29/12/11
Ooooh, Santa has belatedly delivered a beautiful 24-70mm f2.8 L lens for one of my Canon 5DMkII camera bodies :)
Blog
28/12/11
Updating and tweaking documentation and the website for exhibitors for our Wedding Fair on Sunday 4th March 2012.
We already have a number of exhibitors re-booked from the last fair in October, and we're sure that many of the others will also be re-booking. so we'll be contacting them in early January to convince them!
We can accomodate about 100 exhibitors across 2 Halls, so there is plenty of room for anyone new.
Exhibitors old and new can book a stand by emailing:
bookings@cambridge-weddings.co.uk
or visit the website:
23/12/11
Well the ink is finally dry on the first of our 2012 ventures. We're officially hosting the 'Weddings Cambridge' Wedding Fairs on Sunday 4th March 2012 and Sunday 7th October 2012 at Cambridge Regional College in Cambridge!
For Bride and Groom - 2 Fashion shows, Suppliers for all your wedding needs, competitions and special offers.
For exhibitors there are 4 stand sizes at very competitive rates, Radio, Press and Online advertising - contact us if you want a stand before they all go!
Our grateful thanks to Jane Doggett for all her help in the transfer process and for her continuing support.
Rolling updates as they happen.
www.weddings-cambridge.co.uk
21/12/11
Something a little bit different today for The Cheese Stall on Cambridge Market. Photos of their delicious cheeses and the Christmas customers clamouring to buy them. Photos destined for The Cheese Stall website and printed materials. Love cheese!
http://www.cheesestall.com/
Tomorrow, Friday, we're putting the next phase in place for one of our 2012 ventures - details when we've cleared the legal hurdles...
19/12/11
Unfortunately the Burlesque shoot last Saturday didn't go ahead, but we're working on 2 new and exciting ventures for 2012 - once the legal stuff is finalised, this Blog will be informing you! Spoiler: one of them is scheduled for the first week of March, but other could be sooner!
OK, I know we haven't got Christmas and New Year dealt with yet, but don't forget we offer Valentines Lifestyle Portraits up to 7th February 2012. Alternatively, if you're planning your wedding, why not book a Pre-Wedding/Engagement shoot with us. Use the online Contact form if you want to discuss and/or book a session.
This past year we have seen a huge increase in the number of clients who wish to pay our Booking Fee by online Bank money transfer, as they find this easy and secure and allows more or less an instant view of their budget. We like it too, but of course we still take cash or cheque for those that prefer these methods of payment. To remain realistically priced, we don't (yet) take credit cards as the operational costs would have to be passed on. (Companies/Banks don't provide the facility for nothing!)
16/12/11
Writing the Wedding Contract for Amanda and Adam today. They're marrying next September in a lovely village church with the Reception and Wedding Breakfast at the De Vere University Arms Hotel adjacent to the beautiful Parker's Piece in central Cambridge. We're also photographing her sister Nicola's wedding 3 months before, in a different village Church and the amazing Bedford Lodge in Newmarket, Suffolk, so a real family affair! Ouch, an expensive year for their Father Martin :)
Later on is prep for Saturday's Burlesque shoot at 12a Private Memebrs Club in central Cambridge, in period 'speakeasy' style. SO looking forward to this one.
12/12/11
On the QT and very hush, hush…
Looking forward to meeting Suzy and some of her friends tomorrow. Suzy was the first bride we photographed as a professional some years ago, and she is exploring a new wedding business venture to which I'm hoping to contribute :)
Also this week is a meeting with our photo Ninja Stephen to discuss a different wedding business venture, then a pre-wedding meeting with Adam and Amanda who've booked us for their wedding next September.
Not on the QT and not very hush, hush…
We've found another venue in Cambridge suitable for Saturday's 2 model Burlesque shoot, but having difficulty in getting them to answer their phone to make the arrangements!
Olivia's workshop went pretty well yesterday, having nailed Depth of Field with a practical session using my Canon 5DII with 70-200mm lens - a heavy combination! But at least she could see the effects of subject to background distance, using f2.8 aperture and a long focal length to produce lovely 'bokeh'. We then moved on to camera metering modes, exposure compensation and incident and reflected light, but I think that need's a revisit in January with some notes I've re-written!
10/12/11
Hannah's mother Diane collected her big, 5 photo collage canvas yesterday and was over the moon with the results. Unfortunately, we can't post a photo of the design as the Groom is in the military in uniform and has asked for security reasons for no publilc domain publication of their day, which of course, we totally respect. Shame, as it was a really wonderful day!
We're looking for an indoor location to shoot a couple of Burlesque models, having been let down by a venue for 17th December that actually runs Burlesque nights. We're thinking 'club, chaise longe, méridienne, red, black' type of room/atmosphere…
Tomorrow is Workshop number 2 for Olivia who has been doing work experience with us over the past 3 months or so. We'll be looking in more detail at Depth of Field, what affects it, how to control it, and putting some of it into practical creative use. So, looking forward to seeing her again and getting out with the cameras.
08/12/11
Hannah has now collected her huge canvas and 2 Grandparent Books and was so excited and thrilled with them - aaw! She also gave us a really lovely 'Thank You' card with very touching and sincere words for all our work. Thank you Hannah and Scott, your wedding was a wonderful event to photograph.
By coincidence I'm expecting delivery today of a big collage canvas for Hannah's Mother Diane, who I know is also very excited about receiving it.
Also added 9x6 inches size of photo print to the drop down menu in the Client Area and Optional Extras. This size preserves the 1:1.5 ratio of the original image from our full-frame 35mm DSLR cameras, so the photos are not cropped during the printing stage, which they may be on some other sizes, such as 8x6 and 12x10 inches. Yet more flexibility for our Clients :)
Just downloaded the latest firmware updates for both our Canon 5D MkII cameras. Not very exciting I know, but an essential part of our maintenance programme for equipment that has to work every day, thousands of shots per year, and hopefully without failure :) Will also be sending them to the Canon Professional Network for annual servicing and calibration.
07/11/12
Hannah is collecting her big wedding canvas and 2 additional Grandparent Photo Books today, so looking forward to seeing her again.
Amy was a lot of fun at her 'Cherish the Dress' shoot at Bridge End Gardens, Saffron Walden, Essex in September, and she now wants to frame a couple of extra photos, but the frames she liked only came in 8x6 inches, and our nearest sized prints were either 7.5x5 or 10x7 inches. Now we've learnt over the years that flexibility is high key in client satisfaction, so we have now added her desired 8x6 inches prints in both gloss and matt finish to hers and all the lists on our online ordering options. Job done!
03/12/11
Our end of year staff party upstairs at St John's Chophouse in Cambridge started with a rather delightful champagne aperitif before some crackingly delicious food, wine and sparkling conversation.
Here are the Photo Ninjas, complete with Mystery Guest Olivia (on another work experience assignment!) photographed by our waitress using Rhian's compact Canon Ixus. And yes, we were the last customers to leave - outrageous! A great night - thanks y'all!
L to R - Andrew (I'm climbing Kilimanjaro next month!), Rebecca (green square), Olivia (what have I let myself in of tonight?), Stephen (do you like my flashing LED Christmas tie?), Rhian (where's my memory card?), Me (how has it all come to this?)
01/12/11
Delighted to receive an order for a custom 'collage' canvas from Hannah's Mother, Diane. Designed in Photoshop and emailed a proof for her to check. This family just keeps on buying - thank you so much! By coincidence, waiting for delivery today of Hannah's 24x16 canvas ordered a couple of days ago.
So looking forward to our staff end of year dinner this Friday with Ninjas Rhian, Rebecca, Stephen, Andrew, myself and a mystery guest :)
Sunday is the first workshop for Olivia who has attended a number of our weddings as part of her college work experience requirements. A talented young lady, whose progress is a delight to share.