Hi all, I have today finished Frank & Pippa’s wedding photographs. Frank & Pippa had a civil ceremony at the Berrydown Farm in Romsey, this is a lovely wedding venue tucked away in the countryside in Romsey, Hampshire.
As you can see this is a lovely place to have a wedding. The weather was perfect considering all the bad weather we have had this year we really were very lucky. We started at Pippa’s home then on to Berrydown Farm for everything else.
It’s very stressful being a bridesmaid.
Here comes the bride.
The exchange of rings.
The guests looking very glamorous.
The girls, they noticed me trying to get a picture and gave me a pose.
His ring.
Her ring.
A quiet moment.
One of my favourite pictures from the wedding.
Pippa looks absolutely amazing.
Quick change Frank in his army uniform looking very handsome.
Guard of honour.
This was a beautiful wedding and I loved taking the pictures. to see the full set click here
Hi from the Botley Park Hotel. We are having a family portrait day today. Lots of family portraits, baby portraits etc. It makes a change to be here and not the Botleigh Grange Hotel our usual venue. It is very nice here everyone is very helpful and friendly.
My first client came from Portsmouth by train and taxi (now that is dedication) it was a mother and toddler portrait that went very well, Xavier was really well behaved and smiled on cue.
Must go my next one will be here any moment.
I will blog again soon hopefully with some pictures. Colin.
Hi, last Thursday I had to photograph an event for BAT in Totton, luckily it was one of the very few nice days this year, just as well because a lot of the day was outside playing games and team building.
Here are a few pictures from the event.
The marquees set out ready.
Everyone was fed with a hog roast.
The serious part of the day playing pass the parcel.
BAT Presenter
Seminar delegates.
Table football with a difference
Cheer Leaders
Training to be the next Robin Hood.
The race is on.
Men are definitely rubbish at Hoola Hoop.
Congratulations to the Winning Team Captain
If your company or charity is having an event and you would like a photographer to capture the event give us a call on 01489 786195
That’s it for now, I will try to get Frank & Pippa’s wedding online tomorrow and a few pictures here on the blog so check back tomorrow, pm.
Hi, I had a great time on Sunday at the Botley Park Hotel in Boorley Green, it was part of the Sophie’s Appeal charity fund raiser which will give someone a modeling contract with LPM Models.
As far as I know they raised around a thousand pounds for this fantastic charity if you would like to find out more about Sophie’s Appeal click here.
The event was organised by Sarah Beattie and the judges on the night were James Beattie, Ewen Thomas, Rick Jackson, Kelly & Emma from LMP Models and Lin Barringer (Sophie’s Mum). The host & compare for the evening was Mike Osman.
The final of the modeling competition will take place at the Botley Park Hotel on Sunday 19th October and tickets may still be available click here for more details.
Sarah Beattie looking beautiful and confident opening the event.
Here are a few of the hopefuls and maybe the next Kate Moss!! Just click the arrow to start the slideshow. To view the complete set of pictures from the event click here.
I have probably mentioned this a few times on the blog, Matthew is my son, a handsome you man aged 25 with a great personality. His fiance Fiona is a beautiful young girl with a lovely personality, and together they really do make the perfect couple.
They are getting married on the 27th March at Bitterne Church with the wedding reception at New Place in Shirrell Heath
This blog will be a guide to the planning and lead up to the big day and will be updated regularly.
Hi from the Botleigh Grange Hotel, we have a full day of family portraits today so I will write this blog entry in between clients time permitting.
We have nearly finished Nick & Sophie’s wedding previews and they should be ready to view on the internet by Tuesday. We have been asked why it takes two weeks to get wedding proofs ready to view? Well there are a number of reasons, firstly most bride & grooms go on honeymoon for a couple weeks and we wont put the wedding pictures live on the internet until they have collected their wedding preview pack from us, that way they are the first to see their photographs.
Next we take a lot of pictures at a wedding it is nothing to shoot more than a 1,200 images at a wedding and all of these have to be edited to take out the blinks and funny expressions then each file has to be assessed and corrected for colour, density and contrast then cropped. We then run each image through Photoshop to add the finishing touches to each picture and then save at various sizes, one for the web, one for the proofing system and one for final printing. This process takes around 2 full days to complete. Ok, I get that I hear you say that’s still only 2 days. This is true but it is not unusual to have 3 weddings over a weekend not forgetting if we have a family portrait day there can very easily be another 1,000 plus images to sort out as well. Mixed in with this we have people bringing back their proofs and we have to then order all of the reprints for family and friends and design their wedding album. We sell a high proportion of Graphi Wedding Books and it takes me about 2 days to design and order a typical Graphi Book. It is possible to buy template software to design these books but I still prefer to do it myself in Photoshop, this makes each album completely different from the last one, I know it takes longer but I like each album to be individual not the same set of templates with different faces.
All of this together with the usual chores of running any business, I hope you can see and get an idea of what goes into making your wedding and portrait images so special.
I am not looking for sympathy. I count myself very fortunate to be working in such a fantastic industry, I love every day of it, not too many people can say that. I just wanted to give a little insight into what goes on behind the scenes because even my friends think I only work on Saturdays!!!!!
Hi, this week we are photographing a wedding at Highcliffe Castle. This is a really brilliant venue, I have only been there a few times but love it every time. Nick & Sophie are the happy couple tying the knot tomorrow. I will put up a few pictures some time next week, if you have never been to a wedding at Highcliffe Castle it is worth checking out our blog next week to see some pictures.
Hi, Last Saturday I did a wedding at St.James Church West End with the reception at Southampton University for Louise & Daniel. If you have never been there for a wedding you will be surprised at the gardens they have there to shoot the wedding pictures. I will put up some pictures in the next few days so you can see. We had a lovely day the weather was just right the bride was stunning and the groom was a legend!! (you had to be there).
Mike also did a wedding for me at St.Boniface Church in Chandlersford followed by a wedding reception at Marwell Resort hotel. Mike said he had a great time with Joanna & Matthew they were good fun and really enjoyed their day. I am looking forward to seeing their pictures soon, I have them here and I am working my way through the never ending stream of pictures. Again I will put up a few pictures when I can.
Matthew helped me again this week I gave him a wedding to sort out from copying the images from the cards, burning backup dvds then running every picture through Aperture to colour and density correct and crop, to my delight and amazement with minimal tuition he managed to work his way throught the whole wedding without a hitch, well done Matthew.
Last Sunday saw another day of family portraits at The Botleigh Grange Hotel, I had some lovely families come through and I will put up a couple of pictures soon.
Hi I have just booked a place at a charity event to be held at the Botley Park Hotel on the 19th October 2008.
Probably the best way to tell you about it is to copy and paste the email that I received today from Sarah Beattie.
“Dear Colin
Firstly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Sarah Beattie and my husband James and I are Patrons of a charity called ‘Sophie’s Appeal’. This very special charity was started up in memory of a beautiful little girl called Sophie Barringer, by her parents.
We first met Sophie when my husband was playing for Southampton Football club and Sophie was the match day mascot. Unfortunately, she was suffering from Wilm’s disease. Horrifically this cancer of the kidney claimed Sophie’s life in December 2004; she was only six years old.
Sophie’s parents, Mike and Lin, have dedicated their lives to help sick children and their parents whilst being treated either in hospital or the community. They have up to date raised over £100,000, as well as opening ‘Sophie’s Place’, a children assessment area in Winchester Hospital, where Sophie was sometimes treated. This is no means the end of it, they also fund research for future treatments for childhood cancers as well as sponsoring dream holidays for terminally ill children.
There is no getting away from it that this charity is extremely worth while and close to James heart and mine. As Yvonne has already explained to you, on the 19thOctober 2008, I am organising a Fashion Show at the Macdonald Botley Park Hotel, in Southampton, in order to raise as much money for this amazing charity. We have launched a model competition in the South for 12 women and 4 males to actually be a model in the show. The model Competition Night Final is on the 21st September at the Macdonald Botley Park also. We are having a panel of local celebrity judges to select these finalists.
Thank you so much for your time in reading this email and I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you would like more information about the Charity then please visit www.sophiesappeal.org or don’t hesitate to call me.
Best Wishes
Sarah Beattie”
We will be exhibiting at the show and taking photographs of of the event, these pictures will be available to buy from our website with 80% of all sales going to the Sophie’s charity.
Please take a look at their website [link] and if you can help they will be very grateful.
Hi again, well we had another two weddings this weekend. The first wedding was at the Botleigh Grange Hotel in Hedge End. We started the photos at Tracy’s home in Chandlersford which was great. When I arrived, just as I had asked for everyone was ready all they had to do was put on their dresses, this gave us plenty of time to get some great pictures before heading off to the Botleigh Grange Hotel for a civil service. The room was decorated very nicely with balloons and chair covers all very tasteful.
We had to do all of the pictures inside as the rain never let up all day, never the less everyone seemed to have a lovely time and not put off by the rain at all. I will put up a few pictures soon.
Mike did Paul & Debra’s wedding photographs, starting at Debra’s home and then on to Peartree Church for the wedding ceremony. Peartree Church is a lovely old church in Woolston, as the weather was so bad Mike asked the vicar if he could take the wedding pictures in the church, the vicar allowed him 30 minutes which isn’t very long but better than nothing. Off to East Horton Golf Centre for the wedding breakfast, East Horton Golf Centre is a great venue for a wedding reception and the grounds are perfect for the photos, with a nice patio area for the formals and the lakes for the romantic Bridal Portraits however due to the typical British weather we were not able to make the most of the lovely settings. When Paul & Debra return from their honeymoon I will offer to take them out in their wedding clothes to do some pictures on the golf course and around the lakes, I hope they are up for it because we can get some great shots without the pressure of finishing in time for the line up. I will put up a few pictures next week.
Until the next time keep dry and happy, cheers Colin.
