Gill Taylor Staffordshire UK Wedding Portrait Commercial Boudoir Photographer

The blog has moved ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:22:00 +0000

I have relaunched my website and blog ... the RSS on the new blog is not quite up and running yet but please bookmark and remember to check back often ... thank you for following me and supporting me this far, I look forward to seeing you on the other side :)

Gill

NEW BLOG LINKIE

Where are all the photos ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:50:00 +0000

I know ... I've been rather neglecting the blog and my loyal readers lately ... well, I have not been doing it completely on purpose, well, kind of ... read on.

I love my blog, I love that it reaches out and inspires, that people love reading it over a cup of morning coffee, finding out what I have been up to recently. I love that it affords me the opportunity to share my love of photography with you, that I can show off my wonderful clients and my fun life.

But everything must move on, must grow, must, nay SHOULD, evolve with time. I feel I have grown these last few years but that my loyal old blog has pretty much remained the same. Don't get me started on my crappy website LOL

So, I have decided on a new look for 2010 and beyond (for how long, I am unsure at this point, re-read the part about evolving) ... and so I have been working very hard on my new website and blog, complete with new logo (ok, not too different that you won't recognise me ... I'm keeping the G !). Let me just say how very excited I am about this new project, the web is starting to really take shape and with the help of a very talented web designer, so is the new blog.

Fear not, however, there will still be a link to this trusty old blogger blog, so you can check back on previous weddings and other photography, as well as all those photos of Tess !

Thank you once again for your continued support ... I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the new look, I'm sure you're going to be as thrilled as I am with it all.

Til the end of this week, complete with new look ... have fun over the holidays and have a GREAT new year.

Smush and hugs xx

Merry Christmas !

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:40:00 +0000

We have a few traditions in the Taylor household ... they have sort of evolved over the last 14 Christmases and we love them !

So, this morning, we had a little lie in, then up and ready for the breakfast ritual ... smoke salmon with eggs on crispy toast, accompanied by a lovely glass of veuve clicquot mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice (let's face it, that sounds way classier than "bucks fizz" LOL), with Shrek in the background ... total bliss.

Pressies this year were abundant and we adored them all ! John and I are awaiting the sales so we can finally purchase a surround sound system for our lounge, but I did get him a little something, a framed print of his youngest son in his graduation robes (all lovingly hand-framed by little old moi !) and he loved it. Our friend Matt bought us some cracking cook books and Tess got a rather noisy squeaky ball from my Mother ... thank you soooo much ! LOL

So ... we would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for being part of our lives this year and to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays !

Gill, John, Tess, Tig and Tom xxx

To add: the office is now closed until 5th January ... I would like to take this further opportunity to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010 ... see you on the other side !

Mrs Absent ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:23:00 +0000

I know. I have been totally rubbish this last few weeks updating the blog ... I PROMISE I have valid (multiple) reasons ... here we go ...

So, my friend and fellow photographer Chris Meyer came for a visit from Minneapolis shooting first with David Pearce then heading up to stay with us for a while. In the meantime, Matt Wagster came down from Manchester to stop for a few days ... let me just say, Tess is having a ball with all these dog lovers.

Matt and I shot Tiffany and Carl's wedding in Reading last weekend, then this past weekend Chris and I shot Lindsey and Rich's wedding at Ingestre. The night before the wedding, Peter Prior came to stay as he had a wedding in Wolverhampton ... we had to buy a blow up bed for my stepson LOL. The following day we all headed into Stafford to shoot Mark and Louise's pre wedding shoot (they are getting married next Summer) and tomorrow we are all heading down to Moxhull Hall to shoot Paul and Alex's wedding. To finish, we need to get Chris to Heathrow for his flight back home on Christmas Eve ... in between all that, Christmas shopping, Christmas FOOD shopping and all the other housey stuff, like looking after Tess, the cats and on and on ...

So, forgive me, it's MANIC here ... I'll be posting a load of shoots soon ... portraits, weddings, pre wedding shoots, the lot, so hang in there ...

Oh, and did I mention a re-brand of my business? New website and blog launching soon ... you're going to LOVE IT !

Thanks for hanging in there ...

Gill

Holidays are Coming ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:45:00 +0000

I love this time of year. I'm a big old kid at Christmas and really try to get into the holiday spirit. This year, as always, I have some Christmas weddings, in fact another 3 to go before the end of the year. I'm also pretty busy with last minute print orders and albums, so a tad behind on blogging. To keep you going, I took this little shot of Tess while she was chilling out today beside the Christmas tree. Cute as a button !

More blog stuff to follow ...

For the photographers ... Canon 5D II, 50 1.2 @ 1.2, 6400 ISO

Justine & Graham | Wedding | Alrewas Hayes

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining Justine, Graham and their family and friends for their wedding. The weather looked like being rubbish but we were blessed with a dry day that wasn't too cold ! Alrewas Hayes Events is a new venue, family run, and is absolutely gorgeous. Set in beautiful grounds with converted barns as bedrooms for guests, it really is the perfect wedding setting. I was joined by Manchester Wedding Photographer, Matt Wagster for the day ... we always have a lot of fun shooting together and we're able to provide different angles and our own takes on the day.

And so, a few from the day ...

Those shoes ...

Justine really loves her little cuddly toy she got from Graham for her birthday LOL

The dress had beautiful detailing ...

The shapes we girls get into to look beautiful !

The girls all looked stunning ...

The boys scrubbed up well too ...

Justine and Dad ...

Time to get married !

The detail on the cake people is just amazing !!!

Some quiet time being announced in as Mr & Mrs ...

The speeches were a mix of laughter and some tears (Justine's mother is sadly no longer with us) ...

Cake cutting time ... seemed a shame cutting into that frosting :)

Final view of the venue as we were leaving ... beautiful !

Venue: Alrewas Hayes Events
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Dress: Benjamin Roberts

Canon Kit for Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:10:00 +0000

The title says it all ... I have upgraded some of my kit over the past few months and figured I should really get off my backside and sell some of the stuff that has been replaced :)

I'm not particularly hard on my kit but of course all has had professional use, so is priced accordingly.

Sorry to say I have already sold the 5D's (really was sorry to see those go) and one of the 580 ex speedlites ... thanks guys !

So, here is what I have on offer ... send me an email to gil@gilltaylor.co.uk if interested ... all include UK shipping and I would prefer debit or credit card to paypal, cos they suck.

Canon 85mm 1.8, with hood, boxed £250
Canon 580 EX Speedlite (minimal use) - if I can find the box, it will be in that, however, it will be in it's original case with it's little stand £150
Canon 430 EX Speedlite (used once, but I dropped it and it needs the little diffuser thingy replacing, hence the price) £75 boxed
Sigma 12-24 HSM (used a handful of times, suits a cropped body rather than a FF) £250 with case and boxed, built-in hood - SOLD

I have a few other bits and bobs I'll be letting go of in the next few weeks ... flash brackets and off camera cables spring to mind.

Look forward to hearing from you soon !

Holiday Deadlines

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:16:00 +0000

It's that time of year again ... where on earth did 2009 go !

Album Deadlines

All albums that have been signed off have been ordered. I have been told by the album companies that these "should" be out in time for Christmas, but I am in their hands on this. I will be keeping all clients informed as soon as I have this information.

Hi Res Disks

Anyone who has purchased the hi res files will have these in time for Christmas, allowing you to get those all important Christmas gifts printed and framed for your family !

Reprints

For reprint orders up to 18x12" in size, the deadline is Wednesday 16th December. Anything above this size, Monday 14th.

Framed prints

As all my frames are bespoke, the deadline is next Tuesday 1st December. However, I do have a small number of small frames in stock (for framing a 7x5" print), so get your orders in quickly to avoid disappointment :)

Tiffany & Carl | Pre Wedding Shoot | Shrewsbury

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:58:00 +0000

The logistics of this one are very interesting ... they met in Australia (where Tiffany is from), Tiffany is currently studying in Manchester, with Carl living and working over in Aberystwyth ... the wedding is to be held next month in Reading ! Finding a location to get together for a pre wedding shoot was a bit of a challenge, but we reckoned Shrewsbury was about midway for all of us and it is a very beautiful location to boot!

As always, a few faves ...

See you in a few weeks, guys :)

The Monkey's Demise

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:56:00 +0000

It is with great sadness that we must say a final farewell to Tess's friend, The Monkey.

We found him in the hall at the weekend ... actually, I wanted to draw a white line around him just like in any good spoof cop movie LOL

Baby Freya | Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:36:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting up with some ex-wedding clients, Stephanie and Lee, recently ... a friend had gifted them a portrait session and some products with me when their baby was born. Freya has got to be the happiest baby I have met for a long time, giggling the whole time ! Some of her little expressions were absolutely priceless, as you can see.

Some faves ...

Tess and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:57:00 +0000

John had a play with the new mark II today ... I wanted a little portrait of me and Tess ... this is what he came up with :)

He's getting quite the hang of this malarky ... should I be worried? LOL

13 Years and Counting ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:46:00 +0000

It isn'f often that I forget something, especially important dates ... equally, it's not that often my husband remembers them ...

I had a very very rare Saturday off today, so John and I headed off for a peaceful country pub lunch in one of our favourite places, The Hand and Cleaver ... great home-cooked food, friendly faces, open log fire, the works. We got home and John says "so, did you enjoy your anniversary lunch?" ... WHAAAAT ???

Well, we met 13 years ago today ... well done, honey, for not missing this one !

Claire & Jon | Pre Wedding Shoot | Shugborough Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:51:00 +0000

I met up with Claire & Jon on Saturday morning, primarily to take a look around the Tower of the Winds at Shugborough Hall, where their ceremony is to be held. It is notoriously difficult to get in to see Shugborough, but as Claire previously worked there, it was no problem ! We had a really fun time being shown around by the super friendly Ron, one of the grounds staff.

It is truly a beautiful location, so while we were there and while the light was so fantastic, we took the opportunity for some pre wedding shots.

A few faves ...

Justine & Graham | Pre Wedding Shoot | Historic Lichfield

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:10:00 +0000

The final shoot of las weekend found me in historic Lichfield, an absolutely beautiful city with a cathedral, numerous parks and a river. Justine and Graham are getting married in 5 weeks time, so we got together to take a few photos to get them used to me before the big day !

A few favourites ...

TJ & Kian | Portraits | Trentham Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:57:00 +0000

I had a lot of fun last week with Nina and her boys ... Kian is 8 months old and TJ is a 2 and a half year old spitfire ! Man, so much energy packed into such a little body LOL

The idea was to let them have some fun in the leaves and park at Trentham Gardens and to capture an autumnal feel ... the weather was kind to us and we weren't short of leaves and autumn colour.

A few faves ...

Lynne & William | Pre Wedding Shoot | Aberystwyth

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:06:00 +0000

This weekend I travelled over to North Wales to meet up with Lynne and William for their pre wedding shoot. We actually started off at the beach in Ynyslas but headed over to Aberystwyth before we got blown out to sea !

In Lynne's own words, here is the reason we were there:

We met at uni in Aberystwyth 6 years ago and quickly became great friends and partners in crime! I told my best friend within 2 weeks : "I bet I end up marrying Will." A year and a half later we got together and here we are! As for Ynyslas, we've spent many happy summer days there together and with friends, and many very windy evenings there walking our dog in later years! It's just a beautiful place, that has some great memories for us as a couple and as being lazy students!

Without further ado, some photos from a very windy Wales !

Aberystwyth (the old uni) and some seriously choppy waves ...

Digital Wedding Forum | Featured Member

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:26:00 +0000

I am so excited to have been chosen as the Featured Member on the Digital Wedding Forum.

The forum is the oldest and most established of it's kind and, with over 5000 professional photographers as members, this is truly an honour.

You can check out my interview and some photos here ... please feel free to leave any comments on there, or here ... enjoy !

Andrea & Ben | Wedding | Crewe Hall, Cheshire

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:14:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of shooting Andrea and Ben's wedding at Crewe Hall last weekend. The day was filled with emotion and fun in equal measures. They have been together for 18 years and so this day was a long time coming !

As the guys were both getting ready in different wings of Crewe Hall, I was able to spend time with both of them in the morning. Andrea was calm as anything, Ben was another story LOL ... his nerves soon calmed once the ceremony was over and he and his buddies could get to the beer part of the day.

Andrea contacted me a couple of weeks ago and booked me to come and shoot the first dance as a surprise for Ben ... he looked a little confused when I got back to the venue haha ... that wasn't the only surprise ... I had to hide as he thought I had left after the dancing, as Andrea had booked fireworks as another surprise and I was there to capture those as well.

As always, a few favourites from the day ... thanks for having me guys !

2 different shots on the bed, the first with a 24mm (ooh, look, I broke a rule LOL), the second with my beloved 50 ... both wide open ...

1 from Kim at the back of the ceremony room ...

Speeches, dancing and those fireworks ...

Venue: Crewe Hall, Cheshire
Dress: Ian Stewart
Florist: Faerie Godmothers
Tiara: Princess Poppy Tiaras
Band: The Funtime Frankies

Tess

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

You know, I haven't blogged about my baby girl for a long time. While we were in Nice last weekend our friends asked how easy (or otherwise) she has been to train. The short answer is "not really". Beagles are notoriously difficult, they often get labelled as stupid, but are far from it. They are super intelligent and have minds of their own, their own wee way of doing things. However, patience has been the key (that, and bribes) and we feel she is actually a fairly well-behaved dog. We have a way to go, but she is a beauty.

I found myself with a fantastic excuse for shooting her today. I took delivery of a new toy, the Canon 5D Mark II. So far, it is scoring points with me and is, as with all my Canons over the years, very intuitive to use and the ergonomics are marvellous. I popped the 85 1.2 II on it and shot this through the conservatory doors, where Tess had been sleeping (until she heard me coming haha).

Enjoy ...

National Wedding Show | NEC Birmingham | UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

WOW ! What a fantastic weekend we just had at the show ! We had so much fun I want to do it all again this week LOL

Big thanks to (in no particular order) my wonderful helpers, (ex-bride in her beautiful Jenny Packham dress) Louise, Steve and Kim, to all those who booked at the show and by phone when I got back last night, to all my current brides who just stopped by to say hi and of course to the other exhibitors / photographers who were super-friendly and made it such a fantastic weekend.

I thought I would take today off to recuperate but am buzzing from the show and raring to get going, so I'm here if you want to contact me :)

Gill

~ 0 ~

Hi all ... just a heads up to let you know I am exhibiting at the National Wedding Show tomorrow to Sunday. I am on stand P16 so drop by and see me. I have some friends helping out over the weekend, and an ex-bride in her wedding dress, so you can hear first hand what it's going to be like if you book with me ! And you can check out her wedding photos in a stunning digital album too.

Even if you have already booked with me, it would be great to see you, so remember P16, right by the catwalk!

See you there ...

Gill

Birthday Fun in the South of France

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Hi guys ... sorry I've been absent but I have a great excuse ... last weekend I celebrated my 40th birthday by flying down to Nice with my husband for a short break. I didn't want to be at home on this dreaded milestone and we both love Nice, so why not.

Here are a few snaps of the trip ... all taken with my Canon G10.

Just turned 40 ... having fun with the G10 outside Waynes bar (great opportunity to hang with our friend Dave who has worked there for 6 years ... check out the team profiles)

Seriously, how hard is it to try and look cool for the camera LOL

The view from the hotel ... so many of the buildings in Nice are like this, rustic and very, well, French !

A few more of the buildings and sights in and around Nice

The stunning coastline

The incredible war memorial by the harbour ... some people in the image for scale

Little old us ... enjoying the sunshine

We headed off to Monaco for the day on Monday

John with his new purchase (the sunglasses that is LOL)

The harbour

The palace

A final shot of John looking pretty cool

Claudia & Jonathan | Wedding | Caistor Hall, Norwich

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:12:00 +0000

I travelled across to Norwich last Friday night so that I was ready and in place for Claudia & Jonathan's wedding on Saturday.

They had literally only booked me through recommendation from my friend and fellow photographer, Chanelle, as their photographer had broken an arm *ouch*. We hit it off right away and had a lot of fun throughout the day. As you will see there is a little dress swap for that first dance ... no way was Claudia going to manage those sexy moves with the big dress on ! The reception was held at the beautiful Caistor Hall.

A few favourites ... warning ... it was a sun flare kinda day :)

The Importance of Backing Up

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:15:00 +0000

I get asked, on occasion, what measures I take to ensure my client's treasured images are kept safe. I'm about to share what I do. I'll keep it simple for those not too "geeky" LOL, but I think it is an important subject and one that my clients should be made to feel comfortable with.

Once I come home after a shoot, the RAW files are loaded to my main production machine. Never the laptop. Why? The laptop is my admin machine and has 1 hard drive. Too risky. Also, it is not hooked up to a colour calibrated monitor and therefore completely useless for processing files. The production machine has 2 "mirrored" drives, making it safe for a hard drive failure, as everything is mirrored onto the other drive.

But that's not good enough for me. Usually, I am pretty tired after a large event and I like to have my client's files in 2 locations. So, they stay on the memory card until I can get to the next bit.

I have 4 external drives, 2 500gb lacie porsche drives (1 with current weddings and 1 with portraits and other work), and 2 1 TB mirrored drives. See that mirroring thing again? Talk about paranoid !

Every single file from the event is backed up to the appropriate drive. They are now in 2 places, good to clear the cards, ready for the next job (it is worth noting at this stage that I have enough cards to shoot 5 weddings and a couple of portrait sessions without clearing them off).

Every single time I process a shoot, the processed files, changed files, album layouts, blog files, get backed up to the appropriate drive.

So, what happens once the job is finished? All files are backed up to Archival quality DVD (s) and placed in the client file. It is also useful when clients purchase the "digital negatives" so that we have an off-site copy of the files ... something to consider if you haven't already :)

And that's it.

And now for a little humour to back this up ... enjoy ! :)

Ruth & Steve | Wedding | Moat House, Acton Trussell

noreply@blogger.com (Gill) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:27:00 +0000

You may remember Ruth & Steve from their fun pre wedding shoot on the river ... both are very keen canoeists, in fact they both compete ... they are also mad snow boarders and a favourite destination of theirs is in Canada ... where Steve proposed a year ago.

A while back, they set up in business together selling custom canoes, you can view their stuff at www.hydraasports.co.uk.

So, yesterday found us at their wedding, a beautiful affair at the Moat House, one of Stafford's gems. I got the following text this evening from Ruth:

Hi Gill, jut wanted to say thanks for everything yesterday, I loved having the photos taken and as you probably realised I usually hide from cameras ...

So, without further ado ... some favourites from the day ... oh, I was ably assisted by Matt, who borrowed by lensbaby 2.0 for the day (jealous !) ...

I reckon nerves and heat had something to do with the fact that Steve struggled to fit Ruth's ring on her hand ... that took some pushing and shoving ! LOL

The lensbaby effect !

Fun speeches ...

Lensbaby cake cutting ...

Thanks for having me ... and feeding me like a guest ! Totally appreciated that and man, that chicken was to die for ! Have a great honeymoon and see you both soon ! Gill x

For the photographers ... the majority of photos were taken on Canon 5D with 70-200, 50 1.2 and 16-35. And of course a lensbaby. The BW's were processed using Jeff Ascough's new Silver Actions, either the 400 film or 800 film, depending on what look I wanted.