Tuesday 22 February 2011

Queensberry Albums - When Handmade means Handmade!

I have been dealing with Queensberry Albums for almost 10 years and love producing their high quaility custom albums. When I say that Queensberry Albums make the best handmade albums in the world - we mean handmade!.
Have a look at this video to see the time, skill, and quality required to produce a custom made wedding album by Queensberry of New Zealand

Monday 21 February 2011

Irish Professional Photographers Association Annual Awards

The highlight of the year for professional photographers is fast approaching with the Annual IPPA National Photographic Awards taking place this Sunday 27th February at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. The Awards are an annual event with awards been presented to  the best photographers in their respective disciplines for example Wedding Photographer Of The Year, Portrait Photographer Of The Year etc.  The standard of work at this level of the competition is extremely high with only the best images  (and photographers) getting through to the finals.
I am happy to say that I am through to the finals of several of the Wedding categories for this years awards but with the competition been so tough I am not holding my breath!  I will however pick up my 7 Gold Awards on the night which got me through to the finals.

St. Helens Bay - A magical location

St. Helens Bay Golf Resort is one of the best known golf resorts in the country.  Just before last Christmas I photographed a wedding that held its reception at the Resort Clubhouse. On the day of the wedding the Bride's house was surrounded by several inches of snow but at the Resort there was no snow to be found-none whatsoever! Talk about the Sunny South East - it certainly lived up to its reputation that day.  St. Helens is situated in the very south east, a stones throw from Rosslare.  The Resort will be holding a wedding evening on the 27th of March from 4 until 7 and I will be in attendance due to an invitation to attend as the sole photographer on the day by Liz the wedding manager.  The function room at the Clubhouse offers a beautiful panoramic view of the bay, the famous Tuskar Rock lighthouse and the Golf course.

Killashee House Hotel Wedding evening

I will be attending the Wedding Evening this Thursday the 24th February from 6 till 9 at the wonderful Killashee House Hotel in Naas. Killashee House is one of my favourite wedding locations and a hotel I have been  involved with ever since it opened its doors 12 years ago.
The hotel has managed to gain an enviable reputation over the years and it is a fantastic hotel for wedding day photography. The staff are the most professional you can meet in the business and I have come to know most of them personally including photographing several of the managers weddings. If you are in the hotel at anytime please have a look at the sample album I have in the foyer showing some samples of previous work I have undertaken there.  The above image taken during a summer wedding last year shows some of the wonderful gardens and fountain and the image below was taken just before Christmas.

Osprey Hotel Wedding Fair

The Osprey Hotel & Spa Wedding Fair, which I attended yesterday, turned out to be a very busy day for all involved. Visitors were greeted with a nice glass of champagne and given the opportunity to take a tour of the hotel and talk with the wedding co-ordinator about their wedding day requirements. I had a very busy afternoon showing some of my work and album designs to interested couples and an even busier day today answering further inquiries which I am always happy to do. The hotel is a very contemporary design and taking advantage of this can lead to some very unusual and exciting photography.  I will be posting some images shortly from a wedding I covered at the hotel.  Meanwhile local press photographer Jimmy Fullham was on hand to cover the days events for the local media. As much as I hate been infront of the camera, thanks for the image Jimmy!

Carton House Advertising Campaign

Its always nice to see your work in print and even nicer when your images are used nationwide in the print media and on TV.  The beautiful Carton House in Maynooth recently undertook a major country wide advertising campaign for its wedding offerings. They ran advertisements for a full week in local and national newspapers, the RTE Guide and on TV AM . All the image they used were from a lovely wedding I shot in Carton House last year. The image shown here is a two page spread from a regional newspaper.

Thursday 17 February 2011

New Website Design

I am finally getting around to having my long awaited new website designed.  This is something I have been putting off for the last year or so. It will be slimmed down and streamlined a little with some up-to-date features added and new work displayed at its best showing larger than normal images which are an important feature for any photographer.  The above image is the draft interface. Any suggestions you may have - shout now!

So, what make a good Wedding photograph?

This is one question that is so often discussed among professional wedding photographers that I don't think the definite answer has yet been formulated!  However there are certain basic elements required for an initial 'good' photograph that should come as second nature to any professional photographer such as sharpness, colour balance, contrast, lighting to name but a few.  A comment I hear regularly from couples who come to book me is that they 'hate having their photograph taken'. Welcome to the club!  I would say, from experience, that they are not alone and that most people are in the same boat myself included.  How a photographer approaches a wedding day and how he interacts with his clients plays a major roll in obtaining good images.  I tell all my couples that how their wedding photos turn out will depend on one simple fact - who much they are enjoying themselves and their day! Simple.

I like to get involved with the couple from the moment the day starts and embed myself in the days shoot. I will take last minute requests onboard and listen to any suggestion the couple may have if time prevails.
The image here is what I would regard as a very good wedding image for several reasons not least of all the good sunny day! The most important element here is the interaction between the couple themselves. They are very comfortable with each other and clearly enjoying the day. Because they both grew up near the beach they had requested a few shot there before going to the hotel. Just as I had finished some nice shots along the beach I noticed this small wall right infront of the surf shack and could just picture the final image in my head.  Although they were more than relaxed enough at this stage, I suggested the bride take her shoes off to empty out any sand she may have in them and to leave them off for the shot which she was more than happy to do. Very little further direction was required on my part.  All I said was ignore me, soak up the sun, enjoy the cool breeze and.......MAGIC!

Osprey Hotel & Spa, Wedding Fair

The Osprey Hotel & Spa in the heart of Naas town is holding a Wedding Fair this Sunday afternoon, 20th February from 2 until 5.  The Osprey is not only well known for its unique contemporary design as a hotel but also for its 'TIME' nightclub which is frequently visited by some big names in the entertainment industry.
If you are in the area or looking to discover something a little different for your wedding day, why not drop in and have a look around? Introduce yourself and have a chat about your photography requirements while you look through some samples of my work and the various album designs available.

Whites Of Wexford Wedding Fair

We are attending the Whites of Wexford Wedding fair this Sunday coming , 20th February, from 2 until 5.
Whites is one of Wexford's best known hotels which underwent a major 50m refurbishment a couple of years ago.  Its situated right in the middle of the town with easy access from all the surrounding Church's.
We will have a range of our albums on display including some new models for 2011 and 2012.
All booking made on the day or from couples who attended and booked later will be able to avail of the special offer on the day which is two free 10x8 Digital parent albums. Nice!

Queensberry Album

I thought I would show you what a finished client's Queensberry custom designed album looks like.
This is the 12x15 album in black classic leather with both names embossed onto the front cover.










A range of cover options are available with photos etc, but this design is particulary nice with a very straight design and complements the simple classic cover.  The album uses a combination of Wing and Flip pages which gives it a clear unique finish. The mixture of Ivory, Mist and Black pages also complement the colour and black and white images.