Engagement Photos for this couple

Handy Hints and Tips for your wedding day are coming up below!

Your Enquiry

Your first contact with us will most probably be through our website.  Whether you come from a printed advert, a flyer or our facebook page, you will always be directed to our website.  Our website is designed to be fully transparent.  There are no hidden charges, no attempt to pull the wool over your eyes.  Our gallery of images and video clips is extensive and constantly being added to.  Our blog is up to date with images from recent weddings and if all that is not enough for you we offer a free DVD pack so that you can browse through our services in the comfort of your own home.  Our prices are published on the website and do no incur any VAT charges.  What you see is what you pay.  Packages, though, can be customised to suit your needs and a custom quote is just an email or phone call away.

The Meeting

For photography, most couples want to  meet with me before they commit to booking. It’s not always the case, and if distance or time is a problem then everything can be done over the phone and by email.  If you choose to come and meet me, it is usually on a weekday evening in Cranleigh, Surrey.  I have small children so sometime after 7.30 is the norm.  I usually spend at least an hour with couples looking through albums or watching video clips if they are interested in video as well.  We will talk through what you are looking for in terms of your wedding day coverage and as we talk it out, quite often issues that you have not crossed your mind come up which we can work through together.  Even if they are not photography related, I have seen enough weddings to be able to offer some kind of opinion or advice.   There is a great advantage to having a chat with someone with 300+ weddings behind them.  I’ve seen it all.

The Booking

So, you’ve seen the website.  We’ve talked through the day, had a look at albums and now you’re ready to book.   It’s as simple as sending an email.  Confirm the date, give me a quick summary of the information such as time, venue and package and within 24 hours you’ll be emailed some confirmation paperwork to fill in.  Even at this point you are not committed to anything.  You then have 10 days to look through the paperwork (it’s not extensive) sign the terms and conditions and make the deposit payment to secure the date.

We will always contact you first to remind you and we are happy to give you additional time if we are not fielding other enquiries for that date.  If you decide not to go ahead at this point, we will open the date up to fresh enquiries and you may lose your chance to book with us for that date.

The paperwork consists of 2 PDF files.  The first is a confirmation of the package you have requested.  It also includes our terms and conditions and an information sheet for you to fill in.  Names, dates, venues etc. The other PDF document is your invoice.  On the invoice your deposit payment (25% of the total) is detailed along with instructions on how and when to pay.  You can send a cheque or do a direct bank transfer using our account details on the invoice.   That’s it!

What next?

Well, now you get on with the planning of your wedding.  I am here to answer any questions as they arise and am more than happy to answer non-photography related questions if you think I can help.

Pre-wedding Photography

An engagement, or pre wedding shoot is on offer to all our clients.  With certain packages it is offered free.  For the others it is £60.  For that fee we arrange a date and location with you (usually the Guildford area) and will then spend around an hour with you just having an informal photo walk.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to allay your anxiety about being in front of the camera, work out what works best for you and get to know me as a person so that I’m not just a guy behind the camera on your wedding day.

We need to talk…

A few weeks before the wedding is a good time to reconnect by phone.  It is at this point that I will ask you to give some thought to the list of formal group photographs you would like.  We will also chat through the timings of the day and make sure that there is a realistic plan in place to get the photographs that you want but also to make sure that you get the time with your guests that you want. Even if you think you don’t need to do this and an email to me with bullet points would suffice, I always encourage a quick phone call.  There are so many little things that come up in the course of a conversation that would not come up otherwise.  I’ve even had several couples who have forgotten to tell me that the ceremony start time had changed! If we hadn’t had that call, things could have gone horribly wrong.

The Wedding Day

A couple of paragraphs down you’ll see some practical details about the wedding day itself.  I thought first that you might like to know how I tend to interact on the day.   As excited as you will be on your wedding day, there will be a lot of nerves, some stress and possibly even some frayed tempers.    I’m certainly not there to add to that which is why I just let you get on with the day.  There will be times where you need a little guidance and certainly later in the reception you will need an authoritative figure who can get the formal group shots done.  This doesn’t have to be me and it can always be done with a minimum of fuss and certainly no bossy shouting and man handling of people.  Your couple’s portrait is always a fun and relaxing time often welcomed by the couples themselves away from the madness of the reception for 10-15 minutes. Once all that is done I’m simply a fly on the wall quietly getting on with my job but I am always open to any requests for photos throughout the day from you or any of your guests.

Enjoy your Honeymoon!

While you’re sunning yourself on the beach or hiking in the Himalayas, I’ll be busy compiling and editing your photographs so that in most cases they are ready for you on your return.  I would typically take about 1200 images in a day.  A lot of these will be repeat images.  (4 or 5 images of each group shot is taken for example to make sure one is image has everyone with their eyes open) You can expect between 400 and 600 final images.  Once edited, your photographs are burned on a CD and presented to you in a CD folio box with a 5″x 4″ matted photograph on the inside cover.  The CD itself features an image from your wedding as well.
(I don’t have any images of honeymoons.  Unfortunately my job ends at the end of the wedding day, but if you want to fly me off to some exotic paradise for a few photos, I’m more than willing to oblige!)

Your Album

All of our packages include a CD of all the images.  Clients though are welcome and encouraged to order one of our hand bound Italian albums.  Photographs are made to be printed and there is simply no substitute for a professionally printed photograph.  Compiling them into a beautiful album telling the story of your day ensures that your favourite photographs are shown in their best light.  Our albums are realistically priced, starting at just £380.  Each layout is designed in consultation with you and nothing goes to print without your approval.   The albums are incredibly customisable and each couple booking a package with us will receive a comprehensive album brochure with all available options and prices.

Handy Hints for a smooth day

Bridal Preparations

If you have chosen a package which includes your preparations, I will start coverage 2 hours before the ceremony start time.  Bear in mind though that I will need to be at the ceremony venue at least 30 minutes before the service starts.  The time is needed to speak to the officiants, get shots of guest arriving and of course the groom and his groomsmen.  With this in mind you should choose a preparation location that is as close as possible to the ceremony venue so that I can be with you as long as possible.   Some churches are situated in places where parking is a huge issue.  As I will be arriving after most of the guests, it is important to arrange a reserved spot if parking is an issue so that no time is wasted trying to find a place to park.

The Ceremony

For church weddings you will need to let your minister know that there will be a photographer present and he may want you to pass on any rules and regulations that he has.  I am very discreet during the service and if he has any serious concerns I would be very happy to give him a call to allay those concerns.  Civil service officials are happy to go with what you want though I will always have a quick word with them before the ceremony to make sure I don’t get in anyone’s way.

The Reception

Reception venues will want to chat with you closer to the time of the wedding to nail down some timings and to tell you how long you might have for each part of the day once the ceremony is over.   There is a balance which most  couples struggle to strike between having the photographs they want, spending time with their guests, and sticking to the venues timings in terms of when to sit for the meal.  In the majority of cases a sacrifice will have to be made and it’s usually the time with the guests.  A lot of couples quite rightly realise that they have plenty of time with their guests in the evening and opt to have a more relaxed formal and informal photo session before the meal rather than trying to squeeze everything into 40 minutes and ending up as a ball of stress and nerves.  It is your day though, so all I can do is tell you how long I need to do what you’ve asked me to do.

The Formal Photography

The biggest question is always “how long will the group shots take?”  Well, it depends on how long your list is.  I always provide a suggested list of 10 formals that clients can then tweak to make fit into their family dynamic. They can add shots to it or take shots away.  Those 10 shots I estimate at taking between 15 and 20 minutes.  From that information my clients can make an informed decision about how many formal group shots they want based on how much time they have.

Receiving line or no?

I’m not a fan of receiving lines, and here is why.  Firstly when time is always so tight during a wedding day, a receiving line can take up to an hour to complete.  A wedding with 50 guests is likely to take at least 30 minutes if not more.  That’s a lot of time for people to stand in a queue to say something to you that they will already have said or will be planning on saying to you at some point in the evening.   So often I have been hovering around a receiving line taking pictures and have overheard people saying things like “I don’t know what to say, I just saw them and congratulated them….do I just say it again?”   Parents will sometimes insist on a receiving line because they want to meet your friends but in reality, with so many people there is not enough time to say anything more than “Hello and nice to meet you”   It’s a tough one.  A lot of people insist on them, but I can’t think of a single wedding where it looked like the guests or the bridal party were doing anything but “getting through it” and it’s a shame to waste the time that could’ve been spent just wandering around chatting to them informally.

The Speeches

Before, after or during?  ”BEFORE?” Having been married myself, I can tell you that I didn’t eat a single bite of my dessert because my nerves got the better of me.  So if I were to do it over, I would have the speeches first.  However, there are other things to consider .  Your guests have already been drinking for up to 2 hours by this point.  You’re then going to serve them more champagne on an already empty stomach and ask them to hold off on eating for another 40 minutes.  I think in some cases, depending on the start time of the ceremony, it’s a lot to ask, especially for couples with children in attendance.

“DURING?” What about doing the speeches during the meal? This has become more popular of late.  One before starters, one after starters and one before dessert.   There are complications associated with it though.  It may be an additional burden on your catering staff in terms of trying to time the meal to an indeterminate speech lengths.  Your reception as a whole will take longer because each course needs to be cleared before a speech can commence and champagne served all at the same time.  From a personal point of view, it’s a lot more tiring as the only down time I get at a wedding is when the guests are eating.   Because the reception length may be longer, any evening guests are likely to turn up and find you all still eating or listening to a speech.

“AFTER?” So then what about the more traditional post meal speeches?  You don’t have the problem of empty stomachs and lots of alcohol.  People may be more jolly and relaxed and more inclined to laugh at your jokes having had a hearty meal and some relaxed conversation. The only thing about doing the speeches afterwards is those darn nerves.

There is no right and wrong.  You need to plan your day according to your friend and family dynamic.  What works for you may not work for someone else, but as long as you listen to the hopefully honest advice of those suppliers around you, you will find a way to make the day work for you without compromising too much.

The Dancing

Choosing a DJ is difficult.  If you’re paying good money and you trust your DJ then don’t be too prescriptive about the music he plays.  He’s a professional for a reason.  More often than not at weddings the dance floor is all but empty after the first 3 songs.  I don’t profess to know why that is, but I can guess.   My first guess would be that couples have overestimated the silliness of their friends or underestimated the pull of the bar.  My second guess would be that the DJ has been given a strict list of the songs to play and the order in which to play them. This gives him no freedom to change tack if he finds some songs aren’t working. To go in another direction, if you have the budget for a band, and it’s a good one, then I’ve not often seen an empty dance floor with a band.  There is just something about live music that gets people onto their feet.

I hope this post has helped in some way to give you not only an insight into how the process of photography works at your wedding, but you’ve found some helpful bits of general information in their too.

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Engagement Photos for this couple

Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoots

Why do a pre-wedding shoot?

I’d say that 9 out of 10 of our clients admits to being uncomfortable in front of the camera and apprehensive about how they will feel on their wedding day effectively being watched by a lens all day long.  The pre wedding shoot is a perfect way to allay those fears.  I’ve never had a couple say to me after the shoot . . . .“you know what, it was as much of a nightmare as I imagined it would be!”  

It’s more along the lines of . . . . . “that was so much fun”
and  . . . . .“I’m so surprised that I actually enjoyed that”
and all importantly  . . . . .“I feel much better about the actual day now”

A pre wedding shoot has many advantages.  Firstly, you get to spend a bit of time with your photographer.  Get to know me a bit more in a relaxed environment.   That way, on the wedding day you’ll have an idea of how I work and what to expect.   Secondly, it’s a fantastic opportunity to explore different styles and ideas that you might want to use on the wedding day itself and even more importantly to identify those things that don’t work for you and your partner so that no time is wasted on the actual day .  Lastly, with Just Imagine, all our engagement shoots include all of the photos on a CD so within a week of the shoot you’ll have all of the images at your fingertips to use for your invitations, the wedding day or simply to keep as a record.

Here are some of the images from the two pre wedding shoots we did this past weekend.  Both couples had booked our combined Photo and Video package and were therefore offered a free engagement shoot.  If you’ve booked us for your photography but haven’t booked a pre-wedding shoot you can do so by calling or emailing us.

Dominic and Victoria

Dominic and Victoria’s wedding is  just a few weeks away in February at Wotton House and of course, photo and video will follow in a few weeks time.

James and Helen
James and Helen’s wedding is at Clandon House this coming March.  Photos and video to follow.

Pre wedding shoot price is £60 including the CD of images.  Engagement shoots are free of charge for all combined Photo and Video packages.

I hope you enjoy looking through our highlights from 2011.

Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace in August provided some of the most interesting and my favourite photographs of the year.  Considering we were chaperoned by a Palace official with strict rules, very limited time and hundreds of tourists surrounding us, I think we were fortunate to be able to get these images.

But it’s not all about drama and mood.  Some of the best pictures you can hope for as a photographer are those which happen in front of you and you manage to capture.  Like this one, where the father of the bride removes something from the bottom of the Bride’s shoe, moments before entering the church to get married.

This Vintage London Cab has to be one of the most unique wedding cars I’ve seen.

Stoke Place

Stoke Place was by far the most flexible venue I covered this year.   Every room in this hotel is beautifully decorated with funky wallpaper and furniture.  So much so, that we did most of the photography indoors even though the weather was great!

I love the nervousness that ensues when you ask for the rings so that you can take them off somewhere to do something different with them.  Don’t worry, never out of sight of the best man and haven’t lost a ring yet!!

One of the features of Stevie’s dress was pockets.  I loved them, she loved them.  There were a lot of hand in pocket shots and this one against the setting sun was one of my favourites.

 

Brighton Wedding

Forget the Bride and Groom…look at that car!

Funny how, just for one day, a man becomes a true gentleman and holds the door for a lady.  Never again though, and she knows it.

The Ravenswood

Kids provide some of the best photo opportunities at weddings, as long as you can see the shots coming and be ready for them.

The shots in between the shots –  just as important!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was not the first photographer to do this shot!!

Well, I bet I was the first to have the Best Man hiding behind the couple in the boathouse holding a radio triggered flash gun.

Yes, it’s all about firsts here at the house of imagination!!  He did a good job with the hiding too.

 

The White House

 

Last minute adjustments.

I do love the sky shots.

The challenge of a night time shot in front of a bright blue lit house.  Turned out nice!

The Landmark Hotel

The landmark hotel is pretty spectacular as you walk through into the lobby.

There it is again.  The kids stealing the show with beautifully natural poses.

Stopping London traffic – literally.  The Bride did enjoy this bit!!

Great Fosters

Great Fosters is one of those venues you just feel comfortable in from the start.  The staff are great, the toastmaster keeps everything moving and the grounds don’t disappoint.

The mother of the Bride was pretty happy the weather in November was holding!

Video Wall Highlights 2011

Graphistudio Storybook albums are available to order at any time before or after the wedding.  The Kitney’s decided on an Ivory die cut leather cover, with a 23 page custom layout.  They also bought a set of 2 parent albums, seen in the images below.  These parent albums are exact replicas of the main album in all but cover.  A stunning metallic print dust jacket cover was used instead of a hardback cover.

For information on albums and album prices, please call 01483 274010 or email us. Remember, your wedding could have been covered years ago and we can still make up an album for you.