We were doing a piece about using locations, and this shows me setting up some images on the fire escape at the side of the hotel.
So after a huge build up, and lots of preparation that’s it over for another year. The Societies (or SWPP- Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) annual convention at the Novotel Hammersmith. It is a huge event, the biggest of its type in Europe and attracts speakers and delegates from all over the planet. This was the 10th convention held by the Societies and the 6th in London, also my 6th having been to all the events in Hammersmith. This year I was back as a speaker and a judge. I was pretty stressed out in the weeks leading up to the event as I just seemed to struggle to find time to get prepared as it is so close to Christmas and it is a busy enough time of year.
I’ve been involved in judging before but it had been a while and I was offically judging this time, rather than just being asked to help out like before. The judging was great fun. It is done in front of a live audience so it is quite pressurised as you can be put on the spot to explain your score at any time. It’s quite a buzz, and I was very happy with my scoring throughout the two (very long) days. The judging panel was chaired by Dennis Orchard and I felt it was a great success throughout. I did think one or two categories were a bit weaker than usual but overall the standard was very high, and has prompted me to enter again this year!
I did three masterclasses. Friday on using run down location, Saturday was about my business and how I work, and Sunday I did one on mixing different types of lighting during a wedding day. All three classes were very busy and the feedback was great. Hopefully everyone enjoyed seeing how I work, and hopefully not to disturbed by any of my jokes or the PJ video….. Usually I am a nervous wreck before talking, but this year I felt a lot more confident and actually even enjoyed them. I’ll definitely be back presenting again next year! It’s also given the bug to do more teaching, so look out for more courses soon, aimed at all levels from beginners upwards.
The event itself is always a great chance to meet people. I had forgotten how many great friends I had in the photographic industry, but you don’t forget for long. I had just walked in the door when I was met by Christina lauder who I met at my first ever convention. You’re five minutes there and it feels like you have never been away since the previous year. This year I really enjoyed the social side, and I can honestly say I have never laughed so much in my life as I did over the week I was there. The banter this year was on a whole new level. To all the many people who had me almost doubled up laughing, I thank you – you know who you are. In particular, Derek Poulston and the One Vision team, Grant, Lenny, Joyce, Caroline, Alannah, and far too many others to even try to list. So much fun.
There are so many great photographers I’d like to thank for their continuous encouragement and support as well as freely offering advice on all sorts of things, not even restricted to work, and again too many to mention. I’d like to pay a special tribute to Tony Corbell, who despite saying in Professional Photographer magazine that I was nuts, is one of the nicest kindest people I have the privilege to call a friend. We go back a number of years and sometimes it’s easy to forget just how highly regarded Tony is throughout the world as a teacher and photographer. A very down to earth and humble guy who would do anything for you. Also Trevor and Faye Yerbury, who were by my side the very first time I ever spoke in public back in 2007 and they have always been a huge help as well, and their advice is always appreciated, as again they have probably got better things to do with their time than speak to me! There are so many others and I apologise for not mentioning them but i’d be here for days if I started.
Big thanks to Mark at Hasselblad who kindly let me play with a H4D-31 on Saturday. I didn’t get as long as planned due to a problem with the radio triggers we were using but what a great camera and I want one. I will be buying lottery tickets from now on. Image quality out of this camera is amazing.
Also a big thanks to One Vision & Johnsons Photopia for their continued support throughout the years. Great partnerships which I am proud to be part of.
I already can’t wait to next year, which is at a new venue in a more central London location. hanks and well done to Phil, Juliet and all the rest of their team for yet another amazing week.
I had an article published in the October issue of Professional Imagemaker magazine, about shooting drama on location. Professional Imagemaker is the magazine of The Societies
I’m doing a series of 3 masterclasses at The Societies Convention in January in London, one of which will cover this topic.
Here is the 5 page article.
So another year comes to an end. 2009 was a tough year for many reasons, but this year has been amazing. 42 weddings throughout Scotland, which equals my highest ever number, and some amazing weddings at amazing locations. The business has really done well in these tough times, and hopefully the hard work is starting to pay off. I have been so lucky to be part of so many special occasions, and I have said before – it is a special honour to be part of the most important day in a couples lives, and it is something I feel very grateful for. So to all the lovely people who let me be part of their weddings this year – I thank you from the bottom of my heart! The feedback I have had this year has been on a different level to any other time since I began this job, and that makes me feel so happy. There’s not much better than getting a glowing testimonial after a couple have received their photographs or their album, and it’s one of the driving forces that continues to inspire me every time I go to a wedding.
The highlights of 2010 were undoubtably the two awards I received from the BIPP. The Scottish Portrait Photographer of the Year award was a total shock and a great feeling. The same image then won the UK Affiliate of the Year Award at the National Awards at Blenheim Palace last month. I haven’t entered as many competitions recently, so it was great to be recognised.
2011 is looking like being a great year as well. Bookings are looking really good again, and there are some really exciting weddings in there, including one in Italy and one in Thailand, which is something to look forward to as we try to get through the really bad winter weather. I am hoping to develop a couple of different parts of the business next year – more to come on that. I am heading down to the SWPP Convention in January – but for the first time in 4 years I won’t be speaking – I fancied a year off so I could concentrate on other parts of the business, but will hopefully return as a speaker in 2012. I will be attending for a few days though so hope to catch up with some friends and colleagues. I am also making the most of January to go on a couple of training workshops as I aim to keep pushing my work onto a higher level and stay ahead of the competition.
So, this year my top ten wedding images has been a really tough choice, so I decided to make it 15!
I have cheated slightly with my number 1, as it is not a wedding picture but as it won 2 awards and has been published in several magazines it HAD to be top of the list. A shot of model Natalie taken during a demo at the SWPP Convention. I shot it with the 16-35mm lens and lit it with the Q-Flash fired by pocket wizards. It was a demo for wedding photography so I am sneaking it into my top 15 on that criteria!
Next up is a shot I took at Cloisters at Glasgow University. A great location, a great day and some lovely light combined to give this image which was 100% ambient light.
This shot was taken at Dalhousie Castle – and not an obvious shot at such a spectacular location. I just spotted the wonderful leading lines of the path heading back to the solitary tree, so got Beatrice and Michael to walk up there and I shot them from distance with the 70-200mm lens. Available light was just beautiful!
Next up is a shot I took at Boddam, near Peterhead. It was October and not the warmest of days so we had to work quite quickly. This was again lit with Q Flash, triggered by Pocket Wizards, and a dramatic sky added to the drama and feel. I had the driver move the vintage car to just add something to the background. Sharron and Ben then pulled off a very natural looking pose.
This was my only wedding outside of Scotland this year, down in Northumberland on a lovely October day. It was tricky to come up with a great image which would include Helen, John and Pepper the horse, but this unusual tree gave a great opportunity. It was very unplanned but came together perfectly, and the horse stood perfectly for me to get the image.
This was a couple of weeks ago at Elise and David’s wedding at Bunchrew and I just loved the colours of the December late-afternoon sky. It was very cold and windy right there so we had a couple of minutes to get a few shots. Lit by Q Flash, from overhead, and underexposed to bring the sky out.
This was a 100% natural, reportage moment, although it looks like it could have been set up. It was during the ceremony at this very unusual wedding in the middle of a glen at Alladale Estate, in wind and rain. The couple were listening to a reading from one of the bridesmaids, and I captured this beautiful moment. The expression is beautiful and it’s hard to imagine just how cold and dreich it was at that moment as it looks so warm and tender.
This was just a really lovely day, which was so much fun and I really enjoyed shooting at the Glenmorangie Distillery. The barrels and warehouse gave great lines to lead to the happy couple, who just looked so in love. Lit with Q Flash again.
This was one of the wettest wedding days in history, and it was my first one at the amazing Eilean Donan Castle, so I was so disappointed that it looked like we’d get no outside pictures. A real stroke of luck saw the rain stop for about 30 minutes in the entire 24 hours, but it was just at the right time to get out and capture the dramatic moody Scottish scenery.
This was a really fun wedding day at Traquair House near Peebles. There was only the two of them there – from Canada. It was so relaxed, a beautiful day and a really cool couple. They got married in the centre of the maze, so I felt it was important to try to get a memorable image of that location. I ended up quite a distance away hanging out of a window a few floors up shouting instructions. The couple were standing on a large tree stump which gave them the necessary height to make the shot work. All natural light with the 70-200 lens.
Another great day – the most crying I have done at a wedding. A deeply emotional day, with two really fun people. I had shot a few locations around the Newton Hotel, but really liked this wee corner. It was a bit precarious lying on the floor in a kilt to get the right angle to shoot through the daisies, but it worked and no creepy crawlies made it up my kilt.
This was a recent wedding at Loch Ness Country House Hotel, and it was just the most amazing blue sky. I love this old tree, which won’t be around much longer by the looks of things. I’ve taken a few shots of it before but never managed to capture such vibrant colours. Another Q Flash shot with the 16-35 lens.
I LOVE Dunrobin Castle – it may well be my favourite ever wedding location. It just has a magical, fairytale feel to it on a good day. This shot of Gaeleen and Chris is one of my favourites I’ve taken there. Very simple but it really captures the whole mood and feel of the occasion.
This was a fantastic day at Achnagairn. I had been excited about Knoxy and Craig’s wedding for ages and it didn’t disappoint. I liked the shape of this part of the garden as it looked like an arrow in my mind. I just got them in a very natural situation and shot it with the 24-70 lens again using available light.
Last but not least, another fun image. Catriona and Richard had insisted that they wanted something quite outrageous on the same lines as my ‘bride with spade’ image, and somehow this is what I came up with. They loved it and it was a load of fun to set up.
So, those are my top 15 wedding images of 2010. It has taken ages to edit down to these, so apologies for those who aren’t included. out of 42 weddings it was a tough task but these are chosen for a whole variety of reasons personal to me. Already looking forward to starting on the 2011 group! I’d like to personally wish everyone, friends, colleagues and people I have worked with over the year, a very happy New Year and hope 2011 will be a great year for everyone!
What a great week. The SWPP convention gets better ever year. I heard that there were 17,000 tickets sold this year, which is astounding! This is my fourth year of attending, and third year as a speaker.I enjoyed this one better than any others.
It looked for a while this year as though I wouldn’t be attending. For a start, I wasn’t going to know until a few days before leaving, whether I could manage without crutches, as I couldn’t have travelled if I still had them. I also had the added issue of the bad weather threatening to stop me from travelling. There were no problems on the day though and I got there safely.
I attended some business seminars on Tuesday and Wednesday, which were very inspiring, with some great speakers on show. Thursday I decided it was time to be a tourist. We went in to London and visited Madame Tussauds and the London Dungeon. They were great fun although the miles I walked to get there certainly took it’s toll on my leg and the cast!
Friday was the day of my first Superclass. I spent the morning having a wander around the trade show and preparing for the afternoon. I had a great group and it was sold out as well which was nice. We were covering lighting techniques for wedding photography, and enjoyed a great shoot around the hotel and nearby area, with our amazing model Natalie Oag, who was down from Caithness as well. It was very cold, but as usual Natalie was the ultimate professional and never complained once. She’s definitely the best model I’ve worked with and it made my job so much easier working with someone I can rely on, so I could concentrate on talking to the group, knowing that Natalie would do a great job. I was very tired after the class, which was 2-6pm and had an early start on Saturday morning for my second class, which was on Post Wedding Shoots, or Trash The Dress as it is sometimes called. This was a 9am-1pm class and it was a joint superclass with Sofie Louca, from Amorphia Photography in Cyprus. We again had a great group and enjoyed a fun shoot around the hotel, despite the rain. Again we had Natalie modelling and she looked amazing in Sofie’s black dress, albeit a bit cold. We also covered how we use photoshop techniques to finish the images (well Sofie took the lead on this part as I don’t use many techniques!). By Saturday afternoon I was shattered but managed to attend Mitche Graf’s superclass which was inspirational. Saturday night I was too tired and sore to do much so just had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks in the bar before heading to my room to pack for leaving in the morning.
I would like to thank SWPP for inviting me to speak again, and will look forward to hopefully returning in 12 months time. Also big thanks to Natalie for being a great model as usual, to Sofie and Paul for joining me in the Superclass,and to all the people who gave up half of a day to come and see what I do, which is a great honour for me. This is sounding like an oscar speech now, but I’d also like to thank everyone I met and never managed to meet during the week for their welcomes and continuing friendships and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.
Here are just a few images from the two classes:
I’ve just returned from a week in London at the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) annual convention at the Novotel in Hammersmith. I’ll be posting more from this later, but I had a great week and met up with some good friends and really enjoyed myself.
I left before the awards ceremony this year, but just found out that I was runner up in the Wedding Photojournalist category. This year the categories were international, not like before when there was a UK and an Overseas award. I was runner up to none other than Jerry Ghionis from Australia, who is the best wedding photographer on the planet in my opinion, so that makes me feel pretty good! In fact I am claiming the unofficial UK Wedding Photojournalist Award (haha).
Here is the image that was runner up:
Well another year is over. It has been a very mixed year for me with the recession certainly having an impact on the business, but I’ve come through it stronger I think. Next year is looking like a bumper year of weddings, with already more in the diary than I did in 09, and getting close to topping 2008 as well. The new training business is going to be launched properly in 2010, after a few problems this year – mainly my stupid injury!I am launching a brand new portrait service for 2010 as well, which I hope will be a success.
2010 kicks off with the annual SWPP convention in London, which I’m speaking at for the third year in a row. I hope to meet up with many friends there, both old and new. Come and say hello if you’re there!
I’ve been nine and a half weeks (nice movie) in plaster now after tearing my achilles tendon back in October, which has been a real pain in every sense, with me struggling to do much, but again I’ve almost got through it. Three more weeks and I’ll be plaster-free and starting a recovery plan. I have discovered over those long weeks just how vulnerable we are in this business, and at the same time I have found that I am a much stronger, more determined person than I ever imagined. I’ve had a lot of help from both family and friends during this time and for that I will always be grateful. They say it’s at times like this you find out who your true friends are, and I certainly have. Thank you to every single one of you for support, encouragement and just making me laugh when I felt down!
I’ve finished the year off by choosing my favourite 10 wedding pictures of 2009.
I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year I hope 2010 is a great one for you all!
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