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coverage | the history | the attitude | value for money | the photographs Photo Café Weddings is run by a photographer based in London. It also operates from Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria (near Kendal). As a result, wedding coverage is available nationwide. Having fulfilled many photographic trips abroad in the past, international coverage is available also.
I have undertaken many photographic commissions over the years, from shooting company brochures for design agencies to placing landscape and travel photographs with libraries, resulting in much published work. Companies and organisations which have commissioned me or used my photographs include BBC 2, the Snow Group, Evans, Allders. the RAF's Red Arrows, the Surrey Times, etc. A portfolio of this work is available for viewing alongside my wedding portfolio. Some of these photographs are online at www.photocafe.co.uk. Please click here to open a new window if you wish to browse them. In 1999, I went to the weddings of two sets of friends during that year and was quite struck by the failure of the photographers present to cover the days properly. In fact, both of the couples and others who attended, who were very familiar with my work, were insistent that I could have done a lot better when they viewed the results and were sorry they had avoided burdening me with the photography (as they saw it). Encouraged by this, I gave it some serious thought and started costing out the business. In 2000, I decided to apply my experience and expertise to wedding photography and have had very pleasing success for a new enterprise since doing so. I am now fully committed to the growth of this service, a fact which I hope is demonstrated by this website.
All my clients to date have appreciated, and benefited from, the fact that my photographic history means that I am not locked into the rather hackneyed style of traditional wedding photographers. It is one of my main selling points, in that I like to think that I can offer a viable, modern and refreshing alternative to those photographers who only offer a few posed photographs and tend to miss everything else happening during a wedding day. Priority is given to those formal photographs and group shots requested, of course, because they are of great importance to all clients. However, a good deal else happens during a wedding day and I view it as my role to photograph what is happening around me, in an intelligent and careful way. I can do this in a reportage style which has been honed through experience, in that I have had to shoot intuitively under pressure on many an occasion. It just comes naturally now and it is a demonstrable expertise I can offer to clients. Good observational photography is a definite skill and I hope this website provides solid evidence of that on my part. So, I do not view my photographic brief in a restricted way, confined to traditional photographs only. I try to avoid an emphasis on 'formula' photography, where only the people change in a few set shots from wedding to wedding. You can certainly see those set pieces on this website, as they are very important and I make sure I acquire them at every wedding. However, in addition, I try to provide a unique wedding portfolio for clients which accurately represents their wedding day and events which happen during it, including capturing the idiosyncracies and moods of people present. Please judge for yourself on this site, which offers a range of both 'traditional' photographs and those which fall under the category of 'documentary', 'reportage' or 'candid' photography, however one terms it. I prefer to call this reportage style 'observational photography', just to add to the confusion of definitions. However, I think the term 'observational photography' neatly sums up the extra level of competencies I can bring to your wedding. Both styles of photography, traditional and observational, are mixed up in the web portfolios on this site. As those clients who opted for the free web portfolio made their own selections to appear on this site, I have not had the final say on which of my photographs are displayed in the portfolios. In effect, the wedding portfolios online here are a very good way of demonstrating consistency in quality, through the choices of others. I would make the point also that every single photograph on display on this site was taken at a wedding. Unlike some photographers, I have not used models for promotional purposes. You can review on this site exactly the style and approach you can expect from me at your own wedding.
I am very conscious that wedding photography is a major expense at an event which, however happy for the couples concerned, is already seriously expensive throughout. Therefore, a potential client should know exactly what he/she can expect in the way of value for money. In terms of my attitude, it is one of my personal objectives to provide added value by creating an extensive and competent portfolio for the benefit of a client and doing so in a photographic style which is interesting and rewarding for that client. In material terms, the Premium Package (5 hours) offers a guaranteed minimum of 250 large prints (9" x 6") plus a free web portfolio, with a CD of the web images, and free black and white photography. In addition, it is always the case that a large surplus of prints over the guaranteed minimum exists. So, the offer of 250 prints is the minimum under guarantee for 5 hours but you are certain to receive more than that. The reason I specify 250 large prints for a 5 hour period, as an example, is that there has to be a bottom line agreed between us as the guaranteed minimum. However, our agreement would also include 'an unspecified surplus'. I believe the whole approach to be good value for money, especially when you consider that reprinting costs are reduced significantly by this comprehensive approach. Large photographs are available to hand out to family and friends, as you see fit, as soon as I deliver them. Please browse through this site and see whether you can benefit from this approach. I have also tried hard to provide full and detailed information in the 'FAQs' section on questions which should be asked of all photographers before a client makes a decision. I hope you find the FAQs and the photographs on display informative, useful and, ultimately, persuasive.
NO MODELS - All the photographs are from actual weddings shot under typical wedding day pressure, without exception. NO MANIPULATION - None of the photographs have been digitally enhanced beyond minor pixel repair and occasional adjustments to restore the quality of the original prints after the scanning process. NO CROPPING - I am concerned to show on this website precisely what I was able to hand over to my clients as 9" x 6" prints. Therefore, all the photographs in clients' wedding portfolios are shown full-frame, as shot in the camera. If you like my attitude and photographic approach, then please contact me for a hard-copy portfolio viewing and a full discussion on your needs and preferences for your wedding photography. If not, best wishes for your wedding day and thank you for visiting this site.
spring | summer | autumn | winter all material on this page © The Photo Café Limited
2000/07
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