Wedding Photography Blog | Jamesruane.co.uk

Photographing your first few weddings can be a daunting task. Its one of life’s little moments that is sure to give you a few butterflies, but fear not help is at hand. I thought it was about time that I offered some practical suggestions to get through your first few weddings, especially for the aspiring amateur photographer. Whilst all of these tips might not work for everyone, it’s a winning formula that helps me to photograph 40+ weddings per year.

1. Get to know your clients

Try and hold a consultation meeting with your client early on to find out everything you can about their photography aspirations. This will pay dividends on the wedding day, as you’ll be much better prepared and clearer about what your client wants and how you’ll deliver it.

2. The pre-wedding shoot

Gimmick or a nice to do! I am a massive fan of pre-wedding shoots, so much so that I will probably write another blog about it soon! A pre-wedding shoot is a few hours informal photography a couple of months before the wedding day with your couple. If you hold it at their wedding venue, then what better way to scout all the locations you’ll be shooting at in a few months time! I find it really helpful to find four to five postcard settings that will make beautiful pictures on the day. It’s also a great way to get to know your couples and make them feel more at ease with you.

I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Smriti and Will on 15th January 2011, a lovely Indian and American couple in central London. This was one of three weddings the couple were having in addition to the US and Indian!

The couple wanted iconic shots of London using some of the city’s most well know buildings like the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye as backdrops.

With the wedding at 2pm, unusually I met the couple before their ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, to make the best of all available light. We spent 2 hours in Victoria Park Gardens a cute little park tucked away behind the Houses of Parliament, which offered lots of stunning photo opportunities.

Smriti and will were fantastic, even though it was a brisk winter’s day they kept smiling all morning and we had lots of fun and came away with some great photos.

Enjoy the gallery and don’t forget to leave any posts or comments with your favourites!

James

Finding the right wedding venue in London can be a difficult task! So I’ve put this post together to give you some inspiration about the 10 best London wedding venues that I’ve photographed as a London based wedding photographer, as well as some hot new comers that might tickle your fancy!

The White Horse Inn - A very cool gastro pub, with amazing interior décor, which fuses together a vintage and modern style. Nestled in a pedestrian-only square, this is a hidden gem giving you a real sense of seclusion in the middle of the city. Location: 2 Exchange Square, London.

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You’ve found the perfect dress, picked your shoes, chosen your venue, but there’s still one thing missing and that’s the wedding photographer!

Maybe the sheer number of wedding photographers on google bamboozles you, or you may have looked at some portfolios, got some quotes, but are still unsure what to do and want some tips from someone in the know!

Given the emotional and financial investment that comes with capturing some of the most precious memories of your life, you will no doubt want to ensure that you’ve found the right style, price and package and most importantly the right person.

Well fear not people help is at hand! I’ve teamed up with the lovely peeps at You & Your Wedding Magazine (Y&Y) to run an exclusive webchat for all ‘brides to be’ to share all my top tips on how to choose the right wedding photographer.

Whether you want advice on photography styles, pricing or shot lists, or just want to know all the important questions to ask in advance, or perhaps where the best places are to find for the most talented wedding photographers on the web, then this is your exclusive opportunity to ask me all your burning questions and I promise not to hold anything back!

To take part you need to be a registered Y&Y user, so if you don’t have an account, then just click here to register in advance.

You’ll then be free to join my live photography web clinic on Tuesday 18^th January 2011 from 1-2pm in the Y&Y wedding ‘chat’ forum. Just make sure you log in a few minutes before 1pm to take part and if I don’t get round to answering your questions on the day, then you can email me at james@jamesruane.co.uk and I’ll only be to happy to help.

I’m running the webchat in partnership with the talented Lisa Sabin, director of Just Bespoke Wedding Consultancy who’ll be on hand to answer any of your other wedding planning related questions. Just Bespoke is one of the hottest boutique wedding planners out there and really excited to be teaming up with them.

Speak to you on January 18th!

James