and the winner is........

At the Redwood Hotel wedding fair I asked brides to complete a questionaire, the results of which were very interesting and useful in designing a wedding package which meets the needs of todays brides. The completed forms were entered into a draw for a free photoshoot.

The winner was Tamzin who came to the studio a little nervously but quickly became confident and was great fun to photograph with her fiance Paul

This week...

The highlight of this week was a pre-wedding shoot with Kathryn and James.

Their wedding is next month and the shoot was to get us used to working together, to practice a few poses that they might want to use on the day and most importantly for me to understand the style they would like to see in the photographs.

Following the shoot I sent a CD with all the images on and they chose the shots that they liked most, we can use these as a starting point on the day!

What Brides Really Want......

Last month I visited the Canon Pro Photo Solutions Exhibition. This London event showcases the latest developments in camera technology. As well as the displays and demonstrations there are talks and seminars given by some of the countries leading photographers.

I was particularly interested in a talk given by Annabel Williams. Annabel trained as a special needs teacher before becoming a photographer and as well as being a very good communicator her style is very much about understanding people in order to get the best possible images of them.

Despite being surrounded by the very latest technological developments Annabel claimed that success in portrait photography was 90% psychology and 10% technology. This prompted me to conduct a small survey at my next wedding fair.

Brides were asked in a questionnaire what 3 qualities they would expect from a photographer and whilst a number of people put forward professionalism, style and cost, for most what was important was: feeling at ease, not being rushed, helpful, friendly, being listened to, natural (not too posed), informal.

These comments seem to reflect the way wedding photography has changed and although the classic “signing the register” type shots are important, today’s bride is often looking for something quite different to the photographs her mother had. What she really wants is a nice photograph of herself and her husband. Today’s brides are not professional models, they are ordinary people who can be nervous, shy and often self-conscious about certain aspects of themselves often because of previous photographs they did not like.

I usually have at least 2 meetings with the bride and groom before the day, in the first we look through albums and consider different styles and I try to ask open questions about what is important to them and tactfully find out how they feel about themselves.

When I feel I know enough to understand the bride and groom I arrange a photoshoot either on location or in a studio. At this shoot it is important that the bride and groom feel relaxed and enjoy the experience. We will practice some poses to use on the wedding day but the real outcome is the confidence that comes from a fabulous photo.

I firmly believe that everyone is beautiful and when a couple know that I am going to bring out the best in them the worry is gone and if they feel fabulous, they look fabulous.