Photographer Portraits: Virginia Water Shootswap
A few weeks ago I went up to Virginia Water in Surrey to meet with a group of wedding and portrait photographers for a ‘shoot swap’ and lunch. As well as eating, talking about geeky photography things and showing off lenses (they are like shoes, a girl can always find the need for another one), we took some photos. The idea of a shoot-swap is to take it in turns to photograph each other, everyone coming away with some professional photos of themselves for their website or whatever.
As the photographer it’s good to try out unfamiliar techniques and poses, practice interacting with your subject, learn from others and have a bit of fun. As the model, I can tell you, it was a challenge! I am a tad self conscious and very critical of photos of me, so sitting there with 5 cameras pointed at you, trying to smile is so hard. The great thing about it was I came away knowing how many of my clients must feel when being photographed. Being a professional portrait photographer is not just being able to take a good picture, its knowing the best angles and poses to flatter someone, and being able to put them at ease in a situation most people will feel uncomfortable in. I was in great hands and while certainly not fond of the experience, it is nice to see the resulting photos.
Here are a few of my photos, of similarly reluctant models…
First up, Gloucester portrait and wedding photographer Lisa Fellows
Northampton Lifestyle photographer Suzanne Kentish, plus baby bump.
Greg Thurtle of Dorset wedding photography TP Photography
London wedding photographer Annelie Eddy
Bristol Photographer Marie Man
Towards the end of the day the sun was low and the light was just AMAZING. I always try and schedule portrait shoots in the evening, on sunny days this is what is called the ‘golden hour’ or ‘magic hour’ when the warm light is just beautiful.
Manchester photographer and designer Hannah Beatrice
Northampton wedding photographer Christina Savage
Worcester Photographer Theresa Furey
Big thanks to Juliet of Sugar and Spice Photography for organising
Sneak Peek: Lisa & Gordon’s Spring Surrey wedding
Last weekend I photographed Lisa and Gordon’s lovely Springtime wedding in Surrey. Can’t believe I haven’t posted a sneak peek yet, so here’s one of the happy couple hanging out in the flower bed, with me climbing on the wall. Well it’s Spring, there had to be some blossom involved somewhere.
More soon…
Surrey Wedding Photographer Amy Wass- amy@amywass.co.uk
Katie & Dan’s snowy wedding at Hampton Court House, London
My first and last weddings of 2010 were at beautiful Hampton Court House on the outskirts of London. At the beginning of December the country was under a blanket of snow, and the dreary winter landscape was transformed into a gorgeous winter wonderland. The perfect setting then for Katie and Dan’s Christmas wedding. They got married at St Andrew’s Church in Ham with the reception at Hampton Court House. The snow seemed part of the festive styling of the wedding, with bridesmaids and bouquets in stunning bright red against the white dress and snow. The bride and groom travelled in a vintage white Rolls, with guests transported between sites London style, on a red routemaster bus. Katie & Dan were brave enough to get out in the snowy grounds, and also the rather bizarre shell lined grotto, for some photos before joining their friends and family for the reception. Warmed by log fires and lit by candles and fairy lights, as darkness fell it all felt rather festive and cosy. They had named their tables after the reindeers that pulled Santa’s sleigh, and later in the evening a fantastic ice sculpture of a sleigh was revealed. The numerous vodka shots that went down that vodka luge ensured the celebrations really got going and everyone partied into the night. Fun wedding, great way to round off the 2010 wedding season. Congrats Katie & Dan!
Here are some highlights from the day, the full gallery is online for friends and family here.
You are welcome to leave your comments and congratulations for the happy couple below…
Snowy Wedding- Sneak Peek of Katie & Dan’s Hampton Court House wedding
Snow can bring this country to a standstill overnight but it also turns the bleak December landscape into a beautiful winter wonderland. It doesn’t happen too often down this end of the country, so while the snow still lay on the ground at Hampton Court House, Katie and Dan were absolute troopers getting out in it for their wedding photos. Here’s a little sneak preview.
The full set of photos to follow soon. To stay up to date you can stalk me on Facebook.
Michelle & James’ Vintage Country Wedding in Surrey
Michelle and James had a vintage-country styled wedding at the Georgian House hotel in Haslemere, Surrey. Full of details, personality and moments, this wedding was a photographer’s delight. Michelle and James are a lovely couple and their happiness really shone through on the day.
Michelle wore a pretty summer dress and band of flowers in her hair, while James wore a dapper checked suit. The venue was decorated with haybales, picnic rugs, bunting and pretty meadow flowers and corn. Michelle is a talented violinist and the tables were named after the Sound of Music, the table plan cleverly crafted using the musical score. Instead of a traditional sit down wedding meal, they treated their guests to Afternoon Tea, which was beautifully served on vintage crockery. The tables were laid out with dainty floral cups and saucers and mismatched plates. They ate cucumber sandwiches, scones and homemade jam, with lashings of ginger beer. The food was followed with some very interesting looking Choi Time chinese tea, with petals and flowers that ‘bloomed’ in the teapot. In the evening there was a BBQ and Ceilidh which got everyone up dancing.
Here are some highlights from their wedding photos. The full gallery is now online for friends and family here.
Thanks to Tarah Coonan for assisting me on this wedding.
You are welcome to leave your comments and congratulations for the happy couple below…
Sneak Peek: Michelle & James got married!
Just one from Michelle & James’ wedding at the Georgian House hotel in Haslemere. Such a photogenic wedding with the fantastic vintage teasets, old english flowers and crazy ceiledh dancing, so it was hard to choose one sneak preview but I love this cute moment.
More highlights and the full gallery will be online in a few weeks time. To stay up to date why not follow me on facebook.
