Having spotted the fancy stuff earlier on in the day I had hoped to get a taste - just not from across the patio. I'm still cleaning the bubbly off my lenses now...

After Aynhoe Park, Maunsel House ranks as one of the quirkiest venues in the South. Filled with medieval decor, suits of armour and even a full sized stuffed bear, the house is a treasure trove of interesting items. 

Thankfully, on this wedding I didn't crash my car or split my trousers, so with the feast of photographic opportunities in front of me it was a great day! Helen and Nat were also fantastic, very relaxed and confident in the documentary style which allowed me to capture some fun images.

I need to give Nat special mention here too, having performed just about the best recovery I have ever seen. Picture you are standing at the alter waiting for your beautiful bride to come down the aisle. Just as the music begins you start to well up, tears filling your eyes. Ordinarily not a problem, however Nat was wearing a particularly mischievous contact lens that was determined to make a bid for freedom.

As the bridesmaids start to come up the aisle ahead of the bride, I watched helplessly as Nat's contact lens completely ejected itself from his eye, at which point he performs the first amazing recovery, catching it and lining it up for reinsertion in one graceful swoop. Seconds later as Helen appears at the end of the aisle he has it balancing on the end of his finger and travelling towards his eye. With no mirror, a shaky hand and tearful eyes Nat expertly completes the recovery, slipping the lens back in, taking a deep breath and managing to look like nothing has happened as Helen arrives at his side. Smooth! 

Sadly, that wasn't the only thing that didn't go totally without hitch, but this time it wasn't my fault! Unfortunately the DJ, who was a really nice bloke, managed to forget most of his lighting rig, including the main support bar and nearly all of the cables to connect his equipment. Not wanting to see a fellow professional struggle (and also wanting to get the first dance done before midnight) I helped him to bodge together a semi-acceptable set of lights and dig out some old crusty cables to get the speakers working. 

Just over an hour late Helen and Nat took to the floor for some amazing dancing.

This was a memorable wedding to say the least and I have quite a few images I'd love to share from the day but this post is already big enough! So, without further ado, here are some of my particular favourites...

The next wedding on the catch up list is Keith and Holly's beautiful snowy wedding at the Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe. Their wedding took place at the peak of the bad winter weather and many of the guests had serious issues getting to the venue - with some not managing to make it at all.

The guests weren't the only ones to face problems - I had a fairly severe car crash just 400 meters from my house whilst on the way to the venue which caused several thousand pounds worth of damage and very badly smashed one side of the car such that neither door could be opened. Living on top of a hill right on the edge of Salisbury plain, the roads all around me had just turned to sheet ice. Despite going 2 or 3 miles an hour and doing everything by the book (including driving a 4 wheel drive!) the conditions were just too bad and my car lost grip on the back end, sliding sideways right the way down one of the hills, crashing into a post at the bottom.

Fortunately I was uninjured and, figuring I'd already crashed so I might as well continue, I managed to limp the 30 or so miles to the venue, arriving 1 hour 45 minutes after I planned but still an hour and a half before the ceremony. If ever there was an example of leaving enough time to deal with any eventualities, this was it!

I was very concerned about being late and missing part of the day but Keith and Holly were fantastic, very understanding and just happy I made it! 

That wasn't the end to the drama though as shortly after I had arrived the Vicar phoned to say he wouldn't be able to attend for the blessing. Undeterred, Keith sourced a 4x4 from somewhere and a rescue party was sent out to retrieve the stricken man from the depths of Wiltshire's snow covered landscape. With just minutes to spare he was deposited at the Church and all was well again.

Then, even more problems! Thankfully the registrars had managed to make it (a little late), but despite what everyone had gone through and my protestations, they point blank refused to allow photography during the civil ceremony. The only profession that takes itself more seriously and affords itself a lower position in the hearts of those who encounter them are traffic wardens. I swear, if a traffic warden ever gave a ticket to a registrar the resultant explosion of indignant self-righteous self-importance would level the landscape for miles around.

This was certainly the most eventful wedding of 2010 for me and next time is see snow on the ground, I'll be strapping a pair of snow chains on straight away! In the mean time, here are a few of my favourites from this unforgettable day...

]]>http://www.joshuaarcher.co.uk/blog/rss-comments-entry-11660470.xmlDocumentary Wedding Photographer WiltshireFor bridesPhotosReportage wedding photographer WiltshireWiltshire Wedding PhotojournalistWiltshire wedding photographyJoshua ArcherThu, 26 May 2011 18:46:36 +0000http://www.joshuaarcher.co.uk/blog/wiltshire-wedding-photography-aldbourne.html695823:8223799:11587474Location: Aldbourne

Six weeks since my last blog! It only seems like a few days has passed and there's been a huge amount going on here behind the scenes with the approach of this years main wedding season, including lots of behind the scenes changes we're very excited about. Most importantly, we are delighted to welcome Andy Rapkins on board as Associate Photographer here at Allister Freeman Photography.

A fantastic photographer with a great eye for capturing delicate moments, not to mention his brilliant portrait abilities, Andy's brings his own unique style of photography that fits perfectly alongside mine and Allister's. Take a minute to pop over to Andy's site and have a look at his portfolio.

In the mean time, it's time to catch up on some blogging! I have quite a backlog of weddings to show, so expect to see at least one or two a week over the next 8 weeks. You might recognise a few shots from joint commissions that have appeared over on Allister's blog, but everything you see here will be my photography.

First up it's Jamie and Emilie's gorgeous Wiltshire wedding, with the Church service right here in the beautiful village of Aldbourne... 

Venue: The Crazy Bear, Stadhampton

The Crazy Bear has to be one of the darkest venues I have photographed in, aside from a few spots within Bovey Castle or Woldingham School. It was so dark in fact that it was decided by the staff that the speeches couldn't start until another light could be found and set up so that the guests could see the speaker!

Surprisingly quickly an uplighter was found, from where we shall never know, and was, really quite annoyingly, placed directly behind the speach makers with its dimmer switch set on full blown nuclear furnace setting. Now, I'm not adverse to a silhouette or two but I suspected I might not get away with 20 speech silhouettes! Anyway, any hope of balancing the 150w floodlight against the delicate glow of the romantic candle light was immediately destroyed and with about 1 minute until the start of the speeches, so was my hope of a stress free event to shoot.

Thankfully, I always keep a pair of individually packed speedlights in my bag, complete with a full off camera radio trigger set in each pack, which stays within arms reach wherever I go. With time so short it was certainly a fly by the seat of your pants moment but I managed to unpack, activate, gel, site and test both flashes sited on opposite sides of the room as well as get the transmitters on the cameras and set exposure all whilst stubbornly maintaining at least the appearence of 'natural' lighting that fits in with my documentary style.

I'll admit, it was a difficult test, but being prepared for these moments is what sets you apart as a professional so I knew it was not an option to have just thrown my hands in the air and given up. Actually, I was very pleased with the results, which did look surprisingly 'natural' and one of the subsequent images I made has found it's way into my portfolio.

And so - the moral of this little tale of woe for the photographers out there? Obvious! Ask them to turn the light down...

It's been a short long while since the last update here so I thought I'd add a little snippet just to prove I'm still alive! It's been a hugely busy 4 weeks that involved photographing one of my most prestigious weddings so far, completing the design, move to and launch of Allisters new website, preparing for the impending arrival of our baby daughter and squeezing in a well deserved break in the Bavarian alps.

The break means I have lots still to catch up on here on the blog so make sure you check back tomorrow once I get familiar with the 'schedule post' function...

In the mean time, why not check out Allister's new site? Designed in Squarespace, the site was created entirely 'in house', integrating Allister's two sites into one and moving to a new URL - a serious undertaking for anyone with a web presence. Thankfully, despite a few quirks/differences between the old and new systems, all went smoothly and the new platform will allow us to be much more flexible and responsive.

If you are looking to switch your own site and want a simple platform that doesn't require you to have and coding knowledge but still allows you to create stunning designs, I can't recommend Squarespace highly enough.

It's one of the most exciting and daunting moments of your life and now, after all the planning, preparation, hard work and emotion, it comes down to this. This one moment.

As you stand at the alter, you hear the music start and the bridal precession begins it's slow march towards you.

Overcome with happiness and emotion at the thought of seeing your wife to be, you start to well up. Tears fill your eyes and... 

 YOUR CONTACT LENS FALLS OUT!

 Nat, you recovered from this minor mishap amazingly and are an absolutely top bloke. I thoroughly enjoyed joining you for your big day and wish you and Helen all the best!

Venue: Roman Baths, Bath

The Roman Baths in Bath, otherwise known as The Pump Rooms, are a pretty spectacular wedding venue right in the heart of the city. With Bath Abbey right next door and some of Bath's most impressive architecture all around, The Pump Rooms are a very unique venue.

Shame parking and traffic in Bath is such a nightmare! Seriously, if you are photographing a wedding in the city, think long and hard about getting a driver for the day - in our case it was lucky there were two of us to ensure things went smoothly.

Rebecca and Giancarlo's wedding, complete with Paparazzi tourists, was a pleasure to document. I remember going to the Roman Baths as a kid and being fascinated by the ancient architecture, plumbing and sheer weight of history to the place, so going back to photograph their wedding was excellent. I'm sure I remember it being bigger though...

We also had the pleasure of taking a trip around the city in an old London bus which was another high point and means I have quite few favourite photos from the day, probably too many of the old buildings but they really are stunning! 

This is such a stunning piece of kit and guaranteed to impress your clients with it's huge screen, perfect for displaying photos. I'm very sad to see it go but I just don't use it much anymore, so rather than see such a good bit of kit gather dust in the corner, I thought I'd offer it up to a good home. 

The iMac will come with a completely clean install of the Operating System, fully updated to the latest version of OSX, fresh batteries in the wireless keyboard and mouse, all documentation and accessories as well as being packaged in the original box with original wrapping/padding.

For more info and to bid, check out the eBay listing:

CLICK TO VIEW EBAY LISTING

Following this posts initial publication, it's taken over a year to put the final review together. I have used the Nikon 24mm f1.4 on countless commissions, including nearly 50 weddings, numerous portrait shoots and several commercial assignments.

I will state now, this review was done in such a way as to provide a sound basis for comparison between the lenses and offer some of my real world experiences with the Nikon 24mm f1.4. Be advised though, it certainly isn't a scientifically executed, tightly controlled precision fest; but it will show the clear differences between the lenses (with some surprising results) and how these differences really do manifest themselves in real life shooting.

The test was performed on a Nikon D700, RAW conversion was done in...

Venue: New Place Hotel, Shirrell Heath

Emma and Jamie were married at the gorgeous St Mary's Church in Bishopstoke before moving on to the impressive New Place Hotel in Shirrell Heath near Southampton. We were blessed with gorgeous weather throughout the day which allowed us to make the most of the spacious grounds at the New Place Hotel.

Emma and Jamie were wonderfully welcoming and it was such a pleasure to document their day, especially the excellent dancing in the evening!

Here are a some of my favourites, make sure you click through to the full post as it's quite a big one this time...

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A few days ago I was asked by a friend, and keen photographer, just what a 'Normal' lens is. Which got me thinking, how you define what a normal lens is?

I know there is the old assertion that the Normal lens is one with a focal length equivalent to the diagonal of the sensing medium, be that film or digital, 35mm or Medium Format etc etc. Whilst that may be a wonderfully mathematical definition, I am left feeling a little cold by this explanation and not really any wiser as to what a Normal lens actually is, or what it does.

Taking the diagonal of a 35mm sensor I believe you arrive at a focal length of around 47-48mm. Great, but what exactly does this mean? How does it relate to the image I want to create? How does the lens allow me to relate to my subject? What if I don't use a Normal lens? Simply stating to my friend that a Normal lens has a focal length of around 50mm didn't really seem to fully explain the concept at best and bordered on inaccurate at worst.

I have heard it said that a Normal lens is one that most closely approximates the field of view of human vision. Put a 50mm lens (the closest focal length in production) up to your eye and immediately you'll see a problem with this definition. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say a Normal lens is one that closely approximates the 'perspective' of human vision in that the perspective between objects within the frame is as close to 'natural' as possible; as close to our normal vision as it's possible to recreate. Again what does this actually mean? If the perspective is as close to normal vision as possible with a 50mm lens, the field of view is certainly narrower; so how would this effect the image I am trying to create?

Trying to give a straight definition of what a normal lens is, given the different definitions available, proved to be a little tricky; but trying to explain what this actually means in terms of the image making process was tough. To me, the whole concept of a Normal lens is built on the myth that it in some way relates to how we 'see'. Take for instance a wide-angle lens, which certainly doesn't 'see' in the same way we do in that we do not see sharply in our peripheral vision. Wide-angle lenses, primes at least, are or course traditionally very sharp right across the frame. None of this affect’s the way I see an image, just how I choose to represent my vision within a photograph. The same can be said of this so called Normal lens, which is as different from the way I see as that wide-angle lens is.

Perhaps we have to stop thinking of lenses in terms of focal length and what is normal or not and instead think of them in terms of relating to our subjects. Perhaps we should think about the relationship between different elements within the frame, think about scale, about perspective, about positioning or about how the background relates to the foreground.

I know I often find myself thinking how I want to relate my subjects to the environment in which I find them, do I want them to appear similar in size to the background? Then I reach for a longer lens. Do I want them to recede into the background? I might then reach for the wide-angle lens. In this vein, perhaps we could begin to think of our  'sorter' lenses as 'intimate' lenses or 'personal' lenses or some such definition in that they cause us to be closer to our subject, to interact with them or generally to be nearer to them.  Maybe our longer lenses, with their narrow field of view and telephoto effect which can increase the distance between us and our subjects, could be thought of as 'anonymous' lenses or 'distance' lenses or some similar terminology;  lenses that forgo the need for contact with our subjects.

Again, none of this actually affects how I see but it does inform my decision as to how I want to represent my vision within an image. When I reach for a lens I am not thinking about its focal length but rather my primary concern is how I am going to represent my subjects within the final two dimensional plane of a photograph.  Secondly, I am usually thinking about my position, about scale and about the relationship between the subject and the environment. That is what powers my decision, not the knowledge that a lens is somehow Normal or otherwise.

Unfortunately for my friend, such an explanation was perhaps a little too involved to be of use at their stage of photographic development. Then again, perhaps not. Too bad there is no easy way to relate the measurement and description of lenses to the concept of 'seeing'. Until there is, I'm afraid we will be stuck with this, somewhat dissatisfying, 'diagonal of the sensing medium' contrivance.

Eve and Russell were married at the gorgeous Caswell House near Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The venue has a relatively new feel in that it has recently been totally renovated but thankfully it’s maintained much of the rustic charm that makes these Oxford barns such great wedding venues.

There was a real family feel to the wedding, with lots of kids playing a part in the day, which always makes for a relaxed and fun wedding to photograph. Eve and Russell were absolutely lovely to work with and were so welcoming on the day it was a delight to document their wedding. 

This wedding was shot with Allister and here are a few of my favourites below. If you fancy a game of ‘Where’s Wally’ (no pun intended…honestly), you might just catch a very rare glimpse of the ‘Lesser Spotted Freeman’ in one of the photographs.

This year I have discovered Scrivener, which promises to completely change the way I write material for this site and should mean I can regularly add some more thought provoking written content over and above the usual weddings, portraits and personal photographic work.

Having also made the change to Squarespace just before the new year I have been exploring the use of the iPhone and the iPad as content creation devices, with some success. My iPhone blog is now up and running so if you haven’t checked it out already, do pop over and have a look.

The trouble with producing written content though is in remaining relevant. Content that is interesting to potential clients, followers of the blog or just passers by leads me to the conclusion that the only topic relevant to all of them would be the photos, thereby turning the blog back to a shoot diary.

You see the dilemma.

That’s where this post comes in, a little ‘self justification’ if you will. I know not all of the content produced over the next 12 months will be all things to all people. Perhaps most of it will mean nothing to anyone. Perhaps none of it will be relevant (this first post isn’t going too well now is it?), but that’s a risk I’ll have to take. I am determined to see this site be something more than a one trick pony, even if it’s crowning achievement is the blogging equivalent of a first year magician’s ‘pulling a coin from behind the ear’ gag.

That’s enough self-deprecation for now. There will of course be plenty of photographs blogged, some rather good ones (IMHO) are waiting in the wings from some gorgeous winter weddings. Those posts can serve as calm interesting ports in the storm of rants like these, I suppose.

Which just leaves me one last thing to say - if you have made it through the post this far, well done! They will get better...I promise...I hope.

They say bad luck comes in threes and judging by the last few weeks 'they' are right. At the first of Decembers weddings I managed to spill pretty much my entire breakfast over myself, not normally an issue if I was at home but being 90 miles up the motorway and about 10 minutes from the venue there was no hiding it!

Next, Wiltshire experienced some of it's worst winter weather in decades last Saturday when I just so happened to be fated to join Keith and Holly to document their wedding at the gorgeous Manor House Hotel in Caste Coombe. Unfortunately, conditions were so bad that despite driving at about 5 mph my 4 wheel drive car couldn't handle the conditions and I ended up sliding sideways right the way down a hill (picking up quite a bit of speed too!), crashing into a post at the bottom.

Both doors on the left side of the car were pretty much destroyed but somehow no glass was broken and I managed to limp onwards. Luckily there were no injuries (even the post was annoyingly undamaged) and I still managed to turn up at the wedding an hour and a half before the ceremony, having had a few more near misses but glad to have left lots of extra journey time in case of accidents.

That was due to be my last wedding of 2010 but I wasn't the only one to be effected by the weather over the last few days. Photographers across the county were facing trouble and I was more than happy to help out where I could. So Tuesday morning I got the call to step in for a stranded photographer, roped my neighbour and his trusty Land Rover into action and headed off to join Lucy and Tim for their wedding at Marlborough College Chapel and Cleeve House in Seend.

Things were going well, gorgeous low light, stunning buildings and a great couple. Maybe I was getting complacent with such a good day, but as every suit wearing man knows, one must 'hitch up' one's trousers before one bends over. Maybe it was fatigue, maybe just the excitement of almost having finished what would definitely be the last wedding of the year, whatever it was, I forgot to 'hitch'. Subsequently, as I bent down to pack away some bits into my bag before shooting the cake cutting and the first dance, the inevitable happened...RIP!

Now, this wasn't the kind of rip you can hide. Not when you are in a room full of guests and nor when said rip is about 30cm long! There was nothing for it but to grab my bag and make a run for it, enduring the giggles of guests as I passed, including the mother of the bride! Tweeting my situation offered all manor of solutions from my twitter friends, most of which involved gaffer tape but none of which I could employ. Small mercies though, thanks to the cold I was wearing a jumper which I managed to tie around my waist, covering the 'exposed area' before heading back in to finish the coverage.

Highly embarrassing!

Well now it's Christmas Day, work is done for the year and it's time to reflect on the year passed. Despite the recent run of incidents, this year has been fantastic. Working with Allister, great clients and meeting great photographers have been just a few of the highlights of an extraordinary 12 months and next year promises to be even better.

As we enjoy this holiday season, join me in being thankful for good friends, loving family and good health. Whatever the next twelve months bring I wish you the best of luck and the best of health in all your endeavours.

See you all again here in the new year where I will be catching up on blogging some amazing weddings from the last couple months, or you can join me over on my new iPhone blog which will no doubt fill with tales of my holiday adventures.

In the mean time I wish you all the best and, of course...Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Venue: Wyck Hill House, Stow-on-the-Wold

A few weeks back we documented the gorgeous wedding of Victoria and Jonathan who were married at the striking St Peter's church in Leckhampton before moving on to the gorgeous Wyck Hill House in Stow-on-the-Wold for the reception.

It was great fun to join Victoria and Jonathan and they made us feel incredibly welcome throughout the day.

"I’d just like to say how grateful Jonathan and I are to you for your massive contribution to our wedding in August. You were unobtrusive and consummate professionals: it was like having old friends over! The photos capture so many memorable moments from the day, and the guests were clearly very relaxed around you both. 

The service you provided both before and after the day was very thorough. We couldn’t have dared hope for anything like the quality of images you’ve managed to produce!"

"Again, so many thanks."

Vickie & Jonathan

Here are a few of my favourites...

Unfortunately the mobile app is still only iPhone native and using it with the iPad as I currently am is an ugly low-res experience. Still, it seems stable and allows me to quickly and easily insert images, tag and categorise posts and access useful back end features.

The real test is to see if I am able to use another note programme, like I am actually using to type these words, and can then copy and paste these into the apps interface to be uploaded to the blog. That would certainly make the experience a lot more pleasant and may encourage some more spontaneous blogging in the future!

There is only one thing left to do now...press 'post'...

*Update*

It's always good to check if you can post images and to see if it is possible to modify a post after upload. This update will test that...

Aynhoe Park is one of the most incredible and theatrical wedding venues in the UK. Having only just opened it's doors this year following a long history as a grand stately home, it is currently one of the most exclusive too.

The house and its contents really have to be seen to be believed. Home to one of the greatest collections of plaster works in the world, decorated with taxidermy, fine art and opulent oversized furnishings, it truly is a jaw dropping venue.

The grounds are equally stunning and come complete with a church just 50 meters from the main house, perfect for a traditional church wedding with a twist.

Add all this together and you can see why I felt very lucky to document Roz and Paul's wedding here at Ayhnoe Park a few weeks back. Roz and Paul were a delight to meet and to work with, as were their families who made me feel very welcome throughout the day.

Here are a few of my personal favourites from the day.

If you are in the market for a new site, keep Squarespace in mind, I can highly recommend them.

A new website also called for a new portfolio and here's a sneak peek - make sure you take a minute to look through the full gallery too...

First and foremost, the associate position is a long-term and total integration into the Allister Freeman Photography brand. It is not a reciprocal relationship based on mutual recommendation, and nor is it two separate brands running side by side for short term gain; it is photographers working from a busy, professional studio with the aim of producing the highest standard of work for our wedding, portrait and commercial clients.

This setup prevents confusion and preserves a strong, stable and proactive relationship between each photographer. It's also the biggest stumbling block we've faced whilst looking for a new associate. Many photographers see coming under the Allister Freeman brand as either a quick and easy way to gain credibility, or at the other extreme, being forced to completely give up on their own ambitions. This is the wrong attitude. To me, coming under the brand was an easy choice. It's been an excellent chance to learn and work with one of the best wedding photographers in the country. But more than that, it has quite literally changed my approach to what photography represents - both as a commercial product and personally.

It's an age-old cliche but when working as part of a team you become more than the sum of your parts and that has certainly been the case throughout the year. Envisioning the long-term gain to you and the business, the 'big picture' if you like, is the first principle of becoming a successful associate. This insight will allow associates to fully appreciate and make the most of interrelationships within the collective.

Obviously, working to the standards Allister demands has taken time and critique. If you're not prepared to accept criticism, direction or coaching, then an associate position isn't for you. That's not to say there were Apprentice style tasks and weekly firings in the boardroom! Criticism was always constructive, even if it stung a lot. The pace of progress and photographic development was intensive and this approach always kept morale high; but being able to get over your own ego is the second most important factor to success as an associate photographer.

On the practical side I have attended almost every wedding Allister has shot since joining him early this year as well as being well into the double figures for my own commissions. In addition I attended as many pre-wedding shoots, client meetings, portrait shoots and editing sessions as physically possible. Through a mixture of learning by osmosis, discussion, critique, 'monkey see monkey do' and adding my own approach and style, I have improved my originally bland, forgettable photography to a level where it can happily sit side by side with Allister's images. Being willing and happy to put in the hard work required and determinedly striving for improvement in each successive image is the third key factor for an associate.

Just shooting and being critiqued won't get you the whole way, however. Having your own agenda or slant on the world is the 'X Factor' that separates a pretty picture and a powerful image. By making a photograph you are by definition commenting on what you are experiencing, your unique interpretation. Compressing a moment of experience into a photograph and communicating that to the viewer is fundamental to what a photographer does and to what a photographer is. Honing your own photographic 'attitude' and having a willingness to be given direction will prevent your imagery becoming bland and is the fourth key factor for an associate photographer.

The last nine months have been very exciting and absolutely brilliant fun. Constantly learning, communicating and bouncing ideas along with shooting, editing and critiquing has been tiring, very tiring in the case of five weddings in five days! But being immersed in photography at this level and being able to maintain creative freedom has been a fantastic experience. I can whole heartedly endorse an associate position as a fantastic way to develop photographically and become part of a long-term, positive collaboration with other photographers.

There is a lot more to do and we have very exciting plans in progress to create something very special under the brand. As I said at the start, this is a long-term programme and we are just the beginning of the journey.

The ceremony took place in Oxford Town Hall; a stunning building with some extremely directional and tricky lighting that, when used well, makes for a gorgeous image.

After the ceremony Tom and Sloane took a walk through the city to the river Thames before enjoying a relaxing boat ride to one of Oxfords little gems - The Perch Inn. I spent a little more time at The Perch that I thought I was going to as the dinner overran by more than a hour, leaving the speeches and first dance to take place outside in the permanent marquee - in the dark!

Fortunately there was just enough light to work with and in the end the conditions created a very intimate and strong set of images.

Here are a few favourites from the day...

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As an added bonus, Roger and Verity live in the same village as the studio and working so locally has been a treat.

Here are a few favourites from the day...

We we're blessed with gorgeous weather and Jane and James were a delight to work with, really embracing the documentary style which resulted in particularly strong images of their day.

Here are a few of my favourites...

A few years ago my wife and I were looking for a new kitchen table. We visited all the usual places including various furniture stores, national chains and local outlets. We were a little naive perhaps and the first difficulty we faced was finding one that would actually fit into the space we had available, whilst also trying to make sure it would be big enough to fit into a larger house we might move to in the future. 'How much bang could we get for our buck' so to speak?

The next problem we faced was the spec. Obviously we needed a table with an intricate and complex folding mechanism so that it could be morphed into any number of configurations, shapes and sizes.  What if we needed to move the table about too? Better get one with optional wheel capability just to make things easier. Oh, and then there were the chairs. Of course more was better, how couldn't it be? We settled on a projected need for 10 chairs; my wife is quite the cook in her spare time (I'm awful, just to bring balance to the universe) and we'd need to make sure we had enough for big dinner parties you see.

Then came the choice of materials. Space grade titanium seemed a little overkill for a domestic item but it didn't stop me at least wondering once or twice if that was at least possible. It wasn't. Other options included wood, glass, less exotic metals and even recycled plastics. Who cares what it's made of? It had to be light to move it around easily and the more attachments, folding parts and the greater expandability it had the better right?

Price. By this factor alone all of the smaller outlets were effectively eliminated. None of them offered anything in the same league as the larger stores, where we could find dozens and dozens of tables for under £300 and all offering just the types of things we were looking for. There were folding tables, expanding tables, tables with wheels, even self-locking components. Self locking! Amazing. There were tables of all types of material, all offering next day delivery, free home construction service, interest free credit, buy now pay later schemes, three months warranty, free gifts and all were 'passionate' about quality and service.

Swept up in the corporate glitter-ball frenzy, convincing promotional material and sparkle toothed salesmen we excitedly chose our perfect table. It promised to double in length thanks to some ingenious mechanism that seemed to defy the very laws of physics. It had little fold down wheels that meant it could be moved around easily. It had a stain resistant, heat proof, fire retardant, scratch resistant high gloss coatings. It came with 10 chairs and it was light, it seemed to be made of wisps of air itself.

And it only cost £299.99. Perfect.

The next day, as promised, the table arrived at home. Two burly and competent looking table builders had the table up in no time. We had our perfect table at last. Within 6 months it was broken. Turns out the table may as well have been made out of air for all the sturdiness it provided. The miracle coatings peeled, the folding mechanisms jammed and broke within about 4 months, two of the chairs broke, one of the wheels fell of the first time I tried to use them and to top it off one of the legs came loose after the self-locking mechanism sheered. That was the final straw.

To cut a long story slightly shorter, after much agonising and a few 'I told you so's' from world wise friends and family we were on the market for another table. A piece of advice I had heard of stayed at the front of my mind this time. Buy cheap, buy twice. If only those words had been with me during the first buying process. You'll obviously be glad to know we now have a gorgeous and totally solid hardwood dining table, complete with folding mechanism that could comfortably support the weight of a container ship.

So, more is better? Unfortunately this idea is pervasive and we humans  are wired to try and get the most we can for our money. Salesmen have been taking advantage of this for millennia.  Most of the time, the lesson is learnt. Sometimes the lesson is painful, but usually there is opportunity to go back and rectify the mistake, just as we did with our new table.

Do you intend to get married more than once? Then you will only have one opportunity to get it right.  There is no option to 'buy cheap, buy twice' when it comes to your photography. There are no repeats, no second chances. I'm not saying you should get ripped off but I am encouraging you to think about quality over quantity. Do you really need one thousand five hundred images from your day?  Do you need a 'head shot' of every guest? Do you need twenty five images of your shoes and fifty of your cake? Twenty four of the images of your shoes won't be as good as the single stand out best one, the same is true of the fifty of your cake. Further, would it be better to provide your quests with a few disposable cameras to get the 'head shots' you are after whilst leaving your professional photographer and their talent to capture the priceless moments of your day?

Like the apps from Apples iTunes store or even the next great band about to hit the big time buried in the bowls of online music sites, small venues or pubs or clubs it is increasingly hard to identify the best or most useful things you need from the squawking cacophony of mediocrity spewing from the tens of thousands of frankly rubbish programmes/bands clawing for your attention and money. The parallels in photography are not dissimilar.

So how can you cut through the noise and find quality in the midst of tempting quantity? Firstly, I suggest looking for the emotional power of the photographers work, the quality of the moments they captured, the strength of their understanding of the day. Secondly, think about the perspective the images show, where they were taken from, how close the photographer was to the action.  Thirdly and most importantly, look and the depth and breadth of their work; their consistency. It is one thing to see one of two good images from a wedding but a great photographer should be producing over a hundred exceptional images at every wedding, time and again, regardless of conditions or venue.

A truly great photographer will melt into the background during your day, working unobtrusively to capture you and your guests interactions without dictating how your day unfolds and leaving you to enjoy YOUR day to the full. They will work with you to understand your needs and what you want from your photography. They will also be a master of their art and after the wedding day they will whittle down whatever images they make to only the most exceptional, emotional and powerful that tell the story of your day to the full. You will not be burdened with thousands of average images to choose from. You will receive from them only the absolute best quality images that capture forever those cherished, once in a lifetime memories.

Getting rid of things isn't easy as we live in a culture that values abundance and the supposed comfort it brings. In both my own life experience and my work with clients I see time and time again that our lives will be much richer if we opt for things that are fulfilling and meaningful instead of opting for just more of everything. It can be a brave step to place you trust in a photographer that offers less quantity and more quality but, if you can focus on quality alone, you can be sure that you will never have to worry that you have 'bought cheap' or will have to 'buy twice'.