Wedding Photographer, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Posts tagged bride
A Thank You Letter
Nov 23rd
No photos to post today, it’s been a wee bit rainy of late so I’ve stayed indoors!
Today I am posting what has to be one of the best thank you notes I have ever received, I do have a testimonials page but this would probably struggle to fit in so I thought I’d make a post out of it. It may seem like a bit of self promotion (which in part it is) but I found the time and effort taken to write this was really quite moving and I’m just happy the couple will be able to look at our photos in years to come and have fond memories, which I believe is really the main aim of the wedding photographer. So without further ado..
Hi Pete,
Sorry for our delay in reply. We have literally just got back from our honeymoon – less than an hour ago – and the first thing we did was head to the computer to see if you had emailed us some photos… and as reliable as ever, you had.
So, what can we say…?
WOW! …AMAZING! …STUNNING! …BREATH-TAKING! …etc…etc…etc!!!
(We don’t really know how to put into words what we are feeling, but we’ll give it a go!)
From the very start we had such high hopes invested in you and we knew that you wouldn’t disappoint us or let us down …and you really haven’t! We’re blown away by all of the photos, there isn’t a single image we don’t like – in fact we couldn’t pick a favourite if we tried! (I mean, how many hours is too many to sit and watch them over and over again?!) …We cannot pass on to you (and Carol, ‘your quiet assistant’) enough thanks! You have truly made our day/ week/ month/ year!
Captured in the shots you and Carol have taken are the very essence of everything that was important to us that day – the laughs, the smiles, the fun, the romance, the friends, the family, the charm, the enchantment, the atmosphere, the love …simply everything! – and you’ve managed to seal it in a visual image that depicts our memories of that day that we will love and cherish, and which will last us a lifetime!
Everything about your management and service has been exceptional; there is nothing we can fault. Not only did your pricing come as a wonderful surprise to us (given the quality and calibre of your images), but your style, generosity and ability to take stunning contemporary photographs has truly blown us away.
We remember back to when we first emailed you and how we waited in anticipation and fear that the hiring of such a high-end photographer would be far out of our price range; but you didn’t disappoint! Right from the very offset you were exactly what we had been looking for; a friendly, down-to-earth, talented and accommodating bloke, who offered us individuality and everything and more that we wanted. We instantly knew that we had landed on our feet! Indeed, in all the hunting and searching we did to find a wedding photographer, the endless meetings and emails we exchanged with them, none came close to your distinctiveness and bespoke approach.
So, as corny as this email reads – and we are aware that it is very fanatical, but in our opinion very much deserved – we cannot put into words how blown away we are by what you have done for us. We were ecstatic when we found you, and even more ecstatic when we realised how flexible and dedicated you were to suiting our needs. In short, this email goes only a small way to giving you the full credit and admiration that you deserve and the thanks that we want to convey to you.
It was our absolute pleasure to have you take our wedding photographs and we had the most amazing day. We feel it very safe to say that we WILL be in touch in the future should we need the slightest of pictures/portraits/photos taking. We will be sure to recommend you to everyone and anyone, and we wish you all the very best for your future photography career and business. We will continue to follow your blog in sheer admiration of the amazing images you take, and we look forward to meeting up with you again in the not to distant future (who knows, maybe to capture the next new chapter in our life)!
Once again, “Thank You” a million times over!
Yours sincerely
Laura & Mike
Bride and Grooms First Dance
Nov 21st
Bride and Groom's First Dance
We got these from a wedding last weekend at the lovely Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire. The weather unfortunately was less than lovely so we didn’t get to do a great deal of photos in the grounds but the interior was very impressive and so we didn’t struggle. I’m putting these two shots up because they are of the couples first dance and we are often not there to cover this part. I used some off camera flash for a bit of dramatic lighting here, it works well even if you include the flash in the shot as I’ve done in the first photo. The second shot is more about the couple than the scene, there is just enough light bouncing off the grooms shirt to light the brides face and a little ambiant light from the disco lights on the wall behind to add a bit of interest.
Both these shots were on manual with the settings at ISO400 f/2.8 1/60 with the flash fired via pocket wizards also on manual at about 1/8 power with a spread of 24mm, if memory serves correctly.
Bride and Grooms First Dance
Wedding at Sandburn Hall near York
Oct 30th
These are a few shots from a recent wedding we did near York, the wedding was at a church in a lovely little village called Strensall and then the reception was a few miles away at Sandburn Hall. The weather unfortunately was pretty bad, rain followed by prolonged periods of rain but the couple were really relaxed and didn’t let it get to them, probably a little bit more relaxed after the “I Do’s” but that’s to be expected. Sandburn hall has a bit of a barn like feel with loads of wooden floors and beams to make use of and some big windows for great natural light shots. It’s always good to have a nice interior to work with when it’s difficult to get outside.
I really feel I’ve been very fortunate with the couples I’ve had the pleasure of photographing this year and this was no exception. The bride was so photogenic, I kept going more outlandish with the poses and she still looked great! I’m posting a few shots here and a small gallery for friends and family, there are quite a few Black and Whites but the couple will get both colour and mono versions in high resolution on the DVD to print at their leisure.
A view down the aisle
First Kiss
Another Kiss, there are usually quite a few of these
Back up the aisle
Some quick shots on a classic red bus
Some shots at the car, between cloud bursts, nice sky though 
Smiling brides make great photos
Great big windows and diffused light also help
The happy couple
Sometimes photos don't need direct eye contact
She had been on her feet all day
A classic Black and White
Bride blowing bubbles, the balloons helped too
This shot drew quite a crowd
A few informal shots before the meal
A great couple and a pleasure to take their photos
Mustang at a Wedding
Oct 1st
Bride and Groom kissing after the wedding with a classic red ford mustang car IMG_6044-2-Edit
I was looking through some recent (ish) wedding shots we had done and found this one. The Bride and Groom were after a few colour isolation (spot colouring) shots where one colour stands out while the rest is black and white. This technique has been around for a while (it was big in the movie Sin City) and I use it occasionally if the shot is appropriate. This classic Ford Mustang was screaming to be spot coloured, the bridesmaids were also in red so we used the same technique on some of their shots too.
It is easy enough to do in Lightroom, on the HSL panel you just drop all the saturations to -100 then bring the reds (and some of the yellow) back up to 0 (or over). The problem with doing this on red is it leaves some colour on the skin giving ‘not long dead’ look, not great for wedding photography. This is easily solved with the local adjustment brush, set the saturation to -100 and paint over where you want it to get desaturated ie the skin.
I played around with the image a little more to give a more 3D cartoony type look which I find works well with spot colouring. I also personalised the number plate for the couple, just little details I think every wedding photographer should look to add if possible.
Great bride, Great location
Aug 6th
Wedding Photography by Pete Barnes at the Crab and Lobster, North Yorkshire
Wedding Photography by Pete Barnes at the Crab and Lobster, North Yorkshire
This is my first post using my new blog, probably not much of a highlight you readers but it’s a big deal for me so I thought I’d mention it. Wordpress is just so much better than blogger, surprising really with google behind blogger, I’m sure they’ll improve it.
Anyway on to the main topic. This was a recent wedding at a place called the Crab and Lobster in Asenby (near Thirsk) North Yorkshire. The grounds were fantastic for wedding photography with plenty of features to use for visual interest. There are loads of curvy paths for leading lines, worn statues and flower covered arches, I was quite spoilt for choice. I find all the brides look pretty stunning on their wedding day but this one was especially photogenic, some just have a natural ability to strike a pose, so to speak. The sun came out now and then but there was a bit of cloud cover which made the light a lot softer so we didn’t have any harsh, sharp shadows. All in all the conditions were very good, excellent considering it had been raining all week before the wedding.
I have processed these shots first in lightroom, where I do the majority of the work. After sorting the keepers from the rejects the main steps are any cropping and colour temperature adjustments and any exposure shifts. I then take some shots into photoshop for any additional editing or to run some actions (black and whites, glowers etc) Although lightroom does do a very good mono conversion I find Photoshops a little better.
These two shots were taken at f2.8, ISO400 at around 100mm for between 1/500 and 1/1000.