Nice day for a Mock Wedding...
Lyn Taylor
| 27/07/2011 11:21
When people become photographers, no matter what they specialise in, they eventually get asked to shoot a wedding. When I started out in photography, I had weddings in mind for my preferred specialty, and I did a number of weddings and assisted on plenty in my first 5 years out of college. I decided to go a different route after discovering that I actually love the studio, plus both my daughters started school, and weekends were the time for me to spend some quality time with them.
Although I have not done a wedding in years, I have kept my eye on the market, and on the current trends, and I developed a "photography-crush" (that's when a photographer finds another photographer's work they love and admire) on a couple from Toowoomba (my old hometown) named Matt and Katie (check out their work!). I'm sure they won't mind me saying this, as I believe they have a photography-crush on two American photographers that go by the name of Simply Bloom. Weddings have completely changed, it's not just about "what is done" anymore, it's about the personality of the couple... and that is right up my alley!
Anyway... Long story short, my cousin from Queensland is getting married next week, and has asked me to take the pics. Even though she ummmed and ahhhed about asking me (as I strongly stated I DON'T DO WEDDINGS) I am so honoured that she asked me and I'm looking forward to spending the day with her and her family and fiance.
As I am a little rusty I decided to create a fake wedding with two willing participants. I'm pretty lucky, because not only are these guy CUTE AS, they are also have a natural chemistry between them, and I don't think it'll be long before they walk down the aisle for real. ;-)
Sydney on Sunday was pretty horrible, it was on the verge of raining all day, but we were able to snap these shots before the rains arrived.
Check 'em out...
These are only a few of the pics I took on the day.. we had heaps of fun, and I tried to make it as easy and quick as possible (it was FREEZING!). I managed to scrape up outfits and flowers etc, and it just worked like magic.
And now I'm super pumped for next week.
Frank and Margaret
Lyn Taylor
| 25/07/2011 16:52
I receive enquiries on my website to photograph many people in many different situations… but when I got an email from a gentleman asking for a voucher to give to his parents for their 50th wedding anniversary, I knew that this particular job would be special!
From the moment I walked into the house they have lived in for the last 49 years, I could really feel the genuine love and honesty that surrounded this family.
Initially I set up a formal portrait in the loungeroom, with pictures of the kids and grandkids gathered around them. They obliged, but what I really wanted is to get them to show me a little more of who they are, so once we’d finished up in the loungeroom, I asked them if they had any of their wedding photos. To my delight, they had three albums full! Also to my delight, they started to reminisce about the day, as if it were last week and they were a young married couple telling a friend about their recent nuptials.
The offical portrait and the inside page of one of their albums
Holding hands.
Having a giggle
We went outside into the garden, where they spend alot of time most days.
After we had taken the official (and non-official) portraits, Margaret put on the kettle and Frank told me he had been in the fire brigade for 40 years! Margaret had been there supporting him all that time, and they we both proud of their achievements and are rewarding themselves with a cruise!
I have decided to adopt them as my grandparents.
How professional photography can make a difference
Lyn Taylor
| 28/03/2011 21:43
One of my clients recently described the work I had done for his business as "bloody sensational".. though the images were simple corporate portraits on a red background... then he emailed me a link to his old website, and then one to the test website the web developer had put together for him, and I realised why he said what he said. The website looked completely different, but the only thing that had changed was the images!
Let me go back a few steps...
I make a point of meeting with every client before deciding on how I'm going to shoot what they want. This is not just them to get to know me a little better, but also helps me get the whole picture of who they are and what their business is about. I try not to have "cookie cutter" portraits, everybody is different, and every business has a unique selling point.
Let's move forward to my latest client. I met with Richard, and asked him what he had in mind for professional portraits for his business. He indicated that he wanted simple head and shoulders of each of his staff for his website, and after looking at his branding and logos, we came up with a concept of shooting each of the portraits on a white background and a red background to keep in line with the branding of his company.
I suggested that all his staff wear white shirts so there was continuity within the shots, and the staff were very compliant with this request, which I believe helps convey the professionalism via the website.
Below you can see the logo that we worked with, and the before and after screen shots of the website.
Simple, but effective.
Logo
Before
After
