Wedding Photography ... is it "real"?

I'll start this post with a back-story ... for very personal reasons I hung up my cameras for around 10 years, seriously, the only cameras I lifted during that time were point and shoots, capturing holiday snapshots and the odd family photo. My husband trailed me into a camera shop during the summer of 2003 and convinced me to buy a digital SLR, complete with kit lens and a camera bag, the investment of £1000 made me want to make sure I used it to the full. I also wanted to re-learn my skills and get to grips with the new digital age.

Having just moved to a new town, I also wanted to make some friends, with like-minded people, so I joined a college course and started on this new path.

I remember being asked, along with all the others, "do any of you want to do this (photography) for a living" ... I tentatively raised my hand, thinking, maybe, but I have such a great day job, so ... our tutor then asked "do any of you want to shoot weddings?" ... I loved the idea of this, having just shot my friend's wedding that summer, so my hand shot up ... mine was the only one. There were some sniggers and the tutor said "oh, well, I guess it IS photography of a sorts ... "

I kept in touch with some of the guys from my year there, but you know what? Not one of them is shooting professionally, just me, loving what I do week in and week out, working with amazing clients, joining them on the most important day of their lives and the happiest !

So, what are my thoughts on the validity of wedding photography? It's real. It's about as real as photography can get. Let's face it, brides (and sometimes grooms LOL) spend months, if not years, choosing every single detail, every flower ... the list is endless ... in order to make their day special. The only thing left after it is all over is ... yep, the photography ! That's why I make sure I capture every detail, every moment I observe; it's why I make sure my bride is left with photos of her looking absolutely gorgeous (and every single one is); it's why I love what I leave every client with ... a collection of memories they will treasure for generations.

To me, wedding photography is just as important as, say, fashion, product or news photography ... they all have their place, of course, but wedding photography actually encapsulates all of these elements ... we are telling a story of the day (news), we are making our brides look fantastic in their beautiful clothes (fashion), we are capturing their details - shoes, perfume, jewellery (product) so how can it be "just a necessity" (a phrase I have heard on more than one occasion :)

I'd love your thoughts on this so I am going to post a poll in the sidebar with a closing date of the end of November ... please feel free to vote and leave comments if you feel inclined :) I will post the results at the end of the month ... boy, is this going to make for interesting reading !

To whet your appetite, here are a few of my recent favourites ... I hope they demonstrate my point nicely :)

Beautiful details ... with a twist ...

Telling the story ...

Great looking brides ...

I can't wait to hear from you, so get voting :)

PS ... Please ignore "Answer 5" - I didn't do too well on formatting this poll ... sheesh !

Personal Post (Week 45)

BBC Press Office - Week 45 (1 to 7 November)

Sorry for being a day late in posting ... busy weekend ... grab a cuppa and read on :)

What a busy week ! I was glued to the PC pretty much 24/7 getting client's albums designed and ordered, getting them ready for the Christmas rush. I did manage to tear myself away for a couple of things though ... Monday was the DWF Day in the Life project, where we had to shoot something that reflected what we were doing on that day ... here are my 3 submissions ...

Naturally, Tess is the star (isn't she always, these days? But, come on ! How cute !!) :)

The other thing I managed to do was tidy my office ... oh boy, was THAT long overdue. 5 carrier bags of rubbish, a mountain of cardboard recycling and numerous boxes of assorted crap up into the loft ... honestly, I had no idea there was actually a floor in this room !! It was great to get it all sorted, ready for my weekend meetings with clients who can now actually fit into the room with me.

I booked another cool wedding this week ... thanks to Ruth and Steve who are getting married next September at the Moat House in Acton Trussell, one of my favourite venues. I'm really looking forward to shooting their pre-wedding session in the spring too.

On Friday my friend and fellow photographer, Mike Sullivan, came over so that we could sort out his website ... we do this once a year as, like me, he likes to keep things fresh. Mike is based in Evesham, Worcestershire, so it's a bit of a trek, but worth it for the results. We got his site sorted and built him a blog so he can, well, do a bit of this ! LOL. Looking forward to reading your posts, Mike :)

Of course, no week would be complete for us without a good old stomp up on the Chase with Tess ... Saturday was our day of choice (well, Sunday was just awful weather, wasn't it !) and here are a few shots from the walk (for the photographers out there, all taken with the 1D IIN and 70-200 IS 2.8).

One final thought ... yesterday was, of course, Remembrance Sunday. I have a very personal story to share ... when I was very young I was in the Girls Brigade. Every year we would go to church in our dress uniforms, along with any surviving veterans, who would lay wreaths with the most senior girls (brigaders and upwards). Being a senior, I couldn't do this but it was always my dream to lay the wreath with my Grandfather. Long story short, the rules were broken and I was allowed to do this with him ... it was the last one he ever attended, making it even more poignant. There are no photos of the event, just my memories. However, I did manage to look out a very old photo of my Grandfather ... with me. Please excuse the poor quality, I didn't have time to repair it for posting, but if I'm honest, I actually prefer the authenticity :)

So I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week ahead, I'm going to take a few days off for a visit from my Mum and, well, I just need a break :)

Time to freshen up !

For those of you who follow me religiously (thanks, by the way, I love having you here !) you will know that I like to keep my online work fresh. So, finding myself with some well-needed time on my hands, I decided to update the images on the website and blog (look up) ... all the new stuff is from 2008 weddings and couldn't be fresher LOL.

Take a look through and feel free to let me know what you think ! There are new slideshows ... with a portrait section to follow soon :)

Have a great weekend everyone !

G

Freya & Lewis Portrait Session

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Freya and Lewis on Sunday, playing with cars in the conservatory, then off out to play in the garden. It was a tad nippy but we all had some fun and got some great shots at the same time !

A few favourites from the session :)

Freya ...

Lewis ...

With Mum, Toni ...

Gill & Phil - Bridal Shoot - Rookery Hall

I shot Gill & Phil's wedding in June this year and, as you can see from their blog post, Gill had a traumatic experience in the week leading up to the wedding. Due to the operation, Gill was in some discomfort and pain on the actual day, so we agreed that, once she was feeling 100%, we'd arrange to get together at their venue, they would get all dressed up again, and we would shoot some bride and groom shots to pad out their album.

The day we chose could not have been more glorious, the weather really was on our side. Gill was in such good form and feeling fighting fit, so I knew we were in for some great shots.

Since this is an add-on to a wedding, I decided to play with my processing for the blog ... I hope you enjoy the shots and I am really looking forward to getting the album sorted once the guys get back from their belated (long) honeymoon later this month !

A few faves from the session ...

Print and Album Orders Cutoff Date (15th November)

I just wanted to blog a quick post about cutoff dates for Christmas orders ... both Albums and Reprints need to be ordered by 15th November to guarantee delivery to me before Christmas ... so get your order in now :)

As always, any questions, drop me a line at gill@gilltaylor.co.uk or call me on 07738 286739 !

Gill

Personal Post (Week 44)

November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 58 days remaining until the end of the year. Wikipedia

Week 44 Highlights ... BBC

It's been pretty much business as usual here at Chez Taylor this week ... Tess is settling in and getting bigger, the cats are still wary and John and I are still plugging away :) I'm fast getting on top of my wedding and album processing with more and more being signed off, ordered and out the door, in plenty of time for Christmas and the new year beyond. This week should see me finish up all processing and will allow me to take a week off, handy as my mother is coming over next week for a short visit.

Of course, this week was blighted (and continues to be) by Halloween and fireworks ... it seems to be every single night (the fireworks, thankfully not the trick or treating) and my cats HATE them with a vengeance. In fact, all the animals (myself included LOL) get really stressed out, so we're wishing this week over so we can get back to peaceful normality.

I feel very fortunate to live in this part of the world, we have all the convenience of towns and cities on our doorstep, but drive 5 minutes in any direction from our home and you land yourself in countryside. Since Tess started walking on a leash we have made it a point to get out on the Chase every weekend, at least once (for me, don't forget I work weekends LOL) and so today we packed up the truck and headed off for a looooooong walk ... complete with camera. So for this week's photos, November on The Chase (all in BW, in that kind of mood !) ... enjoy and have a great week 45.

The Chase ...

Reflections ... and she walks AROUND this puddle every single time ... wuss !

John and Tess ...

Just John ...

Tess and the tongue ...

Making friends :)

Oh, John took control of the 5D at one point ... yep ... me and my hat ! sheesh !