During the month of May
Edinburgh Brides Wedding Guide ran a competition for a free Engagement Photo Shoot with Philip Hawkins Photography. It proved to be very popular attracting thousands of entries (err, well, hundreds anyway! lol) and at the end of the month the winner was drawn from the hat and it was won by Pauline Fairweather and her fiance Paul.
Melville Castle hotel had very kindly offered to host the shoot and so on the 10th June I arrived in good time to be handed the keys to the castle from the caretaker. As you probably are aware from previous blogs
Melville Castle is now back open as an exclusive venue for weddings and events so if you are currently planning a wedding or other important occasion or event and looking for a stunning venue give them a call and they will be happy to show you round and discuss your requirements.
Having photographed more
weddings at Melville Castle than any other
Edinburgh wedding photographer I am of course familiar with all the nooks and crannies and best locations for photographs. The weather on this Sunday afternoon was not the best in the world so I did most of the photography inside the castle.
The Ante room adjacent to the large Ballroom has always been a favourite of mine so I started in there positioning Pauline and Paul in the huge ornate window. This is a lovely position as it allows me to first of all take a wide angle shot showing off the whole window with its gorgeous golden drapes (that’s posh for curtains! lol) and then to move in for some close ups. I was using mobile studio lights which I adore as they are so versatile and allow for great creativity.
I approach Engagement shoots in a very similar way to a bride and groom session on the wedding day. I don’t go in for over posing but instead like to produce natural, relaxed photographs where the couple look comfortable, natural and stylish. The use of lighting, as with any kind of photography, is key. I like to make the most of the ambient light but also to balance it with the studio lighting as well. When you get this combination right it really can produce very striking images. Take a look at a couple of examples (don't forget you can click any image to open up a larger gallery style viewer for seeing the photo spreads better)...
In the two full length shots (shown in spreads two and four) taken at the top of the staircase there is a huge window on the left hand side giving sufficient natural light for some very nice portraits. But see how the addition of a studio light on to the opposite side transforms the shot and gives it more impact. Firstly, it helps balance the light falling onto the faces but also see how I’ve managed to throw a shadow of the pillar onto the back wall behind the couple to give a dramatic backdrop to the image. Try and imagine the shot without the shadow of the pillar and you can see how whilst it would still look quite pleasant it has no where near the same impact.
If you look at the head and shoulders photograph in spread three which is taken from exactly the same position, you can see how the lighting has been manipulated once again to give the shot some bite. There is still natural light coming in from the left hand window but the studio lighting has been moved in closer and at approximately 45% degrees to Paul and Pauline. With this set up the lighting can be used to sculpt the faces which has the affect of enhancing the texture, slimming and adding in some shine hence ensuring the couple look flattering, attractive and fashionable.
You can see the same effect in the last photograph which is the one Pauline and Paul have selected from their shoot to go into their wedding signature mount. On all Engagement shoots I do a variety of poses, styles and photographs and the couple then choose their favourite which I have printed and mounted into the extra wide wedding mount which goes on display on the wedding day and all the guests can sign and leave messages around the edge. They can of course choose to purchase any of the other photographs as prints, canvases or even have the entire collection made up into an Engagement Book album.
Pauline and Paul’s Engagement shoot lasted around 40 minutes, which is fairly typical, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time ending up with just under thirty different photographs. As I am already booked for a wedding on their date I will not be able to photograph their wedding but it was a pleasure to do their
Edinburgh Brides Wedding Guide Prize shoot and I wish them all the very best on their wedding plans. I am sure they will have a fantastic day! If you are a couple looking for a
wedding photographer in Edinburgh or anywhere in Scotland and are interested in an Engagement Shoot please get in touch. If you are a couple looking for a wedding photographer but
not interested in an Engagement shoot then please get in touch too! lol
Melville Castle hotel had very kindly offered to host the shoot and so on the 10th June I arrived in good time to be handed the keys to the castle from the caretaker. As you probably are aware from previous blogs Melville Castle is now back open as an exclusive venue for weddings and events so if you are currently planning a wedding or other important occasion or event and looking for a stunning venue give them a call and they will be happy to show you round and discuss your requirements.
Having photographed more weddings at Melville Castle than any other Edinburgh wedding photographer I am of course familiar with all the nooks and crannies and best locations for photographs. The weather on this Sunday afternoon was not the best in the world so I did most of the photography inside the castle.
The Ante room adjacent to the large Ballroom has always been a favourite of mine so I started in there positioning Pauline and Paul in the huge ornate window. This is a lovely position as it allows me to first of all take a wide angle shot showing off the whole window with its gorgeous golden drapes (that’s posh for curtains! lol) and then to move in for some close ups. I was using mobile studio lights which I adore as they are so versatile and allow for great creativity.
I approach Engagement shoots in a very similar way to a bride and groom session on the wedding day. I don’t go in for over posing but instead like to produce natural, relaxed photographs where the couple look comfortable, natural and stylish. The use of lighting, as with any kind of photography, is key. I like to make the most of the ambient light but also to balance it with the studio lighting as well. When you get this combination right it really can produce very striking images. Take a look at a couple of examples (don't forget you can click any image to open up a larger gallery style viewer for seeing the photo spreads better)...
In the two full length shots (shown in spreads two and four) taken at the top of the staircase there is a huge window on the left hand side giving sufficient natural light for some very nice portraits. But see how the addition of a studio light on to the opposite side transforms the shot and gives it more impact. Firstly, it helps balance the light falling onto the faces but also see how I’ve managed to throw a shadow of the pillar onto the back wall behind the couple to give a dramatic backdrop to the image. Try and imagine the shot without the shadow of the pillar and you can see how whilst it would still look quite pleasant it has no where near the same impact.
If you look at the head and shoulders photograph in spread three which is taken from exactly the same position, you can see how the lighting has been manipulated once again to give the shot some bite. There is still natural light coming in from the left hand window but the studio lighting has been moved in closer and at approximately 45% degrees to Paul and Pauline. With this set up the lighting can be used to sculpt the faces which has the affect of enhancing the texture, slimming and adding in some shine hence ensuring the couple look flattering, attractive and fashionable.
You can see the same effect in the last photograph which is the one Pauline and Paul have selected from their shoot to go into their wedding signature mount. On all Engagement shoots I do a variety of poses, styles and photographs and the couple then choose their favourite which I have printed and mounted into the extra wide wedding mount which goes on display on the wedding day and all the guests can sign and leave messages around the edge. They can of course choose to purchase any of the other photographs as prints, canvases or even have the entire collection made up into an Engagement Book album.
Pauline and Paul’s Engagement shoot lasted around 40 minutes, which is fairly typical, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time ending up with just under thirty different photographs. As I am already booked for a wedding on their date I will not be able to photograph their wedding but it was a pleasure to do their Edinburgh Brides Wedding Guide Prize shoot and I wish them all the very best on their wedding plans. I am sure they will have a fantastic day! If you are a couple looking for a wedding photographer in Edinburgh or anywhere in Scotland and are interested in an Engagement Shoot please get in touch. If you are a couple looking for a wedding photographer but not interested in an Engagement shoot then please get in touch too! lol
0 comments:
Post a Comment