The chapel is lit with my least favourite light bulb in the world, the appalling orange sodium light, great for reducing your electricity bills but the worst possible choice for wedding photographers. I’ve done my best with the colours, but will probably end up converting a lot of the shots to black and white in the end. You can see an example of both in the posted pics.
Despite my moaning the couple had a lovely ceremony, choosing a Humanist service run by local celebrant Michael Wooler, followed by a wedding breakfast in The Great Hall.

The best part of the day, from a photographic point of view, was a trip in a taxi down to the Brighton bandstand on Hove seafront at twilight. The sky was just darkening as we arrived and it’s given a lovely atmosphere to the scene. The wind was quite strong, but this ended up being a real asset as it blew Kate’s dress into various great shapes. A bit of off camera flash added an element of drama to the shots. I could have carried on shooting here for half an hour or so, but the wedding schedule only allowed us a few minute before we headed back to the college for the cutting of the cake.

Kate and Nigel on Brighton Bandstand at twilight

Kate showing her big sparkly ring at The Hilton

The bridesmaids getting exited while Kate gets ready

The flowers arrive at The Hilton Metropole

The bridesmaids waiting to go into the chapel at Brighton College

The bride and groom during the wedding ceremony

Kate and Nigel exchanging rings in the chapel at Brighton College

Kate and friends outside the chapel at Brighton College

Groom, ushers and best man outside chapel at Brighton College

Kate's father making his speech

Kate and Nigel on Brighton Bandstand with the West Pier in background

Kate with her wedding dress blowing in the wind

The bride and groom on the bandstand as the sun went down

Contact me for wedding photography in Brighton and Sussex

The wedding ceremony was in The Red Drawing Room, a lovely venue but always dark from a photographers point of view. Brighton registrars are usually very helpful about this and allow the use of some flash, except during the actual wedding vows. A bit of discreetly used flash, bounced off the ceiling, gave a nice light and solved the problem.

After the ceremony the newly weds and their immediate family went through to the Music Room for some formal photos. The Music Room is open to the public as part of the Pavilion tour, so there is usually an enthusiastic audience of complete strangers watching newly married couples as they have their first photos taken together. This room is dark as well, and I always bring an off-camera flash kit with an umbrella when I’m working here. There are several nice spots to get shots, in front of the grand fireplace, by the Chinese Doors, underneath the huge ornate light shades and nearer the windows if there is enough daylight. There was only about ten minutes allowed for this in the schedule, so I needed to move quite quickly to get everything done.

For the larger group shots all the guests were escorted around to the the front of the building, to meet the couple as they left the Music Room through the french windows. If the weather and light allow it, I like to get a shot of the whole wedding party with the Pavilion in the background. The sun was shining in the guests’ eyes for some of these photos, something I try to avoid if possible, but in this case the location made it worthwhile.

This was a short four hour booking for me. Sally and Masood had decided to have a small wedding in Brighton, then a much larger party for friends and relatives in the week when they were back home in London. After finding my website Sally had decided to book me as their wedding photographer without meeting up first.  I usually try to meet all my clients but, as the booking was made quite close to the wedding date, we didn’t get a chance to do this and organised everything by phone and email.

After the formal shots I joined the party in the King William IV Reception Room for the wedding breakfast, which gave me a quick opportunity for some reportage shots before leaving. If you’ve never been in this room, check out the wallpaper in some of the photos, they don’t sell that in B&Q!

Information on booking weddings at The Royal Pavilion here.
Information booking me as your wedding photographer in Brighton here.

Sally and Masood in the Red Drawing Room for the wedding ceremony
Exchanging rings
In front of the fireplace in The Music Room
The Music Room
The newly weds underneath the ornate light shades
The whole wedding party in front of the the Pavilion
Sally and Masood waiting to go into the wedding breakfast
And another
The King William IV Reception Room prepared for the wedding breakfast
A few shots of the guests during the meal

Sally and Masood enjoying a glass of champagne

Like most traditional churches, it’s quite dark inside. I’d been told I could use a flashgun during the ceremony but I tried to keep this to a minimum. Apart from distracting the bride and groom’s attention it also tends to destroy the atmosphere in the images. Vicky and Ant lit candles during the service which looked particularly nice using the available light, but would have been ruined by flash. This sort of shot has only become possible in the last couple of years, with the huge improvement in professional digital cameras and their ability to work in low light. Even eighteen months ago I would have struggled to get anything useable, and the colours would have been so bad I would have converted everything to Black and White. You can see the results below, shot at ISO 3200 for any camera nerds out there. At the end of the ceremony four of Vicky and Ant’s friends sang from the gallery as the couple walked down the aisle and out of the church.

We made our way over the road to Kipling Gardens for all the formal photos. Despite a short shower half way through we managed to get these done quite quickly, and I had ten minutes alone with the bride and groom to take some photos before they left for the reception. This is usually the most frantic part of the day for me, it may be the only time I have to take shots of the couple and I have to make every minute count. I always ask for 20-30 minutes but the pressure of the day often means that’s not possible. My first priority is to get some good straightforward full and three quarter length shots, then, if I haven’t been told to go away, I’ll move on to something a bit more creative.

After this it was back on the bus to Brighton, for a drinks reception on the seafront opposite the Old Ship. I had three quarters of an hour for some reportage shots, and a final opportunity for a few photos of Vicky and Ant before they went back to the hotel for their wedding breakfast. I stayed for the speeches and caught the first dance before I left at about 9.30 pm.

Visit the main site for information on booking wedding photographers in Sussex

Hugo and Harvey were the first couple to have a civil ceremony on Brighton Bandstand this weekend, after the granting of a wedding license for the venue by Brighton and Hove City Council. They had a fantastic sunny day for it and managed to cram over 120 guests in for the event.
The grooms hid in the Brighton Hotel opposite until the guests had arrived and furniture had been set up for the ceremony. In fact the couple were so well hidden that the registrar couldn’t find them for his pre-wedding interview, until friend and organiser E.J. let him in on the secret. When everybody was ready Hugo and Harvey made their grand entrance and stood in the middle of the bandstand with the guests forming a circle around them. Despite the number of people attending it didn’t feel too crowded and seemed quite private. A few curious members of the public tried to join in but were gently turned away at the entrance, which had been roped off for the occasion.
After the ceremony all the guests made their way down to the terrace at beach level for a drinks reception, and I had a chance to take photos of Hugo, Harvey and their families on their own, with a bit more space to work in. I spent a couple of hours on the terrace as well, taking informal photos of everybody chatting and socialising.

Later in the afternoon the party made their way to The Old Market for the wedding breakfast. This was a short booking for me, so, after taking some shots of the receiving line, I said goodbye and left everybody to enjoy their evening.

I’ve taken newly weds on to the bandstand a few times since it’s restoration last year and it’s always a great spot for wedding photography. This is the first time that I (or anyone else) have attended a full wedding ceremony here and I’m sure it will be a very popular venue.

Visit the main website for more information on wedding and civil partnership photography in Brighton

Asti and Robbie outside East Court Mansion in Surrey

Here’s a selection of photographs from Asti and Robbie’s wedding in Surrey this Saturday.

Asti began the day in her parent’s house in Horsham, and I joined her in the early afternoon to take some shots of her preparations. The weather was looking a bit gloomy, but we managed to get into the garden to take few photos of the bride with her parents and family.

The wedding itself was at East Court Mansion in East Grinstead, an 18th century listed building restored, and now run, by the Town Council. The grounds stretch away into the Ashdown Forest, and on a good day would have been a great location for exterior shots. Unfortunately, by the time the ceremony had finished it was tipping down with rain, so I had to do the formal shots inside with a bit of emergency lighting. Thank you to Stuart, the very helpful caretaker at East Court, who quickly whipped all the chairs out of the ceremony room, so we had space for some of the larger group photos.

Despite the rain there were opportunities for some nice shots. When Asti’s parents were married a friend had lent them a vintage Citroen for their wedding car. The owner  brought the original car along on Saturday and allowed us to use it for some posed photos. We took shots inside and outside, it made a great background. The front of East Court is quite elegant, so I also asked the couple to pose by the pillars outside the entrance.

One thing that Asti hadn’t mentioned when she booked me was that her father, her father’s friend with the Citroen, and another of his best friends who was also attending the wedding, had all been professional photographers. One of Robbie’s relations was also in the photography business. However long I work as a photographer myself, this is the sort of thing that makes me nervous! I don’t know why it should worry me, but somewhere in the back of my mind I expect someone to come up and say ‘You’re a charlatan and a fraud sir, how dare you call yourself a wedding photographer. Call that a composition?’. Luckily they were all very nice, and didn’t lean over my shoulder offering me helpful tips and questioning my lighting techniques, so my confidence soon recovered.

Later in the evening the weather improved so I took Asti and Robbie outside again. We spent some time at the front of the building, then went to the back for some more dramatic shots as the light started to go. The view over the Surrey countryside has gone, but I think the sky and clouds add some atmosphere to the images. I ended up staying a bit longer than planned, and caught the first dance before making a move back to Brighton.

Asti putting on her wedding veil

Final adjustments

In the back garden at Horsham before the wedding

And at the front getting ready to leave for the ceremony

The wedding ceremony at East Court Mansion

Signing the register after the ceremony

Asti adjusting to married life

Outside in the vintage Citroen

And another of the Citroen

Asti and Robbie outside the front of East Court Mansion

Robbie with best man and friends

More shameless posing from the newly weds

And a bit more out the back

The first dance

Some very special dance moves from Robbie

And a last kiss.

Visit the main site to see more examples of wedding and commercial photography in Sussex.

Don’t rely on luck to keep your wedding photos safe

Using digital cameras for wedding photography has many benefits but, as with all electronic data, your photos can be lost in an instant if something goes wrong. Computer hard drives, CD’s and DVD’s are all susceptible to damage and failure without warning. Computer manufacturers will state the estimated lifespan of their hard drives, typically 2-3 years, and don’t expect them to last forever. CD’s and DVD’s can get scratched, destroyed in a fire or just deteriorate in the wrong conditions.

An important part of my job as a wedding photographer is to backup everything up, several times on different media, to make sure that nothing gets lost. After each wedding, the first thing I do when I get home is to copy all the images from the CompactFlash cards on to my computer. From there I back up again to a separate hard drive, and I also have backup software running continuously, which will make a further copy onto a third hard drive within an hour. The CompactFlash cards are then stored with the images still on them, in case there have been any problems with the transfer. I can then sit down and relax.
The next day, or as soon as I can, I’ll burn a copy of the RAW files on to a set of discs. When I’ve checked my back ups, I then feel happy about erasing the CompactFlash cards and using them again. The processing of the images can take a while, often a full day. As soon as that is completed I’ll backup everything again as jpegs, to two discs and two external hard drives. One copy of the discs is stored off the premises.

This may all sound slightly obsessive, but the consequences of losing someone’s wedding photos are pretty awful. Problems are not that rare, the online photography forums are full of people telling stories of hard drives making nasty grinding noises before shutting down forever and going off to the great data storage depot in the sky.

I keep copies of all my clients’ wedding photographs for at least a year, and guarantee that in my contracts. Having several copies of everything means I sleep better at night. I also recommend that clients make their own copies as soon as they receive a disc, then store it with a family member or a trusted friend.

If you want to backup your own wedding photos these are some of the main options:

• Copy on to another disc, probably the simplest solution. If your computer doesn’t have this capability ask a friend or take it in to work. Store your copies in different locations.
• Get an external hard drive and copy on to that. Use it with back up software and all your other stuff is covered too.
• Use an ‘online’ or ‘remote’ back up service. Several of these offer limited free storage, or make a very reasonable annual charge if you want more space. Carbonite, Mozy and Apple are a few of the many services available.

Contact me for more information on wedding photography in Brighton and Sussex

I was booked as the wedding photographer last year and I had been working with their wedding planner, Stacey Marie Chalk, for the last couple of weeks, to make sure that everything ran smoothly on the day. As well as planning the wedding, Stacey had also prepared all the flowers and accessories for an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed evening, you can see some of the lovely flower arrangements, and associated teapots, cups and saucers, in the photos below.

Everything ran slightly late as usual, by the time Clare had adjusted her veil and Adrian had turned up in his new Aston Martin it was 2.00pm and time for the ceremony. This took place in the main barn, it has big floor to ceiling windows at each end, which let in loads of natural light and makes it ideal for wedding photography.

The last time I worked at Upwaltham there was a gale blowing, which made outside photos a bit of a problem. The forecast for this Saturday wasn’t good either, but after a very gloomy start, things seemed to get better as the day went on. We managed to take all of the group photos by the barn and went to the small garden at the back for shots of the bride and groom on their own. You can see that Clare looked great in her wedding dress and Adrian was pretty snappy in his kilt too.

I had been booked up until the wedding breakfast, so after a few photos of Clare’s father making a speech before the meal, I left the wedding party to the rest of their day.

If you are looking for a wedding planner with some serious flower arranging skills you can contact Stacey here: staceymarie@cherrytopped.co.uk

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Visit the main site for information on booking a wedding photographer in Brighton and Sussex.

Melissa preparing for her wedding at The Hilton Brighton Metropole

The bridal bouquet

Joe and his brother waiting in the church

Melissa and Joe exchanging rings

Melissa and Joe coming out of the church after the ceremony

The newly weds on the seafront in Hove

On the seafront

Enjoying some February sunshine on the seafront

Walking back to the car along the seafront

Last one before leaving for the wedding reception

Bride and groom having a glass of champagne in the car

Joe getting a lift at Pangdean Barn

Joe and Melissa posing in front of the barn at Pangdean

Another quick shot before the wedding breakfast at Pangdean

Enjoying some confetti inside Pangdean Barn

The wedding rings in front of the (cheesy) cake

Melissa, Joe and friends after the wedding breakfast

Information on booking me as your wedding photographer in Sussex here

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Please add comments below.

I currently use a US manufacturer for most of my flush mount albums, I’m very happy with them but wanted to offer some alternatives as well. After three or four hours wandering around the different stands I decided to have a sample flush mount made up by Loxleys in Scotland. Their albums are simple and elegant and the quality was fantastic, the printing looked especially good. They are also very fast, quoting a seven day turnaround compared to 6-8 weeks for a US made album. This doesn’t actually mean anyone will get an album seven days after their wedding, as each one will still need to be processed, designed, then checked and approved by the client before it’s sent off, but I would think a month from time of ordering will be quite possible. I’ll be sending the images for the sample album off in a couple of days and hope to have it back very soon, I’ll put some images up when it arrives.

I was also looking for photo books, as a lower priced alternative to albums. I found one manufacturer that uses proper photographic paper for these, not always the case, and will probably give them a try too. These will have a very plain layout to keep costs down, unless I have already designed an album, in which case I can use the design for the book as well.

The final product I was looking for was a medium priced matted album and I didn’t have much luck with this. The top end is expensive, £1,000 and up, and the bottom end doesn’t look very nice! I’ll keep looking for something to fill this gap.

After deciding on the albums, the next thing I needed to review were my design skills. Some photographers outsource this to the manufacturers or specialist companies, but I prefer to do my own designs and see the job right through to the end. I’ve had some time, during the heavy snow in Brighton and Sussex, to work on some samples and try new layout software. One thing I’ve noticed is my designs are getting simpler and cleaner, I’m cutting down the unnecessary elements and decorations, and reducing the number of images I use for the main pages. It’s too easy, with Photoshop and a computer to start cluttering up pages. I read (somewhere) that if an album is laid out well well you shouldn’t really notice the design, it will just look right and your attention will be drawn to the images themselves, that’s what I’m aiming for. I’ve posted a few examples, these are all double page spreads for a 12 by 12 inch album, so imagine a page fold in the middle of each one.

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Check out the Brighton wedding photographers page for more information on booking me for your wedding.