Wedding Photography, Videography, Hybrid Mentor

FedWed Guides
Wedding Photography Mentor Ben Appleby

Ben Appleby

HBA Photography

ABOUT YOUR MENTOR

One-to-One Mentoring by Ben Appleby

Hey, I’m Ben! The dreadlocked, bearded, overly excitable wedding photographer and I’m here to help you guys avoid some of the mistakes I’ve learnt over the last 16 years and 1000 weddings.

Having spent the first part of my career touring the world as a musician, I found photography by accident. Now, having shot over 1000 weddings in the last 16 years, I feel like I’ve seen it all, but every wedding is still different. I still get a total buzz at the thought of creating new images and awesome memories for couples.

For every wedding I shoot, I know how important every frame is. I want my couples to look at their images and instantly feel something. But more importantly, I want them to look at the images in 30 years time and truly feel something. Something deeper.

But what makes me tick..? What keeps me fired up for each and every single wedding and what stops me from getting wedding fatigue year after year? Honestly, I don’t know – all I know is that I’m desperate to do everything I can, emotionally and creatively at each and every single wedding.

What I do know is that photography doesn’t always have to be your main passion. I learnt photography as a career skill, not through a growing passion. Of course, now, yes, it’s a passion. I look at everything through a viewfinder in my mind’s eye, and I can’t unsee lines, compositions, or light and shade. That’s just who I am as a result of an endless pursuit of perfection, or at least as perfect as I can make it. But I love my downtime away from weddings and photography so that I’m 100% fired up and fresh on a wedding day, ready to create. I love to make things, build things, and be outdoors. I love to hate exercise…Some of my best thinking is done when I’m out on a run or swimming in a lake. To me, everything around me is an inspiration, and you don’t have to always be behind your laptop to succeed.

I have so many little ideas that sit and percolate ready to be pulled out at a wedding when the inspiration hits, tips and tricks to help with that “oh shit, I don’t know what to do moment”, and ways to calm your brain when its in worry overdrive, wondering if you’re enough.

I can’t wait to mentor you guys and help a new generation of awesome photographers emerge. We all learn from each other, and I can’t wait to take inspiration from you too!

Next step

Ready to talk to Ben?

Book a discovery call to see if you’re a good fit.

View mentoring options

How Can I Help?

From shooting to editing to building your business — I’ve got you covered.

Photography

Posing, Creative direction, Shooting for emotion, Flash photography, Natural light photography, Hybrid shooting (photo + video), Storytelling, Editing, Culling, Workflow, Lightroom

Videography

Final Cut Pro X, Wedding trailer creation

Business

Pricing, Sales, Client experience, Client onboarding, Second shooters, Work/life balance, Confidence building, Burnout recovery, Blogging, Public speaking

Not sure what you need?

Use our time together to get clarity.

Bring your questions, your work, and your worries. We’ll figure it out together.

See mentoring sessions

Meet the Mentor

My story, my approach, and what makes me tick.

When you’re ready

Book a mentoring session that fits you.

Start with a discovery call or jump straight into a focused session.

Book your session

Ready to Go?

Choose the session that fits where you are and what you need. FedWed members get 10% off all mentoring and if you're logged in the discount is auto applied to the prices below.

Discovery Call

We recommend you start here if you have not booked any mentoring with this mentor before. A discovery call is a short intro call to talk through your goals and figure out the best next step. You will get this back as a discount off any mentoring sessions.

Online Mentoring

Google Meet sessions you can do from anywhere — focused, flexible and personal. Pick a session length that fits with your goals for the session. One hour sessions are great for quick wins like critiques and audits, or specific questions. Two hour sessions are better for deeper dives. Better still go with a bundle of sessions so you can see real progress over 3, 6 or 12 weeks. You will be able to increase the quantity of sessions on the cart page after clicking the book button e.g. if you wanted to book just 3 one-hour sessions.

6-Week Online Intensive (6 x 2hr)

£820.00
Book now

12-Week Online Intensive (12 x 2hr)

£1,500.00
Book now

In-Person Sessions

Spend time with your mentor for face-to-face support. This includes a 1 hour online session beforehand to make a plan for the in-person session. The cost is based on you travelling to your mentor - if you want your mentor to travel to you, you can discuss any additional travel costs with them while planning the session.

Shadowing Mentoring

YOU SHADOW ME: This includes a one-hour pre-wedding online session to help you prepare, shadowing me at a wedding, and then a two-hour online session to consolidate your learnings and discuss next steps.

HAVE ME SHADOW YOU: This includes me shadowing you at one of your weddings, giving constant tips and advice to help you see and shoot better, followed by a two-hour online session to consolidate your learnings and discuss next steps. Additional travel will be due depending on the location of your wedding.

Have me Shadow You at a Wedding

£900.00
Book now

You Shadow Me at a Wedding

£450.00
Book now