About your photographer.
Dr. James Lester, wedding photographer
(that’s right, dr!)
If there’s one thing I bring to my craft, it’s a creative eye. I have a lifelong passion for learning and visual arts. I’ve been studying creativity alongside shooting weddings for the past sixteen years.
I started with a BA in Photography, moving on to an MA in Visual Arts, culminating in a PhD in History of Art which I earned in 2026 after 5 and a half years of study.
What does this mean for you?
I’m not just another self-taught photographer. I’m trained in visual language and story-telling – I’ve even written a doctoral thesis on it!
Wedding photography isn’t just a job to me, it’s my lifelong craft.
I’m often described as a documentary wedding photographer but I blend candid moments with guided editorial-style wedding portraits too.
How I approach your wedding.
I‘ve photographed over 500 weddings. You’re in safe hands.
I don’t clock watch. My signature packages have no set time limit. I’m there for as long as I need to be to get everything I need and everything you want.
The best feedback I can get is that you hardly noticed I was there, and that I made you feel relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera.
Special moments aren’t always perfect, but imperfect moments can be special. I will approach your wedding with honesty, never forcing moments, never over-directing or instructing your guests.
I want you to feel like you. I want you to see yourselves – your best selves – in your photos when I deliver them back to you.
I know how important photos are you to you. I take as much care in the edit as I do on the day.
Your portrait session is short, typically during when you’ll least be missed by your guests. It’s important to me that you get to experience everything you planned for your big day with the people that mean the most to you – not being dragged away for photos.
I want you to feel present at your day. If you’re having the best day of your lives, then you’ll already be setting the stage for the best photos I can possibly take on the day.
Finally, your guests are important too. You won’t feel fatigued by being in front of the camera all day; I’ll also be capturing your loved ones, doing things you won’t know about until you get your photos back!
Artful. Intentional. HONEST.
Artful: With an eye for visual story-telling and honest moments. My influences of York and the Yorkshire landscape give you more than editorial wedding photography; my style is textural and rich.
Intentional: Not simply a passive observer but guiding you when you need it to create elevated wedding photos. I never deliver cookie-cutter photos, poses, or moments. Everything is considered.
Honest: Editorial elegance without the performance. I approach most of your day as a documentary wedding photographer. I’ll give you the balance between gently guided editorial imagery without posing; and the honesty of candid moments that are threaded throughout your wedding day.
The Edit.
A human approach.
In a world where AI does practically everything for us, I still take the time to edit every single one of your wedding photos individually, by hand and by eye.
AI is not a replacement for creativity and finesse.
AI does have it’s place, however. I use it for the menial tasks like editing out exit signs, fire extinguishers, and anything that will improve the image by removing it. A couple of years ago, these jobs used to take hours over the course of editing a wedding. Now, it’s a few clicks. This is the perfect use of AI for wedding photography editing.
What I will never use AI for is batch editing your wedding. I’ll never apply bulk presets, or let AI pick the ‘best’ photos for me. It’s only me who understands the visual story of the day, what the light was like, and how the mood felt. AI doesn’t know any of this.
I expect that you want a photographer who handles the creative process from start to finish.
Hi, that’s me – your wedding photographer. Get in touch to see if I’m available for your date.