Sunday was unfortunately wet, cold  and drizzly, with very flat lighting so it limited the amount of shots we could get – however our model Lottie  (www.lorettahope.co.uk) bravely agreed to a shoot on one of the bridges so were able to have a play with different forms of lighting set ups. Thank you Lottie you were a superstar x

Sunday evening we had an impromptu master class from our  mentor Damian resulting in a rather stunning “lady of the night” image using a stunning costume loaned by  Neil at http://neilhughes.co.uk/body-art.html - thank you!

Certainly I learnt a lot from that session – creating a story, a mood and lighting it appropriately. A big thank you for that Damian as I know you didn’t go to spend time teaching us! Damian was testing some new equipment from Olympus (http://www.damianmcgillicuddy.com/journal/2012/2/22/the-cat-is-now-out-of-the-bag.html)  and thought Venice would be the perfect location!

Monday was still wet but we decided to concentrate on doing the tourist run for the day,  and waited until dark to capture some very atmospheric low light images of Venice from the Rialto Bridge. Here are just a few of the many images I took during the trip . 

However the cast is off at last and to ease myself back into portrait photography mode again I decided to add a few more photos to the portfolio of my lovely model Melissa. I decided I wanted to emulate the classic Hollywood 1940′s film star look – simple – elegant – classy. The secret to this look is careful manipulation of the lighting and knowing how to pose your subject. We had a lovely afternoon playing around with the lights and different looks but in the end we think these one’s work particularly well. I’m hoping my customers think the same – I’m now back to booking sessions again so please give me a ring and talk to me about your portrait requirements!

And a cautionary tale if you are thinking on saving money – saw this the other day and it makes me want to weep.  Your wedding day is too special to spoil like this so please make sure you choose a reputable, competent and lovely photographer (like me?? )  Remember – if the price is too good to be true – it probably is.  There are ways to keep the cost down but your photos are the only thing you have left after the day has finished.

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2012/01/22/kenton-couple-wait-for-refund-from-calamity-cameraman-clayton-bennett-s-company-79310-30172694/

The Fair is open from 11am – 4pm on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2012 and is one of the most comprehensive wedding fairs in the area.

The pathway was lit by foot high tapers – unfortunately I have now got the dubious honour of being the ultimate shoot and burn photographer (it’s a title for photographers who shoot loads of images, burn them on the disk with no editing and walk away – NOT ME!!)  however – I managed to set light to my skirt on one of the tapers  as I knelt down to take a portrait of the little page boy walking up the path!! Thank goodness my lovely assistant Janet was on hand to stamp out the flames! Note to self – trousers next time!

But being the true professional photographer  I soldiered on-  looking a little like Cinderella in her tattered skirt – a glug of mulled wine was needed to sooth my frayed nerves. Josie had said she only wanted minimum fuss when it came to the photos – she just wanted me to capture the ambience of the occasion with just a touch of something “arty”.  Some of the images I took are below - I received an email shortly after Josie and John viewed the photos  ”Wow! The photos are impressive …… we weren’t expecting to look this good!”.   Job done

We chose a park in Bourne Lincolnshire  and set everything up.  Using my 19″ Beauty Dish (a Damian special!)  with Canon 550EX Speedlight as a main light, and a Canon 430EX as a rear light fill, and of course the old faithful my Canon 5d camera body with the weighty sigma 70-200 DG EX zoom lens (for all you techies out there!!) I was ready.  A few curious swans caused a bit of consternation – they would insist on getting up close and personal but we gamely shot on and were getting some lovely results ( I think anyway!)

Then disaster struck – my radio controlled trigger suddenly stopped working which meant the flashes would not go off.   Frustratingly the trigger only needed a new battery – which I had – but needed a tiny screwdriver to undo it – which I hadn’t!! As I had a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve it I knew it wouldnt be possible without those flashes.  One of the photos below shows what the difference is without the flash – it’s fairly obvious!  It looked like the photo session was over before it had really began.

Thankfully, like the true girl guide I used to be I had a bag stuffed full of back up equipment and remembered I had brought the Canon STE2 transmitter.  It’s not my favourite bit of kit nowadays – Damian has taught me how to manually control  flash so I dont need the through the lens metering saftey blanket that I used to.  It also is a bit limiting for what I want to do now so I was compromised  somewhat.  However, we carried on and you can see the results below.  A few tweaks in Photoshop Lightroom and a couple of interesting post production finishes and we’re done.  I’m looking forward to using these techniques on my wedding photos and also to doing some more outdoor portrait shoots very soon!

We went to the Greek Islands again chartering a yacht from www.sailingholidays.com and sailing from the South Ionian, through the Levcas Canal, across to Paxos, and then finishing up in Gouvia at Corfu.  Fabulous holiday and you get to see a so much of Greece in such a short time which is usually inaccessible from land -The mythical islands of Kefalonia, Ithaca, Meganissi, Kalamos……….it is a true escape from reality!

You might think on such a holiday I would take all my camera equipment but the truth is it is a very wet holiday and I really dont want the hassle of looking after all that gear, or lugging it around, and worrying about whether it is safe.  Also the huge camera I work with isn’t really practical on  a sailing holiday! So I take my little Pansonic Lumix compact camera – much the everyone’s disbelief when I (reluctantly as I then get asked to do all their photos!) tell them I am a professional wedding and portrait photographer.  However,  it is waterproof, smashproof and hangs around my neck all day and therefore I am able to capture shots in an instant.  It just reinforces the fact that having a big fancy camera doesnt automatically make you a decent photographer.  You have to know HOW a camera works, think about composition and light and look out for distracting details.  Below are some of the images taken with my trusty compact – one or two have been taken on my Iphone also – can you tell which ones??

Natasha and Mark have something of a long distance relationship – Natasha lives in America, and Mark lives in Newark so their whole wedding had to be planned at a distance which I am sure would have been very difficult.  But they managed to create a beautiful day where there was a lot of fun for everyone. Crystal Chair Covers provided the the table decoration and disco for this event and it was through their recommendations on Facebook that Natasha found me – so thank you guys!

Not only was there the ceremony under a “mandap” to look forward too – a first for a lot of the guests as well – the couple had thoughtfully supplied a casino and a bouncy castle to keep the guests entertained!  Natasha had said she wanted a fusion of the Asian – English cultures and I think they managed to achieve that very well.  Below is a small selection of the very many photos I took of their wedding.  Many congratulations to Natasha and Mark, and many thanks for choosing me to be your wedding photographer.