Tag Archives: Photographer

Being a Professional Wedding Photographer is Easy

January 23, 2012 in Green Room. Written by Kat

My buddy Tattybojangles tweeted this last week and I just had to add an extra Green Room post today to share it too. Who says being a professional wedding photographer is hard? They obviously haven’t seen these!*

Being a Professional Wedding Photographer is Easy

My buddy Tattybojangles tweeted this last week and I just had to add an extra Green Room post today to share it to. Who says being a professional wedding photographer is hard? They obviously haven't seen these!*

Continue reading...

January 23, 2012

Under the Spotlight: Neil Thomas Douglas Photography

December 6, 2011 in Paid Partnership. Written by Kat

Glasgow based photographer Neil Douglas prides himself on his composition and use of light. In fact he cites his main inspiration as Martin Parr, a social photographer, who is well known for his exaggerated style. “I love the way he uses colour and composition to really bring out the personality of his subjects,” Neil writes, “Henri Cartier Bresson is also massive influence for me – his candid photography really paved the way for us who favour a reportage style.”

“I picked up my first camera in my teens, and from then on it’s never really left my side,” Neil continues. “I combined my love of music and photography by running around gigs in skinny jeans shooting bands which was lots and lots of fun. It soon became apparent that it wasn’t really about the music, I was more interested in capturing ‘people’ and the human element so when I was asked to be a second shooter for a wedding tog friend I jumped at the chance. And I never looked back. I truly believe that great photography equals great art. It’s emotive, immediate and perhaps most importantly, accessible.”

“I’d describe my photography as fun, creative and a little bit unusual. I love strong composition, framing and really interacting the couple with their surroundings. I’d say its timeless, which means in 20 years it will remain just as striking, without being dated.”

“I think it’s fair to say that any couple in love make my job fantastic, but it’s always good to meet clients that are willing to try something a little bit different and move away from ‘traditional’ style posed photography. I love couples who come with their own idea’s too – it really does make the finished collection of pictures a true partnership between those in front of the camera and behind. I guess having a similar sense of humour helps, especially for those times when I’m asking the bride and groom to climb trees and lay on disused railway tracks!”

Under the Spotlight: Neil Thomas Douglas Photography

Glasgow based photographer Neil Douglas of And Do You Take Photography prides himself on his composition and use of light. In fact he cites his main inspiration as Martin Parr, a social photographer, who is well known for his exaggerated style. "I love the way he uses colour and composition to really bring out the personality of his subjects," Neil writes, "Henri Cartier Bresson is also massive influence for me - his candid photography really paved the way for us who favour a reportage style."

Continue reading...

December 6, 2011

Something Borrowed, Something Roo: Finding Our Perfect Wedding Photographer

November 28, 2011 in Guest Posts. Written by Kat

Something I am always keen to promote through Rock n Roll Bride is the importance of hiring a professional wedding photographer to document your wedding (the photos are the only thing – well except the marriage of course – that lasts after the wedding day etc etc) However not only that, I also think it is crucial to hire a professional wedding photographer that gets you. It may be all well and good that a photographer has won a gazillion awards or has shot some fantastic weddings that have been featured in magazines and on wedding blogs, but if you don’t like them as a person or they don’t understand your vision for your wedding… well they aren’t the guy/gal for you.

It warms my heart when I hear from photographers that they feel that’ve made ‘real life’ friends with their clients and that they’re going to ‘miss them’ now their wedding is over. Sure, you want to find a photographer to capture you’re day fantastically, but having a wedding photographer that can also become one of your best friends is pretty amazing. Plus…and this is a big plus…unlike a lot of wedding suppliers, this person will actually be attending your wedding. You’ll have to hang out with them for a lot of the most important day of your life. I sure as hell wouldn’t want someone I didn’t like at my wedding!

Anyway, that’s my mini-Monday afternoon rant over. Roo’s story on her hunt for her perfect wedding photographer/new best friend echos my ideals exactly. Come on then lady, spill…

♥ ♥ ♥

A couple of months ago, my Dad said to me, “whatever you do, make sure you have a good photographer – we had a friend do ours” – “but Dad,” I replied, “I’ve never really seen any of your wedding pictures”. He smirked and said simply, “that’s because they were sh*t”.

The UK alone is awash with incredibly talented photographers, so we figured that it would simply be a matter of leisurely scrolling through some online portfolios and choosing our favourite. Having been a successful photography student through college, I would say that I’m acutely aware of the style of photography that I like – ethereal, experimental, from the hip (see also: Lomography).

Photography credit: Samuel Higginbotham

For me, good photography is all about capturing and representing your subject in an honest way, whether it be animal, mineral or vegetable. Everything has its own personality, but personality is something that can rarely transcend to a photograph – unless, of course, you find a good photographer.

This little epiphany taught me the valuable lesson that plucking a photographer from the ether just wasn’t going to cut it. We needed someone talented, sure, but there was more to it than that; we needed someone who could understand us both as people, and what it is about us as individuals that makes us work as a couple.

I have a few very talented photographer friends, but none of them had ever wandered into wedding territory before, and this phased me. I am incredibly blessed that this internship has opened up many doors of opportunity to us that were previously off limits – namely, meeting the most talented of wedding photographers both up and down the country, and from across the pond. I’m a strong believer in fate, and I don’t consider it an accident or coincidence that the first photographer I met was Lisa Jane Brown.

Photography credit: Lisa Jane Photography

Something Borrowed, Something Roo: Finding Our Perfect Wedding Photographer

Something I am always keen to promote through Rock n Roll Bride is the importance of hiring a professional wedding photographer to document your wedding (the photos are the only thing - well except the marriage of course - that lasts after the wedding day etc etc) However not only that, I also think it is crucial to hire a professional wedding photographer that gets you. It may be all well and good that a photographer has won a gazillion awards or has shot some fantastic weddings that have been featured in magazines and on wedding blogs, but if you don't like them as a person or they don't understand your vision for your wedding... well they aren't the guy/gal for you.

Continue reading...

November 28, 2011

Under the Spotlight: State Of Mind Photography

November 22, 2011 in Paid Partnership. Written by Kat

New Rock n Roll Bride sponsor Darius Sutherland, AKA State Of Mind Photography, is a Welshman living life in Brighton. He shoots weddings all over the country and prides himself on being able to deliver a range of photography styles. He likes to shoot all types of weddings, from traditional to funky which makes him perfect for a Rock n Roll couple.

“My motto is. It’s your day,” he says. “Every wedding is different, every bride and groom are looking for that something special that stands out. My strength is understanding what a bride and groom want from their day and delivering it to them.”

Darius prides himself on his unobtrusive style. He likes to blend in with the day and disappear into the background so every image he delivers has a natural feel. He tries to capture all those emotional moments during the day and create a story that depicts your day perfectly.

“Each image is different and I try to bring out it’s best and find a style that suits it most,” he continues.

Darius’ work has been published in various national and international magazines and has won several awards for some of his personal projects including the SWPP Gold Award For Fine Art Image and Silver Award Architecture Image. In 2012 he hopes to take his business international with his many contacts in Sri Lanka.

Under the Spotlight: State Of Mind Photography

November 22, 2011

How to…Dress as a Wedding Photographer

July 9, 2011 in Fashion Advice, How To.... Written by Kat

After such a great response to last weekend’s post about How to Dress as a Wedding Guest, I got thinking about how I could expand this mini-series. I had a few photographers in the comments asking if I had any tips of how they should dress to shoot weddings. Now clearly I’m not a wedding photographer myself so I thought instead of trying to guess my way through answering this question, I’d ask some of my favourite photographers to share an outfit they might typically wear to shoot a wedding.

Here’s what I learnt from the girls…

♥ Pockets are important – for memory card, lip balm, run sheets, your mobile phone etc.

♥ Comfy shoes are a must. Heels are to be worn with caution.

♥ Layers are great for changing weather (especially for the UK I’d imagine!)

♥ If wearing a dress that tights or leggings are often donned to avoid any embarrassing knicker flashing when getting into awkward positions to get that shot.

♥ It’s important to make a bit of an effort. As Chloe Browne put it, “I like to look smart and I think it’s good for my clients to see that I’m not “coming to work”, but that I’m going to their wedding. It’s also really important for me to feel like I fit in and it’s often something that my clients bring up at their first meeting, so I know it’s important to them too.” You don’t want to look like the ‘staff’ but similarly not like a guest…

♥ Dark colours are preferable as they are less likely to show up the dirt (again, after getting in all those funny positions!) but the most important thing is that an outfit is comfortable, doesn’t crease (again, when getting into all those funny positions) and is easy to clean.

♥ You need to find the balance between something that’s not too expensive (it’s likely to get ruined!) or too cheap (no one wants to look cheap or have their clothes falling apart mid-wedding.)

♥ Pretty accessories are usually kept to a minimum so not to get in the way, however some bits of ‘flair’ can be great for distracting children when doing the group shots!

♥ Camera bags don’t have to be ugly to be practical.

♥ Waverley dress
Reiss, £97

♥ Double breasted linen jacket
Zara, £49.99

♥ Gallic Knot Sandals
Monsoon, £28

♥ Megan Orange Butterflies Headband
Kaang on Etsy, $20

♥ Shootsac lens bag
Shootsac, $179

♥ Waisted Dress with Scallop Collar
ASOS, £25.00

♥ Sketchers Shape-ups
Sketchers, $85

♥ Navy polka dot alice band
River Island, £4

♥ Kelly Moore classic camera bag in grey
Kelly Moore Bag, $199

♥ ‘Pearl Lowe’ Butterfly Dress
Peacocks, £20

♥ Swedish Hasbeens
H&M, $59.95

♥ 3/4 length shrunken blazer
Topshop, £55

♥ A4 Barbara Wiggins Metallic Document Wallet
Newsroom Online, £59.99

♥ Pieces Donna Leather Travel Bag
ASOS, £130

How to…Dress as a Wedding Photographer

After such a great response to last weekend's post about How to Dress as a Wedding Guest, I got thinking about how I could expand this mini-series. I had a few photographers in the comments asking if I had any tips of how they should dress to shoot weddings. Now clearly I'm not a wedding photographer myself so I thought instead of trying to guess my way through answering this question, I'd ask some of my favourite photographers to share an outfit they might typically wear to shoot a wedding.

Continue reading...

July 9, 2011

Under the Spotlight – Wonderland Avenue

February 4, 2011 in British Brides, Paid Partnership. Written by Kat

When I got engaged back in 2007, the first thing I started searching for (well, apart from the dress!) was a wedding photographer. Now back then there were no wedding blogs in the UK to guide me and the task was a very daunting one! I had no idea where to start and in the end I found our photographer’s in a wedding magazine.

But you know what? Not all great photographers can (or know how to) get into wedding magazines…especially maybe newer, more budget-friendly shooters. However fret not – nowadays you lucky brides have a plethora of blogs and online services devoted to showcasing new as well as established wedding photographic talent – helping you find the perfect photographer to capture your day.

In my opinion, one of the best services I’ve come across devoted to wedding photographer searches is the UK based, Wonderland Avenue. I’m totally convinced that your’e going to love their site and utterly adore what they have to offer. If you don’t find the perfect photographer for you here, I’ll eat my (pink) hat!

Photography Credit: Marianne Taylor Photography

Can you tell me a little about Wonderland Avenue? What is it you do?

Wonderland Avenue is a new website listing the very best UK wedding photographers, we wanted to go significantly beyond just providing another list of photographers and give brides a site where the photographers had been hand picked. The idea is that engaged couples no longer have to trawl through the internet to find a great photographer but can access a quick, simple database of the UK’s finest. However Wonderland Avenue is more than just another wedding directory. We also post regular features on our members and we love to blog.

How did you come up with the idea and start Wonderland Avenue?

When we got engaged back in 2006, James, a commercial photographer, was sent off to ‘find the perfect wedding photographer’. He thought a couple of hours on the web would do the trick but he was very wrong!! It took months of scouring websites, magazines and directories to find a photographer who could offer what we were looking for, and just as we thought we had it cracked, he would stumble upon another… What we really needed was a site that brought brilliant photographers together and had already done all the research for us, so finding a wedding photographer could be as painless as possible. And so Wonderland Avenue was born!

Photography Credit: Anna Hardy Photography

How did you come up with the name Wonderland Avenue?

We were conscious that we wanted to develop a name that reflected our aim of bringing something different to the wedding photography industry. We had a few ideas floating around then James found himself shooting at a location in Los Angeles near a street called Wonderland Avenue and it just seemed perfect!

What areas do you cover & where are the majority of your photographers based?

Eventually we aim to cover the length & breath of the country & we already have photographers based as far north as Scotland & as far South as Cornwall, we will however restrict each region on our search menu to around 40 photographers, this will prevent brides from being overwhelmed with choice & enable us to concentrate our marketing efforts on a manageable amount of photographers.

We don’t currently have any plans to expand the website further than the UK but we do have some pretty exciting features to add to the site in the near future, keep your eye on the blog for details.

Photography Credit: Debs Ivelja Photography

Under the Spotlight – Wonderland Avenue

When I got engaged back in 2007, the first thing I started searching for (well, apart from the dress!) was a wedding photographer. Now back then there were no wedding blogs in the UK to guide me and the task was a very daunting one! I had no idea where to start and in the end I found our photographer's in a wedding magazine. But you know what? Not all great photographers can (or know how to) get into wedding magazines...especially maybe newer, more budget-friendly shooters. However fret not - nowadays you lucky brides have a plethora of blogs and online services devoted to showcasing new as well as established wedding photographic talent - helping you find the perfect photographer to capture your day. In my opinion, one of the best services I've come across devoted to wedding photographer searches is the UK based, Wonderland Avenue. I'm totally convinced that your'e going to love their site and utterly adore what they have to offer. If you don't find the perfect photographer for you here, I'll eat my (pink) hat!

Continue reading...

February 4, 2011

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