New Exciting Promo Stuff!

I attended a marketing workshop yesterday to try and get some new ideas for promoting my business. Right at the start of session, the lady running the workshop asked who had business cards. I was the only person to put my hand up. She asked me to show her my card and as I was getting my wallet out, I felt a shiver of embarrassment run through me. This was because I knew full well that I’d given my last business card to a close up magician I'd met in a Parcel Force collection office the previous day. Anyone who is friends with me on Facebook may have noticed that I've had a bit of a running battle with Parcel Force this week over their 'Express 1 day service' that I eventually received 3 days late after 3 phone calls, 2 visits to the depot and a strongly worded letter! Anyway this magician did a trick for me whilst we were waiting to be served and was quite good so I said I'd recommend him to my clients where necessary. He didnt have a business card on him so said he'd email me his details through, which he is yet to do.

Anyway, I’ve digressed into a babbling and ranting idiot now. Back to the marketing workshop. So I didn’t have a business card and felt quite ridiculous admitting this after just saying that I had one. The workshop leader gave me a mild dressing down and instructed me to never leave the house without them! I wanted to tell her that I was leaving to pick up a batch of business cards (at a 3rd attempt) immediately following the workshop. But I didn’t as this would have made me look like the a schoolboy (that I used to be) making excuses for not doing his homework.

Here they are anyway, I love them! I got 13 different photographs printed onto the front of the cards. It's like carrying a mini portfolio around in my pocket. I've simplified the contact details on the back going for a 'less is more' look. The print quality is superb and I couldn’t be happier with them. (Which is more than I can say for these poor quality iPhone photos of them.)


Pics!


Lots of pics!


Back of the cards


The postcard front


Postcard rear

The only problem I have now is that I really don't want to give them away!

Mark and Lindsay at the West Tower, Aughton

My first wedding of 2011 was Mark and Lindsay’s fantastic day at the West Tower in Aughton, near Ormskirk, my first time covering this venue. I had a kind of nervous energy to me whilst driving down to the venue. I think this was because I’d been out of the game (wedding wise at least) for a few months and also because I’d drunk one of the massive cans of some disgusting energy drink on the way. I arrived at the venue early to meet the bride and bridesmaids making their preparations for the big day ahead. The bridal suite was a picture of calmness and serenity, at least compared with what I am used to arriving to! The girls hadn’t even thought of any alcohol consumption (at least, not until I had arrived anyway) and were just relaxing whilst getting ready. I nipped downstairs to photograph the room details before the guests arrived and bumped into Mark and the groomsmen at the bar ordering soft drinks. Again, very calm and relaxed, Mark showed no signs of nerves whatsoever.

The civil service held within the venue was very nice with just one reading from some friends of the bride. Lindsay looked stunning in her dress as did the bridesmaids and the cute flower girls. The BBC 5-day forecast (or as I call it, complete guesswork!) had been threatening me with rain in Ormskirk all week, yet luckily we didn’t get a single drop all afternoon or evening, giving us plenty of opportunity to get some nice shots around the grounds of this fantastic venue. I loved the 80's album cover theme for the table names. Highlights below...



































Congratulations to Lindsay and Mark and thanks for letting me capture, and be a part of your special day. I hope this wee glimpse of your photos brings back some great memories!

So it begins....

OK, it's finally come around! This coming friday I'll be dusting off my equipment, unzipping the suit bag and polishing up my shoes in preparation for my first wedding of the year. It's been two whole months since I have covered an event so i'm really excited to be getting back to work on capturing those special moments. I went down to visit the venue yesterday, which is one I haven't covered as yet, and met the wedding co-ordinator who showed me around. The venue was gearing up for a wedding fayre that was being held the following day which got me stirred up for pushing me on this year and to start showing off my work this way.

I'm also looking forward to the Focus On Imaging event at the Birmingham NEC at the beginning of March. I'm hoping to attend a couple of seminars by some of the other professionals I respect, to get some inspiration, plus some hints and tips for moving forward both in my photography and my business. Exciting stuff.

So keep your eyes on the blog over the next few weeks to check out the preview pics from my latest wedding plus details of my new website and upcoming offers!

Ant

PS, this is a photo taken of me at a christening recently by Hipstamatic Fanatic Inga! I'm quite impressed at how handsome and charismatic I look haha (joke). Goes to show that the camera sometimes does lie!

Sharon, Pete and Leila Home Portrait Shoot

Continuing on with updating this blog (erm... with stuff I did ages ago), time to showcase some of the portrait work I’ve done recently. Regular readers of this blog (yeah right, ha!) will remember the portrait shots I took documenting my friend Sharon’s last month of pregnancy. Well a couple of months later, she made her husband Pete the proud father of their daughter, Leila, and I paid them a visit to do some family shots.

Claire and Adam at Ribby Hall Village, Blackpool

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS!

So I’m going to start 2011 off by.... adding blog posts I should’ve done in 2010 (ok, first new year’s resolution, keep this blog more up to date).

My final wedding of the year was held at Ribby Hall Holiday Village over in Blackpool (or is it Preston?), and what a way to end what has been a great year for me! Claire and Adam had chosen what turned out to be an absolutely belting venue for their big day.

My day started off with me arriving quite early at a very nervous bride’s cabin to capture the proceedings. Claire had pre warned me about how nervous she gets at big occasions and I really felt for her as she made her preparations. Her gorgeous bridesmaids were doing their best to help keep her nerves at bay whilst getting themselves and the little ‘uns ready. I quickly zipped over to the groom’s cabin to find Adam almost as nervous as his bride to be. As has become typical groomsmen preparation, the lads were enjoying a cheeky early pint as they shot their cuffs and attached button holes and all had a jolly good laugh. As they made their way to the venue, I nipped back to the girls to find Claire just unveiling her dress, and the tears just started rolling (not mine mind, I’m dead tough and that).

From there everything went just swimmingly well. Claire chose her son to walk her down the aisle and he looked proud as punch to be doing so. After the service we went for a little drive around the holiday village in the Rolls Royce laid on by the venue to get some shots at different parts of the park. Once the group shots were done, everyone made their way to the beautiful dining room where the tables were organised with James Bond movie themes. The couple were kind enough to provide me with a meal and I must say, this was THE tastiest main course I have ever had at a wedding! I stayed right through the evening reception and have to say I had an absolutely fantastic time. Highlights of the day below:

































I think I took more photos at this wedding than any other I’ve covered as just so much fun stuff was going on all day. As I said before, what a fantastic way to end my year wedding wise! Congratulations to the pair of you!

Sarah and Tony at Heaton Park Orangery, Prestwich.

Starting off a busy October for me were Sarah and Tony. The couple had chosen The Orangery at Heaton Park to tie the knot which was my second time shooting there (my third happened to be just 3 weeks later, but more on that to come on another post). I love doing photo shoots at Heaton Park for two reasons:
1) It’s a wedding photographers dream (as long as the weather behaves). The park is beautiful, as are the flowerbeds at The Orangery. The temple on the hill is a great spot for portrait shots and the staff are extremely helpful.
2) I just live around the corner so I don’t have far to drive after my work is done :-D

The wedding itself was held in Heaton Park Hall. The room where the service was held is breathtaking. Loads of light flooding in through the big windows at the front meaning I get to turn my flash off for more natural lighted shots. The wedding had the couple reading their own personal vows with neither of them being able to suppress their emotions. From there we moved outside for the group shots before I took the bride and groom for a walk to get some nice portraits. The whole day ran very smoothly thanks to the ushers who were great at organising everyone and helped me a great deal on the day. Many thanks lads! Highlights below.





























All the best for the future to Sarah and Tony! I really enjoyed being a part of your day and I hope you love your photographs.