Wedding Reckie

so just to be extra prepared for the wedding i have booked in july, i visited the venue so i knew what i was working with. As i was taking photos outside of the church i was approached by helpful man who turned out to be the minister(Ray),  he let me inside the church which was even better for me to get a feel for the place as i had never been there before.

Here i could plan to get some back shots of the bride walking into the church with the father. hopefully the weather will be on our side. Maybe some portraits of her by herself or with a few brides maids.
















Entrance to the church really nice area to get some detail shots of the location. Lighting in the venue was really good as the church was surrounded by large windows, it was just right.

such a large space to work with, giving me a lot of options to move around getting portraits and side shots of the couple.
I was told by the minister that the couple will stand just before the steps to get the married, and then will move up closer to the alter after.

Photographers get to use the balcony to get sum above shots of the bride and groom. i plan to make full use of this to produce some creative images.


will have to be careful of the lighting (ceiling lighting) make sure i get them out of the shot. wont be able to get straight on shots.

Studio hire..

so if i was approched by a client that wanted some studio shots, again needing to explore my options outside of the university. Coming across www.thewhiteroomstudio.com which has everything you need to know about prices and hiring it out.
I would need it in a easy accessable place to be good for clients to find. and with this one just being off Mutley its in a perfect location.

Prices: £7.50 per hour

but you can also hire out Models, Make-Up artists, Hair and Fashion stylists who can be booked for your individual requirements.


Prices:


1 hour £15 (minimum 2 hour booking)
4 hours £40 (half day)
8 hours £80 (full day) 

Equipment hire.

As ive decided not to stay on at university to do my BA top up year, i've been thinking more and more about how i would be able to source equipment away from the college. So far my own personal equipment consists of :

Nikon D60

Tripod 

Flash 

2x 8GB memory cards

But if i was going to be doing weddings on a regular basis i would maybe need to upgrade my own equipment (which right now i don't have the money for) or hire from a plymouth based rental store.

Ive been looking online and came across www.hirental.co.uk/ which gives you everything you would need to be prepared. Ive taken snapshots of what i would personally go for if i where to hire from them just to see how much it would cost me.

I chose the D90 because from experience of using it around the college it gives really nice results. alot of depth in the images which i think would really help with achieving the best quality images for the clients.

So out of the lens on offer i would either go with one of these to. I like to do a lot of little personal shots (fly on the wall) when doing weddings and i feel i would be able to capture those little moments much better.

Just incase the weather isn't up to its best to think on your feet and put up a mini studio in the location would really make the client feel like you know what your doing and that just because its gloomy outside they can still have some nice family shots together. 

So going by this website i would be looking at spending £136.19 for a 3 day equipment hire.  I wouldn't need a tripod as i already have one. and this would all be included on the price you would give to the clients 

Weddings assistance

I will be assisting Tony Cobley on a future wedding after the work based learning deadline. 22nd May 2012.

Clients : MR & MRS Lewis (to be)

I feel this is a great opportunity for me as i have done weddings before but to watch someone with a lot more experience in the field would be a great help for me.
not so much that i will then go and copy everything that Tony does, but just to see what other ways there are to make it more efficient for the photographer.
Tony had sent me through the forms he goes through with his clients, just so i had a good idea of how the day was going to be planned out and what was expected of me. Planning ahead is always a good option and have a back up plan if things don't go to plan is even better, thats what i got from the forms (everything has been thought of).
I think its going to be a challenge in itself to assist someone as i've never done it before, but its all experience.

Wedding 4

managed to secure my 4th wedding. A builder working on my parents house got talking to me about his up coming wedding. He sed he already had a photographer but the soon to be wife wasn't to sure about them as it was a friend of the family and hadn't seen much of their work. so after a bit of discussion about what they were looking for, I tried my best to make them feel comfortable with me, I also amended my website so they could easily see the photographs i've been taking.
After offering some extra prints in with the price they have decided to go with me.
still waiting to meet with the couple and get everything signed and confirmed.

Price : £350
includes me for where ever they need me
a disc with the images on (model release signed for me to use them for advertising purposes).
and 2 prints

Tony Cobley assistance

Today I assisted a well known photographer who has visited the university serveral times. I contacted him via email to see if I would be able to do some work assistance with him. To both gain more experience and just to see how some one more established within the commerstial field. I was contacted to assist with a portrait shoot for a business firm in the city centre.

I was contacted by a text message.
Meeting at 8:45 at 22 lockyer street plymouth.
asked to dress fairy smartly ( this would make a good impression on tony himself and also the clients he was working with.)

after introductions we got straight to work transporting Tonys portable studio to a spare room which had been set aside for us to work. Throughout the set up it was a time for us both to get to know each other, for me it was interesting to find out how tony got started and his own practise back in college; He seem interested in my current project of exploring my family and new cameras.

Tony talked me through the risk assessments for the room such as wires, lighting and tripping over floor plugs. Testing lighting and doing pre shots to make sure everything was set up for when the clients started to arrive. we had 11 people to shoot in total.

By this time i was mostly observing but after each model tony would talk me through the photographs he had taken he would always have the model standing as it gives better posture, he would have some image of them looking straight at the camera and then some looking at me or another model slightly out of shot to mix it up. how he connects with the model was really important he would try to make them laugh and suggested they came up in pairs so it wasn't so intrusive.

 He had a interesting way of working where he would get the client see the images he had taken and be involved in the editing process cutting about 20 images down to 3 or 4 making it easier to process and get back to the client faster, something to take away with me for further shoots.

After everything was finished and packed away I thanked him for the opportunity and was nice to hear i'd been very professional and made a great effort. I've also been offered the opportunity to assist him on  a wedding in May which I took as a good sign for further work experience.


link to his website

Engagement party coverage

As a favour for my sister i covered her engagement party as a present from me to her. Documenting the couple having fun times with family and friends. Here are a few images from the shoot. model release signed so i can use for advertising purposes. Over all happy with the results.  

equipment used: 

Nikon D60 with attached flash gun. 

i had also brought along my tripod just in case of any group shots and would need a stabiliser.

First family shoot.

So for my first family portrait shoot. there was a family get together and requested a whole family shot. There had never been a time for them all to be together in one place so was a big occasion.

As there were so many of them i thought outside would be the best place and give more room. the weather was bright outside so no need for artificial lighting. 

composition wise there wasn't really any plan but to have the taller people at the back and then graduate down. they also wanted to include the dogs so to have a few people kneeling just made it look better and to keep the dogs in place.  

As it was for family i didn't charge for this photograph. but made them sign a model release so i could use it for advertising of other family shoots. They seemed pleased with the results and all wanted a copy for themselves. 

Family portraits.

I advertised on Facebook that i was offering portrait sessions over the easter period. i was doing this to help with my work based learning to cover more days of work experience.

I had quite a bit of interest and have now got 3 different clients that wish me to take images of their children, pets and the couple them self.

Organising dates to come.

wedding 3

Today i had a meeting with a new client about their wedding and what they were looking for we discussed venue and the plan for their whole wedding. also got them to agree to a price of £300 including the cd with the images on and sign a model release for the images created and signed a contract.

I made it clear to the couple that the copyright still remains with me as i took the images but i grant them the use of the cd to reproduce images either through me or somewhere else.

client is going to get back to me with further image ideas and group shots that they wish me to do on the day

Pre wedding shots- at the Elfordleigh they have been offered a slide show projection. Going to be taking pictures of them before the wedding (possible location plym bridge) to be put into the slide show.

wedding is on the 21st of july
Im going to be with her the whole day as i am also invited to the wedding. the couple seem pretty relaxed and are happy for me to take images as the wedding is going on and before.

i will start off at the house taking images of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready. Then images in the car and setting off. i will be going in the limo with them so i can get better shots of the bride in the car.

venue : crown hill church then on to elfordleigh for the reception.
             (planning on doing a venue reckie so i can get a feel for the place and plan better for the day.)

Talked about a whole group shot at the church. idea! taking it in stages so everyone can be seen panorama editing for a canvas in their home.