There are hundreds of wedding fairs these days, most venues that hold wedding ceremonies hold at least 1 wedding fair a year, they are usually held during September, October, January, Febraury and March, occasionally they are held in November and April or even July. They consist of suppliers of wedding day paraphernalia of all shapes, sizes and types, including bridal dresses, mens wear, cars, photographers, jewelry, entertainers, cakes, florists, caterers and much more. There is usually at least one of each supplier category and usually in the case of photographers 2 or more. It gives you the oportunity to see the suppliers wares, talk to them, have a look round the venue and get lots of ideas for things you could spend your money on that you never knew existed. It is well worth visiting at least one if you are planning a wedding.

I have a new website that will be up and running soon specifically aimed at boudoir and maternity photography. Boudoir photography can make you feel so special and provide you with a gift never to be forgotten or bettered. Maternity photography records that very special period at a time when you are growing a new life inside you, nothing can beat that feeling, so it really should be recorded in the most amazing, fun and relaxing way possible. I can now offer a service which includes a day in a gym with a suana, swimming pool and spa all included in the cost of your photographic session, so why not pamper yourself for the whole day and then receive an album of beautiful photographs of you as you have never been seen before, beautiful, sexy and stunning. The new website is at www.desirephoto.co.uk please take a look shortly it should be operational by the end of this week (6/1/09).

boudoir photograph

The Apollo Hotel in Basingstoke is a nice venue with a small area round the back with a pagoda for photographs and in the event of inclement weather there is a large cover in front of the entrance and a nice bright reception area that can be used instead of getting wet outside. THe photogrpah below shows the entrance canopy to the hotel, they usually lay out a red carpet as well for you to walk up feeling like a million dollars on your special wedding day.

photograph taken at the Apollo Hotel Basingstoke

Oakley Hall at Oakley Basingstoke has 2 beautiful rooms it uses for its’ wedding ceremonys, here is a picture of a couple who tied the knot in the smaller room.

photograph of signing the register at Oakley Hall

St Micheal’s Church in the centre of Basingstoke is a beautiful old church with flint and stone brick work on the outside and some lovely vaulted arches on the inside. There is also a balcony from which to photograph the proceedings.

wedding photography inside St Micheal's church Basingstoke

Dummer church is a lovely ancient church in the centre of Dummer village, it is small but perfectly formed, with a balcony from which to get a birds eye view of the proceedings.

photograph taken inside Dummer Church from the balcony

At most weddings I try to take a photograph of the venue both inside and out, some times this is not possible due to time restrictions or weather or restrictions by the venue, but in most cases it is possible. Below is the inside of St Peter’s Church in Woodley, Reading, Berkshire. A beautiful old church with some nice places for shade on sunny days and some furniture in the grounds that can be used to break up the backgrounds and give different angles.

Inside St Peters Church Woodley Reading

Almost since the discovery of photography and certainly since the early 20th century filters have been used to make changes to the look of photographs. There are hundreds of filters you can use. Some are for use with black and white only some for use with colour only and some can be used with both. Each filter has a number and in the case of warmup filters they range from 81a, 81b, 81c, 81d, to 81EF. These are generally used with colour photography when the sky is very grey and overcast and gives everything that dull grey look. Things look cold and uninviting. In the days of film a warmup filter was essential, this was put on the front of the lens, either screwed onto the front or a generic system can be used where a ring is screwed to the front of the lens and an adapter put on the ring and the filter fits in the adapter. With the adapter method several filters can be used together. In these days of digital photography it can all be done with photoshop, simply click on image->adjustments->photo filter (in CS3). This brings up a window which asks you to name the layer and choose your filter colour. You can vary the strength of the filter by adjusting the density, changing the filter itself or even picking your own colour, it’s all so versatile and done in the comfort of your own home. Below are 2 photographs one without any filters and the other has a warmup filter added to show the effect. In the second image you could almost imagine the sun had come out (it hadn’t).

photograph taken in grey overcast conditions

same photograph with warmup filter added (in photoshop)

When taking portraits make sure that the person you are photographing has their head tilted very slightly to one side so that the eyes are not level. This helps to make them look more friendly and less austere. So below:

corporate portrait showing eye not level.

I have have made several trips to London and each time I take photographs they always look different. The last trip I got there about 20 minutes after sun rise and so had some amazing light (with clear blue skies). I managed to see the London Eye with the most beautiful soft organge light on it and took this photograph.

photograph of the London Eye 1st thing in morning