Wedding Photographer

From Paris with Love

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:58:34 +0000

These are a set of pictures that I have never shown on the blog up until now.
Back in July 2008 Craig and I joined a few highly talented wedding photographers on a trip to Paris.
Those highly talented people include Bev & Barrie Downie, Gordon McGowan and Louise Sumner.
I can’t even begin to describe how much we learned during this trip –
posing, lighting and seeing great spots and opportunities for shots all around us.

Barrie and Gorden are now running training courses:
Mcgowan & Downie Photographic Training

Paris provides the perfect backdrop for model shoots as well as for romantic, atmospheric pre wedding engagement shoots.
We cannot wait to return and shoot there in 2010.

Pre-Wedding Schedule for 2010
Possible dates:
PARIS between 17 May – 22 May
VENICE between 14 June – 20 June
Pre-Wedding Shoots available in London, Cambridge, Bath and Windsor any time of the year

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Avante Garde Wedding Shoot in Venice

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:23:23 +0000

Continuing with our pre wedding shoot series I wanted to show some photographs that we did in Venice a couple of years back.
Venice is the most unbelievable location for a wedding or a pre/post wedding shoot. Around every corner is another treasure.
I have also included some of our street photography. We where fortunate enough to visit during the annual Venice Carnival.

Click on keep reading below to view the full post

Street photography in Venice:

Pre-Wedding Schedule for 2010
Possible dates:
PARIS between 17 May – 22 May
VENICE between 14 June – 20 June

Minimum 3 couples per location. Please contact us if you are interested.

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A Splash of Red {Pre Wedding Engagement London}

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:53:02 +0000

This is the next installment of my pre wedding shoot series.

Add something like a specific colour to run through the shoot and to tie in with your Actual Day.
Wendy and Greg have a theme of Red and White for their wedding coming up soon in South Africa.
They added in a few things like the red coat, red parasole and red shoes to link up the theme of the wedding.
(Cannot wait to shoot your game reserve wedding guys!)

I have been thinking that doing some pre wedding or post wedding shoots in South Africa with the animals in the game reserve as it would be really unique. The Game Reserve where they are tying the knot does not have any predators like Lions or Leopards, so it would be safe to get out the car and do some creative shots with animals like Giraff, Zebra and White Rhino (yes they do have Rhino!).
We will be in South Africa covering two weddings for a month from 15 March – 15 April 2010.

London Pre Wedding shoot location ideas include Tower Bride, The Mayor’s Office as well as the cobbled back streets surrounding the edge of the Thames near Tower Bridge.

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Pre / Post Wedding Shoots in London

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:11:55 +0000

I am going to do series of posts highlighting our pre and post wedding shoots.
Couple portrait sessions can be done at any time before or after the wedding, even a few years later for an anniversary perhaps?
We have had the pleasure of working with some amazing people from the UK, America, South Africa, China and Singapore.
Including some of London’s iconic sites in our pre wedding photography whilst giving it a fresh editorial fashion feel.
Today’s post highlights pre wedding and post weddings shoots that feature Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
Please contact us now for your overseas pre wedding engagement sessions in May and June in London or Europe.

We are looking at Overseas Pre Wedding shoot locations for 2010 including London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Santorini and we are open to ideas from our couples too.

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Winter Wedding in Windsor {Vic and Tom}

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:09:37 +0000

Winter weddings have a special feeling to them. The twinkling fairy lights, the atmosphere and if you are really lucky, the snow!

The ceremony was held at Windsor Guildhall, followed by an intimate reception at The River House Restaurant on the river in Windsor.
What was most important to the Vicky and Tom was that they had their closest friends and family around them and to share some intimate time with everyone. Hats off to both of them for braving the freezing conditions to have some fun, quirky shots done in the snow.

Here is a lovely email that we received from Vic & Tom:

“Hope all is well with you and Craig.
Thank you for forwarding the link, we’ve finally managed to have a look at all the photos and absolutely love them all, thank you so very much.
We can’t quite believe how beautifully you managed to capture our special day.
We really felt that you were both part of the wedding and we found it effortless due to your relaxed approach.
We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and we will be telling all our friends how fab you both are.
Thank you again for making our wedding day so memorable.” – Vic & Tom

If you love this wedding, be sure to check out Keata & Jason’s London wedding which Vic & Tom flagged as a favourite:

Keata & Jason Mordon Registry Office

Keata & Jason “A London Love Affair” Creative Session

Keata & Jason Wedding Blessing at the Crooked Billet Wimbledon Village

Canon EOS 1D MK3

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:51:34 +0000

After much deliberation, I recently decided to upgrade my EOS 40D to an EOS 1D MK3.
I will admit that at the time I was close to packing in my Canon gear and switching over to Nikon with the purchase of the awesome D700.
I know upgrading your gear does not necessarily upgrade the photographer, but after having the opportunity to handle the D700 I was really impressed with how complete the camera felt in my hands. After months of research I finally decided to go with the 1D, primarily because of the lens collection I had been able to build up with Canon. I usually don’t part with my cash before researching what it is I’m buying.

Because of this trend I generally expect something a little special from my purchase.
It therefore usually takes a while of being put through its paces before I recognize the benefit of spending a substantial amount of money.
For all intents and purposes I believe that a camera feeling good in your hands is one of the most important qualities for a camera to have. Cameras are producing very similar results these days, and a suitable photographer should be able to produce stunning images with most of what’s available out there. I personally want to be producing those results with a tool that feels good in my hands.

I had the opportunity to use Chanelle’s EOS 5D as she had upgraded to the 5D MK2 back in December 09, for a couple weddings, and while an excellent camera it felt a little flimsy in my hands. I must say I was actually amazed by the MK3 from the minute I was able to get my expectant
little hands on it. The camera was built to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Canon and the 20th anniversary of its top-selling EOS single lens reflex camera system. A more fitting tribute for such an occasion I imagine would be hard to beat.

Although initial batches were known to have focusing issues, but these were later rectified.
(On a side note, just an example why I don’t subscribe to the school of “get it as soon as it’s available” when it comes to any sort of technology.)
Detailed reviews of the 1D MK3 can be found on multiple websites on the net, but I’d just like to touch on some of my initial impressions.
The build quality with its weather sealing is superb. It is an absolute joy to hold in my hands and although it may be a little bulky for some,
I challenge anyone to hold one and not be suitably impressed.
The menu system is similar to the 40D so it was familiar territory navigating through it. The main difference aesthetically was the missing mode dial on top of the camera. Selecting your shooting modes is achieved by pressing an access button and scrolling through to the desired mode.

So far so good, but how would it perform in the field?

I was especially keen to try out the auto-focus in AI Servo mode and had just the candidate.
Marley is our Toy Poodle cross Italian Greyhound (otherwise known as a Pootalian ) who is deceptively quick.
I decided to take out my 40D and 1D with the 70-200mm f2.8 on alternating days. Having taken the 40D out on a few occasions I was aware of its AI Servo performance which is quite impressive, but I just wanted to get a side by side comparison.
One of the biggest advantages I found was the keeper rate of the 1D. This of course can’t be illustrated in the images so does need a mention.
A picture speaks a thousand words so I have of course attached several pictures of both outings.
The pictures with Marley without his coat were taken with the 1D. Although I was expecting the 1D to outperform the 40D, I was stunned with how good the autofocus system was on its default settings.
I have since tweaked the custom settings and look forward to seeing what improvements this may have initiated.
- Craig

Marley the Pootalian:

I wanted to add in a little disclaimer here, although I think the 1D is an absolute beast of a camera, I really wouldn’t be able to lug a chunk of gear like that around at a wedding all day. It really is heavy. Great for Craig, but for me the 5D Mark 2 is a sweet piece of kit. - Chanelle

Jewish Wedding Reception at St George’s Hall

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:25:30 +0000

Here is part two of the Jewish Simcha (Wedding) that we shot on the 30th of December up in Liverpool at St George’s Hall.
I just love the enormous festivities of a Jewish wedding with the traditional Israeli dancing which starts from the beginning of the night and continues intermittently between heartfelt speeches from friends and family.

St George’s Hall is a Grade I listed building and it opened for public use in 1854.
It is a truly unique venue with the most amazing ballroom where the reception was held.

To see the ceremony which was held at the Price’s Road Synagogue go to the post Jewish Wedding at Princes Road Synagogue

This is us “Behind The Scenes”

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:53:24 +0000

I thought it would be a bit of fun to share some of our Behind The Scenes shots.
It proved to me that we do need to make more of an effort to take more like these.

I mean really?? I couldn’t be happier – shooting at sunset on a beautiful island in the warm Indian Ocean. Bliss!

Craig working with Jen & Dom during their creative session in Mauritius

Using a bit of full in flash to light up the couple at sunset

This is the pier at The Hilton Mauritius. Jen & Dom fell in love with shots of this and it was one of the reasons they booked their wedding there.

Moving onto another couple shoot that we did in Mauritius (not even blogged yet!).
Check out those Aladin Trousers! All the cool kids where wearing them in Mauritius.
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This is my future house (a girl can dream)

Couple shoot in Mauritius

Using some off camera flash at sunset – me being the voice operated light stand

me being the voice operated light stand once again

Waiting for our Pre-Wedding Shoot couple to arrive in Prague. Man, it was freezing cold even in October!

Shoot The Dress session in the Drakensberg, South Africa

Like lions stalking our prey

Taken during a recent UK winter wedding. And no, this wasn’t posed – promise! It really wasn’t. I like it.

Setting up a video light shot (you can see it in the top right hand side of the frame) before calling the couple out into the cold.
Winter Wedding in Windsor.

Craig has an affinity with climbing things! Scary. The one on the left is from a shoot we did with Rock N Roll Bride at the Reading Abbey Ruins.

mmmmm cake…

And ending with some a fun one from the reception in Mauritius. Thanks guys!

Jewish Wedding at Princes Road Synagogue

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:07:06 +0000

Ben and Victoria’s wedding is the third time we have had the pleasure of shooting a Jewish wedding.
I am just astounded at the traditions, ceremony and general upbeat nature of these weddings.
There is so much joy and fun being spread around and so many a fantastic opportunities for getting amazing Photojournalistic images!

I wanted to share the lovely email that we got from Victoria:
“Thank you so much for sending us the link to the photos, and for getting them done so quickly. It was so great to come home from honeymoon to your email….and your stunning photographs. You totally captured the mood of the day and we are thrilled with them. Our parents are really pleased with them too, and one of my friends commented that she wants to get married again so she can have you to take her photos!”

Victoria and Ben also went to Zanzibar for their honeymoon and I have been reminiscing about ours which was even at the same hotel!
Ben is a keen photographer and came back with some great shots from the trip.

Ceremony Venue in Liverpool: Princes Road Synagogue

DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF BBC3’S NEW MARRIAGE DOCUMENTARY?

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:06:27 +0000

We have had a special request from a researcher at the BBC and would love to have
one of our couples involved. I have spoken with the researcher over the phone and they are
looking at interviewing couples, going along with them to pick out certain suppliers, selecting
THE dress and so on. They may even film some of the actual wedding days.

DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF BBC3’S NEW MARRIAGE DOCUMENTARY?
Renegade Pictures are looking to speak to people who are engaged and planning their big day!
Whether you’ve only just got engaged or your wedding is already meticulously planned… we’d love to hear from you.
We’re also keen to hear from anyone who is thinking about proposing!
Please contact us with your name, age, phone number and details about your plans.
No age restrictions.