The effects of coronavirus and your wedding photographs, portraits and business photography

Dear Clients and prospective Clients,

I hope you and all your families remain in good health at this troubling time. Once this is over we can return to the happier moments like the ones pictured here.

Bubbles make a fun alternative to confetti, blowing here at Bramhall Hall

With us all experiencing this lockdown clearly I am not photographing anyone at present. I have turned my studio into a gym and yoga internet classroom and I am using my cameras to record my experience of the self imposed isolation sharing it on my wordpress blog.

It has been a difficult few weeks and the coming months over the spring and summer look equally challenging. I feel the government has let us down acting too slowly and when the guidance came it was unclear and ambiguous, leaving brides, groom and suppliers like me to make the decisions that really they should have taken. In the end I have been contacting people to offer my services for postponed dates, encouraging people to put off their weddings before the government eventually made the lockdown decision that brought a halt to weddings.

I have therefore tried to be proactive in making decisions I feel are in the best interests of my clients and myself, not to mention society as a whole.

I have relaxed my terms and conditions so that existing clients, should they need to, postpone their weddings, and I have offered to do transfer my contract with them to their new date if I am available. If I am not available I am giving a refund less my expenses up until the point of cancellation. My expenses are usually no more than the retainer paid at the original time of booking.

I am prepared to take further bookings which are hopefully after the lockdown and pandemic have passed. It is of course difficult to say when when this will be. The safest thing to say is that these will probably be for the end of this year and for next year too.

If you would like to book a free Skype consultation please message me to set up a time.

There will be an end to this, and it will come sooner if we self isolate and follow the reasonable guidance the government is putting out.

My very best wishes to all current and future clients.

Yours sincerely,

Richard

We will return to much happier times

Glamour at Doubletree in Chester – Summer wedding!

I do not worry when a bride says she does not want many pictures because she think she is not very photogenic, I generally encourage them with a few words and a smile and we end up with stunning pictures

It was a wonderful Summer wedding at the Doubletree by Hilton in Chester despite the occasional downpour, but that is British summertime weather. Did not have a chance to meet the couple before hand as they both worked overseas.

Glamour seems a good word for the day, a quality of someone or something that causes excitement and admiration because of its style or attractive appearance. There was definitely excitement and admiration for the bride and groom who carried of the wedding with style and looked great. The bride was demour and shy. and I had to coax her to have a portrait done.

Gifts for the girls from the very start with seven bridesmaids!

I do not worry when a bride says she does not want many pictures because she think she is not very photogenic, I generally encourage them with a few words and a smile and we end up with stunning pictures

Seven bridesmaids made a statement on my arrival and that this was going to be big and glamorous. The bride had given each a memory box of images and gifts which made a great picture. I never press for pictures, there is a lot of getting ready and if it happens it happens. Gifts for the girls from the very start with seven bridesmaids! They are clearly all a team although the bridesmaid on the right is giving that cheeky wink!

Not to be outdone the groom also had seven bestmen

Watching the bridal preparations was a challenge with so many getting hair, makeup and dressed! Men usually have an easier time as and the seven groomsmen  made sure the groom was in the right place at the right time. these men wee relaxed and enjoying the day supporting in hansome fashion the groom.

And then back to the more serious stuff of what it means to get married. The bride was self-assured despite her declared shyness clearly had the whole ceremony situation well under control. There were clearly some appreciative eyes among the women in the walking up the aisle shot, fabulous bride in a fabulous dress.

And then down the aisle comes proud father with beautiful daughter

Love those fairy lights at Doubltree adding a bit of a sparkle

Love those fairy lights at the Doubletree, and the added blossom mad for a busy background for the ceremony photographs. This is a special moment when rings are exchanged and capturing the exact moment is important.

Oona Linnett, harpist, was there to create a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere as people arrived and for key moments of the ceremony whether it was the bride walking down the aisle, or for the signing of the register.

Oona await for the cue from the registrar to play for the bridal entrance

The weather kept us inside to begin with enjoying that first drink, helping everyone to relax. I usually don’t go into group shots straightaway giving people that fist few minutes to relax, I just reportage the hugging and the smiling and the congratulating.

Everyone loves a confetti moment and once the rain cleared we were able to get outside. I never rush the first drink anyway, people need to relax after the, for some, stressful moments of the ceremony

However there came a break so we did the group shots, confetti and bouquet throw before then organising a set of newlywed portraits. I like to get up high if I can and catch more faces. Also doing a walk down for the confetti shot means I can take a series of images and again more people are in the picture. Once the walk is over I stop the bride and groom and gather everyone around for a confetti shot while the newlyweds kiss, adding value.

‘Tossing the bouquet is a tradition that stems from England. Women used to try to rip pieces of the bride’s dress and flowers in order to obtain some of her good luck. To escape from the crowd the bride would toss her bouquet and run away. Today the bouquet is tossed to single women with the belief that whoever catches it will be the next to marry’. Infoplease – Wedding Lore

Always like the bouquet throw, bit of silliness but another chance to celebrate! It is a bit of a cliché but done well it gets lots of people involved in a relaxed and fun moment. Just notices that one gentleman in the background of this picture. There are no rules so why shouldn’t he get involved!

How many times I have heard it said. ‘I don’t take a good picture’, ‘I don’t want many of just me or us’. etc. Burt with a bit of coaxing and simple posture improving posing advice we have a winner!

And then down to some serious bridal photography and considering the bride was shy and didn’t think she would look good in any images she was a natural when it came to some simple posing. I don’t like to overdo the poses, there is not time, and when couples specifically ask not to e posed I concentrate on encouraging good posture and for them to hold each other as they normally do. This couple clearly wanted some relaxed images of themselves on their wedding day and i most the most of the minutes i had to get shots I liked and thought worthy of blogging!

Love to take pictures of people under trees as here at Doubletree! Shelter from the rain to start with, and then there is the more diffuse light and framing, not to mention colour, texture and composition.

I had to include the groom so we went down to the lake but the slipway wasn’t open so we stuck to the trees which gave us some shelter from the inclement weather, love trees! they werte happy to talk and make each other laugh and smile and I did my bets to capture the moment without interfering too much. it is often a matter of working on the posture and letting the emotions and thought about the day come through.

Clearly happy and with an inner life showing through on a very emotional day it is a privilege to spend a little time with a newlywed bride and groom

I always do some wide angle as well as closeup. Context in one and intimacy in the other. i think the couple were relaxing here and I had just about got the atmosphere right for the newlywed portrait session. You often only have minutes withe the bride and groom so getting that ‘keeper shot’ of them can be a pressure moment. these two made it easy though.

Everything is set up for a glamorous wedding breakfast and speeches at the Doubletree by Hilton here in Chester. Those fairy-lights still working hard along with the purple uplights and candles

Doubletree work hard to turn the ceremony room around for the wedding breakfast adding candles and uplighting for a glamorous effect. There are those  fairy-lights again. I remember as a child being mesmerised by them when we went to seaside. Low light photography brings out the atmosphere and the detail of candles, place settings and seating can be brought out still.

Hugs and kisses at the receiving line, another tradition that has received a more relaxed make-over in these more self confident age

Then onto the receiving line for more hugs and kissing. After which it is a candlelit meal and speeches! Not everyone does a receiving line, some allow their guests to be seated and then make an entrance. Receiving lines do slow the proceedings down but it’s all in the planning, no-one needs to have to wait for their meal then.

A great new tradition of bride’s and bride’s mums giving speeches, watch out groom for some serious advice!

Good to see everyone feels it is possible now to give a speech. Usually done at the end of the meal I always suggest doing them first so that once done the food and drink can be properly enjoyed without anxiety about speaking. Speech timings should be when the bride and groom want them and the venue should accommodate as long as it has plenty of warning and is part of the planning.

Speeches often bring on the tears

The reaction to speeches is as important to photograph as the people giving them, This is particularly so with the bride and in this case it was mum saying things that brought out the handkerchief. Catching moments like this is very important for the bride and groom who remember what they were thinking when the tears were flowing.

Grooms speech over it is time to relax and enjoy the best man saying positive and wholesome things about the groom

Generally speeches go off without a hitch and as long as someone has not tried to be too clever or rude everyone can enjoy them and laugh along and toast the happy couple. I have heard a number now and as long as they are not too long and avoid being to obvious and detailed they usually go down well. My advice, especially to grooms, is to remember that everyone in the room is there to have a good time and to celebrate you getting married and everyone wants to hear that you love your new partner in life.

You have to make time on your wedding day to find moments to simply be with each other

It is often with the photographer that brides and grooms can have a few relaxed moments away from their demanding guests. I try to ensure there are moments either side of a photo session for them to have some private moments.

With this couple I finished the photography after the wedding breakfast and the speeches. I tend to tailor my coverage to those parts of the day the couple want rather than specific packages. These were fun to be with and had the glamour thing going in spades. Considering they were pretty shy in front of the camera I thought there was a strong sense of the glamorous about the whole affair.