Engagement Photoshoot

One of the latest US trends to arrive in Britain is an engagement shoot. They are a great way for couples to practice posing for the camera and to build up a friendship with us as photographers - as a result they are so much more relaxed on their wedding day and know just how to pose for the camera.

Most couples are not used to standing in front of a camera for a few minutes, let alone all day, so an engagement shoot is a great way for them to feel more comfortable about smiling for the camera and to see that with a professional behind the camera and a little direction they can look great in pictures!

In fact, most couples that we photograph tend to say that they have no photographs of them together, as one or both of them doesn't like having their picture taken. So with an engagement shoot this barrier is smashed immediately as they grow in confidence.

So what do we do on an engagement shoot? We take couples somewhere locally that means something to them as a couple and have an hours photoshoot. We guide them into different poses that they are comfortable with and explain why we setup certain shots in the way we do, so that when it comes to it on the big day they are naturals!

They also bring along props that say something about their personalities, whether it is a bunch of balloons, a picnic basket or some scrabble tiles! And as a result we have a whole host of great photos, which we edit and then send to the couple on a disc in the highest quality.

The photos make perfect wedding invitations, and look great printed large to display on the wedding day. They also make lovely presents as a thank you to your parents, and look great on the living room wall, as well as your Facebook profile picture!

Here a selection of photos from a couple of recent engagement shoots. We photographed the wedding of the first couple last weekend, so will show you a few of their wedding photos in the near future - needless to say they were fantastic in front of the camera thanks to their engagement shoot, and have become good friends!

 

A wet and windy wedding day

Every bride and groom spend days, months and years planning their big day down to the finest detail. The one thing they can't plan is the good old English weather. So what happens if it pours down with rain on your wedding day?

Tim and Libby got married this May at the beautiful Abbey in Malmesbury, Wiltshire - the most incredible location in the historic former English capital. They were joined by family and friends for their special day. Unfortunately they were also joined by gale force winds and heavy rain.

As photographers we obviously want to get great photos of you on your wedding day, that you will treasure forever. At the same time, we don't want you to get cold, wet and ill and end up remembering your wedding day for all the wrong reasons!

The happy couple stayed dry and warm during the entire wedding shoot, with some handy umbrellas coming in very useful at various points, and the building keeping the rain off. And when the rain stopped for a moment and blue skies appeared then we headed out into the open to get those shots with dramatic skies. For most of the following shots we had rain coming down at 45 degrees, with wind so strong it was whipping umbrellas inside out.

With a little bit of editing the photos have a lovely warm feel and no sign of any rain, so no matter what the weather on the big day - don't panic, Jamie and Jackie will find ways to capture stunning photos of your wedding day!

Congratulations to Tim and Libby!

A beautiful Summer wedding

Lauren and Chris celebrated their special day with family and friends, getting married at the beautiful St Mary the Virgin Church in Bishops Cannings. After a rainy and windswept rehearsal the evening before the couple were greeted with glorious sunshine on their wedding day! The church is absolutely stunning and so much light and space inside makes it perfect for us as photographers!

They later celebrated their reception just a few miles away at Wellington Barn in Calstone, near Calne. Wellington Barn is one of our favourite venues, as it is completely in the middle of nowhere - just an ideal place for couples to relax with their guests, surrounded by beautiful hills and the rolling Wiltshire countryside.

It was an absolute pleasure to photograph their wedding day, Lauren and Chris are such a lovely couple and their families and friends made it even more special for us to enjoy the day just as if we were old friends.

We haven't featured any of the weddings we have photographed in detail before, but thought it would be a good idea to show you a little more of the way we photograph a wedding day. For us beautiful wedding photography means that when you look back at your pictures they bring a smile to your face as it brings back memories of the day and really tells the story of your wedding day, rather than being a series of uncomfortable and stiff poses that your parents did 30 years ago!

Of course everyone wants a selection of formal group photos, but the real emphasis is on relaxed and natural photos that allow the bride and groom to enjoy their wedding day with each other and with their guests... not to just be on a constant photoshoot!

After the big day we email the bride and groom a photo within 48 hours and then the rest are edited and sent in the highest quality on a disc within 2-3 weeks, together with the full printing rights, to print as many photos as often and as big as they like!

Lauren and Chris had around 1200 photos on their discs to help treasure their special day, as well as a folder of around 100 edited favourites - these are the shots that we pick out as being the best poses, details or moments from the day and put them into a black and white, vintage, or suitable style to match the couples personalities.

Here are a selection of the favourites. We hope you enjoy them!
Jamie and Jackie

Imagine a wedding photographer that gives you the copyright to all of your photos

That's exactly what we do for every couple we photograph.
We always give our couples every single photo we take, in the highest quality, with the full printing rights, so that they can print their wedding photos as often and as big as they like. It's really important that they are not limited to 50 or 100 photos, as otherwise you are really limiting the amount of images you can have to remember your special day.

We usually take between 150-200 photos per hour, so most couples end up with between 600 and 1200 photos, depending on how long we are there on the day. Having so many photos really helps them to relive the special day and treasure all those different moments - whether it is a natural shot of the bride sharing a story with grandma, checking the best man still has the rings, or posing with family and friends, you have them all!

And the real beauty is that they have every single photo in the highest quality, so they can print 100s of thank you cards for their guests, or canvasses for the living room and other rooms of the house, photobooks, albums or even simple prints, they can even upload all the photos to Facebook if they want - the options are endless.

So how many hours will you be there?
We know that every couple is different and the things you have planned on your special day and would like photographed are completely up to you, which is why we let you decide how long you want us there on the day. Basically, you pay by the hour, so you can cater it to fit your budget and also to fit the timings of your day, rather than being told you have to have one package or another.

We make sure that your big day is all about you and not us!

Jamie and Jackie McDine, Wiltshire Wedding Photography

A very successful photography workshop

On Saturday 16th March, wedding photographer Jamie McDine led a photography masterclass at Matravers School in Westbury. The workshop participants were a perfect mixture of ages, from 14, up to those in their 60s, and mixture of abilities - from hobby photographers, to those studying the subject for GCSE and others who had work published.

The main aim of the workshop was to get all participants to understand more about how their camera works, so that they are able to take better photographs.  So once the automatic settings were switched off, Jamie led the group through a number of hands on exercises to manually set their own ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings. The results - beautiful and more artistic compositions, with a much better exposure and consideration of light and colour.

The final exercise was to photograph a model in a studio environment - the participants had to set everything manually on their camera and apply all the skills they had learned throughout the day.

The workshop was so popular that the next one is already organised for Sunday 14th April 2013. There are a handful of places still available, so if you would like to book a place, please contact Beverley Jessop: bjessop@matravers.wilts.sch.uk
The workshop costs just £35 and runs from 10-3pm. All abilities and ages are welcome.

Wedding season 2013 has begun!

The wedding season has officially begun as Jackie photographed the beautiful wedding of Lorna and Shaun yesterday in Gastard. We're looking forward to edit their photographs in the next couple of weeks, so by the time they return from honeymoon their disc of hundreds of photos will be waiting for them on the doorstep.

We can't wait to film and photograph all the exciting weddings ahead!

Photography Workshops

After two very enjoyable and successful photography workshops in Westbury last August, we are happy to announce more opportunities to learn more about your camera and get better photos!

With more and more students owning a DSLR or bridge camera and considering the popular option of Photography GCSE or A'level, it has been a really interesting, inspiring and useful workshop for them to get hands on training, tips and techniques from a professional photographer.

In the first of the previous workshops we concentrated on portrait and model photography, teaching about how the camera works and getting them away from the 'automatic setting' to understanding the aperture and shutter, considering framing, composition and light. This was extremely popular and you can see one student directing a model on the photo below.

The second workshop was all about reportage photography and how to capture the moment, whilst once again ensuring the camera was set manually, considering the subject, depth of field, and also took in professional photoshop techniques. This was also very popular and images the students took were featured in the local press, as well as in the school magazine and online.

All of the participants have since gone into Year 10 studying Photography GCSE and have such a huge head start on their fellow students, not only in their techniques, but also in the work for their portfolio.

For our new photography workshops we will not only be passing on skills and techniques to students, but also to adults. The first workshop is on Saturday March 16th 2013 at Matravers School in Westbury. The workshop runs from 10-3pm and costs £35 per person.

There is a maximum of 8 participants per workshop to ensure we can give you as much attention, tips and techniques as possible. So far 5 of the 8 places have been booked for this first workshop, so to not miss out get in touch with Beverley Jessop: bjessop@matravers.wilts.sch.uk

We are also planning a workshop for parents and expectant parents to take better photos of their little ones. If you are interested, please get in touch with Jackie McDine: jackie@ivisualise.co.uk