About Peter Haken, wedding photographer
I’m Peter, a wedding photographer and filmmaker living on a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal. I don’t run weddings like a corporate shoot list, and I don’t ask you to pose. I photograph the day as it actually happens.
Photography is where I started, and film sits alongside it. Both are built the same way: no staged moments, no forced posing, just what’s really going on in front of me.
The way I see a wedding
I work by watching and waiting. A glance across the room, a laugh that only lasts a second, the moment before someone’s about to cry: those are the things I’m actually there for.
You can’t stage a real reaction, so I don’t try. I stay out of the way and let the day unfold, rather than pulling people into a shot list.
Photography first, film alongside it
Photography is where my eye is trained, and it’s still the anchor of what I do: reading a room, catching an expression before it’s gone.
Film adds the parts a photo can’t hold: real voices, the noise of the room, how people actually moved. Together they cover a wedding from two angles rather than doubling up on one.
See more in my wedding films portfolio.
Shaped by life on the water
I live on a narrowboat, which means paying attention to changing weather and reading a situation as it shifts is just part of daily life. I bring the same habit to a wedding.
I don’t try to force a particular story onto the day. I watch what’s actually happening and adapt as it changes, the same way you learn to on a boat.
A light footprint
I shoot with small, quiet cameras, which means I’m easy to forget about. Guests relax, and that’s when the honest moments show up.
Read more about my Leica camera setup.
What this means on the day
Family portraits are quick and organised, so you’re not standing around. For the rest of the day, I watch and photograph what’s actually happening rather than directing it.
The moments that matter most are usually the ones nobody planned. My job is to be there when they happen, not to arrange them.
Coverage across the south and beyond
I’m based in Oxford, and Oxfordshire is where most of my weddings happen. I also cover the Cotswolds, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bristol regularly, and travel further for the right wedding.
See more in my location guides.
If this sounds like your kind of wedding
Send me your date and venue, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m free and whether photography, film, or both suits your day.