Wedding of Hazel and Stuart

Last Saturday I was honoured to photograph the wedding of Hazel and Stuart.

This is the smallest wedding party I have yet photographed, and probably the worst weather I have encountered during a wedding shoot. None-the-less the weather didn't seem to bother the happy couple. Their day started at the Salt House Hotel, where the bride and groom got ready for their big day. A pub buffet at the Woolpack was next on the agenda, before their ceremony at Christchurch Mansion. The day continued with a barge trip along the Orwell Estuary and finished back at the Salt House Hotel for a meal.

Hazel and Stuart, and their family and friends can view all the pictures taken on the EVENT SALES page of my website soon. The password can be obtained from Hazel and Stuart

Recky: Christchurch Mansion

Nosed round the Mansion for twenty minutes, as I'm shooting a wedding there next month.

Recky: Mistley, Essex

I like to check out places before I photograph a wedding and recently visited Mistley church for Vicky who is getting married to John at this church in July.

She said that she would like a photograph of the church at night, when it's impressively lit. So I arrived a little before sundown and took these. Mistley is renown for it's large number of White Mute Swans that live at the waterfront, so I was suprised to find a pair of Black Swans. I only had a wide angle lens with me so the picture of the swans isn't great, as I couldn't get too close!

EXPENSE OR INVESTMENT?

Recently received an E mail from someone, who said that she has a family friend to take her photography. Why do some couples have a friend or relative to photograph their wedding? Answer: Because it's cheaper! They realy should consider what they are doing. They are putting the least amount of their money in the most important day of their lives. They are also placing a terrible burden and responsibility on an amateur. I wonder what they may do if their wedding photos are botched, ..... ruin a friendship, dis-inherit a relative? My advice is invite friends and relatives to enjoy your day, not cover it. Your wedding photography is much more than an expense, it's an investment.

Skin Tones

Didital photography is improving all the time. Today however, taking a picture with a digital camera is just the half of it. Film pictures could always be improved in the darkroom, with digital they can be improved in the lightroom, i.e. 'the computer'. When a photographer is faced with not-ideal lighting conditions, such as a dull church or hotel room you adjust the settings of the camera to give you the best results, as you always did with film. Often the results would still need some post processing. Professional Digital photographers shoot in a format called RAW. Many adjustments can be made with Raw software to improve a picture,

not to make it into something it isn't, but to make it into a picture that was seen. The picture can than be further improved by using a program such as Adobe Photoshop or Apple Aperture.

I have just purchased some new software to improve skin tones, which I have found difficult to do in Photoshop. Hope you dig the result!

Some Favourite Pics of 2007

Set-up poses like this may not be what everyone wants, but they can be good fun to do if the happy couple are up for it. I'm sure they will cause a smile when viewed sometime in the future.

Too much confetti can drve you crazy!

Ring shot

Ceremony shots

Cutting the cake.

Cleric disallowed shots of ceremony, so posed shots were done afterwards. Always check this out. This couple were lucky to have time to fit these in to their schedule.

Walking down the aisle

The 'near' Kiss Shot!

Confetti shot with 'Duplex' monochromeFX

Abi

Detail Shot

Preparation shot

Window Shot

Confetti Shot

Shy girl

The Groomsmen. I think I was laying on my front for this shot.

Nearly got trampled on!

B&G Shot. (posed). Taken under difficult lighting conditions and needed a little work in Photoshop! Had to take this picture however, as the Brides dad is a Dairy Farmer and a cow had just come on to the field to graze.

Child at wedding. Amazing blue eyes!

Wedding Guest. I was shooting candidly and this young lady had just stopped bouncing on the garden trampolene and looked sraight at me.

Image created for my daughter using a toy TARDIS and a computer generated graphic.

'Thriller' Dancers At the Theatretrain Fashion Show and Gala

Daisy's Halloween Birthday Party

Nativity at Sidegate Lane Primary