Last weekend saw Morag and I down in London for the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers Annual Convention for 2010.
The convention is a mix of trade show and educational seminars and we had a very busy weekend trying to absorb as much information as possible.
Morag focused on the product side of things whilst I tried to rub shoulders with some of the best photographers in the business and glean as much information from them as I could. Morag picked up on a number of potential new products for us and we’ll be investigating these further in the next few months.
I attended a number of seminars and the stand-outs for me were the seminar with Gordon MacGowan and the practical workshop I did with Trevor and Faye Yerbury. Together they represent the very cream of Scottish (and UK) Wedding Photography so it was a great opportunity for me to learn from the masters.
Gordon’s seminar focused on the fine details to look for when posing couples for their bridal portraits – as I’m primarily a photojournalist I was interested in gaining any tips I could to improve the more artistic side of my photography. Gordon is very down to earth and even describes himself as the “Gordon Ramsay of Wedding Photography”, so it was a very entertaining seminar.
Sunday morning I spent in the company of the very charismatic Trevor and Faye Yerbury – the Yerbury’s are almost a Scottish institution, with the family photography business dating back to the 1800’s. You might think that a company with such a history may be steeped in the more traditional side of photography, well how wrong you would be – Trevor and Faye’s work is at the very cutting edge and they provide great inspiration.
The workshop I attended was entitled “Shoot in the City” and focused on the scenario of working with a couple to take their bridal portraits in a strange city with little preparation – Trevor focused on how to rapidly seek out interesting backgrounds and how to quickly interact with the couple to get some real passion in the images. Trevor and Faye’s photographs are simply works of art, so it was a real joy to get some insight into how they work.
The shot on the right is from that workshop and features the delightful models Nicola Johnston and Steven Duffy. As well as being models, they are both trained actors, so they very quickly adopted their roles as the “newly-wed couple”. Trevor and Faye directed the models and setup the shot for us, so I take no credit for how stunning this shot turned out – but I have learned how to look for similar setups in the future – so watch out for the occasional bit of “artistic” rather than “photojournalistic” work from me in the future.
Thursday, January 7, 2010 Posted in Weddings
2010 is looking like it will be a very busy year for us in terms of Wedding Photography – our first Scottish Wedding of the year will be in just a few weeks time at the stunning Orroco Pier in South Queensferry and then we’re busy all the way through the year until the 28th December when we finish off the season at the magnificent Mar Hall in Erskine.
Although based near Stirling, our Wedding Photography adventures will take us all over Scotland this year and we’ll also be photographing some couples from as far afield as the USA, South Africa and Australia. So, if you are one of those couples getting married this year, may I take this opportunity to wish you a particularly Happy New Year.
So before the new Wedding season kicks off proper, what better time than to update our wedding portfolio and refresh some of the banner images you see here on the website. Then we’ll spruce up all the marketing materials before a much-needed holiday in the Sun. Then we can really put our feet up (well for a couple of weeks anyway).
But…we can’t start a new year without closing out the last one, so here’s a little slideshow of my own favourite wedding photographs from 2009.
Monday, December 14, 2009 Posted in Weddings
Here are a few of my favourite images from last weekend’s wedding of Renee and Alistair who were married at St Brides RC Church in Cambuslang. The reception was held at the gorgeous Dalmeny Park Hotel on the Southside of Glasgow.
The Dalmeny Park describes itself as one of Scotland’s premier wedding venues, and it is easy to see why – gorgeous surroundings and everything ran like clockwork tendered by a very very attentive staff.
Scotland at the moment is experiencing a bit of a cold snap and the temperature on Saturday never rose above 1 or 2 degrees all day (and a good Scotch Mist was never far away either). This didn’t hold Renee and Ally back though, and they were more than keen to nip outside into the cold misty day for some really cool portraits. Add in the warmth of some festive Christmas lights and you have the makings of a well-timed seasonal set of wedding photographs just in time for Christmas.
Enjoy your honeymoon guys and here is a little sneak peak of some of your wedding photographs from the day.
Like what you see? Then please leave your comments below as we’d really appreciate hearing your feedback on our photography.
Want to see more? Then please take a few minutes to view our portfolio.
If you would like to be notified when the full wedding gallery has been approved by Renee and Ally, please register your email address here, and we will email you as soon as they are available for viewing.
Still thinking of what to buy your loved one this Christmas?
How about pampering them with a gift that will delight for generations?
Our special Portrait Session Gift Certificate costs only £95 and provides the lucky recipient with a one hour portrait session and includes a £45 print credit toward any of our photography products (enough for three 8×10’s ready for framing).
Sessions can include other family members (5 maximum) and photography sessions can be undertaken in the comfort of your own home or at a local venue of your choice.
To order your gift certificate, simply click on the Buy Now button below and you will be taken to our Payment processing page which will collect all your details. 
You will then be sent a gift card which you can customise with your own special message before giving to the recipient. the card also includes full details and instructions on how they can book the session.
If you want us to ship the card with a message directly to the recipient, simply let us know in the comments field when checking out.
Family Portrait Gift Certificate : £95 (includes £45 print credit)
by Alan
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