PUBLICATION 001 · YORK PLACE STUDIOS
Is This
Something?
A guide to capturing the unposed image
through the lens of a wedding day.
LIAM SHAW + DOMINIQUE SHAW
Explore the bookTHE THINKING BEHIND THE BOOK
001 / THE IDEA
What if there’s nothing
to photograph?
It’s easy to recognise a photograph when something extraordinary is happening. But what happens when nothing seems to be happening at all?
Is This Something? explores the art of finding photographs in the seemingly insignificant. Of recognising possibilities, discovering connections and seeing how ordinary, unrelated moments can come together to create something extraordinary.
DISCOVER THE BOOK ↗A DIFFERENT WAY OF SEEING
Preconceptions are the enemy of creativity. Take away any assumed expectations and you find new opportunities everywhere you look.
A WAY OF SEEING
002 / THE PHOTOGRAPHS
The setting changes.
The way of seeing doesn’t.
An exploration of observation, composition and anticipation, told through the lens of a wedding day, with ideas that reach far beyond it.
003 / INSIDE THE BOOK
Not a formula.
A way of seeing.
A book about learning to recognise photographs before they happen. About observation, timing, composition and finding possibilities in the ordinary.
308
PAGES OF IDEAS
36
COUNTRIES REACHED
100%
INDEPENDENTLY CREATED
“Is there a better book on documentary wedding photography out there? I don’t think so.”
THIS IS REPORTAGE
Not to take our photographs. To recognise more possibilities in your own.
INSIDE THE PROCESS
004 / CONTACT SHEETS
The moments
before the moment.
The finished photograph is only part of the story. Inside the book, contact sheets reveal the observation, small decisions and changing relationships that lead to the frame. A chance to see the thinking, not just the result.
ANOTHER SEQUENCE. A FAMILIAR FINAL FRAME.
The making of one of our most recognised photographs, the image that also appears on the back cover of Is This Something?.
“We are often asked why we don’t pose anything. Why we’d spend an hour waiting for two things to come together rather than just put them side by side in a room. But for us there’s a joy in the hunt, magic in the unlikelihood of the occurrence. It’s the difference between seeing an elephant in the wild and seeing one in the zoo.”
FROM IS THIS SOMETHING?
See the thinking behind the photographs.
EXPLORE THE BOOK ↗FROM THE PROLOGUE · IS THIS SOMETHING?
Just a fraction
of a second.
Just a fraction of a second can be the difference between a great photograph and an unusable one. A few footsteps, a slight turn of the head; any delay can cost you the shot.
Photography therefore relies on an element of luck - of finding yourself in the right place at precisely the right time for something completely unplanned and unpredictable to unfold in front of you.
But to consistently deliver not one, but an expansive collection of spontaneous moments throughout every single part of a wedding day, being lucky is not about chance, it’s an art form.
IS THIS SOMETHING?
A DIFFERENT WAY OF SEEING.
The wedding day provides the journey. The ideas extend far beyond it, from mindset and anticipation to layered composition, humour, instinct and photographic vision.
FULL BOOK DETAILS ↗READERS + PHOTOGRAPHERS
In their words.
“After reading, I felt so inspired and invigorated that - even after shooting over 350 weddings - the next time I photographed I saw and captured some of my favourite-ever images.”
ALAN LAW · PHOTOGRAPHER
“A true magnum opus, the one and only available bible for docu-heads.”
CHRONONAUTS PHOTOGRAPHY
“Without doubt, ‘Is This Something’ has just become the definitive go-to book for documentary wedding photographers.”
DOCDAY
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE IDEAS
Three creatives.
One shared curiosity.
A creative home for photography, filmmaking and the art of seeing.
Seemingly Insignificant brings together Dominique Shaw and Liam Shaw, the photographers and authors behind Is This Something?, and Matt Thompson, a filmmaker, speaker and educator whose work brings a complementary perspective to the same ideas.
Dominique Shaw
PHOTOGRAPHER · AUTHOR · EDUCATOR
Liam Shaw
PHOTOGRAPHER · AUTHOR · EDUCATOR
Matt Thompson
FILMMAKER · SPEAKER · EDUCATOR
Books are just the beginning. We also share our thinking through workshops, mentoring, talks and film.
BEYOND THE BOOK
Ideas into
practice.
Continue the conversation through practical workshops, individual mentoring and talks.
PUBLICATION 001
Is This
Something?
A guide to capturing the unposed image through the lens of a wedding day.
LIAM SHAW + DOMINIQUE SHAW