Wedding Photographer Northamptonshire - Natalie & Ian at the Benefield Wheatsheaf

Natalie & Ian’s wedding at the Benefield Wheatsheaf has to be one of the most colourful weddings I have had the privilege to photograph. The bright colours ran through the whole theme from the flowers, bridesmaids dresses, ties, cake and room decorations. Even a bright orange VW Camper Van featured in the days proceedings. Here is a collection of photos to demonstrate that even though pastel shades are currently the vogue a strong colour pallet can also work if you are looking for something a bit different.

Suppliers:

Venue - Benefield Wheatsheaf
Flowers - Bluebell Floristry
Cake - The Sugarsmith

Further Reading: Wedding Photographer Northamptonshire | Northamptonshire All-inclusive wedding photography

Photobooth Hire Northamptonshire | Northamptonshire Wedding Photography

Northamptonshire photographer wins more awards

During July I received an email from the SWPP which reminded me that I hadn’t submitted any work into their Monthly Competition for over 6 months.  The following day I spent the morning sorting through some recent work to find some images that I felt were particularly individual and which may be awarded a score.

The last time I submitted an image was last year.  The scoring system then was

• no-score
• Bronze (acceptable professional image)
• Silver (above standard image)
• Gold (of the highest standard and published in the Professional Imagemaker)

However, the SWPP has now changed their scoring system as it became clear that it was fairly easy to gain a Bronze which was undermining the ability to become an Award Winning Photographer.  If you have followed my work you will know that we have previously won a Gold and a Silver (we have discounted our Bronze awards) but now the goal posts have changed.  The new scoring system is now:

• Not Awarded (fall below the standard to be given an award)
• Highly Commended (Above standard, potential of being reclassified as Gold)
• Gold (of the highest standard and published in the Professional Imagemaker)

So how would some of my work fair with the new scoring system, I submitted four images for judging and waited nervously for the results to be announced at the end of the month.  I am delighted to report that we gained Two Highly Commended, with the other two failing to reach the standard.  Here are the four images (I have included the 2 which didn’t win awards so that you can gauge the standard required) and their stories.

Image 1 Score - Not Awarded

This is an image from a family shoot in our studio.  Booked as a birthday treat we took the typical group poses, high-key and low-key, finishing with some individual shots.  This one stood out to me as being interesting.  I love images that make you look twice, or study the photo.  This gentleman’s face is full of character which has been enhanced by using one hard light source to give contrast across the face and bring out all of the details (smooth beauty skin just wouldn’t do for this shot).  The pose was very simply, just look at the camera.

Image 2 Score - Not Awarded

This is one of our signature wedding shots, taken outside at 10pm with two light sources off-camera to the left and right.  Our bridal couples love these shots, a great finishing shot for the album.  Having taken several poses (yes this is a posed shot) this is one of my favourites.  I love the expression in the pose, the intensity of the eyes fixed onto each other, and the dramatic lighting giving shape but still showing a colour to the sky.

Image 3 Score - Highly Commended (yeh!!!!)

This image is from a low-key shoot with 18 month old Ethan.  Much softer lighting on this photo compared to ‘Image 1’ but still very directional from the right hand side to give that light fall-off to shadow to left.  This was almost the last shot of the session.  We went through the structured poses but Ethan wasn’t in the mood to perform, so we then changed the shoot to a ‘play time’ to try to get some relaxed images.  The ‘play time’ shooting process is something we have to do regularly with children but it would normally be a high-key shot with the lighting covering a large area allowing the model to move around freely.  It was a bit more tricky with this style of shot because the lighting only works in one position, so we had to try to get Ethan to play in one spot.  This shot was captured when we had finished, Ethan thought the pressure was off not knowing that I was sneakily still shooting.  A un-complicated scene with vignetting and a streaming light source taking your eye straight to the subject.  The relaxed look off camera, and the bear feet showing little toes makes this shot for me.

Image 4 Score - Highly Commended (second Yeh!!!!)

For those of you who follow ASC Photography will recognise that this is a type of image that you are not used to seeing from me.  A change in direction from most of my commercial work, but one that is close to my heart.  I am a petrol head and would love to introduce car photography to our services.  This image is my first exploration into offering a car photograph service to those petrol heads out there who have a loved one tucked up in the garage.  The biggest difficulty with car photography is trying to replicate that magazine look that we all love without using a very expensive studio setup specifically to photograph cars.  After lots of experimenting I have now perfected a night-time shooting technique using long exposure, light painting and reflecting to produce beautiful images.  The car image in this scene is pure photography (no photoshop work enhancement).  The car has been cutout of its original scene and placed onto this landscape that I have created using several of my own landscape stock images and some photoshop wizardry.  I am really pleased with the result, one step closer to adding Car Photography to my business :)

So there you have it, two images not awarded and two winning a Highly Commended score.  Which is your favourite and do you agree with the judges???

Award Winning Northamptonshire Wedding Photography | Portrait Photography in Northamptonshire | Car Photography

Jenny & Gary's Traditional Album

We are putting the finishing touches to Michelle & Christophers gorgeous Storybook artwork of their Vintage Wedding today. Can't wait for them to see it. Will share some pages with you once the client has seen the artwork.
For those that prefer a more classical album here are some shots of Jenny & Gary's finished Traditional Album. If the classic style album is your thing you cannot go wrong with these Italian Mario Arceboni albums, Jenny & Gary chose the 11" x11", finished in white, with 30 pages. Beautiful craftsmanship and made to last....

For more information on our wedding photography and our Classic Albums please visit our website:

www.asc-photography.co.uk

Classic Albums

Claire & Colin's Storybook Artwork

Claire & Colin returned to the studio this week to review their Storybook artwork. They were both thrilled with their photos and were itching to see the artwork for their Storybook.

Every Storybook layout that we provide is uniquely created by us especially for our clients, ensuring its individuality and exclusivity. A fitting end to the stunning imagery that we have captured from their wedding, and fit for the stunning Storybook that they have chose from the founding company of Storybooks, Graphi-studio in Italy.

Because we create the artwork for the Storybooks we are able to continually change the artwork until our clients are happy with each and every page. However our clients often fall in love with the first draft of the artwork, with only minor changes required. Needless to say Claire and Colin loved the first draft, with only a subtle alteration to one page. This is one of the best parts of being a wedding photographer, Claire and Colin left beaming and excited about their Storybook which will be with them in 4-6 weeks once the master craftsman in Italy have worked their magic.

For more information on the wedding services we can provide, including our renowned All-inclusive package please visit our Website and Facebook pages:

www.asc-photography.co.uk

Facebook

Sarah & Simon's Storybook Album

Storybook Album:

As soon as Sarah saw our sample Storybook albums she was smitten. They promptly book us for their big day and after much deliberation they chose a 25cm x 35cm portrait album, which is one of our most popular sizes as it will sit in your bookcase comfortably.

The Italian Graphi-Studio Albums are in my opinion simply the best. They are the founding company for Storybook albums and it shows in the quality and finish of their gorgeous books. Their patented lay flat technology, coupled with the ability to have those panoramic shots run across the full page, makes them irresistible.

Here are some shots of Sarah & Simons album which has just been delivered. From the many styles available Sarah & Simon chose to have their album finished with a Metallic Varnished cover in light grey, with their names & date embossed onto the cover. This is the same finish as one of my sample albums, which is fast becoming one of my favourites. The light grey front cover, which incidentally is very substantial in feel and weight, marries perfectly with the black leather rear cover. I can't wait for Sarah & Simon to see the finished article, one of the most rewarding aspects of my work.