I AM Ross Harvey, wedding photographer

Ross Harvey shoots high end weddings around the world and is known for his effortlessly beautiful and creative style. His blog is a source of inspiration for the industry and he holds sell-out workshops all over the globe. He has won numerous international awards and now judges many of the top wedding photography competitions.

He credits his success to another passion; the mind. Ross has spent over two decades studying psychology, classical and quantum sciences, neurology and philosophy with the singular intent of understanding the mechanisms of a mindset optimised for creative expression.
Ross Harvey

Q&A

How did you get into wedding photography?
I initially wanted to shoot fashion and trained for the studio. I found myself happiest, and most creative, when shooting entirely free of restrictions, following my intuition and experimenting at every opportunity. I never planned to move into wedding photography, but after my first shoot which was a favour to a friend, I fell in love with it.

What is your favourite wedding tradition to capture on camera?
Portraits! The perfect combination of composition, light, depth, colour and most importantly emotion is extremely difficult to master. Especially considering couples are nearly always camera shy. You also only have a small window of around 20 minutes to capture multiple top tier images – ones that will be with that couple for the rest of their lives. You have to believe in your vision and skills to do so; it forces you to evaluate your own mindset.

What’s the biggest challenge shooting at a wedding?
I shoot the vast majority of my weddings solo; no second shooters. Couples have very high expectations, not just in a selection, but an entire set (which can be hundreds) of photographs, so getting these right is the biggest and most rewarding challenge. It's all about telling a coherent story, from start to finish. Anyone can knock out a few great single images at a wedding, but very few can maintain that level for 14+ hours, regardless of the context, light, or situation.