Chris and Karen Wedding viewing

I have just had Chris and Karen around the studio to view their Wedding image slideshow. Such a great feeling to be part of a couples special day and be able to re-create all those moments, memories and at times fill in the missing pieces of the day. They have left such wonderful comments in my guest book; I wish them well for the future. Here is an abridged version of what they have to cherish.

Chris and Karen pre Wedding shoot

I met up with this lovely couple for their pre-Wedding discussion and photo shoot last month.  For those not aware the purpose of these sessions are so that as the prospective Bride and Groom get to know me as the Photographer and how I go about my business on the day as well as having a bit of fun whilst showing them how to stand, cuddle, pose and generally allow me to make them look even better, so that it is one less stress to be concerned about on the day.  The other part of the visit is to gain as much info about their plans for the day so that I know where and when to be and in some cases what to expect.

Chris and Karen were great, they have a beautiful location for their reception and I look forward to capturing their special day very soon.

The importance of choosing the right kind of Photographer

Every week there seems to be new tales of couples booking a Photographer to capture their special day and taking a gamble on price versus quality and being found wanting.  Here is the latest I have seen, although it's source can be questionable as is the detail in the report, it highlights what appears to be a growing trend: 

Couple-sue-snapper-for-big-day-woe

What it does show that people are willing to take a gamble on what is likely to be their lasting physical memory of the day, arguably your conscious mind will retain the events of the day and last you a life time, but you can't pass on a memory items as a family heirloom, where as you can pass down the physical Wedding Album or DVD slideshow.  When looking at the selection of your Photographer for the day, do your research well and do not book on price alone.  Planning your Wedding should be fun and exciting, although there will be times of stress and anxiety thrown into the mix.  Here are some points to consider as you work your way through the mine-field of the Wedding Photographer selection.

What experience do they have?

Ask the question, do they have examples of real Weddings for you to view or are they all examples from Model Bridal shoots.  Whilst Model Bridal shoots are fine, we all started somewhere, it would imply they have limited experience in real Weddings and therefore should be telling you such information, it does't mean you shouldn't book them, just be cautious of the price they ask versus the experience they offer.

What is included in the Price?

This is a very challenging question as most Photographers sell their services in different ways, I personally charge for my time and my Albums/products separately so it becomes an A La Carte approach.  What you must make sure is that you understand what you are getting for your money.

 Details of how the Photographer will work for you?

After all the Photographer you are ultimately paying for, is there for the day at your expense, how does he/she go about the day, what advice can they offer for the day to run more smoothly from a Photography perspective.  What involvement will they have with you in planning this auspicious day, will they deliver what you think you want, how can they enhance your expectations? 

What happens if the Camera breaks on the day?

The answer to this is that they will bring out the spare one!  People who are serious about capturing your special day will try their utmost to ensure that nothing causes you concern.  As a minimum they should have 2 camera bodies and lenses to cover this eventuality and they should also have insurance to cover the really unfortunate event that multiple equipment failures occur.

What about insurance?

All professionals should have in place Professional Indemnity insurance and Public Liability insurance to award you some piece of mind that if things do go wrong, then there is somewhere to turn.

The things that get overlooked!

Unfortunately like many other trades, people only ever look at the cost and say wow thats going to be expensive, what they don't consider is the true cost of running a Photography business and the time and effort to attend the Wedding day.  When I turn up to a Wedding I bring many thousands of £ worth of equipment to capture the event, the images are then processed and stored on many more thousands £ equipment.  There are the insurances, equipment replacement costs, transport costs, the extensive training undertaken to be skilful in capturing your event.  The actual time it takes to capture the Wedding, whilst the Wedding Day is just one day, depending on your cover options it last for anything up to 12/14 hours, add this to the pre wedding activities, pre Wedding shoot, the post Wedding processing, album design, image delivery and the Post Wedding presentation, it clearly covers more than just one day.  Also remember the Photographer is probably the only supplier from your Wedding Day that will supply you with something to hold, beyond the Wedding Day. i.e the church will no longer be available to you as your event, the flowers are likely to have died, the reception drinks consumed, the food eaten, the cake demolished and the DJ moved on to their next event. 

Photography may not be the highest priority for you, that's fine.  Stick to your guns and book something that you would be happy with for the budget you have allocated to that service.  If you take the gamble with this service, be prepared for it to go wrong and remember the potential outcome and the loss you may incur.

A New Year begins

So here we are then 2013, last year seemed to fly by.  With a new year comes an updated Web Site, the main changes are the inclusion of a Boudoir section due to the rise in this Genre of photography for me and by customer request, I have now added an on-line Voucher purchase facility.

Many Brides and Grooms these days, have lived together and have a place of their own, long before their Marriage and as such the old traditional thoughts of kitting their home out as part of their Wedding presents has been largely superseded.  With this in mind a number of people have said they wanted to contribute towards the Couples special day by giving a Voucher that can be redeemed by the newlyweds towards the creation of something special to remember their day by, be that a piece of wall art or a Photographic Album of the event.  These vouchers are not solely designed for Wedding Couples, they are equally as valued for someone to have a Portrait Experience.  If this is of interest to you then pop over to my website today and purchase a gift that will keep on giving for years to come.

http://www.jbmphotography.co.uk/vouchers.html

Heidi and David's Wedding

Yesterday saw the Wedding of a wonderful couple, Heidi and David Hill-Jones.  Such lovely people, just a shame the weather wasn't as nice.  The service took place in St Peter's Church, Bournemouth followed by the reception at the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth.  The party went on into the night with the dance floor busy, both young and old dancers alike enjoying the atmosphere.  Thank you for choosing me to share your special day, I wish you all the best for the future and I look forward to showing you the entire collection of images from the day after your trip away.

Heidi and David pre Wedding shoot

After a miserable week on the weather front, it came good for us to be able to get out and have a bit of fun in the sunshine to take some pictures of Heidi and David on their pre-Wedding shoot and discussion.  With only 5 weeks to go to the big day, all the plans are coming together nicely, lets hope the weather is kind to us on that day as well.  I look forward to capturing your Wedding and thanks for being great fun today!

Hayley and Chris Wedding

Well what a day, yesterday I had the pleasure to Photograph Hayley and Chris's Wedding, assisting Mark Osman (Still Images).  The Bride and Groom were fabulous, nothing was too much trouble and they loved every minute of their day, the weather came decent in the end despite raining before during and after the Church service.  At one point we even had them playing Tennis on the Court at the Hotel reception venue.   I wish them both the best of luck for the future and thank them for being by far, the most interactive and fun loving Bride and Groom I have come across on a Wedding Day. Below is a sample of some images from the day that I took as the second shooter.

The Wedding of Ray and Dawn

Last Saturday, 21st July 2012, saw the Wedding of Ray and Dawn at the Broadstone United Reformed Church.  Thankfully following the terrible weather of late, it was at least dry for their special day.  Below is a collage of images to give a flavour of the occasion.  Congratulations to you both and I hope you are currently enjoying your Honeymoon to the Sunshine State?

Kim and Brian's Wedding

I had the pleasure of attending and photographing Kim and Brian's Wedding on the 25th November. The weather was definitely on the cold side, with freezing temperatures outside as we did some of the group photos in the failing light of the day.

Course update

As I reached the end of my Apprentice period with PhotoTraining4U, I attended a couple of courses run by Mark Cleghorn. I have only just got round to processing the files as I was away on holiday!

First up was the Wedding Photographers Wanted, which was a 2 day event run by Mark but he was assisted by other professional photographers, Gary and Sue Photography and Kenny Martin. The purpose of the 2 days was to allow the professionals to pass on their secrets to the business of Weddings, along with some great shooting tips and tricks to shoot and sell more, with the second day being practical shooting in and around the City of Cardiff with the masters. Here is a sneek peak at what I shot during the second day -

The second course was a follow up to the Wedding Photographers Wanted course and designed to give ideas on how to shoot Bride and Groom out on Location, hence the name Location Location. It was for photographers to develop their creative ideas and how to shoot quickly when getting out of the car when travelling perhaps between the ceremony and reception or looking at it as a follow up photo shoot in a cherish the dress style shoot, where more time would be available. It also included details of Album design and a bit of promotion/marketing. Again it was in and around locations in Cardiff and was great fun. Here are some of my shots from the 2 days.

Kevin and Beverley

The Wedding of Kevin and Beverley took place on Saturday 1st May 2010 at St Mary The Virgin Church, Lytchett Matravers. The weather did threaten to down pour, but we managed to achieve the majority of the photos in the Dry. The reception was held at the Langton Arms, Tarrant Monkton. Here is a taster of the photographs taken.