Image of the Week ~ 27

This weeks image is another church scene taken Saturday 27th April at St. Elisabeth’s Church, Stockport, U.K.  This is a personal favourite photograph as the lighting is finished darker than that I would normally work with in wedding series but artistic documentary style allows this image to tell a story through the light. The little bridesmaid is lit up brightly as she is cared for by the older bridesmaids. The lighting makes her seem more precious. This bridesmaid is the only daughter of the Bride and Groom, who are at the alter in the middle of their Wedding ceremony.  The bridesmaid is watching her parents make this commitment not only to one another but to her too.

I have recently just finished the final edit and cleaning up of the images and sent 20 Polaroid Style postcards for print. I am working on finished products and I am currently experimenting with different postcards and prints and presentation boxes. I intend not to only create beautiful imagery of your special day but to present them in the same standard of beautiful products.

Image of the Week ~ 26

This weeks image is taken from Chris & Jessica’s Wedding this February. I had wanted for a long time to photograph the Bride walking down the isle from a balcony persecutive, so when we went to the church rehearsal, I  knew this was my chance. When I asked the priest if I was o.k to photograph from the balcony he said that it was closed off to the public. I explained to him that it was a perfect photographic opportunity for the Bride whom had been part of the church her whole life. I then reassured him that I would be as quite as a church mouse and only up there for a matter of minutes so he kindly agreed. And thank goodness, as I know that this shot is a personal favourite of the brides. You see, that is as much as my job as actually taking the pictures, finding different angles and perspectives, giving my customer not only a visual diary of what they remember about their big day but also seeing it in ways they had not seen it themselves.

Image of the Week ~ 24

‘The Bride wins her King of Hearts’ is this weeks image and this is the closing image to the series I have posted of Adam & Sheena’s Wedding which took place in Wigan, last May 2012. This image was taken near the end of the night when the magician was doing his rounds leaving the guests stunned as he did different tricks around the edges of the dance floor. Here he’s entertaining the bride and fittingly she wins the Kings of Hearts, which impressed our bride and delighted the bridesmaids!

Image of the Week ~ 19

I am on my way to photograph a Wedding Day! I’m really looking forward to capturing beautiful moments as they happen. I’m starting at the Bridesmaids at 9:30 am and will be shooting for about 12 hours. That’s the full day package which includes approx 450 edited and cleaned up images on disk and a big square photo storybook in a presentation box. The ceremony takes place in a Catholic Church with red carpets and stained glass windows with a choir performing. The rehearsal to today’s wedding, though very different, reminded me a little of this wedding pictured here. It was the hottest 1st October on record and in Jersey, the island. It was such a beautiful day. Today shall be wonderful, as I am honoured enough to be friends of the couple (my last 4 weddings I have not known the couples at all!) and so pleased to be apart of their big day!

Image of the Week ~ 17

I rarely pose my couple’s in wedding photography because my style commands me to follow the energy of the day rather than dictate it.  I want my couple to look at their Wedding Photobook and be filled with happy memories and to see things they did not see happen themselves and to feel emotions.  This is one of the main reasons why I stay away from posing as with the memory of them images, it is to be posing on the step “and remember how cold it was…” for example.  This photograph is from Sheena and Adam’s beautiful Wedding last May, 2012 in Wigan, U.K. They did not mind to pose, so I always work with what my couple enjoy so after the ceremony and the meal, I noticed that the sun was going down and knew this would be a perfect few minutes to get some time alone with the couple. I simply asked them to walk slowly up the path towards the Hall and to completely ignore me. The light is so beautifully highlighting the couple and the strong shape they create as one.

Image of the Week ~ 14

This week I have chosen an image from my May Wedding, with Adam & Sheena, Wigan, U.K.  This is generally because I sold some images from this wedding only last week and it reminded me of how many beautiful images I captured so I wanted to share some more of them and complete the sequence.  This image was taken shortly after the confetti throwing and the brides brother, who had come from California to be with his sister on her wedding day, was also photographing the event.  He preferred to create ‘set up’ shots and in this photograph, I was aware that this was about to happen, so I ran into the building and to an upstairs window were I captured him leading his sister off to pose for some pictures.  For me, it was just as important to capture these events as any other, especially with the relationship of the bride and brother photographer, who obviously was not in any of the family portraits he set up (except that is, when I stood in for him with his camera!)  I do try to look at things differently when I’m photographing such events but what I see and capture is definitely driven by the people and surroundings of each individual wedding.

Image of the Week ~ 13

Just Married!

For me, as the photographer, this image encapsulates what I spoke of in ‘Image of the Week ~ 8’ were I explain,

“I like to start a job, in the background, behind the scenes. For me, that way I am firstly capturing the whole scene and therefore setting it for the visual viewer. I work my way closer in as time goes by to capture the details and hopefully by the time I need to do this, for example, the ceremony, the couple and guests (as I very rarely know these people) are comfortable enough with me that they have almost forgotten that I am there, so I am able to capture real images of the real emotions.”

This image was taken after the confetti throwing (at this wedding the italian traditional rice was used) and all the guests had started to make their way back to their transport to take them back to the villa, were the celebrations would continue into the night. This image was captured in a small private moment shared between the couple and my camera. It was not staged or acted, it was a real moment of shared excited joy with a spice of cheekiness! I felt honoured as the photographer that I was allowed to share that private moment with the fabulous couple and they were now that comfortable with me around, they could just really enjoy each other and their big day.

Image of the Week ~ 10

The Dress. The one thing (beside the actual groom) that all little girls dream of. We fantasise from a young age, as we play ‘dress up’ of the day we turn from princess to Queen in our beautiful gowns with our princes. The Bridal Dress symbolises both the leaving of her old life, her single life, and entering a new life as a courtship or partnership. When the dress is put on the bride-to-be she suddenly is transformed and ready to commit her life to her partner. The most powerful and beautiful dress that we get to wear in our lives!