The Leeds Trinity theme continued in to the afternoon as I met up with Ian and Claire for their pre-wedding shoot. I know Ian from our time at University where he helped set up the Rugby Union team whilst I was running the Students’ Union. After graduating he joined the RAF but kept in touch with his rugby team mates and it was at one of their annual reunion matches that he met Claire.

We headed to ‘The Hollies’ in Meanwood, where Ian and Claire have enjoyed many walks in the past and it provided a fantastic back drop for the shoot.

I’ve only just had chance to look through my festive images and the one below is by far my favourite. It was taken on Christmas day as my mum prepared our Christmas lunch. Today is my mum’s birthday so I thought I’d take this opportunity to post the picture and says a big ‘Thanks Mum’ for Christmas dinner and a fair few other things over the years!

Stacey & Kevin

Stacey was one of the calmest brides I’ve ever met, quietly getting ready with her mum Carol, and sister Nicola who was her Bridesmaid.

Despite the early calm, time soon marched on and led to a bit of a production line of dress fitting:

But we still had time to make the most of some beautiful window light to take some pictures of our bride:

Meanwhile Kevin, the groom, waited patiently in the church:

But it wasn’t long before he was leading the new Mrs Huby down the aisle:

The reception at the Cedar Court looked very festive:

The speeches included a poem which Stacey had written for Kevin:

The dancing went on late in to the night:

]]> http://www.markdolby.co.uk/2011/stacey-and-kevins-christmas-wedding/feed/ 0 http://www.markdolby.co.uk/2011/stacey-and-kevins-signature-mount/ http://www.markdolby.co.uk/2011/stacey-and-kevins-signature-mount/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:50:43 +0000 admin http://www.markdolby.co.uk/?p=763 →]]> A Signature mount is a great alternative to a guest book, giving you a memory from your wedding day that can hang on your wall for years to come. They are simply a standard photo mount with an oversized surround where guests can sign their names and leave messages on your wedding day.

Some online suppliers charge as much as £50 for these but they are much better value if you go to your local picture framers and get one made. I ordered this one to fit a 12 x 8 inch print and the overall size is 50cm x 70cm. To get the highest quality and longest lasting finish it is best to take the mount back for framing after your wedding day but I chose this size to give Stacey and Kevin the option of using an off the shelf frame from that well known Swedish Frame Company.

An engagement shoot picture is ideal for putting in the mount and this can of course be swapped out for one of your wedding images once they are ready. Here is the picture that Stacey and Kevin chose:

Their wedding is on the 29th of December and will mark the end of a pretty hectic but very exciting Christmas break. We’re  starting in Leeds and taking in Ilkeston and the Isle of Man before the wedding.

There are lots of great locations within the grounds of the hotel and I look forward to returning there in the new year.

That is how it is for my uncles, Andrew and David. They are twins who were born with special needs that have meant they have not developed past a mental age of around 10. For me growing up it was like having uncles who turned in to cousins who are now more like nephews.

Until her recent death, they were looked after by my grandma (Nanna to me). Whilst my favourite memories of my other grand parents are probably of my childhood spent in their garden, at the canal fishing or in my granddad’s shed I was closest to my Nanna through my teens. She learnt to drive late in life and would often pick me up from the train station on my return from uni. Whatever the trip, we never went home the same way we came. She loved to chat over a cup of tea and hear about my life in Leeds.

Once I could drive I did my best to return the favour with trips to the shops usually making sure to find an alternative route home. One of my favourite road trips was bringing Nanna, Andrew and David up to Leeds to see my house. It was quite a round trip and Nanna didn’t find it easy especially to get up my steep stairs. But she always talked about my little terraced back-to-back and I was so happy she saw it before she died.

Andrew and David loved that day as well, and still talk about it now. They also talk about a return trip, something we must do in the new year.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to live for 49 years remaining so young, curious and in some ways vulnerable. Both Andrew and David have had to do a lot of growing up since Nanna’s death and for David in particular it has brought a new sense of independence. And yet, for all the growing up they continue to do, and no matter how many times they hear otherwise, they still believe in Santa.

Keith was a much better player than me, making it to the professional British league, and it was during this time that I first heard of John Amaechi. At that time he was riding high as one of the first British players in the NBA before returning to the UK to play a short stint in the BBL and set up the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester. As a young British basketball player, John Amaechi was a real inspiration.

With my love of basketball in one hand and camera in the other, I assumed we’d have loads to chat through during the very quick portrait shoot but it soon became clear that John moved on a long time ago. In fact, while many professional athletes struggle with life out of the limelight and away from their passion, John is enjoying quite the reverse. Since leaving basketball he has become a psychologist, New York Times best-selling Author and social entrepreneur working in both the US and the Europe. He clearly hasn’t looked back.

He was in Bradford as the keynote speaker for the Rosa Parks Symposium, celebrating the International year for people of African descent. He was well received by the audience who were keen to hear his unique perspective and experiences of race, discrimination and diversity.

You can find out more about John at Johnamaechi.com

But, shooting more frames isn’t about machine gunning your way around a scene. You need to look for different angles, change your perspective, zoom in, crouch down, flash on, flash off. As you shoot more you’ll learn to intuitively see when a high vantage point or longer focal length will improve a photograph and that should result in a few more keepers.

EDIT YOUR PHOTOS

When people talk about editing their images they are usually referring to playing around with colours, cropping or straightening but there is an import stage of editing that should come before that. As a wedding photographer I might shoot over 1,000 images in a day but around a third of those frames will never make it past an initial viewing as I remove those that miss the moment, are out of focus or simply don’t work. Only at this point will I start looking at post-processing the images to bring them to life.

If you’ve got a memory card full of images make sure you go through this first step before sharing them and you’ll see the overall quality of your photography improve. And if you want to really raise your game, why not try to share just ten, six or maybe even just one image next time you take out your camera. These images should be your absolute best work whilst also capturing your story.

It’s all about quantity AND quality. Shoot more, share less. 

The hits:

and some misses:

 Thanks to our model Paul ‘the Bulletman’ Kerfoot