Posted on May 10, 2012
After the really early start to the day we moved towards the wedding ceremony itself, which was to be broadcast LIVE on ITV Daybreak sometime around 8:15am! Considering that everyone had so little sleep the night before the atmosphere was really buzzing, with interviews being done to camera and then edited back in the studio before being used as links on the build-up.
It was quite a bizarre state of affairs, because the wedding photographer’s usually pretty much in charge of how things flow on the day, but this time I was restricted by the TV crew – I could only stand in certain places, I would only move into my spot when the Floor Manager said it was OK and that I wouldn’t be caught on camera and once I was in place for the ceremony I’d had to stay there until the cameras had been turned off …… which slightly restricts your creative abilities a bit!
I managed to catch some shots of Kate as she made her way from the cliff-lift down onto the beach, followed by the final preparations behind the curtain of the marquee – the local TV crew managed to catch me quickly a couple of times on film!
Nipping around the side of the marquee and in through the catering area (so glamorous my life!) I waited for the Floor Manager to give me the nod that I could move into position by the wedding hut itself – which, considering I was sharing it with two huge TV cameras and a large HMI light meant I didn’t exactly have a lot of space to work with!
The bridal party was led down the aisle by the couple’s neice and nephew, who looked so sweet and did a great job bearing in mind they were being watched by over a million people!
Kate looked stunning in her Amanda Wakeley dress as she arrived by Frazer’s side and the ceremony started …. it was obvious that they’re a couple very much in love, and the tenderness really showed in the looks that they gave each other as they took their vows.
After the nerve-wracking part of exchanging vows broadcast live on TV there was time to relax and let out the tension with some gentle words and a laugh -
With the formalities of the signing of the Register completed, some final interviews with the TV studio, it was time for the cameras to leave Kate and Frazer to enjoy the rest of their day with family and friends.
So, to round off with one of my favourite images from the day – another moment of tenderness and quiet reflection as Kate and Frazer prepared to be announced to their guests at the wedding breakfast, held at the Marriott Highcliffe ……
This was a fabulous day that even the unseasonable weather couldn’t dampen, and it was a real privilege to be a part of the team for this first wedding on Bournemouth beach …… congratulations Mr & Mrs Seed.
Ian
Posted on May 2, 2012
I had the privilege of shooting the official photographs for the first beach wedding ceremony in the UK last week, and as if wedding’s aren’t stressful enough for photographers I also had to contend with around 20 crew from ITV as it was televised LIVE on their Daybreak programme!
Beach Weddings Bournemouth is run by the fabulous and very talented Melanie Kiani, who also runs her own highly successful wedding planning business Bellissimo and Bournemouth is the only place in the UK where you can have your legal wedding ceremony on the beach – such a great idea!
I’ve been involved with Beach Weddings Bournemouth since it was launched last year, and shot the PR and advertising images for them so I wasn’t exactly “green” when it comes to beach shooting, but having a TV crew dictate where you can stand and when you can move cramps a photographer’s style slightly!
Because the wedding was being broadcast live on their morning programme, ITV stipulated that the ceremony had to take place between 08:00 and 08:30 – now, as anyone who’s been married knows, it’s not exactly a 5 minute job to get yourself ready for what’s possibly the most important day of your life! Plus, the interviews you watch on TV are the result of very precisely-timed rehearsals, which often meant 5 or 6 attempts to get everything right – and with me being pushed out of the way because I couldn’t appear in the shot!
Kate and Frazer’s families and friends came down to Bournemouth the day before the wedding and we had a rehearsal so that everyone knew what they were doing and where they’d be during the ceremony. Cables were run around the site, satellite dishes were set up for the broadcast, camera positions and lights were agreed and adjusted (then re-adjusted), the floor managers did their stuff directing people and everything slowly fitted into place.
On the morning of the wedding I photographed the bridal preparations as usual, but a first for me was having to do this at 5am – now I know I’m an early riser but that was just a bit too early! Never mind, it was great fun! Kate’s hair was styled by celebrity hairdresser Richard Ward, who styled Kate Middleton’s hair for last year’s royal wedding and she wore a dress designed by Amanda Wakeley.
With the preparations done, the TV interviews completed, spliced and broadcast it was time for the main event on Bournemouth beach – but that’s for another Blog post …….
To see more images, visit my Facebook page.
Ian
Posted on April 15, 2012
Ooh, the Blog’s being neglected again! The trouble with marketing nowadays is that it takes so much time to keep your social media updated and things inevitably get dropped (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blog, website, LinkedIn) … and it’s been the Blog’s turn recently, but I’m going to be re-working the website over the next week or so hopefully things will improve as we go along!
That said, it’s been pretty hectic over the past few weeks, with portrait shoots, an engagement shoot with Stevie and Byron ahead of their wedding this week, plus lots of planning for the forthcoming wedding season and of course, the first wedding on Bournemouth beach … LIVE on ITV Daybreak in just 2 week’s time!
It promises to be quite a hectic time, what with not only the bridal party, but camera crews, technicians, support crew and everyone else around ….. definitely a lot more people than I usually have to contend with at a wedding! I’ll be shooting “behind-the-scenes” coverage for my Blog and for Melanie from Beach Weddings Bournemouth so keep an eye on the Blog for some interesting shots!
The competition entries have been narrowed down from around 1000 to just 3 couples, and you can catch up with them tomorrow morning (16th April) on the Daybreak show, and then vote for your favourite on the 19th – the winner’s going to be announced on the 20th.
One thing’s for sure – weddings in Bournemouth will never be the same again! 
Ian
Wedding and portrait photography in Dorset
Posted on April 2, 2012
Had a great shoot with Byron and Stevie the other week when we went to shoot their engagement photographs at the gorgeous Highcliffe Castle, just outside Christchurch. The sun was definitely shining on us, and so warm for March – who’d have expected T-shirts and sunglasses and to be able to sit on the beach without getting frostbite?
Highcliffe Castle’s one of my favourite wedding venues in the Dorset and Hampshire area, and although they’re not getting married here in April it’s a lovely place to be photographed.
Here are just a couple of sneak peeks from the shoot, and I’m looking forward to photographing their wedding in just under 3 weeks time!
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photography
Posted on March 20, 2012
I know I’m a Nikon shooter, but that doesn’t mean I don’t read the photography press when it doesn’t relate to my chosen kit!
I came across this blog post at the weekend about Jason Bognacki, who had an old folding camera that was made in 1919 and wondered how good the photographs would be if he used it. Although you can still get 127-type film he decided to “hack” it and see whether he could mount it onto his DSLR, a Canon 5DMkII – as you can see from the photographs below he did it, but what’s most surprising is the quality of the images that the little folding camera produced!
At a time when people seem consumed with getting the latest “kit”, chasing megapixels as new models are released, it’s refreshing to see that old photographic equipment can still produce images that make you smile! As a wedding photographer I’m not sure it would really work out on assignment (understatement!), and it certainly won’t win any prizes for being the most elegant body/lens combo ….. but who cares?
You can see his full blog post with more images here
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photography
Posted on March 5, 2012
It’s been a bit manic recently, what with wedding shows and some commercial shoots so I’m afraid that the poor old Blog’s been neglected a bit (and after all that hard work I put in during January to post on a daily basis as part of the Blogging Challenge – whoops!). On top of that there’s a load of admin to get done, and then of course keeping up with all of the Social Media changes – especially Facebook’s Timeline for business pages (I’m working on that at the moment!).
Anyway, here are just a few photographs from the past week or so ……
I picked up a copy of “bh exclusive“ recently, a glossy publication for the Bournemouth area and was delighted to see some of my images featured! Not wedding photographs, but a commercial shoot I did last year for the interior design consultancy Mirco & Mirco, featuring an elegant conversion they undertook on an Edwardian garden apartment on Bournemouth’s West Cliff. Needless to say, I was rather chuffed to see my work published! “bh exclusive“ also produce the in-house magazine for the Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa, one of my favourite wedding venues, so you can get an idea of the quality of its production!
The other weekend I covered a 3 day event at a plush hotel in Sandbanks (I know, it’s such a tough life for photographers!), shooting PR of the speakers in action plus some business portraits of some of the delegates. That’s the joy of being a photographer – although I shoot primarily weddings and portraits, my job allows me to diversify and cover a number of different genres (although I should stress that you have to limit what you cover, otherwise you can end up being a jack-of-all-trades, but having covered PR and commercial work for many years I’m sufficiently grounded on this!). At the end of the first day’s shooting I took the cameras back out to the car to be greeted with this absolutely stunning sunset across Poole Harbour towards Brownsea Island – we’re so lucky to live in this area and to have such glorious scenery on our doorsteps! It was certainly a case of being in the right place at the right time!
Last week some of the photographs that I shot from the press day and the subsequent opening weekend of Beach Weddings Bournemouth appeared in the Westbourne Traders’ Magazine – a nice bit of PR for everyone involved! In around 7 weeks or so we’ll have a wedding on the beach broadcast LIVE on ITV for their Daybreak programme, and that’s going to be a really exciting day (and a bit of added pressure for the Bride and Groom I think).
And that’s about it for the moment on the image front … I’ll post a couple from one of my recent shoots later this week but now it’s back to more admin, meetings with Brides (and Grooms of course) and a host of other tasks …. it’s not all about taking photographs I’m afraid!
Cheers, Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on February 17, 2012
One of the best things about being a photographer is that I get to work with people of all ages, from babies to Grandparents (oh, and a few Brides in-between!!). Because I always work on location with my clients (not in a studio), every shoot is different (well, they’re unique really), with their own challenges. Of course, one of the big challenges with children for any portrait photographer is that they’re usually running around – but not when they’re only 5 weeks old!
This cute little chap from Bournemouth was an absolute joy (although I think Mum and Dad might disagree with me!) and was very well-behaved during the shoot with only one minor tantrum – not bad when there’s a stranger pointing a camera at him! I think you’ll agree that he’s adorable!
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on February 14, 2012
I couldn’t let Valentine’s Day, the traditional celebration of love and romance, pass by without a few photographs – especially some from recent engagement photoshoots with some of my bridal couples.
Engagement shoots (or eShoots as they’re sometimes referred to) are really important as they let you get to know your photographer before that big day – you’re a couple in love, relaxed and at ease with each other. On your wedding day, as Bride and Groom, you’ll be nervous and excited, anticipating the events of the day as it unfolds. The engagement shoot starts to build that all-important bond with your wedding photographer so that on the day itself you’re more comfortable with having your photograph taken … and believe me, that will show in the images.
This slideshow contains just a handful of images form recent shoots with my bridal couples, and you can see that the shoot can take place anywhere you want – wherever is special to you both.
If you’d like to know more about my wedding photography coverage across Dorset, Hampshire and the South of England please visit my website or contact me on 07575 567408
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on February 9, 2012
Last week we braved the winter chills and went down to Sandbanks in Poole, to photograph Danielle and Mike. Sandbanks is a gorgeous location and one of my favourites for engagement photo-shoots, but it’s much nicer in the Summer, rather than January with a cold North-Westerly blowing across Poole Harbour!
I have the pleasure of photographing their wedding in Mallorca later this year, so I hope the weather’s going to be a bit warmer the next time we shoot together in the Mediterranean!
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photography
Posted on February 8, 2012
Once again I find myself writing about people having unrealistic expectations about the way that they look and not being comfortable in their own bodies. I’ve spoken out this before when talking about the fashion industry bombarding us with manipulated images of models and celebrities, and my involvement last year with the “Real Women” campaign. Guess what? I’m back on the same subject again – but hopefully with a more positive spin on the story this time!
I have to say that I’m perhaps not Gok Wan’s greatest fan, but I have seen the occasional programme and will admit that he’s done some great work helping people over the years. However, having watched his programme on Channel 4 last night I must say that this was an excellent piece.
If you didn’t see it, Gok’s looking to help teenagers overcome some of the issues and pressures that they find themselves under, and the first episode looked at the problems of teens who suffer from body dysmorphia. Using a studio-based fashion photo-shoot he shows an internet-obsessed 15-year-old girl that the images of perfection she sees in the media are the result of not only the shoot itself, but hours of digital manipulation as well.
There’s also a clip in the programme about a great venture called Body Gossip, a campaign encouraging everyone to write something about their body – they’ll then pick a selection and turn them into short films using actors. It’s a great way of helping people come to terms with their bodies. Last night the programme included a clip of Brianna’s story being brought to life, and it’s well worth viewing.
Body dysmorphia’s a huge issue, and hopefully Gok’s programme will help raise the profile of this condition and help teenagers (and adults, it must be said) realise that there is another way to live your life!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
