Some model shots

First day with a new studio.

We managed to have a play in the studio today. It was purely a test to see how much space we have and how things will work. We learnt an awful lot and now know where we can add lighting setups, backdrops, furniture and props.

Here are some quick shots for you to have a peek at.

Our studio has arrived!

Our studio arrived on the back of a lorry this morning at 7:12! And within 3 hours it was up!

As you can tell from the photo, our new studio is a timber building. Its is 20ft x 12ft and hopefully in around 8 weeks, will be kitted out with all our new studio equipment, backdrops, props and office equipment.

There is not much more we can report on at the moment, as we are feeling slightly overwhelmed today after all the excitment. We have however, got a surprise which will be announced in the next couple of days...keep checking for updates.

Things that make us angry!

We try not to get angry in this business, after all we are in the process of capturing happy memories, but there are two things that really do get us hot under the collar.

1, Scam emails - We think everyone apart from the people sending them can agree that these really are annoying and a waste of time.

2, Con men/women - especially when it comes to conning people into believing they can be wedding photographers, just because they own a digital camera.

We were alerted to this American conman by fellow photographers: http://www.weddingphotobiz.com. It just shows you what these people think of wedding photography and they seem to think that it is a walk in the park where they have the chance to rip of couples as it is a day they spend a lot of money on.

Even though this is an American example, there are hundreds of people in each country that feel they can pick up a camera and instantly have the knowledge and professionalism to photograph a wedding.

So, in response, we have this advice for our couples;

• Make sure you meet with the photographers you are interested in.
• Make sure they show you a decent variety of photographs for different weddings. If they can show you full wedding albums, rather than the odd print, this is better as you will see if they are consistent with their work.
• Make sure they have insurance.
• Ask for references from other couples, there is nothing better than recommendations.
• Make sure they have a contract, if something were to happen, this would protect you.
• Ask if they are a member of an organisation. Some associations do not ask for qualifications or proof of work, but if they have been awarded a Licenseship or higher, then they have proved themselves to the organisation. This may seem hypocritical as currently we are not part of any organisation, but this is because we do not believe in just joining, we want to earn our Licenseship, and we are currently putting together our portfolio to submit to the board at the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) and the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photographers).
• Make sure they have back-up equipment. We have heard some horror stories about equipment failing and ruining the day.

We hope these tips will help any couple in selecting their photographer and getting best out of their wedding photographs.

If you have any questions then don't hesitate to contact us and we can point you in the right direction of the information you might need.

We would also like to point out that we do not drive round in a red Ferrari ;)

Congratulations!

We'd like to send our congratulations to Emily and David who are expecting their first baby on the 5th October.

We photographed Emily and David's wedding back in January.

So, congratulations to you both and we wish you all the luck in the future with your new little one. Keep us up to date with photos!

Let the good times roll!

Having my usual peruse of my usual websites this morning, I came across this:

A supportive photographer is worth his/her weight in gold! The professionals listed here will actually IMPROVE your video production because they make space and time for us to produce the sequences that make it all special.

Wedding Photographer Natasha Marshalsea:

Occasionally, as a video producer, I meet photographers who enhance the work I do. The very best are people who you would love to have as guests at your wedding. They are talented and creative but they are also special people who bring a confidence to your day. Modest and yet a bit special.A recent Bride's photographer was one of those special people.Natasha Marshalsea is a dream to work with. She does her job beautifully without any fuss or stress and yet she also finds time to enhance your video. I would recommend this lady to anyone. Look at her website and judge for yourselves.http://www.nmphotography.co.uk/ You cannot choose better.
The Bride and Groom saw this and it made their day complete.

This compliment (which made me so happy and proud) was posted by John at Triangle Studios. A few posts down you will see that we also have only praise for John after we had the pleasure of working with him at the wedding of Clare and Fraser.

So, thank you John, you really have made me smile! It is always nice to hear praise about what we do, especially when we are doing what we love and sharing some great times with all our clients.

We also have an update on our studio! It is being delivered and erected on Thursday, which is good news! But we still cannot operate anything from it, not even our little computer, until we have our full planning accepted. However, by installing it now, we will be knocking off at least 4 weeks off our earlier estimated guess of when it would be ready to use.

Pictures will be added on Thursday of it being delivered and installed!

What we like to hear!

We had a lovely email from Clare and Fraser today;

Hi Natasha,
We just wanted to thank both you and Richard for your patience and hard work yesterday! You were both wonderful and so flexible with our continued 'just another one' photos.............
A special thank you for helping me with getting the dress on and for reassuring me on my makeup!
It was wonderful to see you and John [Triangle Studios] gel together so well. John has put his screenshots and collage on the website and they are amazing!
Thanks again!
Clare and Fraser

We had a wonderful time working with Clare and Fraser, and John from Triangle Studios, and we look forward to completing all the photos and having them ready to share with their friends and family.

The wedding of Clare and Fraser

Today was the wedding of Clare and Fraser. The sun shone, people were smiling and Clare and Fraser have to be one of the most fun of the couples we have worked with. They were up for anything and we even had an hour with the couple by themselves.

As it was only a couple of hours ago that we left the wedding party to enjoy their evening, we only have a few photos, but there will be more to come. We also had the opportunity to work with John Eckersall from Triangle Studio. John is an exceptional wedding videographer and was just as much fun to work with as Clare and Fraser. I cannot recommend him enough to all current and future couples. Please take a look at his site; www.trianglestudios.co.uk

Some sad news

We have been informed by the council that we now require planning permission to put us the office/studio, so this has put a delay of 8-12 weeks on having the studio delivered and installed.

However, not to be defeated, we are going out to get a mega battery pack to power all our new studio lights on location! We are still confident that we will have the studio set up for the summer holidays, however, if you wish to have family portraits or individual shoots on location, please do not hesitate to contact us.

A willing model...

As previously mentioned, Rebecca is trying to get into modelling and was more than willing to slip into a wedding dress and let me experiment a new service we will soon be offering - bridal portraits.
We ventured out into the local woods and had a great time creating this set of images. It has also got us all excited for Clare and Fraser's wedding this Saturday.

Another model shoot

We couldn't wait for the studio to try out our new lighting studio, so we set it up in an spare space and did a few more modelling shots with Rebecca.

Enjoy!

The date is set!

I have been informed that our new studio should arrive on the 26th of April - only 24 days to go!

Things are finally coming together for the portrait side of the business, and it is something we are VERY excited about! If you would like to get your session pre-booked, please contact us. We already have some sessions booked and can't wait to start!