Photographer London.

Spring and Autumn are my favourite seasons for taking photographs, in spring I feel more invigorated after the winter and more inclined to get out and take new photos.
Here are a few of my tips for taking photographs in spring.

Landscapes:
Spring landscapes are colourful and the new spring growth looks great against against a blue sky. To make the colours more saturated, particularly the blue sky, fit a polarising filter. Look out symetrical shapes and unusual views such as rows of strong green vegetation or views through tree blossom. Try and frame your landscapes with tree branches, doorways, arches window frames etc etc. If you have a wide angled lens take it out of hibernation and use it to incorporate a foreground view as well as the landscape in the distance. Don’t forget about your depth of field to get everything in focus, use a higher f number such as 11 or 22.

Sunrise and Sunset
Take advantage of the sunrise now the days are getting longer. The air is cleaner at sunrise and at this time of year where day and night temperatures vary a lot the colours will photograph very differently early in the morning than they will late in the afternoon. Fog and mist can also be an extra bonus. Try getting up high, the tops of hills or mountains are a perfect as they give you great views over valleys which may hold early morning mist and fog like a bowl. A polariser can also help here, and also remember that fog acts like a soft box and can lower the contrast of your surroundings which can leave you with rather long exposure times so take a tripod if you have one. Your camera may also have a few exposure problems and as a result, you’ll have to use + exposure compensation to rectify this. If your skies end up looking a little washed out try fitting a neutral density grey graduated filter.

People
Although the days are getting longer the sun is still low in the sky and this can create problems with heavily backlit scenes. Rather than photographing your subject with their back to the sun try photographing them with the sun to one side but still slightly behind them, or photograph them in the shade under a tree and use your flash to fill in. Try using a low f number on your lens to throw the background out of focus, this will also help to bring the shutter speed up to prevent camera shake if the light is too low.

Flowers and Blossom
Try and look for patterns and look for the abstract when photographing flowers and blossom. Get down low and zoom right into the subject or use a wider angle lens and very little depth of field around 5.6. Try and break the rules also, flowers look great with the sun behind them. Be very wary of underexposing if you’re looking into the sun, you make have to use your exposure compensation +1 or +2

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Wedding Photographer London.

Last Weekend on the 5th and 6th of February was the UK Wedding show at the Excel Exhibition Centre in Docklands and I took charge of stand no 200 next to the stage and the Champagne bar.

Before the show began on the Saturday I met up with a number of the 13 other photographers and also had a chance to put faces to the names of the various suppliers we’ve been networking with online for the last year.

The show was great and the large wall prints I had produced reflected my style of wedding photography very well which meant that brides and grooms didn’t have to trawl through lots of albums to understand what sort of photographs I would produce at their wedding.

I ran a competition at the show for a pre wedding shoot, congratulations to the winners, all have been notified this morning.

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Wedding Photographer London, Sarah and Andrew
I photographed Sarah’s sisters wedding and her cousins wedding six years ago. Now Tilda and May have two children and it was great to see the family again this time at Sarah’s wedding.

Sarah and her father arrived at St. Mary’s church in a white London taxi and we we able to take some lovely photographs down by the river before going into the church. St Mary’s is ideal for photography, large widows let in plenty of light and the upstairs gallery allow great shots of the congregation from above.

Sarah and Andrew took all of their guests back the reception at Sarah’s parents house in two red London routemaster buses. The reception took place in the garden on a large decked area and under a very cleverly designed marquee in the lower part of the garden. Sarah’s attention to detail was on show everywhere and she had transformed the garden into a beautiful space.

The photograph above was taken from one of the top floor windows while the couple were waiting togo into the marquee, and I promise it wasn’t set up! It just goes to show that some of the best shots at wedding ‘just happen’

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London Wedding Photographer, Charlotte and Matt

Last Friday I drove through the pouring rain to meet Charlotte and Matt at the The Barn at Bury Court in Bentley near Farnham. I photographed Charlotte’s sisters wedding at the Battersea Pump House four years ago.

The gardens and the facilities for weddings at The Barn at Bury Court are impressive, and although Charlotte and Matt’s friends and family made good use of the indoor space we weren’t able to use the garden because of the weather. Charlotte and Matt did brave the elements with their umbrellas and we were able to take some great photographs like the one above.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Charlotte and Matt, and their guests, and having now processed all of the images I can see that my very trip around the garden was well worth it!

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London Wedding Photographer, Naomi and Edward

September is a wonderful month for weddings. There is no expectation that the weather will be great, and yet it normally is at the end of summer/beginning of autumn. September this year seems to be a busier month for weddings than August was. Find out more about Wedding Photography here.

Naomi and Edward were married on Saturday at the Pump House in Battersea Park. Naomi and her father arrived on a Rickshaw and they joined Edward and their guests packed in tightly in the gallery and mezzanine upstairs. I took the photo above on one of the footbridges in Battersea Park, Naomi and Edward were very keen to be as creative as possible with their wedding photography so there are lots of shots a bit like this.

Naomi and Edward left the Pumphouse in their Rickshaw and set off this week to Australia where they hope to stay and work for a year or two.

Wedding Photographers Devon, Melissa and Steven.

I first met Melissa three years ago at a wedding I photographed in Scotland. I then met Melissa again with Steven in January this year at another wedding, and we talked about their wedding planned for later in the year in Thurlestone in South Devon. My wife and I have been coming to Thurlestone with our children for many years and we know the area well. For more more information of wedding photography.

Coincidentally Melissa and Steven had booked their wedding on the same weekend we had planned to arrive for our holiday in Devon which worked out very well. So I’m writing this blog while on holiday, the weather has been great so far and we will be back in London this weekend.

Melissa and Steven are moving house next week and will probably take a holiday later in the year.