St Peter’s Guildford | Joseph’s Christening
As a bit of a change from photographing weddings, last Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing Joseph’s christening at St. Peter’s Church in Bellfields, Guildford. It was a bright (and breezy) spring day, and family and friends turned out in force to welcome Joseph to the church.
Guildford engagement shoot | Charlotte & Tom
On of the things I like to arrange with my wedding couples is to do a quick pre-wedding practice photo shoot – it gives them a chance to dispel any nerves they might feel about being in front of the camera before the big day, and I get to know them better and find out their likes and dislikes, photographically speaking. It only takes 40 minutes or so, and is usually good fun! (more…)
With a winter wedding you always wonder if the weather is going to be on your side or not - fortunately for Maddie & Daniel's special day at The Elvetham in Hampshire the temperature was an unseasonably warm 15C and the sun shone from a clear blue sky most of the time! Some clouds rolled in later on, just in time to give me a dramatic sky for some spectacular sunset pictures - quite handy that!
Top Ten First Dance Wedding songs
The music sharing site Spotify recently analyzed over 30,000 wedding playlists to find out which were the most popular songs that couples chose for their “first dance” song.
I suspect there might be a slight US bias in their list, but I’ve certainly heard their top pick, Etta James’ “At Last” a few times, and the Michael Bublé song… 🙂 It’s always interesting to see what couples pick – for some it’s “our song”, something that was popular when they first got together, for others it’s simply a song that they can dance to!
Also the choice may be partly driven by how confident the couple feel at showing their moves on the dance floor. Some folks are clearly non-dancers and go for a quick 30-second shuffle before frantically waving for their family and friends to join them on the dance floor. Other couples have clearly put a lot of effort into learning a special choreographed routine, and they are often the ones that come up with an original choice of song.
Wonersh & Shamley Green Primary School Christmas Fair photos There was an excellent turnout at Wonersh & Shamley Green Primary School yesterday for the annual Christmas Fair. We were blessed…
What does a classic English wedding look like? Well probably quite a lot like Katharine and Stephen’s wedding in Oxford. 🙂 Morning dress for the men, big hats for the ladies, a church service and a reception in a dining hall at an Oxford College…
The ceremony was held at St Ebbe’s church in the centre of Oxford – a church where Katharine and Stephen are regular worshippers and through whose activities (and those of the University) they got to know each other. Al Gibbs who conducted the service was very welcoming and friendly, and solemnized the marriage in great style.
After the most important part of the day (and some confetti throwing!) was concluded we drove a short distance across Oxford to the elegant and historic surroundings of Lady Margaret Hall for the reception. (more…)
Guildford Castle wedding photos | Ewelina & Spencer
Sometimes I am booked by clients months, even years in advance, sometimes I get a call at the last minute – either way I am happy to help – so when Spencer called me to see if I could photograph his Guildford wedding to Ewelina in a couple of days’ time I said “Sure, no problem!”.
The ceremony took place at Guildford Register Office on Portsmouth Road, with close family and friends in attendance. We took a few photos in the garden at the Register Office then drove back into Guildford and headed for the grounds of Guildford Castle… (more…)
Leatherhead register office wedding | Lindsey & Drew
It’s not every day you get chased by dinosaurs in the gardens at The Mansion, Leatherhead Register Office… but that’s what Lindsey and Drew wanted and that’s what they got! 😀 They asked me to recreate a famously Photoshopped wedding image by Louisana photographer Quinn Miller, where the couple and guests all flee in terror from a rampaging Tyrannosaurus Rex…
I decided to go one better and include two T-Rexes – one for the bride, one for the groom! I don’t normally do this kind of trick photography but it was fun to put this together in Photoshop, with the help of a couple of stock images from fotolia.com. (more…)
Coming soon – Lindsey and Drew’s fun and relaxed wedding at Leatherhead Registry Office…
Here’s a sneak peek of a couple of images, including the “dinosaur chase” image they requested! 🙂
Lots more to come in a few days once I complete the edit, but I was excited about these and wanted to pick out a few to show straight away… (more…)
Manor House Hotel wedding photography| Donna & Darren’s wedding
Many congratulations to Donna and Darren who tied the knot in a civil ceremony at one of my favourite local venues, the Manor House Hotel at Newlands Corner, Guildford.
Donna planned an outdoor ceremony, but on the morning of the wedding the clouds were looming, so it seemed as if the ceremony would have to be moved back indoors. But Donna’s intuition prevailed and she was proved right. When 3pm came around the sun was shining and the wedding was able to go ahead as planned under the gazebo in the gardens.
I arrived an hour or so before the ceremony to photograph Donna and the girls getting ready. Darren like most grooms was a bit more camera-shy but I managed to get a few photos of him and the guests before the ceremony got under way.
Manor House Hotel wedding Maria & Chris
Chris and Maria’s wedding at the Manor House Hotel, Newlands Corner, Guildford was a relaxed and intimate occasion – just close family and friends, a civil wedding, and drinks and a meal afterwards. I’m just as happy photographing a low-key celebration like Maria & Chris’s as a big “do” in a London hotel with hundreds of guests. It’s usually easier to get to know everybody as well which always helps when taking pictures. (more…)
Jane’s portrait session Godalming
Like many busy Mums, head teacher Jane is the photographer in her family – she loves photos and takes lots of her two kids, but as a result is never in the photos herself, which is a shame!
So I was very glad when she decided to remedy that, and called me to arrange a personal photo shoot just for herself. The great thing about this kind of session is that it can be done anywhere, indoors or out, and it’s usually quite uncomplicated and relaxed – at least that’s what I aim for!
My plan was to do the shoot at Jane’s home and then if we needed some extra time to go to the park – but as it turned out we found lots of places to shoot in Jane’s house and garden, so didn’t need to use the extra location. The whole session took about an hour. (more…)
Apologies to anybody trying to view photo galleries or order prints at the moment - my shopping cart system is currently down - I am working with the cart software…
Gate Street Barn wedding photos – Caroline & James
I don’t mind travelling to photograph weddings – but it is nice to cover one that’s local to me – and Gate Street Barn is just ten minutes drive away, in the Surrey countryside between Cranleigh and Godalming. So I was pleased to be asked to photograph Caroline and James’ Gate Street Barn wedding, especially as it’s a lovely venue, perfect for a relaxed event with everything in one location.
Caroline and James are huge Doctor Who fans, so there was definitely a Whovian theme to the wedding (check out the table name cards – and the cake) and the “guest of honour” was a life-size Tardis!
Photo assignment: Primary School head teacher
In any job, it’s easy to get into a routine and just do things the way you’ve always done them – which is fine to some extent, but in a creative field like photography I think it’s important to keep moving forward, learning new techniques and ways of seeing, with the aim of constantly improving your skills and your work.
To that end I try to attend workshops and seminars whenever I can, to pick up ideas and methods and get out of my comfort zone a bit. I’m lucky enough to be a member of the My Vision group, an invitation-only collective of professional photographers who share with each other through an online forum and also through regular get-togethers. MV’s biggest event is the annual documentary photography workshop, where participants are given an assignment (usually a single person) and have two days in which to create a set of 30 photographs that tell that person’s story. Earlier this year about 20 of us gathered in Keswick, Cumbria for this year’s workshop…
St John’s Wonersh & Barnett Hill wedding – Wendy & John
Although I’ve been lucky enough to photograph weddings in many far-flung places from Mexico to the Middle East, the Channel Islands to Inverness, it’s really nice to photograph a very local wedding – and it doesn’t get any more local than the church of St John the Baptist in my home village of Wonersh, Surrey!
Wendy and John are stalwarts of the congregation at St. John’s (the groom John is a former churchwarden) so it was a full house in the church for their wedding ceremony, with many friends from the village filling every available pew alongside Wendy and John’s respective family members. (more…)
Mayfair Library Wedding – Nina and Hasan
It doesn’t matter whether a wedding is big or small, it’s all about two families coming together… and there is plenty for me to photograph! Nina and Hasan’s wedding was simple and straightforward – a civil ceremony in the Marylebone Room at the Mayfair Library register office in South Audley Street London W1, with some photos in the park afterwards.
They are planning a move overseas quite soon so having a small, intimate family wedding fitted in with their plans. (more…)
I happened to be in central London yesterday so decided to watch the end of stage 3 of this year’s Tour de France professional cycle race. “Le Tour” has been a huge hit in the UK this year with literally millions of spectators turning out to watch, and as you might expect it was pretty crowded along the route towards the finish in central London!
I didn’t even attempt to fight my way through the crowds to the finish line on The Mall – instead I decided to head for the Embankment instead. (more…)
