When I go back in the evening I want to take fridge magnets with me. I also like to take a framed enlargement but with this wedding I just had time to take the magnets.
This photo is a variation on one from yesterday. There were cars parked at the front of the building and I didn't want them to be seen. Yesterday they were cropped out of the picture. Today I knelt down and hid them with the wedding car.
Rain affected yesterday's wedding. Fortunately we still managed to get photos like these and most of the photos went to plan. Alright it was too wet to walk on the grass with stilettos - so I am told, but both of these photos were taken simply by the bride and groom turning around.
We had really nice weather for this pre-wedding meeting. You can just see a small amount of cloud which is just the way I like it. It gives interest to the sky.
I like to place two photos side by side making each of the photos 4"x 3" if they are printed out as 6"x 4"s. One of the photos says thank you and it is fairly easy to cut them in half, stick them on the front and back of a folder piece of A5 card and then write something on the inside of the card.
This is the same photo as a colour and a sepia version. If you look closely, just between the bride and groom is the venue for the reception. You may just be able to recognise it from the photos earlier this week, but regardless of whether you do this makes it particularly fitting for their background.
These manipulations are fairly easy. For once the blur is genuine. As I am taking the photo very close to the subject then there is a small depth of field. This means that there is less of the photo in focus. I always find it better to take a photo in focus and amend it on the computer as per the photos in yesterday's blog, but no such manipulation was needed today.
I have a few photos that I like to manipulate on the computer. If I like any photograph I tend to convert it to monochrome or maybe sepia. On the left you can see what happens if you leave part of the photo in focus. I often use this technique for the first dance but here is an example of keeping the ring in focus.
On the left is a variation
on the photos from yesterday. Even though it is a much tighter cropping you know that the car is still there as well as the Midland Hotel. On the right the car is more prominent. Look a little closer and you will see the church in the background.
At last week's wedding I was really pleased with the support from the hotel at Bowness because they drove me with the bride and groom to the lake. This week I want to say that the driver was really helpful. He would have taken us anywhere (I was following in my car this week).
For the last two photos from last Saturday I have chosen two high contrast photos. It is an unusual technique which I think works well for these two photos. It doesn't work well for every photo and not everyone will agree with me that it works at all. The point is that it is up to the bride and groom to decide whether they like the technique. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
These are the photos that I meant to include in yesterday's blog. When I like a photo you can tell that I do because I give variations such as monochrome and sepia. I commonly place a white vignette around the sepia version and less commonly I separate the flowers and keep them in colour.
I mentioned set poses yesterday and I do give some guidance as to how the bride and groom should stand, but the main emphasis of the photo should be the expressions and I can't give much guidance as to how they should smile.
Following on from yesterday's blog we took a few steps to the end of a jetty for our next set of photos. It is hard to believe that we are in the busy centre of Bowness by looking at this photo. The bride was slightly concerned that her dress may touch the water. It just shows how how much water we have during this hosepipe ban.
I am often writing about recognising where you get married. This is Windermere, the largest of the lakes in the Lake District and a very popular destination for visitors so there is a good chance that you will recognise it. This couple didn't get married by the lake but I was very pleased that someone from the hotel drove us to the lake.
If you know a building then it is easy to identify. It is much easier if you have a name telling you. On the left you see the name. On the right it is still there but not as prominent.
At the pre-wedding meeting we walked to the main road where you see the sign for the venue. There is no doubting where you are when it is in the photo in black and white. We didn't step onto the grass, but for the sake of a few more seconds we managed to get quite a few more backgrounds.
After yesteday's semi-posed photos, today's are more typical of the type of photo that I would put in a fridge magnet or enlarge and give as a present on the evening.
I was fortunate enough to be taking photographs in east Lancashire yesterday. I would normally go back to take photos at the evening reception and take with me some fridge magnets and an enlargement. However yesterday I didn't get back because I didn't get home. The bride and groom will get their 'surprise' gifts but it will be when they pick up their photos.
On Saturday I went to my second wedding reception held in a marquee. I have been to a couple of evening receptions in marquees and they are really useful if location is important to the bride and groom. As for the photography it was easy to take photos inside because it was so light.
This pre-wedding meeting was only a few days ago and the wedding was on Saturday. This particular photo is from an almost identical position as that shown in the blog from Friday, so the couple were expecting to have their photo taken like this.
This is a photo that really has to be taken if you get married at the Ashton Memorial. The trouble is we don't always get nice weather in Lancaster. It had been raining heavily before the wedding and there was even light rain falling at times while we were in the park.
These photos are from yesterday's wedding. I haven't had chance to look through all the photos properly but I glance through them to see which photo I should enlarge and take back to the evening reception as my present. I chose the photo on the left.
This pre-wedding meeting was like others in that we were looking for a background for the main group photos and we wanted to look at backgrounds for smaller groups.
This was the first time that I had been to Sawley Abbey. The lawns are kept really well and when you look at these photographs the lawn takes up quite a proportion of the whole picture. It may be a third of this photo, but there are one or two weeds. Look on the right and they have gone.
It is often the case that I can walk around a bride and groom and find four different backgrounds. I like efficiency and if I can get four great photos in a few seconds then I will. It is the same with poses. If a slight change in pose brings out a different expression then it is worth doing.
