A NEWPORT photographer has won a top award after getting a bride and groom to scream at each other on their wedding day.

Jon Jenkins, 37, was named Wedding Photographer of the Year for the western region by the British Institute of Professional Photography.

Mr Jenkins, of Pilton Vale, Malpas, won the award for the wedding photograph he took of bride and groom Rachel and Carl Wren.

He asked the couple to get face to face and scream their heads off at each other during their wedding at a Bridgend hotel on July 31, 2008.

Mr Jenkins said: “I love to do things a bit differently. I always try to create something a little special.”

Mr Jenkins lives with wife Debbie and children James, Emily, Lucy and Hannah and said he has a lot of fun doing what he does.

He said he is thrilled and shocked to have received the award.

He said: “It’s hard to believe this has happened because things were going so badly just over a year ago, that I even considered packing it all in and doing something else.”

Mr Jenkins was a care worker and driving instructor before starting his own photography business five years ago.

Mr Jenkins started entering competitions abut a year ago and within that time has won 16 different awards.