The George, Rye - Wedding Photography

A selection of black and white conversions from Lisa and Nick's wedding last week.

1/800, f/1.8, ISO 100, -1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/200, f/1.4, ISO 400, 0 EV, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 800, -1/3 EV, -2/3 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/125, f/2.5, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 800, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/250, f/1.4, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/2.5, ISO 800, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/200, f/1.2, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/60, f/3.5, ISO 800, +1 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 100, -1/3 EV, 17mm (16-35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/1250, f/1.4, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/200, f/4.0, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/400, f/2.0, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/320, f/2.8, ISO 200, 0 EV, 200mm (70-200)

1/400, f/3.2, ISO 2500, 0 EV, -1/3 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/320, f/2.0, ISO 100, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/50, f/4.0, ISO 2500, +1/3 EV, +1/3 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/200, f/3.2, ISO 640, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/60, f/3.2, ISO 3200, +2/3 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

Check out more of my photography here: Kent weddings

Wedding Photographers in Kent

The above shot of me 'in action' comes from Lisa and Nick's wedding last week. I think you can see that I was having fun. It was taken by budding photographer Matt, who also kindly acted as my assistant during the bride and groom portrait session. Great capture Matt!

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photography in Kent

Wedding Photographer in Rye

A selection of shots from Lisa and Nick's wedding on Friday at The George in Rye.

1/1600, f/1.4, ISO 100, -1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/125, f/1.4, ISO 100, 0 EV, -1 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/160, f/1.4, ISO 400, 0 EV, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 800, -1/3 EV, -2/3 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/125, f/1.6, ISO 200, +2/3 EV, -1 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/2.8, ISO 400, +1/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 800, 0 EV, -2/3 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/80, f/1.2, ISO 100, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 400, +1/3 EV, +1 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/60, f/4.0, ISO 800, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 100, -1/3 EV, 0 FEC, 27mm (16-35)

1/400, f/2.8, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/160, f/4.0, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/400, f/2.0, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, 140mm (70-200)

1/250, f/2.5, ISO 100, -1 EV, -1/3 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/640, f/2.0, ISO 100, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/1600, f/1.4, ISO 100, -1 EV, -1/3 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/1000, f/1.4, ISO 100, -1 EV, -1/3 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 400, -4/3 EV, +1 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photography in Kent

Wedding Photography at The George, Rye

I had the pleasure of photographing Lisa and Nick's wedding at The George in Rye on Friday. Their wedding gallery is now available to view in colour and black & white.

I'm being spoilt at the moment. It was another photogenic couple, a wonderful venue and incredible light!

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photographer in Kent

Kent Wedding Photographer at The Bell Hotel

A selection of photos from Parvinder and John's wedding last Saturday. With the ceremony at 5pm, my Speedlites got a good workout!

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 1000, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/250, f/1.2, ISO 2000, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/80, f/3.5, ISO 3200, 0 EV, -2/3 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/80, f/4.5, ISO 800, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/400, f/2.8, ISO 400, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 3200, +1/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/60, f/3.2, ISO 3200, +2/3 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/25, f/3.2, ISO 3200, +1/3 EV, 0 FEC, 27mm (16-35)

1/40, f/3.2, ISO 3200, +1/3 EV, 0 FEC, 27mm (16-35)

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 3200, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/80, f/2.8, ISO 3200, +1/3 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 3200, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35)

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 6400, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/25, f/2.8, ISO 6400, +1 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photography in Kent

Cooling Castle Wedding Photography

A selection of photos from Lucy and Jonathan's wedding last Friday at Cooling Castle Barn.

1/250, f/1.4, ISO 200, +1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/125, f/1.4, ISO 200, +1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 26mm (16-35)

1/500, f/1.2, ISO 100, 0 EV, 85mm (85)

1/100, f/2.0, ISO 100, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/100, f/1.2, ISO 100, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/200, f/3.5, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/160, f/3.5, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/160, f/3.5, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/320, f/3.5, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1250, +1 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/160, f/2.0, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/60, f/2.5, ISO 1600, +4/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/200, f/8.0, ISO 400, 0 EV, 23mm (16-35)

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 100, -1 EV, 155mm (70-200)

1/1000, f/1.4, ISO 100, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

Check out more of my photography here: Kent wedding photographer

Wedding Photography at The Bell Hotel, Sandwich

I had the pleasure of photographing Parvinder and John's wedding at The Bell Hotel, Sandwich yesterday evening. Another superb event - Parvinder and John were absolutely charming, the registrars were relaxed and all the guests were extremely friendly. Just the way I like it!

Check out my photography here: wedding photographer in Kent

Wedding Photography at Cooling Castle Barn

I had the pleasure of photographing Lucy and Jonathan's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn yesterday. It was one of those magical weddings where, from my perspective, everything went perfectly. Lucy and Jonathan were relaxed and great fun to work with, none of the guests complained about having their photos taken, the venue was incredibly slick and photogenic, the registrars were friendly and accomodating, and the toastmaster, Ken Tappenden, was great fun and very effective. On top of that the light was amazing!

I'm photographing a wedding on home territory this afternoon - The Bell Hotel in Sandwich.

Check out my photography here: wedding photographer in Kent

Auto white balance with tungsten lighting

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

Today's question:

Hi David

I shoot a lot of low light event photography with a 5D and 5DII and have always had to dial out lots of red when the dominating light is tungsten (or candle) shooting auto white balance. The 'shot at' white balance when converting raws is always way out. Do you find this?

Thanks

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd,

Yes, I do. Canon's auto white balance system struggles with tungsten lighting. This may be due to the range of colour temperatures and colour casts that occur with this type of lighting, and also the fact that rooms are typically lit by more than one light bulb, which means that there is more than one distinct light source. Even more problematic is the presence of fluorescent lighting in addition - this really adds to post-processing time.

I find Adobe Lightroom's ability to sync settings between shots very useful for post-processing - get the white balance right for one shot and then paste these settings into all the other shots taken under the same conditions. If a colour cast remains, I use Lightroom's hue, saturation and luminance sliders to try and neutralise it.

Yours,

David

Check out my photography here: Kent photographer

Lenses for Wedding Photography

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

Another good question today:

Hi David,

I am a regular reader of your blog - thanks for doing this, it is a great source of information for people new in to the business like myself.

I hope you don't mind but I do have a quick question. I shoot with a 5DMKII and am looking to buy either the 24-70/2.8 or the 70-200/2.8 - I have the 16-35/2.8, 50/1.4 and a 100/2.8.

I have read your blog post and am tempted to get the 24-70/2.8 as you say you use it more often. If you had the choice between the two - which would you get? I know you answered this question fairly recently but I would be interested to know whether your stats have changed much since.

This is for shooting weddings - I have a 30D as a backup.

Many thanks for any light you can shed on the situation!

Al

Hi Al,

Many thanks for your feedback on my blog - I really appreciate this.

With the lenses that you already have I'd be tempted to purchase the 70-200mm first - it will extend your current capabilities more than the 24-70mm. I'm sure you'll end up buying both of them eventually anyway - L-series glass is habit-forming! ;-)

These two lenses feature in many professional wedding photographer's kit. The 24-70mm is incredibly versatile, allowing you to shoot wide without too much perspective distortion, and also has just enough reach for classic portrait shots - but you already have this covered with your current lenses. The 70-200mm is a wonderful portrait lens and is also great for grabbing candid shots from a distance - something you can't do at the moment. Obviously you do need plenty of space to use this lens in this way - I tend to use it less frequently at winter weddings when I'm primarily shooting indoors.

Unfortunately lens prices are very high at the moment. 123fStop.com, who import lenses from the US and Far East, have the 24-70 for £923 and the 70-200mm for £1315. Since you're buying them in the UK, you can register these with Canon and they will be treated as UK stock. Warehouse Express has them for £1049 and £1550.

Yours,

David

Check out my photography here: wedding photographer in Kent

Liaising with vicars and registrars

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

I just received the following question: Ever had any hassle from registrars or vicars?

The short answer is, unfortunately, yes. I'm sure all wedding photographers have. No matter how polite and diplomatic one is, occasional misunderstandings occur. One problem is that guidelines tend to be rather vague and open to interpretation. The following, for example, is from A Kentish Ceremony:

Can people take photographs during the ceremony?

If you wish, photos and videos can be taken at any point before, during and after the ceremony provided that they do not interrupt the ceremony. Please advise your photographer-videographer to speak to the celebrant on the day to agree where they should stand.

The problem here is what counts as an interruption? For me a verbal command would be an obvious interruption. But what about movement? Should we be rooted to the spot for the entire ceremony? Often you need to move in response to the movement of the registrar. If the registrar, holding their folder with the ceremony notes, moves closer to the couple this means you have to move in closer to get a clear shot of the couple. Some registrars can be bothered by this but others aren't. Some are completely laissez-faire. I'm often reassuringly told "Do what you need to do!".

My advice is to always speak to registrars before the ceremony to try and establish the rules of engagement. Inevitably, minor misunderstandings will occur, but most registrars want what is best for the couple and are a pleasure to work with.

Now on to vicars. They tend to be less flexible as, not unreasonably, they feel a great sense of ownership or dominion over the ceremony and church. For a minority of them though, what the couple wants is not even on their agenda, despite the fact that the couple are paying for the use of the church. I would say that 20% are very flexible (do what you need to do, but remain quiet, move discreetly etc), 70% are reasonably flexible (an agreement can be reached about what the rules are before the ceremony and they're willing to listen to your requests) and 10% are inflexible (stand at the back, do not move). I even have a wedding booked in June 2009 where the couple have been told that photography is forbidden during the ceremony! I have to say I find this very mean-spirited, particularly since royal weddings presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury are televised.

I look forward to your comments and tales!

Check out my photography here: wedding photographer Kent

Wedding Photography in Thanet

Here's part 2 of a selection of photos from Karen and Steve's wedding on Saturday. Any comments are most welcome.

1/160, f/2.0, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/320, f/1.4, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 800, +2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/50, f/4.0, ISO 1250, +2/3 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/100, f/8.0, ISO 1250, 0 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 70mm (70-200)

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 400, +1/3 EV, 150mm (70-200)

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 130mm (70-200)

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 70mm (70-200)

1/100, f/2.8, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 70mm (70-200)

1/60, f/2.5, ISO 1000, 0 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, -1/3 FEC, 27mm (16-35)

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 3200, +2/3 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35)

1/100, f/1.2, ISO 800, 0 EV, 85mm (85)

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photographer Kent

Kent Wedding Photographer in Thanet

All of the following shots were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

The wedding was held at the Smiths Court Hotel, Cliftonville, with the ceremony taking place in the hotel's orangery resulting in lots of lovely natural light but also lots of backlit shots. Rather than putting the camera in manual mode I decided to stick to aperture priority with exposure compensation.

1/250, f/2.0, ISO 100, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/250, f/4.0, ISO 1600, +1/3 EV, -2/3 FEC, 57mm (24-70)

1/1000, f/4.0, ISO 400, 0 EV, 24mm (24-70)

1/80, f/4.0, ISO 640, +1/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/200, f/2.8, ISO 800, +1/3 EV, 35mm (16-35)

1/200, f/4.0, ISO 800, +2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 800, +2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/320, f/1.4, ISO 400, +1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/160, f/2.5, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/400, f/1.4, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/640, f/1.4, ISO 400, +2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/320, f/2.0, ISO 400, +4/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/160, f/2.0, ISO 400, +1 EV, 35mm (35)

1/250, f/2.0, ISO 400, +1 EV, 35mm (35)

Part II of the photographs from this wedding tomorrow.

Check out more of my photography here: Kent wedding photography

A Kent Wedding at the Smiths Court Hotel, Cliftonville

I had the pleasure of photographing Karen and Steve's wedding at the Smiths Court Hotel in Cliftonville yesterday - check out their wedding gallery. Yet again it was absolutely freezing outside but Karen and Steve gritted their teeth and braved the elements for their portrait session. Us Brits are made of stern stuff!

I'll post a selection of photos from the wedding on the blog over the next couple of days.

Check out more of my photography here: wedding photographer Kent