Pre-wedding shoot in Malmesbury

14/05/2012 by Anna.

On Saturday we had another pre-wedding shoot and yet again were lucky with the weather. Beautiful sunshine really helps to bring out the vibrancy of the May scenery, resplendent with buttercups and new foliage on the trees.

We met in the car park at 6pm and set off for the Abbey. At this time of the day the sunlight is less harsh and gives lovely long shadows and backlighting Tom and Cat was much easier and more effective.

It’s sometimes difficult to find shade when the trees are not yet in full leaf so we made the most of the entrance to the Abbey.

Tom and Catherine in front of the Abbey.

Then we headed down to the river Avon which was very lively after all the recent rain.

I took the lens hood off the camera to get some intentional flare, which is good fun as you never know what you will end up with!

Don’t let go!!

It was just a little damp still, but we took the opportunity to get some of the lovely buttercups in the shot.

A more romantic shot…

… and now they’re not speaking to each other!

The look of the image is quite different when Tom and Cat are shaded by trees.

And some lovely evening sunlight.

Yet more buttercups.

A real ‘flare’ shot by Simon.

Tom and Cat must now choose one of these images (or one of the other 80 I have processed!) for their signature board, which is part of the package. We’re looking forward to their wedding next month - let’s hope for some more good weather as the venue is going to be beautiful (pictures to follow in a few weeks!)

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Mike and Vikki’s pre-wedding shoot

30/04/2012 by Anna.

I’m quite glad I had no photography planned for the weekend just gone - what disgusting weather! However, the weekend before, the weather wasn’t quite so bad and we had an amazing mixture of weather for an engagement shoot in Lydiard Country Park in Swindon.

We started off feeding ducks by the lake to help relax Mike and Vikki.

I love the red wellies! I brought a red umbrella with me in case of rain, so I was very happy that a) Vikki had red wellies and b) it rained!

But it started off lovely and sunny and we went for a walk around the park exploring. We used to go there frequently when the children were young but hadn’t been there for about 10 years and quite a lot has changed in that time.

Lovely back lighting - my favouite!

This is one of Simon’s - my assistant and second shooter… and also husband! It’s nice to spend time together at weekends out on photo shoots and weddings.

I think Vikki thought I was photographing Mike at this stage - I like these documentary style images as they often give a much better insight into the character of the person.

Mike and Vikki didn’t need any encouragement to do this!

The cool weather is keeping the daffodils alive that little bit longer than usual. Vikki and Mike sat on Vikki’s coat and my reflector bag as the ground was pretty wet.

Boy, did it rain! Just what I wanted…

and just as quick as it had started, the black cloud blew over and the sun came out - what a sky!

I look  forward to June and to taking your wedding photographs, Vikki and Mike.

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Spring wedding in Wellington Barn

20/04/2012 by Anna.

Hasna and Lee were married in Wellington Barn on 8th April and here are some of their images from the time we spent with them.

The weather was better than expected on the day and we didn’t need to use the umbrellas that we had in the car.

The car bringing the bridesmaids got a little lost trying to find Wellington Barn and so the flower girls whiled away the time spying on the guests!

The rose petals strewn so beautifully by the same flower girls with the bride and groom in the distance.

I like to take formal pictures of the signing of the register and then step aside to let the guests ‘have a go’. I much prefer the more relaxed expressions that usually arise from this.

It’s amazing the look of relief on almost every couple when they walk out from the ceremony!

Luckily the weather was good enough to all go outside for taking pictures. I still used quite a lot of flash to ensure that the sky was not burned out.

While I was getting through the formal group shots Simon, my assistant and second shooter, managed to get some gorgeous relaxed images of the children.

Is this a relaxed formal shot?… I think that’s what I’ll call this style!

Simon again - he got a series of shots of this interaction.

It will be a few months before the lovely wild flower meadow is looking good but it was a bonus to have the rape flowers giving some colour.

Hasna’s dress had some amazing detail and the bouquet was gorgeous.

Isn’t it a beautiful dress?

I used the plain black wooden walls as a backdrop so that the bride and groom became the main focus.

It works well when zooming in on some close ups.

The fence is a good prop and helps to draw the eye into the picture.

By this stage the guests were all getting into their seats so there was more space to take pictures in front of the building.

The speeches were held before the wedding breakfast; it might not be the venue’s favoured arrangement (the food is sitting waiting!) but I love it as we can get another whole series of shots like this one.  And we also learn a little more about the couple that we’re photographing, which is an added bonus.

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A Wedding in Beautiful Bibury

11/04/2012 by Anna.

Just over a week ago I photographed the wedding of Helen and David in The Swan Hotel in Bibury. The very warm March weather that we had had the week before had just broken but in the end we had some lovely, although much cooler, sunshine on the day.

Yes, it was April Fool’s Day!

As the wedding party was just close family, both the ceremony and the wedding breakfast were held in the library at The Swan Hotel.

We were all so grateful to have good weather as it meant that drinks could be taken outside in the lovely gardens of the hotel.

Even with a few people you still have to have the confetti thrown!

The sun was very harsh and it was the middle of the day so I chose to do all the group shots with the sun behind the group.

We also made the most of any shade we could find.

A very seasonal shot! The gardens have the Coln river as a boundary with an additional stream and are really pretty.

We took Helen and David out of the garden and out to the main tourist area of the village to get some more pictures by the river.

A bit of processing magic on this one!

And some very obliging ducks!

Helen is not keen on having her picture taken - it doesn’t make sense, does it?!

Such a beautiful location.

The library set up ready for the wedding breakfast.

A relative had made the wedding cake - a reference to punting along the river in Cambridge where David and Helen were students.

We enjoyed the excuse to go and explore Bibury prior to the wedding for photography potential and to go and photograph the wedding on such a lovely spring day. Have a wonderful future together, Helen and David.

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Spring is in the air!

04/04/2012 by Anna.

In the middle of last month with the daffodils just starting to bloom I did a birthday photo shoot. Sally organised a weekend of surprises for Phil’s birthday, starting off with a photo session for the two of them. My neighbours kindly allowed us to use their lake and pond at the bottom of their beautiful garden and we got some gorgeous pictures.

OK, I know, it’s supposed to be Phil’s shoot and here I am taking pictures of Sally, but with such a lovely wife I’m sure that is what he wanted.

We were contemplating whether the log was safe enough to climb, but thought better of it!

It’s difficult to find shade at this time of the year when the trees are not yet in leaf, but this weeping willow gave a little relief from the strong light.

What a lovely March day it was.

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Another winter wedding

14/03/2012 by Anna.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this wedding - my assistant and I also had to act as witnesses as no guests were invited. Richard and Natasha wanted a quiet wedding by themselves in Devizes register office followed by some photographs taken around Devizes.

Natasha comes from St. Petersburgh, had recently retired and moved over here to be married to Richard - quite a big change in life for her.

I stood at the back of the room to take some pictures during the ceremony trying to be as quiet as possible.

Natasha looked beautiful and I used the window light and a lovely sofa in the room to take some bridal portraits of her after the ceremony.

Richard bought the bouquet for her as a surprise and they were a stunning colour match with her outfit.

I had spent some time walking around Devizes the previous week finding good spots for photography so I had it all planned out where we would go. When Richard asked if we could stop for a little wedding picnic I thought we may as well start where I planned we would park the cars in a little residential close near to the canal (my father-in-law lives there). I don’t know what the neighbours thought when the champagne came out together with a picnic bag with smoked salmon sandwiches and cake and chocolate! Richard had prepared it all and even brought along extra glasses for me and Lexy. Such a gentleman!

Picnic over and tidied away we went for a walk, starting with a stroll down Quaker’s Walk.

These unposed shots are a good way to relax the couple, resulting in more natural expressions… and it’s more fun!

Next stop was the Wharf in Devizes. I chose several locations around the Wharf which were different enough to give a completely different feel to the images.

For this picture I used off camera flash as the lighting was rather flat. Lexy had a busy time, holding the couples’ coats during the photography, and holding either the reflector or the flash.

It was very brave of Richard and Natasha to share part of their wedding day with complete strangers but we had such a lovely time. You really don’t need to spend a lot of money to make a special day - a little bit of imagination and romance does wonders!

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Family photo shoot in the sun

29/02/2012 by Anna.

Binita and her family are due to leave Hullavington soon for their next placement and we managed to fit in a photo session in their last week here. Luckily the weather was gorgeous - couldn’t get much better for February!

Binita and her daughter dressed in traditional Nepalese dresses which were just gorgeous.

We started off the session with a few pictures in the house, as I think it’s good to have a reminder of where you lived at various times in your life.

The children each had 3 new helium balloons as a special photo treat which were great to use with the strong sun - we got some amazing backlit pictures and strong shadows.

The family live in a house overlooking the airfield, so it was easy to find some wide open spaces for photography.

Grandad was also included in the shoot.

A lovely natural looking shot.

The sun was really bright as it was early afternoon, but it’s good for bringing out the rich colours of Binita’s dress.

However we chose the shade of a tree for taking some closer portrait shots.

The children were really not moving very fast on their scooters, but panning like this gives a great effect, and I hope they like impression of speed!

Binita and her daughter soon changed out of their smart dresses into clothes that they could move freely in. The pink here was beautifully chosen as it really compliments the colour of the balloons.

During their stay in Hullavington many hours have been spent in the playground and so we t00k a few pictures there.

I brought some bubbles along and both children were very good at blowing bubbles.

I do hope you all like these pictures and they will bring back happy memories of living in Hullavington.

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21st Birthday shoot

22/02/2012 by Anna.

 A few weeks ago Alice and her mother came to me for a photo session on Alice’s 21st birthday.

At Alice’s request I found a local make-over artist and arranged for Hayley from EyeCandi (http://eyecandi-mobilebeautician.co.uk/) to come along to do her hair and makeup.

We all learnt a lot about the profession talking to Hayley and it was fascinating to watch her at work. After looking at the outfits that Alice had brought with her we decided on the order of them and the ‘mood’ that we would try to achieve using lighting, make-up and hair.

The first look was sophisticated with subtle make-up and a clean white backdrop:

The next dress was a lovely, flowery summer dress. It may have only been January but the sun was shining and Alice was game, so we went outside for some very natural, sunlit pictures.

A bit of pink eye make-up really complimented the dress colour and Alice looked gorgeous.

Next we went for a more smokey look. Hayley accentuated Alice’s eyes even more and I chose to use a black background and more hairlight for this sequence of images.

She also looked great against the white background.

We finished off with a lovely sexy wrapped up fur coat look:

It was a really fun couple of hours and I hope Alice is pleased with her images - a lovely reminder of this special birthday.

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Winter wedding in the snow

12/02/2012 by Anna.

Last weekend I photographed Martin and Jenny’s wedding at Wellington Barn, near  Calne.The wedding ceremony was not until 4pm and the weather was just as forecast, with the snow starting to fall as we were all gathering

I was hoping for a beautiful sunset when taking some outdoor pictures and we intended to take the group pictures outdoors before the light faded, but by the time the ceremony was over the snow was blowing around everywhere. Jenny and Martin would not have had many friends left if we had dragged them outside! However, we HAD to take some bride and groom shots in the snow…

My golf umbrella came in useful just to keep the worst of the bitter wind away from the newly married couple.

These pictures were all taken in pretty quick succession; I had a lovely warm down jacket on and was fine but poor Jenny was starting to feel the cold!

We decided to take some more inside where it was lovely and warm.

This was the last natural light image we could take as the light was fading fast, but I had speedlights and a large soft box with me for the group photo’s.

The groom, best man and usher having fun!

It felt very cosy in Wellington Barn with the blizzard outside.

We left as the wedding breakfast started and managed to negotiate the slippery roads to get home safely. I’m so pleased that Martin and Jenny were game enough to make the most of the weather on their winter wedding day. Good luck with the baby!

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Another portrait training session in Lacock

05/02/2012 by Anna.

Last Sunday I gave another training session at Lacock Photography using a new model for me - lovely Hannah. We explored all the elements that are needed to create a good portrait picture, with the main focus being on making the best use of natural light.

It was a bright day, if a little cold, but then it was end of January!

The morning was spent in the training room and then after lunch Hannah arrived and we started shooting. We began in the training room where it was lovely and warm and we experimented using window light with and without reflectors.

The direction of the light can be used to sculpt the face.

Hannah had a lovely fur coat with her which was perfect for a winter shoot. We also experimented with composition, backgrounds and lens settings.

The quality of the light was totally different at the back of the bus shelter than near the window. I used Photoshop effects to highten the mood of the shot.

This also has a Photoshop filter applied to give a cross processing effect.

Having the opportunity to spend a day thinking about a topic like this is such a luxury and a session with a model is invaluable for trying out new techniques.

For more training courses see www.lacockphotography.co.uk

Thanks to Hannah for braving the January cold with us!

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