York Place Studios
Photography & Videography Training

BOOK REVIEWS

EMILY RENIER
Emily's Moments Photography

“Is this something” is going to do so much good in the industry and the documentary genre.

We documentary wedding photographers have been crying out for A book like this… and we have now been gifted THE book …
My biggest cost in any financial year after gear is always CPD. I LOVE a workshop, I LOVE photobooks. I LOVE being educated. But this is photography education on another level. This isn’t a vanity project or a a collection of works that is put together to celebrate a life’s photographic achievement with tit bits of advice thrown in here and there (not that there is anything wrong with that!)- nope it’s a ridiculously good value documentary wedding photography “go to” visual textbook made up of lessons with very specific learning points. Incredibly well structured, humble in tone, wise in outlook, this book offers an insane insight in documentary photography’s approach to each phase of wedding coverage. Every section is backed up with image examples and contact sheet selections that enable us to understand and appreciate the logic and art behind the making of incredible documentary wedding images.
 
More to the point, this book leaves someone like me, only a few years in her full time “wedding boots”, with two main pieces of advice: work hard BUT love what you do and in doing so, you will do right by your clients but, just as importantly too, your own artistic voice.
 
In an industry that can at times be so overwhelming and confusing for those like myself eager to “always do better”, “Is this something” reminds us that we are all capable of surpassing our own doubts, fears and limitations and keep our eye on what we are in it for – we just need to believe in the ability to find magic for us and for our clients and, that way, we may just never run out of passion and energy to do our job well.
 
Thank you guys. My highlighter worked very hard, and annotations have been turned into handy compact notes that I can take with me to any documentary gig I take on. I am left with the desire not to become another version of YPS but very much a forever evolving artist with my own voice embracing seemingly insignificant changes every day… because, after all… we just never know where “this something” might lead us. And how frigging empowering is that?
Adrienne Catanese
Adrienne Catanese Photography

I love this book because it is generous …

In a saturated industry where everyone is vying to find their own “USP” (ugh, kill me), it’s a natural impulse to jealously guard our techniques like some proprietary secret sauce…but the reason the authors can be so generous is precisely because the only way to attain the approach they teach is through practice, and by being an artist ….

This is not “one simple trick” for booking more clients. Not every photographer will be able to make work on this level. Chances are, you’re already KINDA there, or you’re not—so this book is less about telling you something you never knew, and more about giving name and voice to what you know, and dream of, and aim for, while also giving you permission to slow down, breathe, and shoot better NOW, not “someday”.
 
I love this book because it is highly introspective (breaks down the often-automatic, moment to moment experience of photographing)—the authors give language to choices we’re often making unconsciously (for better or worse)—reading it slows down your thinking, your heart rate, and reminds you that: you have time, you are allowed to be an artist, and you can try new things.
I love this book because it SHOWS rather than TELLS.
Janina Brocklesby
Reportage Studios

I don’t remember the last time I consumed a book so fast or connected with as much as yours.

I am lost for words. As I said … golden nuggets on every page, for any photographer … with any style. I feel so reassured, happy and buzzed up for my next wedding …

I have no idea how much I’ve learnt from you two over the years already and how I was thinking …

“I want to do it that way, but is that ok for weddings?” THANK YOU.

You two inspired me so much to simply stick to my guts, to what I wanted and believed from day one picking up my camera. You’ve put to words and simplified everything, making so much sense. And the positive attitude: GOLD. I so strongly believe that many fail without. And I know I have not always achieved my best because I allowed problems get to me. No more!

JULIANA SOCHER
Chrononauts Photography

A true magnum opus, the one and only available bible for docu-heads …

It’s 20 years of photography experience in the form of a book, by the one and only York Place Studios …

It is brimming with brilliant, inspiring imagery. Beautifully written (this is not your typical phase-juggling, soulless non-fiction that reads as if chat gpt had a bad day). From first to last page, completely open and honest about every part of the process. An unmatched resource for documentary wedding photographers who are willing to do the deep dive.

KEVIN KHEFFACHE
Founder of DocDay Conference

Without doubt, “Is This Something” has just become the definitive go-to book for documentary wedding photographers.

Dom & Liam don’t just tell you how to make better pictures, they SHOW you how to, using phenomenal imagery and examples …

Their passion for what they do, married to an iconic backlog of photos is both engaging and infectious. You’ll find yourself at a wedding remembering sentences from the book which will inspire you and ultimately make more impactful and meaningful photographs of your own.

ALAN LAW
Founder of This Is Reportage

It is a book that will help you see far beyond the main ‘beats’ of a wedding; to help you see what actually makes each couple – and each wedding – unique.

It shows us how being present in the moment is far, far more important than thinking about what’s going to happen next.

It’ll give you confidence to shoot in the way that excites you – whatever that style or approach may be (and I talk from my own experience, as, 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. I also felt less pressure, less anxiety, because I was shooting what sung to me – and, after all, capturing those things was what my couples have hired me for. A true win-win.)

It’s magic to delve into their mindset; to hear how and why they captured each element of a wedding, accompanied by so many specific and inspirational image examples – with numerous contact sheets to really show their entire creative process.

It is both a deeply personal viewpoint, whilst also, at the same time, a universal guide that anyone – no matter what stage on their photography journey they may be at – will benefit from.