Why have a Pre Wedding Photoshoot??

I thought I would post about something that I think is a very important aspect of your wedding photography, your relationship as a bride and groom with your wedding photographer and vice versa important for myself as your wedding photographer.

From my point of view, it allows me to see how you might react to being in front of the camera, maybe you have some insecurities about yourself in print and maybe you just feel a little bit uncomfortable, you want to look natural, with relaxed shoulders, natural smiles etc.  I see it as part of my job to make sure you feel relaxed and comfortable in front of my lens and what's more  that you will love the end results.  When I married my husband we weren't offered a pre wedding shoot and it is my only regret, because I was quite nervous being on the other side of the lens and it does show in our wedding photos, if I knew all the wonderful photographers that I do now, we would have made different choices about who would be the right wedding photographer for us and I can guarantee that we would have chosen someone completely different to the photographer that we actually had.  But back then I was new to wedding photography and I didn't know any better.  I didn't even consider that a pre wedding shoot may have been offered and I certainly didn't ask for one!

From the perspective of the bride and groom, I believe it is important to have some sort of direction and to also have an idea how your photographer likes to work.  Maybe they give minimal direction and allow you to just be yourselves, maybe they will ask you to stand in a certain way or a certain pose - but however your photographer works, you need to be reassured that it helps you to feel relaxed in front of their lens.  The two main reasons for selecting your chosen photographer are that you a) love their work b) like them as a person and feel comfortable around them so meeting them before hand is a great way to build a good working relationship.  By the time your wedding day comes around you will be more than happy to know that your photographer is working in a certain way and interacting with you in a way that allows you to be natural and relaxed on your wedding day.   

Location choices for the pre shoot can be anywhere that is a place you love to be, or it can be tied in with a visit to your wedding venue.  If I have not photographed at your venue before I would always recommend that we meet there first, even if we go somewhere else to actually do the pre shoot, meeting at the venue gives us a chance to discuss photo opportunities on the day, contingencies for bad weather and also any specific locations that you would like to incorporate into your photoshoot.



Most of all a pre shoot should be relaxed and fun,not everyone will want to lie down on the grass for a giggle, but then it is your chance to show your personalities.  I always include a pre wedding shoot with my wedding photography packages, because I see it as an integral part of the service I offer.  There is no additional charge for this, it is included in the quotation I give you and you will receive 20 images or more on disc with a licence to print them (just like your wedding images).

All of these brides and grooms were a little bit nervous about their pre shoots, but by the time we had finished they felt it had been a very worthwhile experience.  The shoot will normally take place about 8 weeks-4 weeks before your wedidng day so we can use the time to also go over any final details and timings of your day, but it also gives me time to get the images back to you before the big day.

I am taking bookings for 2013, limited dates are available June-October so please do get in touch sooner rather than later to check availability for your wedding date.  Unfortunately I am unable to take any further bookings for 2012.

For more details about my work please visit my website

http://www.helenhowardphotography.co.uk

Let's get married, twice in one week!!

I'm sitting in my house dressed for winter, curled up with my laptop on my legs (keeping them warm) and sipping a hot cup of tea.....it's August!!  Although you really would think that summer this year has completely passed us by in the UK and twice this week we have flicked the heating on to take the edge off the chill!  So to brighten my day, I thought I would blog this beautiful two part wedding of Esther and Dave, which took part earlier this month in Lichfield, because this wedding is full of lots of gorgeous things it will be a joy to blog about it!

We all know that in this country, the only guarantee on your wedding day is that you cannot guarantee what the weather will decide to do.  The only advice I can give is, don't let it spoil anything and  embrace it - rain, sunshine or snow !!  Always discuss a contingency plan with your photographer and make sure that you know what the plan will be if the heavens decide to open, basically make sure you and your photographer are singing from the same hymn sheet.  If you would prefer to throw on some funky wellies and grab some umbrella's then you will still undoubtedly end up with some amazing shots.

When I met Esther and Dave they told me about their wedding plans and I was immediately drawn in to the romantic idea of a humanist ceremony, planned to be outdoors in a paddock next to a family members house.  I knew instantly that Esther and Dave were set on having their day just as they wanted it, not so far away from tradition, but without the restrictions that can sometimes be imposed in having a traditional ceremony. 

We agreed to do a pre wedding shoot two days before the wedding day, because by law Esther and Dave needed to marry in a register office first, so we were to meet on the day to incorporate some shots to remember the formal and legal part of their wedding and also to spend some time on the pre shoot to make sure they felt relaxed in front of the camera.  There were no worries there, they are very relaxed with each other and looked so natural throughout the entire shoot. Meeting with a handful of close family at the register office in Lichfield, the marriage took place and then the wedding party were greeted outside in the park with a spread of champagne and strawberries!  Such a lovely personal touch and I would recommened anyone getting married at the register office, this is a lovely, personal and refreshing touch! 

Here are some pictures from part one of their beautiful wedding:

Two days later, accompanied by my assistant and second shooter for the day, my friend Lucy of LNDesigns - we met with Esther, her mum and bridesmaids at Esther's parents house for some bridal prep.  The atmosphere I have to say was so relaxed, we had plenty of time and really the only concern was the looming threat of rain!  Of all the weddings, please let this one be dry!!  So much effort had gone into makeing the outside ceremony beautiful and perfect, that it would be an awful shame if it had to be moved indoors.

Esther and her bridesmaids all looked stunning, I especially love the portraits of the bride when we just had five minutes after she had just got into her wedding dress, with the window light behind her.

The relationship between mother and daughter really moved me at this wedding, genuinely all of the people we met on the day were lovely - but especially the brides Mum!!



The details were intricate and well thought out, a photographer's paradise!  I loved the fact that although the bridesmaids had a colour scheme, they all chose individual styles of dresses, they all were comfortable in the style they had chosen and each of the dresses complimented one another.

It really was touch and go as to whether the ceremony would take place outdoors as hoped, at one point the chairs were rearranged inside the marquee and minutes before the brides arrival, the blazing sun came out and the groom and his ushers frantically rearranged the chairs in their original position and phew!  It was ging to all happen as planned!!

I have to say the organisation of these chaps was impressive and they turned the chairs around in no time at all!

One of the highlights of the day for me was the choreographed dance that the bride and groom did for their first dance, it was unexpected, but really fantatstic and well thought out, just like the entire day.!! 



Thank you to Esther and Dave for choosing me to photograph their beautiful days!!  It really was a fantastic experience for both Lucy and myself.

If you would like to contact me regarding your 2013 or 2014 wedding please visit

http://www.helenhowardphotography.co.uk

or contact me for more details...