JAMES: When did you photograph your first wedding?

MARK: Back in 2003. A friend of a friend had a short engagement and they asked me to photograph it. They ended up loving their images and I thought, “Hey, I could do this all the time!”

JAMES: What do you like about photographing weddings?

MARK: It’s all about the connection for me. I love how you can capture a moving moment and anyone can relate to the emotion in the image, because of the human element.

JAMES: What’s your favourite part of the wedding day?

MARK: If I have to choose it’d be the portrait time with the bride and groom. They’re still on a high after their ceremony, plus I get to be creative — win, win!

JAMES: Is that the only time you’re creative?

MARK: [laughs] I hope not! I really enjoy coming up with ideas. Every couple is different and because of that I’ll do things a bit differently, based on their personalities and how their wedding day flows. It’s a collaboration between my ideas and who they are.

JAMES: How do you help your couples feel comfortable with you?

MARK: Foot rubs.

JAMES: I think that’d have the opposite effect.

MARK: [laughs] Probably. I like people and people seem to feel relaxed with me. Also, I’ve spent all my life having to develop rapport quickly. I helped in my family’s business as a kid and I’ve done stand-up comedy as an adult.

JAMES: So you’ll tell jokes?

MARK: [laughs] Nah. It’s more that I pick up on people’s energy and go along with it. I know when they’re happy to talk and when I should step back and let them have a quiet moment.

JAMES: Anything else you’d like to say?

MARK: Although the photography is important, the wedding day isn’t about me or the photography; it’s about the couple and their friends and family. So my goal is to make the photography “transparent”. My job is to let them feel like they can just be themselves and enjoy their day while I record it for them. Of course, I’ll do some prompting from time to time to get the best out of the images, but I’m not there to take over their day. When you see people looking happy in my images it’s because they genuinely felt happy. And the great thing about capturing genuine emotions is that when they look back at those photos years later, they’ll remember exactly how they felt during that moment.