Why does a musician end up photographing weddings?

Because the two jobs turn out to be nearly the same job. I studied music at university, went back years later as a professor of music, and spent a long stretch playing with improvisational jazz bands in several countries.

Improvising is not making things up. It is listening hard enough to know what is about to happen, and being in the right place a half-second before it does. That instinct is at the heart of how I approach documentary photography, and nobody taught it to me with a camera.

What does that mean on the day?

It means I am usually watching rather than arranging. I will direct you when direction genuinely helps — moving you into better light, giving you something to do with your hands, taking the ten minutes for portraits that you will be glad of later. The rest of the time I stay out of it.

It also means I am not looking for the moment everyone can see. I am looking at the person watching it.

What kind of photographs is that going to produce?

Two things at once. Documentary observation, so the day looks like the day actually was. And editorial composition, so it does not look like a collection of snapshots.

I came to photography from an arts background rather than a technical one, and it shows in what I care about: light, gesture, and where the edges of the frame are.

Who does the editing?

I do. Every delivered photograph is edited by hand, one at a time. Nothing goes to an outside studio and nothing is run through a preset in bulk. It is slower, and it is the reason a gallery takes 3 to 4 weeks.