Liam and Dominique Shaw of www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk were introduced to me by Blair deLaubenfels of World's Best Wedding Photos. Blair told me they are credited with bringing street photography to weddings, and their artistic vision and approach to their work is absolutely brilliant.

They are also the authors of “Is This Something?” A guide to capturing the unposed image through the lens of a wedding day.

Following that intro, off I went to take a look at what I could learn online.

The first thing to jump out at me regarding their images wasn't amazing light, a trendy colour cast, mind-blowing locations or model-like subjects. Their images required me to stop, slow down and absorb what I was looking at. And stopping to appreciate their photography is so worth the effort.

Slowing down allowed the magic of their images to emerge… from humour, storytelling, complex layers, beautiful moments, and a quirky interpretation of weddings, families and events. Their images are just so good!

In this interview, we dive deep into the business of creative documentary photography and how you can build a standout wedding brand by leaning into your vision, attracting the right clients, and letting go of industry “shoulds.”

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• From a Scarborough high street studio to £4K weddings — how this brother-sister team built a brand photographers (and couples) rave about
• Why the booking journey starts with vibe — not a price list
• Shooting just 20 weddings a year… and earning more because of it
• Don’t wait for the moment — create it: how they capture magic without staging a thing
• The underrated combo that still fills their calendar: SEO and word of mouth
• Charging what you’re worth — and why their prices reflect value, not volume
• How the right website portfolio attracts the best clients (and gives them total creative freedom)
• Turning education into a £70K side hustle — and why they still do it for the love
• The truth about working as a team: no fixed roles, full trust, and open conversations
• Post-GFC pivot: what they changed when the world crashed (and how it saved the business)
• Educating your clients = better bookings, smoother shoots, fewer surprises
• Documentary doesn’t mean dull — why they lean into humour, honesty and humanity
• Still saying yes to everything? Why niching down gave them clarity, consistency and growth
• Letting go of perfect: how embracing imperfection leads to better photos and happier clients

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Liam & Dominique shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the member's FB Group. What are your takeaways? What do you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode?

And there's nothing quite like having to succeed and not having a backup plan and going and saying, “We have to make this work, whatever it takes. We're in this now.” – Liam Shaw

If you have any questions I missed or a specific question you’d like to ask Liam & Dominique or if you want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to comment inside the Members FB Group, too.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

I check for new iTunes or Google reviews each week, and it's always a buzz to receive them… for several reasons.

Firstly, it confirms that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

There's no ego. That's one of the things that's really important, actually probably the most, most important. No ego. It doesn't matter who took the picture and doesn't matter who got the award. It doesn't matter. It does not matter because the important thing is, as a team, York Place Studios got the picture. That's what we care about. – Dominique Shaw

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the biggest search engines for podcasts, and your reviews and ratings help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately, a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google. You can leave some honest feedback and a rating, which will help both me and the show. I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

I think about what's in front of me, and how do I make the best of this and then move on to the next? And if I'm successful, then I forget about it. And if I'm not successful, I forget about it. It doesn't matter. You've got to stay in the moment. – Liam Shaw

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast. Email me your keywords or phrases and where you'd like me to link them.

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

York Place Studios Website

York Place Studios on Facebook

York Place Studios on Instagram

Is This Something? – A Documentary Wedding Photography Book by Liam and Dominique Shaw

Seemingly Insignificant on Instagram

PBX615 Episode: Blair deLaubenfels – Booking Luxury Photography Clients Starts with the Right Images—and Words

The important thing is to have other options. And we learned that with covid. Wedding photography can't just be it, because when covid happened, wedding photography vanished, and it wasn't a thing. So it was like, “Okay, so what can we do?” It really made you think, “Oh, actually, it's a good idea to have other avenues, other sources of income.” – Dominique Shaw

Thank you!

Big thanks to Liam & Dominique for sharing so generously in this episode. It’s refreshing to hear from photographers who’ve built a thriving wedding business by backing their creativity, trusting their instincts, and ignoring the noise. From pricing and client education to their unposed approach and business pivots — there’s a lot here to spark ideas. If you’ve been craving more clarity, freedom, or purpose in your work… this one’s well worth your time. I’d love to hear what resonates most for you.

If you love the work, it's not so much work. If you're really not liking the work, then it feels like a lot. So that's something that we value and take into consideration in any kind of business decision that we're doing. – Liam Shaw

That’s it for me this week; I hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

The post PBX628: Liam and Dominique Shaw – The Business of Creative Documentary Photography appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.