Wedding Photobooks

Now that many couples opt to have digital delivery of their wedding photos, what to do with their images? Although it's nice to see them on screen it's not the easiest way to share them with friends and family and photos were meant to be printed. An economical way to do this is with a photobook and I put my one together as a portfolio to show clients and also to see how easy it was myself. The company I used was Albelli and the whole process was a doddle taking just an evening. The nice thing is that the software allows you to view your efforts as a virtual book and you can chop and change any number of times until you are happy with how it all fits together.

To see the finished article
Click Here

Wedding Insurance

Organising your wedding is probably the most complicated thing you will ever get involved in doing. So many different strands to untangle and weave together for a single day. Miraculously it usually goes off without a hitch but what if just one thing goes wrong? A safety net which will come to the rescue if your best made plans take a tumble is a wedding insurance policy. If your cake maker is closed down because of a salmonella outbreak or your riverside marquee is washed away in a flash flood help is just a phone call away.

What has this got to do with wedding photography? Well no professional wedding photographer wants to let you down but illness and accidents can happen and with many one man businesses there is no plan B. If they are unable to turn up then chances are they won't be able to find you a replacement  at short notice either. If, heaven forbid, they have run off with one of the bridesmaids from the last wedding they shot then their own professional indemnity insurance probably won't cover them either :-)

Having your own wedding insurance puts you in the driving seat if anything goes wrong, like the difference between third party and comprehensive. Finding a photographer at the last minute is likely to be more expensive, and most policies even pay out to reshoot if the originals get deleted.

A quick check around the net found wedding insurance policies for around £20 but with all things you get what you pay for, so check the small print and don't be afraid to ask questions.

My Card, Madam.

I just designed this little business card. If you saw one and did Google me, (even out of curiosity), I would be really grateful if you could leave a little comment saying where you saw it.

Engagement Portraits

Christmas and the New Year are popular times for popping the question. Engagement portrait sessions are all the rage in the USA but we are a bit more bashful here. As a New Year promotion I am offering to do an engagement session free of charge for two couples in the Exeter Area. Give me a call to book an appointment

Using an Online Printing Service like Redbubble

If you have a disc of your wedding photos you have endless possibilities for making your own prints. As well as conventional framed prints you can have an enlargement printed on a mounted canvas. When sending thankyou note to your guests it's a nice touch to choose one of your wedding photos and make a personalised card. Redbubble.com can provide a full range of print on demand sevices and have bases in UK, USA, and their home, Australia

I use Redbubble to market my art prints

Watch the Birdie

The best portraits usually have the subjects tooking directly at the camera. It's obvious really; how often have you heard someone describe how the eyes of a great portait painting seem to follow you around the room. What the old masters of art knew applies just as much to  photography. Unfortunately it's all too easy for the happy couple to be distracted by the sea of people milling around behind the official photographer. There will be faces you haven't seen for ages and cameras waved at you from all angles and it's easy for your attention to wander and the chances increase of having someone staring distractedly into space as the size of party being photographed gets bigger.

So concentrate on your wedding photographer to give him the best chance of capturing the perfect smile and look that will look back at you from your album for years to come.

Watch the Birdie!!!

Favourite Shots

When I got home after photographing a wedding just outside Exeter and started editing the files this one caught my eye.

I'd seen the reflection of the bride and groom chatting to another couple in a mirror beside the harpist and violinist providing the music during the champagne and canapes. The end picture came out as well as I had hoped and to improve the composition I cropped the original 3:2 to a square and the poor harpist ended up on the cutting room floor.

 The couple liked it as well and have had a black and white version framed to hang on the wall.

 The venue was Bishops Court at Clyst St Mary  which is a charming historic house with lots of nice architectural features which make good settings for wedding photographs.