The person behind the camera, the name on your contract, and the practical details couples ask about before they book.
My name is Tom Carter. I'm a wedding photographer based in Leyland, Lancashire, and I trade as Alfred Thomas Photography. If you've come across my work credited to Johnston Photography, that was me as well — the business traded under that name until 19 June 2026, when it became Alfred Thomas Photography. Same photographer, same business, same camera bag and the same way of working. Only the name on the front changed.
Most of the site calls me Thomas, because that's the name the brand grew into. Tom Carter is the name on your contract, so it seemed worth saying plainly here. I cover Leyland, Preston, Chorley, the Ribble Valley and the rest of Lancashire, with a full day at £1,063 and a half day at £623. Every edited photograph is included and your gallery lands within six weeks.
Photography found me before I even knew what I was looking for. My parents handed me a camera, and I've never really put it down since. It started as something I did because I liked it, long before anyone thought to pay me for it.
What did change is who I point it at. These days I photograph weddings across Lancashire and beyond — but when I'm not working, you'll find me following my family around with a lens instead. Father to three: Adam, Elijah and Hallie. They keep me sharp, they keep me humble, and they remind me every single day why candid moments matter more than posed ones.
You cannot direct a three-year-old into a genuine laugh. You can only be ready when it happens. That's the whole job, really, and my three taught me it long before any wedding did.
ThomasI photograph weddings the way they actually happen. That means no stiff lineups, no long lists of arranged group shots, and no "right, everybody freeze". I watch, I move, and I press the shutter when something real happens — the laugh nobody planned, the tear nobody saw coming, the quiet ten seconds between just the two of you when the room finally leaves you alone.
Documentary doesn't mean absent, though. I'll gather your families for the handful of group photographs you actually want, because someone has to and it's usually quicker if it's me. I'll suggest we step outside for twenty minutes when the light turns, and I'll tell you where to stand. Beyond that I try to be the least interesting person in the room. If your guests forget I'm there, the photographs get better.
It also means I shoot a lot, and I don't charge you per photograph. Every frame worth keeping is edited and handed over. There's no gallery where the good ones cost extra, and no upsell waiting at the end.
It starts with an email or a WhatsApp message telling me your date and where you're getting married. I check the diary and reply, usually within a day or two, and I tell you straight away if I'm already booked rather than leaving you hanging.
After that, you get unlimited pre-wedding chats. Not a token phone call — as many conversations as you want, about timings, about the bit of the day you're dreading, about whether there's time for photographs between the ceremony and the meal (there usually is, and less of it than you think). The point is that we're not strangers when I turn up at your door on the morning. Some couples add a pre-wedding shoot for £149 as a dry run; plenty don't, and that's fine too.
On the day I arrive early, work out where the light is, and get on with it. If you'd like a second photographer covering the other side of the room while I'm with you, that's £149. Afterwards you get a sneak-peek gallery quickly and the full set of edited images within six weeks, yours to print and share however you like. Booked couples also get 15% off prints, albums and wall art, and I'll happily help you choose rather than sell you a package.
Leyland is home. Preston is up the road, Chorley is down it, and the Ribble Valley is where I go when I want a hill and a view. I also cover Garstang, Longridge and the rest of the county, and I'll travel beyond Lancashire by arrangement.
Knowing a place changes the photographs more than people expect. I know which churches lose the light by four o'clock in November, which car parks are actually five minutes from the venue rather than the fifteen the map claims, and which field gate is worth pulling over for on the way to the reception. I've photographed enough weddings at the county's country houses and barns — places like Eaves Hall, Bashall Barn and Mitton Hall — to arrive with a plan rather than a map.
Lancashire weather is also part of the job. It will probably rain at some point. That's not a disaster, it's just a different set of photographs, and I'd rather have a plan for it than pretend it won't happen.
Wedding photography is a one-take job you pay for months in advance, so these are fair questions to ask any photographer — including me. Here are the answers in plain terms.
Insurance, experience and data-handling details are confirmed in writing when you book, and I’m happy to send them over before that — just ask.
Alfred Thomas Photography is the trading name of Tom Carter, based in Leyland, Lancashire. If there's something else you'd want to know before handing over a deposit, ask me on the contact page and I'll answer it honestly, even when the honest answer is "no".
Tell me your date, your venue and a bit about the two of you. I'll tell you straight away whether I'm free.
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