Wedding albums & wedding fairs

Spring wedding fair season is now upon us keeping all of us professional Edinburgh wedding photographers busy. It’s a great opportunity to show off our albums and also chat with future brides and grooms about their wedding plan and idea’s. The first one for me is this Sunday at the Edinburgh Hilton Hotel and then I will be at Edinburgh’s largest wedding fair which is at the Corn Exchange beginning of March.
One thing I’ve learned as wedding photographer in Edinburgh is that you have to select which wedding fairs to exhibit at carefully. It’s impossible to do all of them even though it might be flattering to be invited. But so of them work and some don’t and some simply do not have the right atmosphere.

Its important when exhibiting at wedding fairs that as photographers we show real life weddings albums. It is quite common amongst part time wedding togs, or other photographers who don’t feel their full set of weddings photographs are too impressive, to use compilations albums. These are a mixture of photographs from several different weddings. If a photographer has photographed a number of weddings, even if he’s not too confident with his style and consistency, he can pick three or four of the best photographs from some of his weddings in order to fill an album. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps okay to have one compilationalbum if you want to say showcase your best award winning images, but the majority of albums you show to prospective clients really should be real life wedding albums to give an honest, genuine insight into the quality of your work and of course your photographic style. I am a great believer in letting the photographs speak for themselves.
Probably because I’m not much of a slick salesman, lol. But it’s really nice when couples tell me that as soon as they saw my work they knew I was the photographer for them!

I do a full range of weddings album from Traditional albums through to the latest Storybooks. One of my most popular albums is my Deluxe Image Book which sits in-between the two having a traditional wedding album look and feel but with Storybook style pages.
The vast majority of wedding photographers use popular template software to design their wedding albums. If you have visited some of the larger wedding fairs you may have noticed that many of the albums from different photographers do all look very much the same. If couples like the look and style of these then I am more than happy to do this for them, but I also like to do bespoke designed albums which are exclusive to each wedding. These are designed from a complete blank canvas and created with no templates at all, so it really is a case of creating something unique and special to each couple.

The albums come in all different shapes, sizes, looks and finishes so we are able to show quite a large product range at a wedding fair. It is also good to keep your sample albums up to date with recent weddings which is something I’ve been doing the last few weeks in preparation for the spring. I’m posting pictures of a few album pages from recent weddings I photographed last year and also a couple of my long time favourites.

I’m down the mine this Saturday as well for Claire and Stuart’s wedding. That’s the Scottish Mining Museum on the edge of Edinburgh. Claire’s father used to work in the mines here so she’s allowed to go down to the coal face for photographs. So we’ll really get something different! Hope I can clean all the coal off me in time for the Sunday wedding fair, lol.

As well as wedding fairs I’m doing quite a lot of portrait sessions at the moment, too. This is a nice off shoot from wedding photography, particularly at this time of year when the wedding season has yet to kick off fully. Many of these are clients who’s wedding I’ve photographed or perhaps family and friends so its nice to do some portrait work with them. I picked up a 'Silver' Award in the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) a few months ago in the Children’s category so I didn’t think that was bad going for a wedding specialist, lol.

Anyway, if you currently planning a wedding, or want to book a portrait session, come along on Sunday to Hilton in Grosvenor Street and we’ll fix something up. Complimentary drinks and canapés throughout the afternoon too together with performances from the Rose Street Quartet.

Adverts, wedding recces and other stuff

Well I can’t believe its coming up to the end of January! And, yes, I’m behind on my blogging already! Some things never change eh? lol Normally January is rather a quiet month for Edinburgh wedding photographers but this year it seems I’ve never stopped. Which of course I’m delighted about!
I’ve been running several portrait promotions and they’ve proved to be very popular. I’ve also been designing and updating my marketing and advertising as well as samples and albums.

January is usually the month for this as it’s a quiet month for weddings and gives the opportunity of getting everything spruced up for the spring wedding fair season which generally kicks off towards the end of February. There is of course a great many wedding photographers in Edinburgh so one of the things you are trying to do is make your adverts stand out and get your name out there as prominently as possible (like as in the New York picture, lol). I am in the fortunate position where most of my work comes from word of mouth and referrals, but of course advertising is important not just in attracting new clients but reminding the family and friends of previous and current clients that you are still around and available for them as well as giving folks the opportunity to see my range of albums and wedding books.

I will be at several wedding fairs in the spring starting with The Hilton Edinburgh on February 20th. I’ll tell you more about the others nearer the time. In the autumn I was the only the Edinburgh wedding photographer exhibiting at the Hilton but for this event I’ve also brought in an additional photographer just so we don’t disappoint visitors who’s wedding date is one that I’m already booked for.

I’ve also been doing a few wedding venue check’s too this month (there’s another excuse for my blogging tardiness) or as we togs prefer to call them “recce’s”. A couple of days ago I went down a mine for a wedding I have in February. Claire and Stuart’s wedding is on the 19th and they
have permission to go down the mine for photographs providing it’s okay with their photographer. Well, their photographer is me so of course it’s okay! lol Anyway I met up with Claire last Thursday and we went down to the coal face to check it out. Watch out for the photos next month.

I’ve also had two of my camera’s in for servicing this month as well. A very expensive business when you are a professional photographer. £280 is what I have to pay for one camera which includes a small repair. More than I paid for having my car serviced! Although pro camera’s are the price of cars these days so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Still don’t see why I shouldn’t be allowed to complain about it, lol. Anyway I’m all set and raring to go so if you know anyone looking for a wedding photographer in Edinburgh who is happy to travel anywhere (except Budapest after watching this weeks Silent Witness lol) tell them to give me a call.

Christine and Gary's snowy wedding

Well when Christine and Gary booked me for their wedding back in January none of us imagined we were going to be doing a set of winter wonderland wedding photographs, but their wedding a fortnight ago was held amid the worst weather we have had in Scotland for a long, long time!
According to the news it was so bad that for the first time in history every single school in Edinburgh was closed at the same time. There certainly wasn’t going to be too many Edinburgh wedding photographers happy this week. I can imagine that the days running up to the wedding must have been rather worrying and stressful for both Christine and Gary and also their families. But as it happened we ended up with a glorious wedding and a fantastic set of photographs!

Because of the snow the church was rendered inaccessible so the ceremony was switched to Melville Castle.
Melville Castle itself had been virtually cut off for most of the week too but they brought a tractor come digger in on the Thursday to clear the driveway. It was also of great concern that I wouldn’t be able to get into Costa Coffee en route to the wedding, but the powers that be at Kinnaird Park arranged for the roads and car park to be cleared by tractor just in time enabling me to get in and pick up my cuppa as I drove over to Melville in the morning ;)

With the ceremony being moved to Melville Castle Christine was given a room there on the morning to get ready in which meant I could squeeze in a few pre-wedding shots of both Christine and her bridesmaids prior to going
through for the ceremony. I also did a quick session with Gary and the groomsmen too along the snow clad driveway and then a few different shots of Gary at the main entrance. The first picture posted here was one of my favourites with Gary and you can also see me (in the next pic) taking the shot too, courtesy of Christine’s sister, Jen, lol.

I got a series of images as Christine, father and bridesmaids came down the main staircase at Melville Castle on their way to the Ballroom for the ceremony. I always like to get a nice photograph of the bride with her father just before entering the ceremony room and coming down
the aisle, so as they descended I asked Christine and her father to pause briefly on the lower landing and I grabbed two nice shots before running ahead to take up position three quarters of the way down the aisle to photograph the procession.

For most of the ceremony I quietly worked in the corners of the room unobtrusively moving from one to the other to capture the facial expressions as we went through the declarations, vows and ring exchange. As the Ballroom is one of the grandest rooms at Melville Castle I always try to get a photograph right from the back at some point showing off the entire room with all the guests and families enjoying the ceremony. As I move around behind the couple
for this I take a second to silently straighten out the brides dress as it usually becomes bunched up from her walk down the aisle and the shot will look so much better if the dress is straightened and splayed out a touch over the red carpet. When I meet back up with couples after the wedding most of the brides say they didn’t notice me doing this and it’s not until seeing the photographs that they realise it. I always reply “Well you were kind of busy concentrating on something else at the time!” lol

Drinks and canapés were served in the hotel lobby following the ceremony, and after grabbing a quick shot of Gary and Christine chinking glasses I left them to mingle with their guests for a
few minutes while I cleared away the chairs and set up some lighting in the Ballroom for the group photographs. The Ballroom at Melville is perfect for group shots as it is so spacious and the light is fantastic! I use a couple of studio lights with shoot through umbrella’s which I have set to balance with the ambient light of the Ballroom. The large, ornate Ballroom windows all run along the south facing wall so if I didn’t balance out the lighting there would be a touch too much side light coming from the left handside, particularly at this time of year when the sun sets earlier in the afternoon.

When the group photographs were completed we went into the bride and groom session. Both Gary and Christine were keen to go outside for at least part of the time and get some photographs in the snow.
However, I started off with them inside the castle as I wanted to get the timing just right for outdoors. Despite being a very nice day it was still cold and I didn’t want them being outside for too long so I paced things to allow us to go outside just as the sun began to drop behind the tree line. The affect of the sun being so low in the sky was to cause a shimmering mist to ascend from the snow which gave me stunning backgrounds as it created an almost dry ice appearance rising dramatically behind them. There are two good examples shown here. In the photograph showing them walking along the snow clad track you can see how striking the angled sunlight is as it comes in from the right handside illuminating their faces and giving warmth and depth the image. The following shot is one of a sequence of head and shoulders where I asked them to look at me, then to look at each other and then to kiss. You can see the rising dry
ice affect I spoke of coming up from the snow and really giving them prominence and making them stand out from the background. Just as the sun was ready to touch the horizon I swung them around and moved in from the opposite side so the setting sun was directly behind their heads. This (the last photo) is my personal favourite image from their day. It is one from a set of four which also included them looking into camera as well.

Of course, the day didn’t end here. We also did the cake cutting, speeches, a few requests and then the first dance. So all in all, despite the concerns earlier in the week over the weather adversely affecting the wedding day it actually played a strong part in making the day more memorable and spectacular than any of us would have guessed back in January!

There are a lot of wedding photographers in Edinburgh, and indeed throughout the country, who decline to work the winter months because they say it gets dark too quickly and makes it too hard working in the difficult light conditions.
Well in my view they don’t know what they are missing out on. The shorter day light, winter months produce spectacular, atmospheric conditions that make for stunning photography and it is a delight to work at this time of year! There's certainly several photographs from this wedding that will make it into my portfolio! :)

Jenna and Michael, Melville Castle in the rain

Well wedding photographers in Edinburgh are currently enjoying some beautiful winter wonderland weddings.
I had one last Saturday at Melville Castle, which I will tell you about very soon, and another one coming this Saturday, again at Melville Castle. But just before the snow descended upon the Scotland I enjoyed working at Jenna and Michael’s wedding at Melville Castle. I know, they really should give me a room there! lol

I first met Jenna and Michael at a wedding fair at Melville Castle earlier
in the year. We had a chat about their wedding, looked through some of my Melville Castle wedding albums and books and they were happy to book me there and then. The time seems to have flown by since!

On the wedding day, although the snow hadn’t yet arrived in Edinburgh, we were in the middle of non stop dreaky rain.
My spell checker is trying it’s hardest to tell me there is no such word as 'dreaky' but I cant think of a more perfect word to describe the weather. Not only was it raining but the skies were a dull, dreakieeeee, yucky grey. When I arrived at Melville the rain actually took a mini break so I managed to grab a couple of minutes with Michael and the groomsmen outside at the main entrance. But we wouldn’t get back outside for any more photos.
I know rain on your wedding day is always one of the brides biggest fears but it is something I never really worry about as far as the photographs are concerned as I always have contingency plans for bad weather days.

All Edinburgh wedding photographers like working here but as Melville Castle’s most frequented photographer I’ve come to know all the little nooks and crannies that allow for great
images as well of course becoming familiar with the varying lighting conditions of all the grand rooms. Because I’m here so regularly as well as having done a lot of the photography for Melville Castle’s brochures, website and other marketing literature I know the managers and staff very well and I’m granted a lot of leeway other photographers probably aren’t.

As usual I had arrived early which gave me time to request the Hotel to allow me to do all the formal group shots in the Ballroom, which is where the ceremony was being held. The lighting in the Ballroom is superb, which you may remember from Natalie and Billy’s wedding a few months ago when it rained and I used the Ballroom for their group shots.
Once the ceremony was concluded the staff brought everyone out into the main lobby for drinks and canapes and started clearing the chairs from the Ballroom to allow me back in for the photographs.

For Jenna and Michael’s bride and groom session I did a few photographs of them around the main lobby after we’d finished the group photographs in the Ballroom. Melville Castle’s lobby is full of character and really does epitomize the history of this medieval stronghold with its huge ornate ceilings, hanging chandeliers and marble pillars. It’s no wonder Mary Queen of Scot’s enjoyed visiting so much! I worked with Michael and Jenna around the lobby using the fireplace, the luxurious leather chairs and the marble pillars as props, décor and backdrops to several different photographs before we headed right up to the top of staircase to finish off.

Jenna and Michael had also requested a Big Group photograph of all the guests. Normally a photographer will do this outside as he not only needs enough space to fit everyone in, but also a high vantage point in order to see everyone’s faces in the shot. At Melville Castle I usually do the Big Group in front of the fountain situated on the castle front lawn where I can shoot from the first floor Dining Room window. At Natalie and Billy’s wedding the rain actually cleared up later in the afternoon and permitted me to do this, but today it was quite apparent the rain wasn’t going to play ball so I did the shot in the Castle lobby and I hung over the staircase. I usually like to position the bride and groom centrally with their family close around them at the front. Its then easy enough to move the other friends into position around and behind them. I know a lot of wedding photographers try and steer away from doing a Big Group as they feel there is too much organised chaos with it. But to be honest I really like it as it isn’t particularly too hard getting everyone into place as long as you are nice and relaxed and friendly, and it really does make a great keepsake for the couple having a photograph with all their family and friends and guests together.

Jenna and Michael had booked me up until their wedding breakfast so we made this the last shot of the day which allowed everyone to then head straight up the stairs to the Dining Room to enjoy their meal.

Paula and Gordon Corstorphine Church

Busy time of the year just now for portrait sessions with the run up to crimbo as well as a frenzy of print orders which require delivery before xmas. I’ve had two more weddings
since I last blogged, a couple of days down in Newcastle meeting with couples getting married there next year and then the Masonic Ladies Festival at Melville Castle on Saturday. Also delivered Paula and Gordon’s wedding album a few days ago, too, so here’s a bit about how their day went...

Paula and Gordon got married in a Tardis like church in Corstorphine and then back to Houston House for the reception. I had never been inside the Old Corstorphine Parish church until the morning of the wedding day. A few weeks earlier I had been out to have a look at it and noted how small it was, however, on entering the church itself I was amazed at how elegant and grand it is on the inside, and how it is ten times bigger inside than out! I think the minister must go time travelling in it! lol
Anyway, not only did it have plenty of grandeur and character but also a tiny balcony that the minister allowed us access to which meant Diane could take photos from above whilst I remained down at floor level. As it happened when I received Paula and Gordon’s album photograph selection list Diane was delighted to see that from the ceremony they’d chosen nearly as many of her photographs as mine. Fortunately, she hasn’t yet asked for a raise. Phew! The minister was Moira McDonald who I have worked with on previous weddings at other venues and is easily the nicest Church of Scotland minister in Edinburgh. I hadn’t realised she was the minister here so it was a pleasant surprise to discover this was her church. As usual she took a really nice ceremony and I was able to capture some lovely relaxed, natural shots of Gordon and Paula as they went through their declarations, vows, ring exchange, etc.
I took a few wide shots too to show the impressive church interior.

A few years ago when I was more involved with editorial and commercial work I picked up regular commissions from Heritage magazine, Best of British, Scottish Memories and Choice magazine where I was sent around the country photographing some of our most famous historical Castles, Palaces and Stately Homes. From those assignments I learnt the importance of working with mixed and low light levels without destroying the striking atmosphere and ambience of these ancients buildings. Nowadays, whilst I am happy to photograph a wedding at any venue whatsoever, I think the reputation I established through my magazine work is one of the reasons such a lot of my wedding bookings are for Castles.
When their ceremony was concluded we headed off to Houston House where we’d arranged to do the formals. I grabbed a quick shot of the newly weds as they left the church, pausing them briefly at the church gates alongside their piper and then once more
besides their wedding car and then we were all off along the A8 to Houston House. As an Edinburgh wedding photographer I always enjoy Houston House as there’s so many great locations throughout the gardens for beautiful photographs.

Upon arrival at Houston House the family and guests enjoyed a
glass or two of champagne and then we ran through the family group shots. When these were finished we took Gordon and Paula for a stroll around the beautiful gardens. I set up a couple of shots under the magnificent oak tree initially then as we moved from their across to the old courtyard I ran ahead and photographed some completely natural images as they walked through the gardens just enjoying their first quiet time alone together after the ceremony.
Whilst my wedding photography style is predominantly photojournalistic with the bride and groom session being natural and relaxed I also took a few classic style portraits as I knew these would look elegant and beautiful in the traditional wedding album that Gordon and Paula had ordered. One of my favourites is the black and white photograph posted here, I just love the top and side lighting on this image. All three wedding speakers did a great job following the meal and we got a nice set of photographs, including Gordon’s Heart’s joke’ lol. Then we finished up with some informal pictures as the guests laughed and joked and finished off their drinks.

One of the many things I enjoy about my work is delivering the wedding album. I get an enormous amount of job satisfaction when the seeing the delight on my couples faces as they look through their album.
That’s why whenever possible I like to deliver the album personally. For couples who have come from afar and from oversea’s this is obviously not possible, but for everyone else it’s an absolute delight! I also received this week a beautiful Thank You card from Paula and Gordon so I have to say a 'thank you' back for the lovely comments. It has actually reminded me that I haven’t up dated my Testimonials for a while so over the holiday period I’m going to pull out my box of 2010 Thank You cards and update my webpage.

Gillian and Gary at Craighouse

A few weeks ago I was talking about the forthcoming changes at one of Edinburgh’s finest wedding venues, Craighouse. It’s owners, Napier University, have put it up for sale and it’s highly unlikely it will be used for weddings once sold. Edinburgh wedding photographers who have worked here will lose a very fine venue indeed as there are literally
scores of beautiful locations in and around the grounds for great wedding photographs. Now funnily enough at the Corn Exchange wedding fair last Saturday and Sunday our stand was right opposite Napier’s Craighouse stand and on the Sunday their marketing and sales manager came across to see me and asked me to come in for a meeting with a view to putting together a showcase wedding album for them.

Does this mean a reprieve for Craighouse? Sadly, no. But despite being up for sale it will continue to function as a wedding venue until 2013. Hence, the reason they are interested in updating their marketing materials and promotional images. Of course, I’m delighted they asked me to do this for them and looking forward to getting to work on it. On our way home from the wedding fair I was musing to Diane
why, out of all the wedding photographers in Edinburgh who have worked at Craighouse they picked me? I surmised that it must be due to meeting and seeing me in person throughout the wedding fair on the Sunday that they were impressed by my handsome good looks and charming personality. However, Diane informed me that no, it was because on the
Saturday she had shown them some photos from the last wedding we had photographed at Craighouse and they absolutely loved them! Hmm, I’m not sure whether to feel elated or disappointed, lol.

Anyway, the last wedding we photographed at Craighouse was Gillian and Gary’s just a few weeks ago. We had an absolutely amazing day and Gillian and Gary were superb to
work with! I started off doing some shots with Gary and groomsmen around the courtyard for a few minutes just before everyone was taken through to be seated for the ceremony followed by a couple of quick photographs of Gillian’s mother and two bridesmaids prior to Gillian and her father arriving. The wedding car was a beautiful vintage Jaguar and so as well as getting a picture of Gillian and her
father in the back of the car as it came to a stop I also posed them by the car for a couple of photos and then brought in the two bridesmaids and flower girl for a shot of them all by the car. I also paused father and bride at the main Craighouse entrance for a nice portrait too before running ahead and photographing the bridal party making their way up the staircase, along the corridors and then finally down
the aisle.

The rooms at Craighouse are so large there’s plenty of space for me to move around and get photographs from either side of the bride and groom throughout the ceremony. This is nice as it allows me to photograph both their faces as they say their vows and declarations to each other. There’s also a huge bay window right behind the celebrant which I can back into for wide angle shots. When it comes to signing the
register the bride and groom are often seated at a table in front of this window which makes for a nice variety of photographs, too.

Following the ceremony everyone took their drinks out onto the balcony that overlooks the south side of the city. Not only are there superb panoramic views across the city but also plenty of space for a Big Group shot, which I think I’ve done at every wedding I’ve photographed here. It’s also an ideal place for the
formal group photographs as well as you can place the groups in the shade of the building where the light is nice and soft. The wedding car had been booked to stay on for a little while after the ceremony so when we finished the formals I took Gary and Gillian down to the car for some photos before the driver finished up for the day.

For the bride and groom session we made the most of Craighouse’s beautiful marble
staircase. We did a few classic poses at the foot of the stairs, which will look gorgeous in the elegant traditional wedding album Gillian and Gary have ordered, and then some more relaxed informal and fun shots around the courtyard before taking a short walk down to the small row of trees further down the drive. I really love it here as I can move around and change my backgrounds and angles creating a great
variety of images literally within a few seconds. We did a mix of fun, romantic and contemporary photographs and also made the most of the blustery wind, lol.

Following the meal we had the speeches. Lots of great photographs here. Especially with five speakers. Yes that’s right. Father of the bride, Gary, two bestmen and then a few words from Gillian herself who also had a special presentation for Gary
of a Gold, Olympic style medal, with the words “For having the Patience of a Saint. With Love, your wife” engraved on the back.

Everyone ambled back through to the balcony and the Queens Room afterwards for a few drinks and laughter before we were all back into the Turmeau Hall for the cutting of the cake which then lead into the first dance. All in all another fantastic Craighouse wedding! Hopefully I’ll get a few more here before it gets sold.

Melville Castle weddings, fairs and weddings

Well as usual I’m dropping behind on my blogging lol. We’re right in the middle of wedding fair season so together with photographing weddings and working on album designs things are pretty busy, which I like :) So that’s my excuse regarding the blog anyway!

The day after Zena and Scott’s wedding I was at Melville Castle’s wedding fair, followed by Ravelston House Hotel and Debenhams the week after. And then it’s the big one for Edinburgh at the Corn Exchange this Saturday and Sunday. As Debenhams and Ravelston House were on the same afternoon Diane and myself split up and she did Debenhams while I went to Ravelston House. Both of these were slightly smaller than Melville Castle’s and therefore not quite as busy.

I have to say a big thank you to everyone who came to see me at Melville Castle. Both old friends and new. I’m the only Edinburgh wedding photographer who is allowed to have display albums permanently out at Melville Castle so many couples who have visited Melville Castle looking for a wedding venue have had a good look through them and then seek me out for a chat about their own wedding photography. I was thrilled that so many had come through to the wedding fair especially to see me! I was right in the back corner of the pavilion this time, next to Robert McLaughlin. Along with myself Robert is also Melville Castle’s recommended photographer as based through in Glasgow he does a lot of work for their sister hotels, Airth Castle and Glenbervie. Despite being in the far corner I had plenty of new visitors coming over and chatting too and it really was a great afternoon!

It was nice to meet again with a number of couples who have already booked me for their wedding at Melville Castle and had come along to the wedding fair for another look around of their venue and make bookings with some of the other suppliers. One of these was Jenna who’s wedding is tomorrow at Melville Castle, so I’m looking forward to that very much! Many visitors were also wanting to hear all about how well Zena’s wedding had gone the day before, too and I will be sure to pass on to her all your kind comments and interest. I must also say thank you to Gillian and Paul, Karen and Norman and Lisa and Richard for booking me on the day too.

The two photographs posted here I used as display prints at the wedding fair. One is actually used by Melville Castle for the front cover of their brochure and you may also have noticed on the large banner advertising the wedding fair. I’ve done an infrared black and white conversion to the original colour version which I think gives it a bit extra impact. The other image is one that has now become my most requested Melville Castle wedding photograph after I first did this shot at Liz and Bruce’s wedding three years ago. Because it is so timeless it’s the kind of photograph that will never become dated. And yes, Jenna and Michael want this shot tomorrow too, lol.

If you are planning on coming along to the Corn Exchange at the weekend Diane will be on our stand Saturday and then we’ll both there on the Sunday. I’m not the only Edinburgh wedding photographer exhibiting so you’ll get chance to compare albums and wedding books against other wedding photographers and decide which of us you’d like to entrust with the photography of your un-repeatable day.