There’s something very special about bridal portraits and that’s why I love to make time in a wedding day schedule to make sure that we get time to take them.
Just before the Bride goes to see the Registrars I ask everyone (and that means everyone!) in the bridal suite to give us a little space. Why do I do this? It gives the Bride time to breathe, time to soak up the nerves and excitement of the day so far and of what’s to come.
Time and space are so important for these beautiful images. Time and time again over the years I was seeing brides lost in the centre of a whirlwind of activity. Overcome by the questions they are being asked. Just needing a few minutes of quiet time and a little bit of space in amongst the hurricane of activity of the day.
And that’s why I do this.
And of course the insanely gorgeous images that are the result of that time and space.
This exquisite image of Louise was taken just before her wedding at The Kings Head Hotel in Cirencester.
Everyone left the bridal suite to give us the time and space we needed. And this image is one of the ones that was taken.
I know you’ll all agree just how incredible Louise looks!
Using a simple diffused light from the large sash window over looking the Market Place in Cirencester I took this image quietly and confidently, knowing that Louise would look timeless.
The awards I enter are not won based on the number of votes I receive. I’m known for not being a social media slave as I’d prefer to spend my time with my Clients and creating really cool images! And that’s why I don’t enter numbers based awards. To my mind they are great if you have a big social media following. But for me I want feedback from gurus in my industry.
Photographers of huge reputation and skill who judge work based on technical ability. This keeps me on my toes! Always striving to do better and better and better.
The IOM images are judged against an international judging criteria. This is pretty high level stuff and standards are high. Very high.
The higher scoring images are assessed by the panel to be either Bronze, High Bronze, Silver and Gold. Allegedly there is also a Platinum level but who knows if this actually exists? I’ve never seen a Platinum awarded for weddings.
Wedding photography is very much in the moment so to achieve a High Bronze is really quite something; its literally a point off a Silver! There will be something daft like a dust spot that has knocked the mark off a silver. To achieve a Silver… well a huge slice of cake is in order. And for a Gold… I think I would keel over!
If I have entered images from your wedding; thank you. Thank you for working with me and indulging my creativity. These winning awards are as much yours as they are mine.
I’m so thrilled when I receive awards for my work. Judged by the gurus of my industry they are a huge deal. They are judged on techincality, posing, light, the list goes on… and on… and on…!
So when the time pressure of a wedding is bearing down, things are running behind schedule and the chef (and rightly so) won’t move service, its the photography time that is always the one thing to be squeezed. This creates huge challenges when it comes to taking images that adhere to the rules and requirements for competition standard and competition winning images.
My Clients are very special people. They value photography and have a huge appreciation of photography as an art form. Because of this I am able to take these stunning images for them because we work together as a team.