Wedding album design

Last week and this week will see most of my time taken up with album design as three of my newly weds have finished selecting their photographs for inclusion in their album. Leigh-ann and Jonathan’s wedding was in December last year emailed through their selection last Monday. Just as I was working on their last page I received Louise and Alan’s selection list, who were married back in September 2009. And then right at the end of week in came Fiona and Keith’s wedding choices.

At my pre-wedding consultation I have a chat with the couple about album design and styles and preferences to give me feel for what and how they would like their album to look. Every album I design is exclusive and bespoke to each couple and is designed around their photographs not the other way round. This is one reason I enjoy exhibiting at wedding fairs and shows as my albums are so different from most wedding photographers in Edinburgh and elsewhere throughout the country. Once I’ve done an initial design I send out proofs to the couple and we can discuss any amendments or alterations. I do like to get my initial design as close to what they will want as possible, hence the importance of the pre-wedding discussion, as this of course saves time for both them and myself as the changes are going to be small and minor.

Both Fiona and Keith together with Louise and Alan have opted for a medium size Coffee Table Book. This is 8x6 inches which opens out to a 12x8 double page spread. Leigh-ann and Jonathan chose my Deluxe Image Book album which has forty 12x12 pages which takes 100 photographs. This particular album is the one featured in Package 2 on the wedding prices page of my website.

With Coffee Table Books the images can be spread across spine of the book giving a full bleed double page spread, either using a single photograph or a multi image layout. The first photograph posted here is from Louise and Alan’s book. As you can see this will be a double page spread with three inserts. I don’t want the page crease in the middle cutting through the bride or groom so I’ve positioned the main image carefully so it will run between Louise and Alan’s heads so they will both sit nicely either side. The second photo is from Leigh-ann and Jonathan’s album to give you a chance to compare the two. As you can see with this style album each page is individual so there is no double page spreads, but being a 12x12 square gives the Image Book a traditional wedding album feel but with modern storybook style pages.

What I really enjoy with album design is not only creating beautiful pages but also employing personal touches that make the design exclusive to each wedding and for each couple. I’ve illustrated this with the next two pictures. The double page spread with the pink swirl background is one of the pages created for Lucie and Ryan and with this design we wanted a punchy, vibrant, almost jazzy look. However, by contrast the next photo is of two pages from Alyson and Duncan’s wedding album which had softer and more neutral backgrounds. If you look closely though you can see the personal touches in that the background of the left hand page has been colour matched to the bridesmaids dress and the guys cravats. Likewise the photographs on the right hand page have matching borders to them.

Depending on the setting I can often use an image from the wedding has a page back ground too. The two posted photos from Melville Castle weddings have used the castle itself has a page backdrop. Both these albums are Coffee Table Books so the background photo is given a large full bleed double spread page which looks particularly impressive with or without insets. The black and white photo of the castle is actually an example from one of the albums the castle has out on display and its easy to see how the left hand page is predominantly the castle itself and then the three groomsmen photographs all have their own page but still using the overlap from the image of the castle to spread the background across and behind.

The final photo I’ve posted is the last two pages of Fiona and Keith’s album. Photographs of the first dance are always very atmospheric as the main lights are brought down low and the disco lights come on in place of them. I very often make these pages dark or jet black as it complements the mood and ambience of the images.

I mentioned pre-wedding consultations above and I’ve had a couple of those this week, too. The first was with Gemma and Michael who are getting married in Edinburgh in three weeks and the second with Julie-ann and Allan whose wedding is through in Oban on the west coast of Scotland next month. Both couples have chosen Deluxe Image Books as their wedding albums so maybe I’ve whetted their appetite by talking a little about them today lol.

Photo Noir

Photo Noir is one of my favourite portrait sessions. The images are simply classic and timeless and everyone falls in love with them. The basic concept is that it is black on black. I ask the subject to wear black clothing and we shoot against a pure black background and then process the photographs as black and white.

I work as I do with my wedding photography, nice and relaxed and using flow posing techniques that puts people at ease and makes them feel comfortable in front of the camera. This enables us to shoot several different photographs very smoothly and in a sequence so the subject moves naturally from one pose to another. I’ve always worked like this from the very first wedding I photographed and its probably the core ingredient in achieving my natural, relaxed images that most people book me for.

Of course, a portrait session like this differs from a wedding in that you don’t get any informal, reportage style photographs, or 'lifestyle' as they are known in the photography world. It is more fashion based, which is why I think everyone loves it. The objective is for cool, almost designer images.

But here’s the thing about all the images you see here. They were all taken in a small living room! I have a collapsible background system that I set up in one corner and then two portable lighting units either side. I even had space to hook up to a laptop so we could all see the photographs while I was taking them, which was great fun for Stephen.

Once the client has chosen their photographs from the session we have them framed in classic black with striking snow white, black inlayed mounts. They really are stunning! I also offer an exclusive Photo Noir image book album of all the pictures from the session too. Again this matches the black on black theme and showcases the photographs beautifully.

Wedding photography in Scotland really kicks off next month so for the remainder of this month I have more meetings with brides and grooms than what I have weddings to photograph. As you’ll have gathered from my last blog spring and autumn are the busiest times for wedding planning so most of my pre-wedding consultations take place during these months. I’ve also done a few changes to my .Edinburgh Wedding Photographer website. I’ve slightly tweaked the home page and also put my new wedding packages and prices up for 2011. I have several thank you comments on my wedding testimonials page but I’ve moved one of these onto the home page too so that it may connect with new brides and grooms visiting my site for the first time.

On a non wedding related note I received a few orders this last week for my Cuillins from Strome Castle print (click the link if you wish to see it). This is my biggest selling commercial print. I no longer promote my commercial work as my heart and enjoyment is totally wrapped in wedding photography, although I’ll undertake anything if the price is right ;) I still however occasionally get the odd magazine commission from publications I’ve worked with in the past and Edinburgh Arts still sell my range of fine art prints from many outlets and galleries throughout Scotland. I also have folks who prefer to buy directly from me, as was the case this week. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of seeing my work published in a host of magazine and books, covering a broad range of my work from commercial and fashion shoots to landscapes. But for some reason this particular photograph has been the most popular. It has appeared in more magazines and books than any of my other photographs and outsold all my other pictures by four to one, which makes the royalties payment at the end of each year rather nice! lol

Wedding planning and photography

2011 looks set to be another busy year for weddings going by the level of enquiries and meetings I have coming in and being arranged. I had consultations with five couples this week currently planning weddings for next year, and out of the six couples I’d met up with last week four of those had dates for the summer of 2011. It’s nice meeting up with brides and grooms and discussing their wedding plans well in advance.

As well as discussing the wedding photography I’m also happy to assist with anything else if I possibly can. Probably the most oft requested advice is for other wedding vendors. Like most wedding photographers in Edinburgh I have a number of contacts with suppliers I’ve worked with many times before and would happily recommend knowing they provide good quality products and just as importantly excellent personal service.

Three of the five couples I met with this week have booked me for their wedding photography and the remaining two will make a decision by the weekend. One of the things I always enjoy observing as couples browse through my sample albums is how interested they are in each and every wedding. Of course, they pick up idea’s for their own wedding as they see the different dresses, colour schemes, accessories and trimmings of recent weddings. This is one reason I like to keep my sample albums up to date with fresh weddings, so the photographs are very current. Although I have very extensive wedding galleries on my website featuring complete real life weddings there is nothing like seeing a beautiful wedding album or Storybook! The images just leap off the pages and you’re able to see their outstanding quality far more thoroughly than when viewing on a computer monitor.

Photography is of course the main topic of conversation. I always listen carefully to each couple as every wedding is different and its important to me to photograph the wedding exactly as the bride and groom wish. We discuss all the fundamentals from style of photographs through to wedding package and pricing options and I’ll then custom quote a bespoke package tailored to fit. I’m always happy to provide contact details of recent brides whose wedding I’ve photographed for a reference, but I find that the majority of the time my work speaks for itself. I do however keep the wedding testimonials page of my website up to date with comments from recent Thank You cards.

It seems everyone is also fascinated by the plethora of different venue’s in Scotland, too. I have been fortunate to photograph weddings all over Scotland and the North of England in some of the countries most magnificent and beautiful venue’s. Many of these have ended up being featured in magazines and brochures. There’s a couple of photographs shown here that some may recognize. The little shop that you see Sharon and David standing beside was used for many years in the famous Scottish soap 'Take the High Road'. Sharon and David were married at the Lodge on Loch Lomond, and as well as having pictures taken alongside the famous loch we of course had to pause for a shot of them by Glendarroch village store.

Tracey and Mark were married in St Margaret’s Chapel in Edinburgh Castle. Not only one of the smallest chapels in Edinburgh but also the oldest surviving building in the Scottish capital dating back to 1130AD. Looking at their photo you may wonder how that many people managed to fit inside? Well the answer is they didn’t! Most of them are tourists who were so thrilled at seeing a wedding in Edinburgh Castle they tagged along with the bridal party as we moved from the Chapel across to the gardens for photographs. I lost count of the amount of times Tracey was stopped by tourists and asked if they could have a photograph taken standing alongside her, lol.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is another historically important building in Edinburgh with magnificent characteristics and splendour. It sits quietly in an ill frequented street and from its outward appearance you would never guess how splendid it is on the inside. Every time someone see’s my photographs from weddings held here they are amazed when I tell them they are from that unobtrusive church in Lauriston Street! Beautiful gardens and grounds are always popular with any wedding venue. Not only making for great backgrounds but as I take newly weds for a stroll around them I’ll take candid photographs as we walk between locations catching them naturally and informally like the example of Wendy and David in the first image.

This weekend I’m down in the north east of England as I also provide wedding photography in Newcastle. I have a few consultations and a Photo Noir session on the Saturday afternoon. Check back next week for the photos.

Dalhousie Castle, Brigitte and Peter's wedding

I usually photograph three or four weddings a year at Dalhousie Castle and my first one for 2010 was Brigitte and Peter’s. We met up about four weeks before the wedding day at Dalhousie for a chat and a look around the castle. Having worked here so many times over the years I’m familiar with all its nooks and crannies and how it looks in different conditions. Brigitte and Peter particularly wanted to utilise the castle as a backdrop for their group shots and they’d suggested using either the north or the west facing side of the castle. However, from experience I know that the north facing side, which is where the main entrance is, will get blocked off with visitors cars which will spoil the castles backdrop and as their ceremony was 2pm the west face of the castle would be facing the sun which would cause everyone to be squinting. So I took them for a short walk to the opposite side and showed them how the east facing view of the castle would make for an ideal back ground. I took a couple of tests shots of the two of them and let them see on the back of the camera and they immediately agreed it would be ideal. You can see further down this post how well this worked on the day from the group photograph shown.

I was booked to start half an hour before the ceremony through to the wedding breakfast line up. As usual with this level of attendance I start off by finding the groom and his bestman and ushers and do a few quick pre-ceremony combinations. The first image shown here is Peter and his bestman and two ushers in front of the castle. I plan to use this shot as full page spread in the wedding album and I’ll use a close up colour portrait I took of Peter by the Castle doors as an inset in the sky on the top left of the picture, which is why I’ve converted this image into a magazine style black and white so the colour shot of Peter will be an ideal complement and set the page off perfectly.

About fifteen minutes before the ceremony I went up to Brigitte’s room where she was getting ready with her three bridesmaids. I got some pre ceremony bridal portraits of Brigitte using the nice window light in her room and then we took her out onto the balcony for some quick three quarter and full length shots. Brigitte also wanted me to do a shoe fashion shoot, too, lol.

The ceremony was nice and relaxed with a mix of happiness, laughter as well as the all important elements, the vows, declarations, ring exchange and first kiss. The minister had allowed me to photograph during the ceremony providing I stayed in the bottom corner of the chapel and didn’t move, breathe or make any kind of noise, lol. Anyway, throughout the ceremony I was very much aware of the gorgeous light pouring in through the front chapel windows and how it would make a fantastic shot from behind the couple. Despite my ministerial restrictions I waited until the final hymn and decided to chance my luck. So creeping out of my corner and into the middle of the chapel I crouched down behind Brigitte and Peter and splayed the back of Brigitte‘s dress out and quickly took half a dozen different shots before the hymn ended. Fortunately I made it without any lightening bolts from heaven striking me down!

After some champers we did a Big Group shot outside the castle chapel and then took the family and bridal party around to the opposite side for the formals. It didn’t take very long to photograph the requests on Brigitte and Peter’s list, and I also threw in a couple of extra’s too. Then the family went back inside for more drinks and I took the newly weds for a walk around the castle grounds and we did a contemporary mix of romantic, fun and classic wedding photographs. When we got back to the castle I grabbed a couple of photos beneath the dramatic ceiling of the castle foyer just before the line up was organised.

Dalhousie Castle is popular with Edinburgh wedding photographers as it provides some gorgeous backdrops both inside and outside in addition to having beautiful grounds too. With Peter and Brigitte as we moved from one location to the next I simply let them take the time out for a walk and a chat whilst photographing them with a telephoto lens from an unobtrusive distance. This gives a selection of totally natural, relaxed images to complement the shots that we also set up. The photograph here at the end is another one I set up with their album in mind. It’s a classic image in its own right but it also has free space on the top left hand side for a small vertical inset and the bottom right hand side for a horizontal inset.

At the moment I have another two weddings at Dalhousie Castle booked for this summer so I’ll look forward to them coming up in a few months. This coming weekend I am down in Newcastle so I’ll tell you more about that another time. Although the vast majority of my work is as a wedding and portrait photographer, I still keep my hand in with other work too, both commercial and editorial. Next week I have the feature article in The People’s Friend magazine. They sent me to one of the most remote, far flung corners of Scotland to do a feature on the Bealach na Ba, the highest minor road in Britain. If you manage to find a copy, which is often hard as it has a readership of well over a million, you can find out how I got on.

As usual may I finish with my usual advert (c’mon it is my blog afterall! lol) if you are currently planning a wedding anywhere in Scotland or the north of England and wanting superb wedding photography then check out either of the following websites for more details and sample galleries: Edinburgh Wedding Photographer - Newcastle Wedding Photographer - Wedding Photographer Scotland.