Every wedding or civil ceremony I have done in the main rooms at Tylney Hall has always been enhanced with a simple ceremony involving the lighting of candles by the bride and groom. It makes the rather short and impersonal civil ceremony a little more personal. A nice touch to aperfect day.

photograph of bride and groom lighting candles in civil wedding ceremony

Something that people don’t often notice when they take photographs is how objects pick up the colours of things close to them. In the example below the 1st photograph is of a jug which is lit from the right hand side so the left side is in shadow with nothing close to it. The shadow is grey.

photograph of a jug with lights to one side showing grey shadows

The next photographs are of the same jug with same lighting except that a piece of card has been placed to the left of the jug. This results in the jug picking up the reflected light fromthe card and colouring the jug with the colour of the card.

photograph of jug with blue card showing red shadows

photograph of jug with blue card showing blue shadows

There is a little known phenomena about red and blue colours that effect the way we see things. Things that are close to us generally have stronger colours than things that are further away, in fact in landscapes things in the far distance often look very blue. So when we see two things together and one is coloured red and the other blue we tend to think that the blue item it further away than the red item. So you can give a feeling of distance or depth by putting red things closer to you and blue things further away. Take a look at the next 2 photographs. In the 1st one the 2 people are side by side, but it looks like the girl in red is closer. In the 2nd photograph the girl is actually about 3 paces behind but looks like she is level with the man. The further you are away from the photographs the more pronounced is the effect.

photograph of 2 people girl in red behind the man in blue

photograph of 2 people standing side by side

I photographed a pregnant lady in the nude on Saturday, which was a very different experience to any other photography commission I had done before. It was great fun but very scary as the lady was due to give birth the day before the actual shot (so not the best time to be photographing a pregnant lady), the ideal time is about 7 months as the bump is large and still round rather than low slung like my lady’s is. One of the ones with clothes on is shown below. If any one wants to be photographed naked and is prepared to let me put the shots on the website I would happily do it for free.

photograph of pregnant lady - maternity photography

Upon a visit to London I went to Covent Garden where the street entertainers are varied and interesting. This is a photograph of one of them, he had some very witty lines and made several people jump by barking at them.

photograph of a street entertainer in Covent Garden

When it comes to landscapes generally the best light to take such photographs in is either during the one to 1.5 hours before sunset or during the one to 1.5 hours after sun rise. At this time of day the light turns from being very bright and white to a softer light with a hint of orange or pink and it is not so contrasty. Compare the 2 shots taken below, one was at 3.00pm in July the other was about 8.00am in October. In the midday(ish) photo St Paul’s is very bright and white and the contrast between that and the shadows under the bridge is great. In the photograph taken early in the morning St Paul’s is much less bright and the sun is still low enough to almost be under the bridge so the shadows are not so dark, so the contrast is much less and therefore easier on the eye. The early morning shot is much warmer, the midday shot looks a little cold even though the sun was out.

photograph of the Millennium Bridge about 2 hours after midday

photograph of the Millennium Bridge about 1 hour after sun rise

Tylney Hall is always one of my favourite venues for photographing weddings, there are so many different areas that can give different backdrops and surroundings are beautiful. Not only that the staff are very attentive and the decorations are in keeping with the style of the property. At night it is lit and the water on the fountain at the front glows.

photograph of Tylney Hall front at night

I exhibited at a wedding fair at Donnington Valley Hotel Near Newbury yesterday and for a modern hotel it is very picturesque. The front is not very interesting but round the back are a couple of ponds with a bridge over it, a fountain and it backs onto the golf course so there are lots of shrubs and tress for shade in the event of bright sunshine and the inside is fairly light in the event of rain. Whilst there they kept coming round with canapes which were very nice, so if they are anything to go by the food will be good as well. Below is a shot of the pond area at the rear, it was not a particularly bright day so it is not the best shot in the world but it gives you an idea of the place.

photograph of the rear pond area at Donnington Valley Hotel

I was so impressed with the inside of Windsor Guild Hall that I thought I would put another photograph of it on my website for viewing. It is quite a stunning venue and the registrar was fantstic really made it fun and interesting.

photograph of Windsor Guild Hall inside the main ceremony room

Some of you are probably thinking you can get a friend or reletive to take your wedding photographs, yes you can, but I have heard so many stories from people who are disappointed by the end result, that when they come to the second marriage or the wedding vow renewal one of the first things they book is a professional wedding photographer. So why do we do it so much better than your friends or relatives?

well where do we start:

1/I have all the right equipment for the job, including spare camera, spare flashes (in case the main one stops working (things do happen)) and studio lights in the event that we have to take the photographs inside. What will uncle Fred use if his camera breaks or he drops it or he forgets to charge the battery. I also have a camera with a battery that will take over 2000 pictures before needing re-charging, does uncle Fred? How many will his take (with flash).

2/ I take most photographs with flash to ensure that all are beautifully lit with highlights in peoples eyes. Will Uncle Fred make sure you look that good?

3/ I am fully trained in how to take supurb wedding photographs, I know how to arrange the people and how to deal with the awkward members of your family that never want to be photographed.

4/ I have often been to the venue before and so know the best places to use, will uncle Fred go and reconnioture the venue? I doubt it.

5/ I can make sure that all the images when printed are colour corrected, i.e. take the redness out of those indoor shots, make those awful grey days seem a liitle warmer than they really were.

6/ I have a vast array of poses that I can use to make for more interesting photographs, not just stand you all in a line like Uncle Fred will. I know how to use differential focus to make things more artistic and when to use a fast shutter speed to capture that moment in motion.

7/ I can supply the end result as a beautiful album to treasure for ever, that you will want to open time and time again, not just pass on a pile of 6×4 inch prints that end up curled up in  a box for ever more, unloved and un-viewed.

8/ I am fully insured for public liability (in the event someone falls over me or the equipment I use) and I am fully covered for indemnity.

9/ And in the event that I cannot make the day due to unforseen circumstances, I have an array of excellent photographers that I can call on in order to make sure that you have someone there that can do the job for you just as well as me, well almost!!!! What will you do if uncle Fred doesn’t turn up?!!!