of the person rather than the camera. The camera is irrelevant in terms of what the person sees. I photograph what I believe is important,” he shares. “I did my first wedding in 2001—it was more standard, a checklist: a portrait, the couple together, at the ceremony and then group shots. I don’t even think I photographed a room or details shots.