I've been so busy! It seems that, after getting Christmas out of the way, new couples are getting around to sorting their weddings out and I've been quite busy running around meeting a few of you over the past week. It's a great sign that wedding photography is still a priority on your minds. This is a subject that has been highly publicized recently with this recent article from rocknroll bride which went global in a day.
There's a few more things to come in the next couple of weeks, but I can't talk about them yet because they're still "A1 top secret classified".
Instead, I've finally managed to get round to uploading a few from Jim and Tracy's wedding a few weeks ago with their reception at the Quality hotel, Hanley.
I must say, the guys at the quality hotel are really friendly and deliver a great service!
Thanks guys!
Don't forget to leave a comment, follow me on Twitter or like the facebook page.
So this was sent to me in the post this morning. I was delighted to see what was on page 52. It's not very often I get recognized and published for my wedding photography but it was nice of TWG to place a double page article in their spring/summer edition of their magazine. Usually, the only images I get in magazines are the odd commercial or stock shoot.
The images TWG chose to use are of Emily and Anthony whose wedding I shot in August at Ringwood hall. It's a beautiful wedding venue and because it was an outdoor ceremony the images were so much easier to create. Both the bride and groom looked amazing and I'm so glad they're the couple the magazine chose to print.
I posted an iphone pic of the mag earlier but I thought I'd do a proper one for the blog :D
A little stay away from the normal wedding photography stuff for this post. A bit of my music work has finally been published so I can now show some off. :D
This guy, Gurbej Brar, has a brilliant voice. We travelled to Patsull Hall in Wolverhampton, a beautiful, mansion-type venue for his latest video shoot and I snapped a few promo bits for him while we were there. Loads more yet-to-be published work coming from these guys in the near future and many many more in the not-so-distant future!
Tahnks for reading! Next blog: I've new magazine features to announce :D
The new years period turned out to be quite busy for me. I thought I was going to take a nice break for a while but a few phone calls and emails here and there had me working every day from Christmas day to New years day.
Over the period I gained a few new clients, built upon already great existing relationships and sorted a few things ready for the up and coming wedding season.
Some of the assignments I've completed over the past few weeks have been the best I've ever produced showing me I'm always learning and improving. Unfortunately I can't post a lot of it due to the fact some of them are yet to be published or they have been marked as private to the client so you'll have to take my work for it. But shooting in different ways for different types of clients in different styles improves my consistency in these areas and I hope to bring these techniques into my wedding photography season to keep all of my wedding work fresh, different and unique.
In the mean time here's a wedding a few weeks ago. There's not many because I haven't had a lot of chance to upload today.
This is Craig and Teresa at the Rose and Crown Hotel, Birmingham I tried to take a little more of a traditional approach to this one, it was a lovely, cosy venue
Congratulations!
Thanks everyone! I've recently managed to work out the facebook comments box widget on here so feel free to leave a comment on here if you feel compelled :D
Paul
I've been very fickle with my website over the past year. My web design knowledge is basic but always growing so I've been designing it, breaking it down and then redesigning it - over and over. I've done this about 3 times in 2011 but I think I've finally cracked it. I've finally got my website to the point where I can say I'm very happy and, other than drafting in a writer to help me with the text, I don't think it's going to change now for a long while.
Many nights have been spent in font of this computer looking at 1's and 0's altering tiny details and checking them over. I've neglected the blog, halted my photography and my social life has gone right out of the window. But I've always wanted a side scrolling type site and I've made it so new images can be added to it with ease so expect it to be updated with my latest work weekly.
It's done now and a new website for a new year means a new strategy and all the weddings booked for next year now get my full attention as I prepare for what is going to be my busiest year yet!
I think I might try and arrange a Christmas type shoot to keep my photography cockles warm as the temperature drops.
Take a look at the site at http://www.briscoephotography.co.uk/ I expect there to be a few bugs so it would be great if anyone spots them to email me: briscoe@briscoephotography.co.uk
So I was hired by another photographer to shoot the church yesterday. It's something I do every now and then. I don't normally talk about these but it was a nice surprise when the bride popped out of the car - I knew I was going to have to add a few tints to my edits for this one...
I'll only show a few as I don't normally publish my work when I'm not the main photographer at an event, but this was fun :)
I'm well aware I haven't posted any wedding sets on here for a while now. So here we are!
This is Emily and Anthonys day at Ringwood Hall in Sheffield/Chesterfield (somewhere up north :p). It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony, something we don't get to do here that often due to the unpredictable UK weather. But on this day the sun shined and the clouds kept at bay for just long enough for them to tie the knot.
It was a brilliant day and I wish them all the luck in the future!
So, someone tweeted this to me on my Twitter account the other day and it did ruffle me a little bit.
I think the author is trying to distinguish between facebook and Twitter as tools but the idea that you should discard the use of facebook altogether is a fallacy.
Facebook provides a physical base in the somewhat extra-physical world of the internet and allows me to communicate in a very personal way with possible customers. Something twitter does not do directly. Twitter is a good sales tool because you project information on to people. This isn't on a one to one basis like what I get out of Facebook. I care about my customers and try to make my service bend to their needs as much as possible. I'd rather interact with them on a one to one level rather than bombard hundreds with a very generic offer of sale. I know there is more to both as businesses tools but I wanted to make this paragraph as narrow minded as this guys entire article.
Sorry, I didn't mean to rant that far. That part of this post was only meant for one or two lines... now to what I was going to talk about.
It can be a little strange being 25 year old, single, wedding photographer. Out of the 100 or so weddings I've photographed I can state that the majority involve couples who are older than me or of similar age. They're rarely younger. But I'm currently at the stage in my life where old school friends are settling down and beginning their lives with someone new....and I'm not (but that's an entirely different story :). I moved away from my home town some 7 years ago - many others do as well, I'm sure. This meant I had less or lost contact with many people from my past and, like most people, it takes some sort of event to being everyone back together.
Being at the age I am, a lot of these are weddings. In the past 2 years or so I've been hired by some old friends to cover their weddings. Some of them I knew very well at school, some not so much, but with all of them I've hung around with on the playing fields or in last period maths.
Each one has been a dream to shoot - coupled with a spicy nostalgia kicker. It's amazing meeting up with these old friends and, of course, many of the guests who I also know. It's distracting, but it's great to share our experiences and see how everyone has developed from when we were young.
I wonder how often this happened to wedding photographers in the past. Especially one's who moved away from their origins. How often were they tracked down by friends of friends to shoot their old school buddies? This is why the Facebook article ruffled me a bit. I'm almost certain that without Facebook NONE of these couples would have gotten in touch. Facebook has become this beautiful tool for keeping in touch and all of the old school friends contacted me through a Facebook message to book their wedding. I'm so pleased they did because it opened me up to an experience 'old time' photographers might not have gained. I've managed to keep track of good friends I once had who grew apart for whatever reason.
I don't believe Facebook is this tool that keeps people who shouldn't keep in touch talking. It unites us globally with so many people who previously influenced our lives and allows us to give back what we can to them through our experiences and our developments. I hope that what my development, as a wedding photographer, has given them memories to cherish and their experiences and advice has enriched my life and made me feel quite humble.
When I read prime lens reviews they tend to say the same thing: Extremely sharp, great contrast, excellent flare reduction and good background separation. These things are all well and good but I always bring myself to the same conclusion... why wouldn't I buy a zoom lens?
For years now I've been in the cave. I absolutely love my 24-70. It isn't as smooth these days. I've dropped it so many times it makes a squeaking sound whenever I turn the zoom slider and it doesn't connect to the camera as well as it once did. I love staring at the puppetry of the zoom, being able to quickly change my frame with my hands rather than my body. The speed is helpful to me as a wedding photographer. I don't carry my bag around with me at a wedding so my lenses aren't always to hand. This means my detail images are taken with the same lens as my people shots, which, as I've been told for so long, isn't necessarily the best thing.
So I've stayed in the shackles, staring at the shadows, because I've got a system. I like my system, it's easy and gives me a little bit of extra time throughout the day to do something different.
Yesterday I was given an 85mm 1.8. I've noticed these beauty portraits with girls leaning over in summer and have come to the conclusion that in order to create them you need a focal length longer than 70mm and a wide aperture. I've always had a 50mm stuffed away, never used, but all these images seem to be taken with this 85mm so I thought I'd go out and see what all the fuss is about.
At first it annoyed the hell out of me. All the moving around. It's a struggle to find a good spot where you can place your subject and fit yourself in with this massive focal length sticking out of you. I also couldn't understand what difference it was going to make to the natural light that my zooms couldn't... a blinding headache.
But as I ventured out into the light my eyes began to see the usefulness of these lenses. They deal with light differently. Unlike the zooms the camera finds it easier to pick out the bit where you put the little red square. The light spreads evenly across the lens and the light parts of the frame contrast evenly with the dark unlike the zooms which tend to pick out the light bits and leave the darks black. I've put an example at the bottom. Please bare in mind it's my first shot at this type of photography... I can see the issues but I think they're pp issues... I'm useless with the sharpening tool.
My eyes are now open, I can't wait to get my hands on that 35mm everyone keeps talking about. I reckon that will make the distance issue a little easier and still pull in a nice portrait.
I know it's April, but it's the end of the financial year and a perfect time to reflect on everything that's happened. I've had a busy couple of months since the start of the year and as we're well into wedding season now it's going to stay as busy as this until the next one. Every job is as exciting as the last. I've met a ton of inspiring people from all walks of life, travelled to different countries and done things I wouldn't have imagined doing all those years ago when I started out.
I was planning on having a nice long break over the winter but it seems I'm not going to have an off season this year.
No worries, this means there's a lot of work going around inspite of the great depression we're suffering. Keep the weddings flowing people! Don't allow the bankers to make your wedding day any less magical than you deserve!
One couple who have defied the credit crunch in order to put on a great day at Ansty hall we Debbie and Adam. Congratulations to you!
It's been really tough keeping up with everything internet over the summer. I'm in my second year as a wedding photographer now and I've learned a lot. The biggest lesson learned was to take on less work, or at least spread it out a little better. There were a few times this summer where the workload really hit me and left me feeling exhausted.
One particularly memorable day in August had me feeling low. James and Alice’s wedding was my third wedding in three days (something I don't think I will ever do again). I had finished a previous wedding at 7pm the evening before in Coventry and made the drive to Sheffield straight from the venue to James' house which he had kindly made available for me to stay the night.
Rushing to back up images and charge batteries that night meant I didn't get to sleep until 3am only to rise again at 8 to start another long day. So, tired and feeling sorry for myself, I pressed my suit, belted down some caffeine and prepared to make some smiles!
It's at times like these when you really start to question whether you're really up to the job. I love being around the excitement and joy of weddings, but being exposed to it three days in a row with no sleep really takes its toll on your immune system.
With this in mind, I pulled up at Alice’s parent’s house, equipment in hand, ready to catch some moments.
All that began to change when I went inside and met Alice’s family... more»
The current results from my ever continuing vox pop on lens flare suggests that it has a marimite relationship with the world.
Some love how it looks, some think that it completely ruins a picture. Well, I want to make it clear that I'm in the love camp.
We're in the thick of wedding season at the moment but I thought I'd take this post to reflect on one of my favourite parts of wedding photography... that little bit before the real picture is taken.
Yep, I've been comissioned to photograph the new Equality and Diversity posters for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The images are needed because the fire fighters have been issued with new, modern equipment and uniform so I did my best to give the images a more modern and technological look. Click for more!
I'm sitting on a couch in London right now after a late one last night.
I was at the new London eltro night Crumble shooting a few images of the guests :) more»
March 27th saw the final open day at Hanley fire Station before its demolition next month.
The day was a complete success with hundreds of people touring the station, watching the demonstrations and seeing all of the old fire artifacts.
Part of the day was an exhibition from myself. A series of images taken around the station to give people a real feeling of its character and age.
It was only small but well worth it as it gathered lots of interest and I recieved very kind words from everyone. Thank you all! more»
Poor blog hasn't seen a post in aaaaages!
Not to worry, because now here's an XXL one for reading pleasure.
A lot has gone on in the last month or so. I've taken a break from Weddings for March straight through to May and concentrated on portraits and portfolios.
After May, I wouldn't expect to see me posting very often because I'll be so busy it's ridiculous!
Anyway, check under the cut to see what I've been doing :) more»
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been mega busy.
Something I did do today was do some child portrait work for the Cheshires. I don't usually do this type of work but it's definitely something challenging that I love doing and I'd encourage more people to come forward if they want some family portraits done :)
here they are:
Check out the facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/briscoephotography
It's been a busy start to the year for Briscoe photography.
First of all I've seen a new element of creativity emerge in the form of video. I've only created a few videos but it seems people enjoy the way I shoot and edit. This has meant that my videos have been popping up on a few websites including buafl.net and more recently the North Staffs YMCA front page:
This is brilliant news and very flattering. I hope to be shooting a little more video in the future for different people and I'm glad I have added another skill to work on and improve.
Also, London graphic designer Mike Willows was kind enough to design my new company logo for the website and future media. It's already been added to my new personal portraits taken by Duane from Clix photography for the website.
You can expect to see this new logo on all copyrighted images from here on in.
I hate having my photo taken and the shoot today was a sharp awakening to what I put all of my clients through. I'm not a fan of being the other side of the lens... but I guess it had to be done.
Firefighters in Stoke are busy spreading their own Christmas message this week.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is staging a number of events across the city to raise awareness of fire safety in Winter and potential hazards in the home at Christmas.
This will feature firefighters engaging the public on matters of fire safety and offering advice and information on keeping property and loved ones safe during the Festive season.
Donna Broadhead, Watch Manager at Hanley Fire Station, said: "At a busy time of year it is imperative we keep ourselves busy in this way, educating people to the potential dangers which lurk in the home during the Christmas period." more»
What a successful night.
All the models looked stunning and the stage setup was brilliant. I can see this being an annual thing and I'm sure I'll be there next year too! more»
Well... I gave it a go. I'm not a videographer, but I did enjoy it I must admit.
I recently bought my new back up camera. A D90. It has an added feature as a HD video camcorder. They say, this, combined with top quality nikon lenses can produce near movie quality videos.
I had a go and I must say the HD stuff is really good. When I could get it in focus (because you have to do it manually) the images are pin sharp. I used the fact that it's so hard to focus to attempt an edgy video of an American football game.
Shooting at F2 with nikon glass allows you to really play with he depth of field making some of the shots looking really pretty. Also, having such a small camera in your hand allows you to keep the camera still for long enough when you want to get a straight(ish) shot but as you can see from the film it gives you more room to shake the camera about which can give the shots a sense of urgency.
The camera pretty much does all of the exposure for you. I tested it out with some lights too and the metering just seems to know what you want to do. It's the same with this outdoors situation, it deals with light change very well. It doesn't get it all of the time but I can't fault it really.
I'm not saying you should shoot everything on a D90 without a tripod but for something like this where you're trying to keep a tempo and drama I think it kinda works.
I must admit, it was tough to do but for my first ever video I'm quite pleased with the result.
It loses it a bit at the end because A) I got tired and bored at the game and B) I got tired and bored while editing it.
At 200mm it's tough to keep quick guys dead centre, especially without any support. However, it is what I set out to do. I needed to get some wobbly, off centre shots for the idea to work.
I don't know if I'll do anymore. But if I do, I know I've learned a lot from this. Definitely have a plan for what you want to do beforehand and trust the camera.
have a look... I'll try and get the HD version up asap because it really does look so much better.
