Merry Christmas

Well, another year has flown by. It's been a lot of fun and I've had the pleasure of working with some really great people all year round. I'm off now to spend Christmas and New Year with my beautiful wife and two wonderful sons. I hope everyone has a great time this Christmas, relaxing and having fun with those who are most special to them. And I hope 2009 turns out to be a great year for all!

See you next year,

David

Hannah's Wonderful Portraits

I photographed Hannah during Elise's fortnight of work experience in October (you can view portraits of Elise in my post of 10 December). For this post, I'm featuring a small selection of images from the shoot. The main aim of the day was to give Elise chance to put into practice some of the things she'd learned during her time with me. But I didn't want to pass up the opportunity of taking some pictures myself. Hannah was a great model, very patient as Elise and I took our images. Here's one from the early part of the day, taken in Stockgrove Park:



That first shot shows off Hannah's amazingly blue eyes to great effect. Here's one with a much more urban feel:



Great lines in this image that draw you in to Hannah's eyes again:




Here's a nice shot, showing Elise at work with the camera - a bit of a moody pose from Hannah for this one:



A much happier looking shot, captured not in a field as it might at first appear but on a disused petrol forecourt of all places:



And finally a very relaxed image, taken towards the end of the day. My aim here was to mirror the colours in Hannah's top with the graffiti.

David

Sarah + Scott = Perfect Partners

Sarah and Scott's wedding at the weekend was a wonderful occasion. With a steely determination to ignore some of the year's worst weather, everyone had a great time. I started the day, as usual, with the bride as she got herself ready for the big day. I use the first part of the day to capture some of the details that will help couples to remember as much as possible about their day in years to come. This always includes a few shots featuring the bride's bouquet, and here's an example:



I suspect, however, that Sarah and Scott will have no need of an image of the bouquet to remember it by ... because having arrived at the church Sarah realised she'd left her bouquet at home. Brother-in-law Jeff was duly despatched back to the bride's parents' home to receover the offending flowers (hopefully dodging the speed cameras as he went) and so the bouquet took on superstar status even before most of the guests had seen it!

Before all that, though, there were portraits of Scott's stunning bride to take:



And, of course, images of Sarah's handsome groom to capture:



Once the ceremony got underway, it was conducted with excellent humour by David the vicar:



Another shot of the star of the show (oh, and I thought we'd put our bride and groom in this one, too):

You can't see it here, but this shot was taken in driving rain:

At the hotel, I asked Sarah and Scott to tell each other how much they love each other but with their eyes only - this always works a treat and, after the initial embarrased giggles have subsided, some deeply amorous expressions can be captured:

Best man AJ gave a sterling speech which, as can be seen here, was greatly enjoyed by the newly-weds:

Sarah and Scott had invited cover band The Blue Rinse to play at the reception, and they put on an excellent performance:

With the exception of the mad dash through my "confetti tunnel of lurve", this was pretty much the only outdoor shot of the day ... Sarah and Scott huddled under a brolly as the unrelenting rain drove down on them in the doorway of the Harpenden House Hotel:

But the rain didn't matter a jot in the end. Sarah and Scott had a marvellous wedding day and I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing them a very long, happy and romantic life together.

David

Elise's Amazing Portrait Shoot

A few weeks ago, Elise came to spend a fortnight with me on work experience. On her first day, we did my first ever Trash The Dress shoot which you can see if you scroll down a bit. Elise was a great assistant and took some gorgeous shots. The two weeks she spent with me were great fun and Elise showed gret aptitude for learning about photography, both as an art and a business. On her last day, we borrowed Elise's friend Hannah to act as a model while Elise put into practice all that she'd learned with me. I'll be showing a few of Hannah's portraits here very soon. But first, I thought I'd post a handful of the shots I took of Elise - who, as you can see here, picked up a hint or two about posing, too!



This one is just soooo cool - possibly my favourite from the day:









And I really love this one - the wall makes such a fantastic background:

David

Alexis and Chris' Studley Castle Extravaganza

Last weekend I had the great fortune to photograph Alexis and Chris as they tied the knot in Studley Castle, Warwickshire. It was a wonderfully relaxed day, as the thoughtful newly-wed had put a great deal of effort into making sure their guests' needs were fully catered for - even going so far as to hire in a couple of nannies to entertain the children.

Alexis was in great form as she got ready for her big day:



And she looked truly dazzling in her beautiful dress:



Chris wore matching cravat and was very dashing:



And here's Alexis and Chris' son Zachary in his cute outfit:

Alexis' father had to wait alone for his daughter as she met with the registrar before the ceremony, allowing him a moment or two of quiet reflection before he gave his daughter away:

The ceremony was a very happy affair, plenty of laughs and smiles:

That mood was maintained throughout much of the day:

The booted and suited posed in film poster style, including little Zac with his dad:

As the guests sat down to their meal, I nipped outside to capture this twilight shot of the castle, framed by the trees in the garden:

Then in the evening, we used the subtle lighting inside the castle to create some atmospheric and slightly sexy images:

It was a great day and everyone had a fantastic time, even during the outdoor group shots when we were nearly frozen to death. Congratulations Alexis and Chris on a truly wonderful wedding celebration. I'm sure you'll enjoy many, many happy years together.

David

The US Presidential Elections

It's a big day today - so I thought I'd post a shot I took in Cape May, New Jersey last summer:

And if you're fed up of hearing about the US elections, console yourself with the thought that whoever wins, it can't be as disastrous for the rest of us as it was the last two times!

David

Helena and Stuart's Autumnal Spring

From time to time, you meet people in life who can fill you with a great deal of inspiration. For me, Helena and Stuart fit that bill perfectly. Their wedding was a celebration not just of the deep, deep love they share, but of their strength of character, willpower and determination to overcome what has been an extraordinarily difficult year for them. I was thrilled for them both, and also for their family and friends who have shared in their trials and tribulations.

It was a wonderful day, with the gift of fine weather to boot! This collection of images starts out with Helena's beautiful shoes:



Helena made a stunning bride for Stuart and received many complements throughout the day - each of them thoroughly deserved:



The wonderful autumn colours in Helena's garden made a great backdrop for this shot with her beautiful bridesmaids:



Stuart's smile here says it all, as he poses with Dad and his two brothers:

After the ceremony, our happy couple posed for some classic church door images:

The reception was held at the excellent Horwood House, where the scenery in autumn is simply stunning. A stroll around the garden pond always makes for good shots at Horwood:

Now, here's a shot that simply oozes with the love that Helena and Stuart share:

A classic cake for a classy couple:

After cutting the cake, and while they were completely unaware that the camera was on them, I took this shot from across the room:

As the sun went down, I borrowed the wedding bands and was really pleased with this shot:

Helena and Stuart's special day culminated in a passionate embrace of a first dance:

My warmest congratulations to you both Helena and Stuart - I wish you both the happiest of marriages and a long, long future together!

David

Lisa's Trash The Dress Shoot

A week ago, I ventured out on a cold, damp Monday morning to do my first Trash The Dress shoot. It takes a certain kind of craziness to lie in the wet grass in the middle of October, so I was lucky to have Lisa as my seemingly waterproof model!

If you're new to Trash The Dress, allow me to explain. Irrespective of the weather on her wedding day, the bride is pretty unlikely to pose for any shots that might cause her gown to get particularly dirty. A little grime around the base of the dress is sometimes unavoidable but deliberately lying in grubby, albeit attractive locations is usually a step too far. In this fashion-conscious era, though, the Trash The Dress shoot has been ushered in to allow the adventurous bride to prepare her gown (and hair, shoes, jewellery, etc) for another outing - only this time, we can do the shots she would not have dared to do on her wedding day.

Here's a selection of the images we made in the woodland at Ashridge:











And then we moved on to a second location, this time within an urban setting:



Urban shoots are prone to being observed by the occasional workman - though it's not often they're as keen as these two to get involved in the shoot:





Discarded tyres beside a big blue container made for a particularly funky backdrop for this image:



It was a fun shoot and Lisa was a wonderfully cooperative model, happy to do pretty much anything that we could think of. That's the way a Trash The Dress shoot needs to be conducted to get the very best out of it. So a great big thanks to Lisa for being so game!

The final image isn't mine at all. It was shot by Elise, who is currently enjoying (I hope that's the right word) a fortnight's work experience with me. It's a real cracker which she should be incredibly proud of!



David