Hearts and flowers abound in the wake of Valentines Day! I wonder how many lovers felt the urge to take the plunge and propose to their partner?!

Last weekend I did a test shoot at Careys Manor, a fabulous venue in Brockenhurst. Caroline and Lee have chosen this venue for their wedding in August. We had a lot of fun taking some test shoot images in the hotel grounds - much to the amusement of the hotel guests who we imagined were thinking 'Are they famous? Is he that guy off the tv?!' They brought along Phoebe who also had fun pulling faces in front of the camera...!

The value of having a 'test shoot' should never be underestimated. Phoebe is going to be a bridesmaid at the wedding and having already met me, she won't be quite so worried about having her picture taken on the day itself. Caroline and Lee had met me at a wedding fayre and knew that they needed to book a photographer they enjoyed being with as well as loving the photographer's work.

After seeing their test shoot images, Lee emailed to say how much they loved them and confirmed the booking.

''Thanks for meeting us at Careys Manor last weekend. We have had a look through the pictures you have taken and we have to say they are great...it's not just the pictures, but your personality was really entertaining! We would love you to capture our wedding day, and we think that you will certainly get the best from us all. We look forward to speaking with you soon, and certainly look forward to some fun on the day!''

I'm looking forward to capturing Caroline and Lee's day too!

A test shoot taster...

Test shoots usually happen at your wedding venue, but can take place at another venue that has some special significance for you...maybe the place where the proposal happened or possibly where you first met. We spend about 45 minutes discussing how my wedding package would fit in to your wedding day, looking at examples of my work from previous weddings, and chatting about different ideas you may want to try out with regard to how we will capture those memories from your wedding day...and then the fun begins! Time to relax as we find somewhere suitable to take some fun and yet romantic 'engagement' style images of the two of you! The main point of this part of our test shoot meeting is for you to see how it feels to have me photograph you...if you're not relaxed with your photographer on your wedding day, it will be reflected in the resulting images. The final thing to remember is that I don't ask you to commit to a booking until you've seen the edited images from your test shoot and after you've had a chance to discuss how the meeting went and how you felt with me taking your photos!
A sort of 'Try before you buy' offer...it's an important decision, so why not!

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my blog. Sit down, kick off your shoes, help yourself to coffee!

I hope you enjoy your stay!

February is almost halfway through and I'm busy organising lots of test shoots for couples who chatted to me at the recent wedding fayres I exhibited at - the Southampton Hilton and The Winchester Hotel.

I offer all my potential wedding clients the opportunity to enjoy a 'test shoot' prior to booking - not only is it important to choose a photographer whose work appeals to you, but it's really important that you feel relaxed with the photographer you choose to capture your wedding day memories...and what better way to find out if I'm right for you than to enjoy a free of charge, fun and relaxed test shoot...I promise you, it doesn't hurt a bit!