Tag Archives: bridal

Top 5 Inspirational Photographers and artists

30 Sunday Jun 2013

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As a photographer and digital artist I am always using the web to seek out other photographers and artists, sometimes to network, others just to look at amazing work and sometimes purely for inspiration.

We all need people and things to inspire us in our daily lives, it is how we grow as people and it is how we grow as professionals, without inspiration there is only stagnation and with stagnation there is self doubt.

As my photography and digital artistry has progressed my list of inspirational photographers & artists has grown and I’d like to share with you my top five inspirational photographers & artists (in no particular order)

1) Damien Lovegrove

Damien learned his trade as a cameraman and lighting director during 14 years at the BBC, working on programmes such as the Clothes Show, Top of the Pops and Casualty. Days off from filming were often spent taking photographs for a variety of top name clients including Peugeot, Motorola, and Adidas.

Anyone who has met Damien can’t fail to be inspired and motivated by his enthusiasm for his second career. So much so that once you get him started on a subject it’s hard to shut him up…

Fifteen years on, Damien has become one of the foremost photographers and trainers in the industry. A published writer and regular columnist, Damien has travelled the globe shooting and sharing his knowledge and expertise.

Lovegrove Consulting

Lovegrove Photography

2) Glyn Dewis

Glyn Dewis is a Photographer, Retoucher, Trainer and Photoshop World Instructor currently based just outside of Oxford in the UK.

Working both Nationally and Internationally his main area of work sees him shooting Promotional and Commercial material for Industry Professionals, Physique Athletes, Musicians, Bands and Up and Coming Actors.

An Adobe Community Professional, he teaches Workshops and 1-1 Coaching specifically covering all aspects of Adobe® Photoshop® from the Basics through to Advanced Retouching Techniques, and is also available for National and International Speaking/Talks, Seminars and Workshops on both Photography & Photoshop.

Glyn Dewis

3) Dave Kai Piper

Dave is a photographer specialising in Couture Fashion, Lingerie, Evening-wear, Bespoke Bridal & Millinery Fashions. Dave is based in London & Bristol and he also writes an entertaining and informative Blog

DKP Photography

4) Julia Boggio

The award-winning and internationally renowned photographer Julia Boggio established her studio in London in 2005. Her aim then – as it still is today – was to create a unique photography studio that would enable everyone to enjoy the sort of high-end fashion shoot experience normally associated with style magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair.

From the moment you arrive at her studio you’ll feel like you’re at one of the top fashion studios in Paris or Milan, and about to be photographed for one of the world’s top glossy magazines. Her work – especially her now famous Vintage Boudoir photoshoots – has established Julia as one of the country’s leading portrait photographers, and her photographs are used in exhibitions and magazines worldwide. She is also a popular columnist for Photo Pro magazine and is regularly interviewed for other photography and lifestyle magazines.

Julia Boggio Studios

5) Neil Van Niekerk

Neil is a Photographer, trainer and author based in New Jersey in the USA. Best known perhaps for his amazing “Tangents” blog where he not only showcases his amazing work, but also provides useful insight into why and how he took them.

Tangents

 

Best – Colin

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Shooting Bridal on the beach

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, Photography

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Morning

A few days ago a long standing client of mine called out of the blue and asked me if I would shoot her in her wedding dress as she was married more than 9 years ago, but would like some more “fashiony” (her word not mine!) images taken.

I replied that of course I would love to, but as it was coming up to Christmas there were few slots available in my calendar – but after a few minutes discussion we settled on Wednesday 12/12/12 – for no reason other than it was the ONLY free date we both had this side of 2013 – and my client was ADAMANT she wanted the images taken before Christmas.

As a photographer I have a location list I refer to when booking a location based shoot, varying from urban, derelict, woodland and parks and various bodies of water. On this occasion I had only recently scouted out a new location and so decided that – after looking at the weather forecast – we could do some dramatic lighting and give my client something just a little different.

Well, Wednesday morning I woke up to an inch of snow and a temperature of -6, it took me an hour to de-ice the car and I very nearly called my client to cancel, but decided to carry on as I knew she would be more than a little disappointed.

The location I had chosen for the shoot was Weston-Super-Mare beach and when we arrived it was (naturally) deserted as the temperature was around zero degrees, but with wind chill factor it felt much much colder 😦

We spent more than two hours there, in sub zero temps creating these images. The lighting effect was created IN CAMERA and I’ll tell you how that was done on another post!

My client was a real star as she was absolutely shivering between takes – but the end result was worth the pain.

WSM Bridal Fashion Shot-10

 

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WSM Bridal Fashion Shot-11

WSM Bridal Fashion Shot-15

 

WSM Bridal Fashion Shot-16

_DSC1791

 

Best – Colin

Wedding Catwalk

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, Photography

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Morning

Occasionally I am asked to Video Catwalk events, Bridal, Fashion etc which I do alongside my photography. There is usually a lot going on, especially at Bridal Catwalks and it pays to keep your eyes peeled for any unguarded moments – such as these two lovely models, Helen D & Hannah W doing their thing!

Best – Colin

Bridal Fashion Shoot

19 Monday Nov 2012

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Morning

My last few portrait shoots have been either children & families, or alternative, out of my comfort zone shoots, so it was really great to get back into my comfort zone yesterday with my favourite type of shoot – on location Bridal Fashion.

But it very nearly didn’t happen.

Most photo-shoots, especially those on location, do require a certain amount of planning. You need to research the location, decide on the look/style, source a suitable model, book a make up artist and hairstylist, decide on props, book the time and date and check the weather forecast!

Many of my shoots are planned weeks if not months in advance. The shoot yesterday was booked back in the Summer. I had a location I had researched, but Summertime was not ideal due to the light, it needed an autumnal feel, so November was chosen.

Everything was ready, model booked, MUA/stylist booked, weather forecast looking almost perfect and then……

What every photographer has to deal with at sometime or other, the model AND the MUA called three days before the shoot and cancelled. At least it was three days and not three hours as I have heard stories of!

So what to do – cancel the shoot entirely and with it all the hard work on styling and planning gone to waste – or try and find another team.

I am fortunate to have worked with a number of professional models and one of those, Lorena, I knew loved being shot in Bridal wear and if she was free I was pretty certain she would be happy to step in.

As it happened she was free and she was happy to be part of the shoot. We were unable to source a styling team – but Lorena, the consummate professional, did her own to fit the mood and styling we had in mind.

Yesterday was a typical autumnal day, crisp, cold clear blue skies, sun low on the horizon. These are just a few of the images we created on the shoot.

Bridal Fashion - Lorena F

Bridal Fashion – Lorena F

Bridal Fashion - Lorena F

Bridal Fashion – Lorena F

Bridal Fashion - Lorena F

Bridal Fashion – Lorena F

Thank you Lorena for stepping in and helping me create these images

Best – Colin

Thinking outside the box

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, General

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Hello

The photography business is a great business to be in, going to exotic locations, driving fast cars, shooting beautiful models every day…………

Right, sorry, I was just day dreaming a bit there.

It’s actually pretty mundane unless you regularly shoot covers for Vogue, then its pretty exciting, but for us lesser photographers it’s usually 10% photography, and then 90% work (marketing, sales, networking etc) trying to generate that 10% photography.

But occasionally a job comes along that gets the old grey matter thinking and does make it all worth while. Back in the Summer I was contacted by a local model from Model Mayhem (a photographer, model, MUA, networking site) who explained to me she was in a band and wanted to branch out on her own in a different direction and so wanted some promo shots.

Nice and easy this one, her modelling profile shouted “Goth” and her normal everyday look was “Goth”, so I straight away was thinking red candles, dark stone walls, maybe some roses strewn across the floor and for good measure a bit of smoke too – job done.

Or so I thought.

This model really wanted something completely different from her normal Gothic look, something pretty unique to me, she said. Can I leave it with you? Was her parting comment!

So how do you shoot some different unique images of someone who lives eats and breathes a particular look – simple – you stick them in a wedding dress!

When I came up with this idea I needed a reasonably unique setting to put her in, after all, I couldn’t just put her in a wedding dress and stick a guitar in her hand and expect a picture now could I?

So after a bit of searching I found a terrific piece of graffiti, that fitted quite well with the look I was trying to create – a beautiful girl with angels wings, holding a spray can – a bit of an angelic rebellious message there.

Anyway, the model loved the idea and the shoot went really well. My favourite image of the shoot is on here below – I think it turned out rather well, and the model was over the moon too

Best – Colin

Sometimes you just gotta break the rules

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, General, Photography

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Afternoon

Having a thorough technical understanding of photography is a good foundation for working in the business, F-stops, apertures, ISO, Guide Numbers, it might sound like gobbledegook but unless you know that stuff you’ll never really take your photography to the next level.

There is a lot on the web about how the technical aspects of photography must be followed to get a good shot, and to some extent that is true, but there comes a point when you just have to say, stop, hang on a minute, that photo is “technically perfect” correctly exposed, sharp, rule of thirds etc, but…there is something missing.

That “something missing” bit is the most important ingredient for making a good photograph into a great photograph, the creative input of the photographer, the thinking outside the box, breaking all the rules

I was on a shoot recently photographing models in wedding gowns, for a wedding gown  supplier, pretty boring, but steady work. Towards the end of the shoot one of the models walked across a window and I noticed the sun streaming behind her, so I thought, lets see what that looks like.

The model was happy to “do her thing” in front of the window while I shot without my lens hood on (to accentuate the flare) and shot from a lower viewpoint to get the sun directly in the frame (whilst minding sure my eyeballs were not scorched to a cinder!!)

The purists amongst you will say the resulting image is a little soft, lacks a bit of contrast, has waaaay too much flare – and you’re right – but it’s a pretty darn good image, I love it, the model adores it and the client even asked for a copy!

Obviously I wouldn’t shoot ALL my work like this, but every now and then you just gotta break the rules.

best – Colin