The sun was out today and the mood was very positive from everyone, such as bride’s ringing with wedding enquiries to the sweet old couples enjoying the mild weather. I’m checking out some pretty wedding locations this week so I can help wedding couples create some great photographs. One of my favourite hotels is the Bingham Hotel, Petersham Road.

Richmond Park in flower

wedding locations

The area is perfect for leisure

If you want to take the stress out of wedding photos you really should speak with London wedding photographer David Stubbs. My London wedding photography experience ensures a smooth and happy wedding photography service, giving you exactly what you want. Call me for an informal, get to know you chat on 07976 237 673 today. Alternatively, complete my contact form now.

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Are wedding fairs worth while for wedding couples looking for a London wedding photographer and other suppliers? I have exhibited at fairs myself, as a wedding supplier, but are wedding fairs worth while?  I’ve done many. Some have given me several bookings but others have resulted in no bookings at all. I’ve enjoyed this one below at the Richmond Gate hotel and Kingston’s Hotel Antoinette.

Some free goodies

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London wedding photographer

Further to my article last week on what makes for a good London wedding photographer, I’ve been asked for more helpful hints. As an experienced wedding photographer I’ve had many encounters with photographers who have just not been professional; in their photographs they’ve produced or how they presented themselves. I believe that if a couple is giving you the honor of attending their wedding day then the least you can do is be professional. Whether I’m in a registry office in, say Richmond, or at Hampton Court Palace or a beautiful hotel in London, bride and grooms deserve the best.

So, here are more invaluable opinions of some of the world’s best photographers. Take the time to  plan this important part of your wedding day to ensure you have the photos that you will love. London Wedding Photographer David Stubbs

Personality counts with a Photographer

When you are hiring a wedding photographer, don’t hire someone whom you don’t really like on a personal basis! Their photos might be great, but remember that your photographer is going to be a very substantial participant in your wedding day, not only capturing your memories, but becoming a big part of them! So make sure you’re comfortable with their personality. If you find your photographer irritating, abrasive, or if you think their jokes are cheesy, keep looking. You really don’t want to look at your wedding photos, and think “Oh wow, remember the incredibly inappropriate joke the photographer told right before he shot this?” or “That guy got on my nerves – I remember feeling irritated with him as this photo was being taken.” Your day is about your happiness, first and foremost. The most beautiful photo in the world won’t mean as much if your memory of the photography experience sours it! ~ Buffy Goodman, Edmonton, Alberta

Don’t just hire the Photographer your friend recommended

The number one mistake to avoid when hiring a wedding photographer is to listen to everyone else. Your best friend might have loved her photographer, and your cousin probably swears by hers. So you meet with both of them and their pictures seem good enough. But did you like them? Your photographer will be with you all day, so it’s important you get along with them and enjoy their company. Your instincts will tell you a whole lot!
~ Britney Gardner, Turn Loose the Art, Huntington Beach, CA

So if you would like to discuss wedding photography you really must speak with London wedding photographer David Stubbs. My London wedding photography experience ensures a smooth and happy wedding photography service, giving you exactly what you want. Call me for an informal, get to know you chat on 07976 237 673 today. Alternatively, complete my contact form now.

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Facebook | See me on Pinterest

I’m often asked what makes for good London wedding photographers, and why you shoud choose a professional wedding photographer at all? I’ve had a good think about this – as a experienced wedding photographer who works throughout the length and breadth of London (though I am based in the Twickenham and Richmond area) and has provided wedding photography to many, many happy couples, I could simply just sell myself. Then I thought what about the opinions of some of the world’s best photographers? Their thoughts and opinions carry weight. (more…)

I’m going to hold a few competitions this spring and it’s not just a Photography Competition for London wedding photographers. You’ll have the chance to win fame and fortune plus print enlargements and even a free portrait session. This is the first Photography Competition

Here’s a silly one to start.

What is it?

London wedding photographers guide;

For free advice on choosing, click on London wedding photographers.

You can phone me on 07976-237673 or email me on Contact Page.

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I found these interesting points from a Brita Bevis;

COMPING AS A HOBBY

Not many people know it, but comping (the art of entering competitions as a hobby) has been around for a very long time. As far back as the 19th century, in fact. And now, at the start of a new millennium, it’s still going strong, with comping having taken off in a big way on the world wide web. Is it really surprising though, when you discover that for an outlay of maybe just a few pence, you could end up the owner of a brand new shiny car, or even a house? And don’t forget with a Photography Competition what you could win!

In 1983, when I entered my very first proper comp, I had a vague knowledge that some people had won big prizes from the odd article I’d read. But it was probably very different for you, as these days, hardly a week seems to go by without seeing a smiling winner beaming from the pages of a newspaper, or being interviewed on TV, on one of the many programmes that have publicised the hobby

A cupcake wedding cake

Mmmmn.. Just had my 5th  delicious cupcake in the space of a day! All the fault of Lisa’s cupcakes at the Sweetest Feeling Cupcakes. I was unfortunate enough to be at the stand next to her at the Hotel Anoinettes Wedding Fair yesterday and couldn’t resist devouring cake after cake after cake. Why do people eat traditional wedding cake when the could have a whole range of exciting and light flavours such as Lisa’s?  A  cupcake wedding cake is superior.

 http://www.sweetestfeeling.co.uk/

Which is best?

Many people disagree on the cupcake wedding cake versus cake issue, and I’m here to set the record straight. Cupcakes are, in fact, better than cake. I’m not 100% sure of the reason, but I am totally willing to put some ideas out there as to why this phenomena is accurate. All I know is, when someone offers me a slice of cake, I almost always say, “No thank you, I’m not really a cake person.” But when someone bakes cupcakes, I’m stalking the table like a vulture.

First off, a cupcake wedding cake is an ingenious invention for its size alone. In four bites or less, you have yourself a perfectly frosted, delicious little treat. It’s filling, and yet you can eat a second or third should you choose to.

Besides this, there’s no messy cutting or designated cutter for that matter. Dishes and forks don’t even need to be used. All you really need is a napkin and an appetite.

A cupcake wedding cake are also much harder to mess up. I have made so many lopsided cakes that had to be fixed with frosting than I can remember. Cupcakes, however, rarely come out crooked or mess up – because they’re so little!

What else? Unlike a cake, a cupcake wedding cake can be individually designed to have diverse and beautiful designs on them. If you want to be creative and use food due to turn your frosting different colors, then cupcakes become your blank canvas. If you try to put different colored or flavored frosting on a regular cake, chances are the average person would end up with a messy and odd-looking concoction.

Speaking of flavors, how often do tastes differ in a family of 4, 5 or more? Everyone has their own favorite cupcake flavor and frosting flavor, and almost always goes for the same flavor combination.

I had a great wedding fair today at the Hotel Antoinette in Kingston

I had a great wedding fair today at the Hotel Antoinette in KIngston. Many friendly and curious couples came along to my stand and I even ran out of brochures! It was  good to see whole families come along and be enthusiastic about marrying here. Thanks also to the helpful staff for looking after us as well.

http://www.antoinettehotel.com/kingston/weddings/

Some Good Tips – 1 – Eat first, then greet your guests

Instead of a receiving line that takes an enormous amount of time to chat with every guest individually, better to get things going. Arrange for a 30 minute to 60 minute cocktail hour, make your “Grand Entrance” half way through the cocktail hour, then open the buffet line with your wedding party. Since you are the first through the line, you will be the first done eating AND have a chance to eat in peace, as your guests will be waiting to get in line. Once you are finished with your dinner, walk around and great your guests one table at a time! This allows you to greet eight to ten people at once, while the event continues to move along at a good pace.

By speaking with your guests proactively, they won’t feel as inclined to seek you out later or as they leave for “one on one” interaction. If you have 200 guests and speak with each one for only one minute each, that takes up 3-½ hours of your reception!

Some Good Tips – 2 Pour champagne only for toasts for guests that like champagne

I’ve seen hundreds of glasses of champagne poured for toasts, only to see dozens of glasses left untouched on the tables and poured out into the sink later in the night. Why?? A lot of people don’t like champagne and will not drink it even if it is FREE and placed directly in front of them.

It is better to have the bartender pour a few dozen glasses at the bar and have your DJ announce that the toast will be “With whatever drink you have in your hand.” The DJ can instruct your guests to go to the bar to freshen their beverage or pick up a glass of champagne if they so wish. This little tip will can save you $100 or more in wasted champagne and/or corkage fees.

Some Good Tips – 3 Do your toast and your cake cutting together.

Many photographers prefer to shoot the toasts at the cake table, a very photogenic and decorated location. Once the last toast is completed, it is a good idea for the groom (the new “man of the house”) to greet the guests and thank them for traveling so far to spend your special day with you. As soon as that is done, the DJ can slide on a nice background song and you can cut your wedding cake while you have everyone’s attention. It is good to then wait at least 15 minutes before your formal dances so the caterer can cut and serve the cake to your guests. The best time for your first dance is while everyone is sitting at their table eating wedding cake!

Funny Wedding Stories

First Funny Wedding Stories; In 2010, a Russian wedding ended in tragedy after a game of Russian roulette went wrong, leaving one guest with a life-threatening gunshot wound to his head. A home video of the wedding in Astrakhan, southern Russia, shows a grinning friend of the groom unexpectedly pulling a pistol from his waistband, putting it to his temple and squeezing the trigger. The gun emits only a clicking sound and the smiling gunman asks who else wants to try his luck.

Another guest is shown taking up the offer, but this time the trick goes wrong. The second man pulls the trigger and immediately collapses to the floor as the gun releases a rubber bullet into his skull at point-blank range. He was reported to be fighting for his life.

Brides Joke

A bride who jokingly replied ‘I don’t’ during her wedding found that her joke backfired slightly – as the registrar then refused to go ahead with the ceremony. As a result, the entire wedding had to be cancelled, and the guests sent home.

Tina Albrecht, 27, was to marry fiancé Dietmar Koch, 29, at a castle in Steyr, Upper Austria. But the wedding had to be called off after Albrecht, a receptionist, tried to bring a bit of humour into the ceremony by saying ‘I don’t’, before immediately correcting herself. Under an Austrian law intended to prevent forced marriages if either party replies to the key question in the negative the wedding is cancelled and cannot be rescheduled for a further 10 weeks. This is probably my favourite of Funny Wedding Stories.

Flowers caused a plane to crash

The traditional throwing of a bride’s bouquet for luck ended in disaster at an Italian wedding when the flowers caused a plane to crash. The bride and groom had hired a microlight plane to fly past and throw the bouquet to a line of women guests. However, the flowers were sucked into the plane’s engine causing it to catch fire and explode. The aircraft plunged into a hostel. One passenger on the plane was badly hurt. But about 50 people who had been in the hostel escaped unscathed, as did the pilot. Isidoro Pensieri, who tossed the bouquet from the plane, suffered multiple fractures and was taken to a hospital in Pisa. For other Funny Wedding Stories, see later blogs.

http://www.oddee.com/item_97679.aspx

Your Wedding Photographs are absolutely essential if you want an accurate record of the Day but how do you go about choosing your wedding photographer ? After the day has passed, the pictures will be treasured for generations, and the only commemoration of the thousands of hours and pounds spent to plan the most important day of your life. Other than the choice of a spouse, the choice of the wedding photographer is the most important wedding-related decision you will make, and is not to be taken lightly. Following these steps can help you select the best photographer to record your Big Day. 

How long you would like the photographer

Perhaps you only need photographs of your ceremony so having just 1-3 hours of photography may be enough for you.  Other couples may prefer a complete package that may include a pre-wedding engagement sessions, bridal portraits and newlywed photos. This one of the dilemma’s in choosing your wedding photographer.

What style would you like?

Would you look for a traditional approach with mostly posed images? Or do you prefer lots of candid shots in which the subject may not even know he or she is being photographed? Do you like the glamour approach of fashion photography? Would you prefer a photographer who combines all of these styles (a freestyle or eclectic wedding photographer)?

How many Photographs would you like

Some photographers may provide you with under 100 images to remember your wedding day by. Higher-end photographers often capture thousands of images (generally from 1,000 to 3,000) for you to keep forever.

What would you like to do with the images?

Do you plan to purchase just an album for yourself, or also pictures for your walls, prints to give to friends and family, or even put the images on stationery, invitations, calendars, mugs, T-shirts, and magnets? So be aware and enjoy choosing your wedding photographer

This is Childrens Portrait Photography. 

I took these pictures of friend’s sweet girl when we last had warm sun!

When researching techniques, I found  Summer Lyn had some good advice on Childrens Portrait Photography

As a professional photographer who specializes in kids, Summer Lyn has an arsenal of tested, proven, no-doubt-about-it successful techniques, strategies, plans and approaches for getting the best images of her clients’ children.

But when it comes to photographing her own kids…pretty much none of it will work.

“My kids see me every day, so nothing I do or say is new or interesting to them,” Summer says. And make no mistake—being interesting is the first and most important key to getting great pictures.

Fortunately, Summer says it’s the easiest part of her job because it just comes naturally. “Babies, toddlers, older kids—they can see through you if you’re not really interested in them. When people ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ I always tell them, ‘Just get to know the kids. Kids are fun, they’re intriguing. If you get to know them, you’re going to capture them.”

Childrens Portrait Photography

“I always approach with the camera,” Summer says. “I’ll have it in my hands or around my neck when I get out of the car at their house. So it’s never that I’m around the children, getting to know them and then I suddenly pull out this big, black box and put it in front of my face. I have the camera in sight always, so they know its part of me.”

The very fact that there’s a camera in sight can make her interesting to the child. “Part of it is having them want to know about me: ‘What’s this girl all about? What is she doing?’ ”

Childrens Portrait Photography

Even though the camera is in plain sight, she will give the kids some time to get to know her before she starts taking pictures. “I give them that space, that warm-up time to build some trust. Trust has to come first.”

Then there’s timing. “I need to work around the child’s schedule, need to know when the child naps. If she naps at 1:00 and gets up at 2:30, then she can have a quick lunch and she’s ready. She’s not tired, she’s well fed—that’s the basic. The times [for the shoot] are always set up around well-rested, well-fed babies…or else you’re going to get some tantrums.”

http://www.davidstubbs.co.uk/category/childrens-portraits

http://www.familiesonline.co.uk