Rushton Hall wedding – Glen & Claire
This utterly fabulous wedding was a dream to photograph. So many gorgeous details and a super relaxed couple who wanted minimal formal photographs and lots of time to enjoy themselves. Just my cup of tea!
Glen and Claire chose to have a civil ceremony and reception at the stunning Rushton Hall, near Kettering in Northamptonshire. This is one of my favourite venues to photograph at as there are so many opportunities to get great images, whatever the weather.
Claire wore Donna Salado which fitted into the grandeur of Rushton Hall perfectly. Her cream and pink rose bouquet by Nikyosh worked beautifully with the Bridesmaids’ tea length dresses. You may recognise one of the Bridesmaids actually – Zoë. I photographed Zoë’s wedding to Tony last year at Kelmarsh Hall. It was lovely to see them and some other familiar faces again.
After a few Bride & Groom photographs in the grounds of the Hall we whipped through the family photos in the courtyard and then had plenty of time to capture candid images of the reception.
Then it was into the Great Hall for the wedding breakfast. The Great Hall is incredibly beautiful with a vaulted ceiling, stained glass windows and mahoosive fireplace. It had been dressed to perfection with gorgeous tall vases of flowers and the pink accents in the chair sashes and linens looked amazing against the oak panelling. And oh that chocolate cake! Chocolate aplenty courtesy of Hockleys. [Note to self: on a hot day always photograph chocolate cakes early to avoid having to straighten wonkiness once it starts to melt!]
It was a tall order for the day to get any better really but Funkification pulled off an amazing party on the dancefloor.
Model portfolio shoot with Clara B
Following hot on the heels of yesterday’s post featuring photographs from a recent model portfolio shoot, here’s Clara who I also photographed that day.
As a photographer you can’t fail to fall in love with Clara. She was so much fun to work with and a complete natural in front of the camera. She’s naturally very elegant and her movement between poses and locations captured my imagination big time. I kept shouting ‘hold it, don’t move’ each time we thought we were done with a location and started to move on. I think everyone thought I was a crazy woman!
Model portfolio shoot: Natalie
I had the most amazing day at Bristol docks on a photographers’ get together / shoot day organised by The Photography Parlour, which is run by my good friend Rosie. The day was all about getting together with a group of like-minded people, to make new friends and have fun taking photographs. I had already got to know quite a few people who attended through facebook and twitter so it was brilliant to put real faces to the names.
The Harmony II luxury yacht was our base for the day. Oh to have a life like that! I was on welcoming duties for the first part of the day – over 30 photographers attended and with 8 models, 4 make-up artists and an army of suppliers it was full on! Then when everyone had arrived, we split into groups and went off excitedly to shoot different models through the day. It was amazing to see how other photographers can capture the same model and scene in so many different ways. A true lesson in using your eyes.
The photographs featured here are of Natalie who I really enjoyed working with. Her outfit was fabulous and I loved the railway enviroment and building work hoardings.
The Old Bridge Hotel
There’s a beautiful old place, set by a bridge on the river. It makes me smile every time I whizz past on the A14. I’ve often admired it’s beauty and wondered where it is. And I found out quite by chance.
On this particular day I drove past and craned my neck as usual to get a good view. Little did I know that just a few minutes later I would get a close-up look.
It’s The Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon, the venue for Richard and Amy’s wedding later this summer. It’s just lovely. The ivy-clad building is set on the banks of the river Ouse and dates from the 1700’s. But it’s both old and contemporary in equal parts. I just loved the funky purple sofa, disco balls and bold wallpapers. It has its own wine shop too which will make for some fun Bride and Groom photographs.
Now, how will I get a photo from the A14?
Wedding ideas: shoe photography
Couples are often to be heard saying ‘ooh those flowers are beautiful’ or ‘that’s just the colour I’d like’ and ‘oh that’s a good idea for a table plan’ as they look through my sample albums. Other peoples’ wedding photographs are a great source of inspiration for your own wedding. And there’s plenty of them here! So I thought I’d start a little series of wedding detail photographs. First up, shoes. Well, what else would I choose?!
For some Brides it’s all about the shoes and I’ve lusted after many.
Killer heels always look great. You just can’t go wrong with a sky high pair of Jimmy Choos or Gina’s. But just as they can be hard to walk in, it can also be a little tricky arranging and balancing them for a photograph. This is why there’s blue-tack in my camera bag!
Other Brides, whilst they love shoes, don’t want to tower above their Groom or might want something they know they’ll be comfortable in all day, so opt for something with a small heel. It can be harder to make flatter styles look good in a photograph so I’ll look for other props and reflections to create shape and dimension.
Colours are big at the moment. I’ve had the delight of photographing some gorgeous fuschia pink ones with a beautiful ruffled rose (Mrs. Byrne’s!) and a dramatic red pair adorned with the cutest hearts (Mrs. Norton’s!). More and more Brides are choosing a pair of shoes that’s ‘them’, that show their personality and that they can wear again.
Oh, and the toes should ALWAYS turn outwards in a photograph. Never in. That’s just wrong. Unless I change my mind ;)
See more shoe photos on my facebook fanpage
