All the latest news, Hot Shots and Real Weddings on the Find a Wedding Photographer blog. You can also read the Secret Wedding Photographer exclusively on our blog pages
Wedding venue:The Asylum – it’s a very romantic venue, incredibly atmospheric, and the closest we could get to marrying in an environment that felt like a church without having a religious ceremony. Venue Website
Photographer: Michael Clements from My Beautiful Bride. I actually found him via a wedding blog and loved his style of photography so much that I sent him an email straight away.
Michael was very forthcoming and responsive, incredibly easy to work with and accompanied us on venue recces to assess the light, come up with great shots. We really let him lead in terms of what he thought might look good (even when my mum tried to get the dreaded ‘group family shot’) and were so impressed with the results. We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding photographer!
Wedding venue:Heaton House Farm is located on the Staffordshire and Cheshire border with stunning countryside views. A barn conversion venue that also has a high bling factor Heaton is a very popular choice for weddings of all sizes and tastes. Venue Website
Photographer: Photography was by Cris Lowis photography who was booked to capture the day in a relaxed and natural style. Laura and Matt didn't want too much time spent on posing but wanted to enjoy more time with their family and friends. Make up was by Sarah Meredith and the venue dressing by Supreme venue dressers.
There are numerous conspiracy theories surrounding the death of professional wedding photography or the exponential race to the bottom as it’s known in the office. I’ve mentioned a few reasons for the decline here on the Secret Wedding Photographer blog, such as free engagement shoots. Some will claim that the big camera manufacturers don’t care about us pros and much in the same way that Apple virtually ditched development of professional workstations and support for professional applications (farewell Aperture) the big camera companies are now focused on making photography easier and cheaper for consumers. Let's leave for another post!
There is another far sinister factor - the Second Shooter, lurking in the background. I’m old enough to remember life before the second shooter. The days of a now mythical creature - the photographers assistant. A useful beast who knew his place. I even employed one once who didn't want to be a photographer. He liked assisting. Having an assistant is great. They carry your bags. Make sure everything is working. Move lights around and hold reflectors. They were a fantastic thing. Unfortunately, they are rarely seen now. Commercially no one will pay for them. They have been made extinct by the birth of the second shooter. Another disastrous idea for the wedding photography business.
Photo details: Shot in the grounds of the historic Newark Castle, the wedding of Donna & James was a beautiful affair. This is shot in a little tuck away of the castle and off camera flash was used to balance the natural light and focus the attention on the couple.
This was a Game of Thrones themed wedding and the photo really fit in with what they were after...
About the photographer: I’m Andy from AWHotographic, I have been in the photography business for over 20 years and shot people all over the world but the best place to be is home and shooting lovely people on the most important day of their lives. I cover Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire with Packages starting at £1200.00..
