The Boswell’s

So, my time to shine, my first official wedding, not sure where to start, Terri had contacted me a few months ago and asked me if I could be their official photographer, we met a few times to discuss what I could offer in the way of time and photos. I had agreed that I would bring an assistant with me to help the day go smoothly.

As I haven’t done many weddings I could only show Terri the weddings that I have attended as a guest. I have been to a few recently and have taken some lovely pictures which Terri was very happy with.

So the big day was upon us, and we arrived at Terri’s with loads of time to get all the shots while Terri was getting ready, I was very nervous when I arrived and within the first 20 photos the nerves had gone and I was taking pictures knowing that I had the shot I needed.

It wasn’t long before we had to leave Terri’s and make our way to the Church to meet Mark, Here we took some pictures of him and his best man, and farther before the guests started arriving.

After speaking with the Vicar, he did not want us to take any pictures during the service, so we spent the time we had before the bride arrived taking pictures of the church and guests.

By now the wedding was in full swing and we took a back seat documenting the whole event for Terri and Mark, we drove to the reception and took some more pictures of Terri and Mark arriving and got straight on taking some more detail shots of the function room, speeches and the first dance.

We took over 1500 photos between the two of us for the day and Terri and Mark were so pleased with the results. I’d like to thank Terri and Mark for letting me be part of their special day.

Mr and Mrs Hawke

So I'm catching up with my blog, and have nearly covered everything that I have done recently and will be able to blog about things I want to do and that are coming up rather than what I have done. 

So Its June still and I have been asked to attend a wedding as a guest by an old friend from school called Gemma, I thought this was a good opportunity to try out my wedding workshop before I do my first real wedding as the official photographer. I kept things simple and travelled with my D300s, Tamron 17 - 55mm f2.8, Nikon 70 - 200mm f2.8 and a SB-800. All this fitted nicely in my little bag so was easy to carry around with me all day. 

Now since I was a guest I thought I would mingle with the crowds and try to get the candid photos of the anticipation and run up to the bride arriving trying to avoid the official photographer so as to not get in their way. 

During the service I wasn't taking any pictures as we had all been asked to not take any during the service. I did manage to take a few more candid shots before Gemma arrived. Outside again after the wedding, it was the same as before, looking for the shots that others weren't looking for, the kids playing with bubbles on the grass while their parents have their photo taken with the bride and groom, groups of people talking after the service and of course the Bride and Groom.

After getting lost on the way to the reception, it would be a good idea now to mention it to anyone else that is also looking to do weddings or any kind of event photography is to double check the invite and make sure you get the right hotel. I was sure it was at the new continental hotel however after getting there and not spotting anyone I knew, I checked the invite and it was the Copthorne hotel. 

By the time I got to there most of the buffet was gone, and so was the official photographer, this was my time to shine! I started with a quick drink and mini pizza to keep me going as I hadn't eaten since breakfast. After a qucik refreshment i was then equiped with the 70 - 200mm I had my back against a wall and was taking more candid photos of the Bride and Groom as they walked the room talking to all the guests. 

 I had arranged to stay through out the speeches and in to the evening reception for when more guests arrived. I found a table near the end of the room where I could be out of the way but still able to get all the photos of the head table during the events to come. 

I got some great shots from the day and managed to turn all the pictures around in a weekend for Gemma and Patrick who in turn were thrilled to see them all when I delivered it to them before the honeymoon.

I'd like to say thank you again to Gemma and Patrick for asking me to be a part of their special occasion.

Sports with Sarah

July now and I'm slowly getting the hang of this, well kinda, makes it easier knowing that no one reads these yet as I am a little new at all this! 

So, I have written myself a list of things I need to blog about to catch up with what I have been doing all things photography. Back in May I was emailed through my model mayhem account by a lovely young lady called Sarah, we exchanged a few emails and booked in a photo shot around the ideas that she had. It was to be a sports / fitness shot so I took the Friday off work and spent the morning organizing everything ready for the shot.

I'd never really planned a shot so well, usually they are very last minute but this was usually with friends so I could leave them hanging round while I get things sorted. I wanted to be more organized and more professional so I had all my gear out where I was going to be shooting and all the props near by and waited for Sarah to turn up at lunch time. 

After a quick intro we got straight in to shooting, Sarah had seen a photo I had taken using a stone wall as a background and wanted to do something similar. This was ideal for me as it was the wall at the bottom of the garden so I didn't have to go very far and if I had forgotten something, I could quickly get it.

Sarah was very enthusiastic and great to work with, I'm not the best at giving direction but she needed very little keeping me on my toes changing positions between the shutter. I took over 600 photos for the day using just a SB-800 and a Lasolite 60cm softbox triggered using my wireless remote.

After the shoot reviewing the photos I wanted to try to create the '300 effect', if your not familiar with this there are loads of videos on YouTube showing you how to do this in Photoshop, I tired it on a few images but was only really happy with it on the image at the start of the article. 

I'd love to be able to post all the images so that you can see them all but that seems a bit to much so if you would like to have a look at the rest head over to my facebook