A summer of weddings & events

It is the last day of August and it's been a fun summer of events. Love was in the air as I had the pleasure of being photographer at several weddings, ceremonies and couple shoots this summer. The website has had a refresh and so All my previous event blogs are no more and rather than writing several blogs to summarise each event I wanted to do an overview for you of the past few months and whats on the cards in the near future.

It is becomming more common that coiple go for. ceremony day on a seperaste occasion to the werdding party and receptions. I therefor had the privilege of spending more days with couple with a more relaxed but still emotional ceremony, usually with close family and friends, followed by a party and/or reception either weeks or months after the official deeds were signed.

Amongst the events were those of strangers who became new acquaintances and friends along the journey to famliy and close friends events which come with their own pressures. I pride myself in taking the same care on all occasions but when friends or family are also trying to get you involved in the days you are sometimes required to pas the buck to an unsuspecting person to take a shot with you in and guide them through your process very quickly. "Point and shoot, and just make sure its in focus!"

The summer started with ceremony in York registry office for a couple who were very close to me and who were very relaxed about having any photos taken. It was candidi photograpohy with a couple of orchestrated shots post ceremony. 2 hours followed by a quick lunch with the couople, the two witnesses and the two young children. A true privilege to be one of the few who witnessed it.

This day was soon followed by another wedding at a beautiful home north of leeds in the countryside. This wonderful couple had been to a rpevious wedding I shot and asked for my help with theirs. My favourite kind of new business. They had been together for 30 years already with daughter in tough. A glamerous and heartfellt day. To add to the fun I recruited a great friend and fellow photographer to assist throughout the day. The sun was out in full flow and despite a very windy start to the day it was a spectacle to behold with both glamorous venue and guests to capture.

Within a couple of days I had two evening awards to shoot and the next weekend another wedding but this time at Danby Castle towards Whitby. A stunnng site and a beautiful couple. There was laughter, there were tears and there was lts of dancing. Fun, Fun, Fun!

I needed some time to edit and had a couple of weeks to stop travelling and start to deliver images to all involved before my next two weddings.

The next wedding was that of a family member which involved many family guests and friends. Even though it was professional event for me it was a pleasure to spend time amongst these people while being able to perfomr my craft. For me photographing people close to you is always an honest & humbling process where youre met with real reflections and reviews. Every event gives you new learning and the benfit of shoooting weddings is that you need to be proficient in many styles of photography. Indoor, outdoor, portrait, macro, documentary, flash, etc. This one was no exception as each venue gives you new colours and lighting to adapt to. Parts of the day were very sunny and oters were overcast and windy. Then indoors to moody and varied lighting.

The final wedding of this summer was for our friends from the york registryt office. They had organised an evening party for 120 guests which didn't disappoint. From a spectaular arrival at the top of a stair case to close up hugs with friends and family this was a beautiful evening of drinking & dancing. A chance for many to catch up on what was a relaxing and fun night.

The goal is always to capture events in the fashion the couples wish to portray their events. No events go without hitches but these are soon lost within the fun of the whole day or evenings. Each shoot tought me something new and left me wanting to try new things on the next occasion to add to the portfolio and experience.

I cant wait for the next event whatever that may be. For the photographers who have iunterest in how shots were taken I started all the weddings and events with my 24-70mm lens and moved towards 35/85mm primes later in the events. Where there was a larger venue or more poel I also used my 70-200mm to take candid shots from afar and also portrait shots. The risk of using your 35 or 85mm at times is that the f1.4 aperture gives you bright uimages but you can often miss the sharpness if the focal points are not spot on. When using your zooms you afre at the lowest f2.8 and often at f4 wihc means when subjects are staggered you will ensure both sets of faces and eyes are sharp. F1.4 is a shallow depth of field if you are close but are still shallow even at moderate dispances with groups. I often take 5-10 shots of small group photos as there is always one person not ready, blinking or out of the focal area. This ensures one or more hits the spot when picking your final shots.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and be assured most are much shorter and conise as they summarise individual events and the leasrning experience i had on the day. Below are a few snaps from the days mentioned above. Take care and hope to share more soon.