"What if I fall? Oh but my darling, what if you fly?"

THE WINNING SHOT

How fortuitous that I should see the above quote by Erin Hanson just as I was wondering how to caption my photograph of recently married professional acrobatic duo, Ian Fraser and Danuta Ramos ('Suspended Motion’). But perhaps finding just the right caption should not surprise me because from the very beginning, destiny seems to have played a part in the story of this shoot.

Hayley Allcoat setting up the embellished hoops.      Cassie, Helen's springer spaniel,thoroughly enjoying herself.

When Ian initially contacted me about photographing his wedding I was bouncing off the walls with excitement, especially when he told me that he and Danuta would be happy to create a few “alternative” Bride and Groom poses. The sad part is that I didn’t get the job. A photographer friend of Ian’s stepped up and I was out of the picture (who can resist a pun?) But, being the thoroughly lovely person he is, Ian said that if I ever wanted to do a photo shoot, he and Danuta would be delighted to work with me.

Pause for a change of topic. You know those Facebook competitions which pop up on your news feed every so often? Like and share to win a weekend break for two? Like and comment to win a 60” x 40” Alumni print from Loxely Colour (Loxley Colour is my pro-lab). Turns out yours truly was the lucky winner. What are the chances of that? The Alumni print is a thoroughbred wall product and at 60" x 40" it's very big and very expensive. This win was not to be taken lightly. More or less immediately, I knew that I wanted to shoot something special for my prize product. Something different; high impact. Something with acrobats perhaps.. Acrobats in wedding gear even. Now if only I knew some acrobats who had wedding gear…

I engaged top friend/stylist/florist/balloon supremo Hayley Allcoat to help with the creative styling of the shoot and another friend, professional make-up artist, Helen McNeill kindly agreed to create Danuta’s bridal make up, so we were all set.  We just needed a decent day…

A decent day proved to be a big ask. August was thoroughly unsettled with gusty wind and rain thwarting our shoot plan at every turn. Hayley and I had decided to create a subtle carnival atmosphere with giant balloons and embellished hula hoops against a backdrop of woodland and wild grass - the strong winds wouldn't work with the giant balloons so we postponed the shoot, and then postponed again. I was rapidly running out of time as there was a deadline for claiming my prize and August was also my busiest month of the year for wedding photography. In the end we simply had to pick a day and go for it. What a day it turned out to be. 

If anyone wants to repeat this pose on their wedding day, start training in plenty of time.

It was hot, but not too sunny, and blessedly the wind was light, so the balloons were not being tugged sideways. It was very hot work for Ian and Danuta holding these incredible poses - it's a good job we had set up our own "hospitality" gazebo, courtesy of another good friend.

That worked well!

Ian and Danuta taking a break from lifting.

I totally had to shoot some romantic images too - this one showcases the make up beautifully.

Loving these suspended hoops wrapped in muslin and ivy.

These large balloons make a wonderful prop for your wedding. 

Massive and heartfelt thanks to Ian and Danuta who delivered not only amazing lifts but also the passion and fire that I wanted to see in the final images. Thanks also to Hayley and Helen for working so hard on this shoot with me at their busiest time of the year and thanks also to Phil for setting up the gazebo and helping with everything on the day. I only needed one picture for my wall product, and the standout lift shot was simply perfect. I made the deadline and my amazing Alumni print is now displayed on my office wall for all to see, so big thanks go to Loxley Colour too. 

Juggling is a specialty, batons, brides....you name it, Ian's your guy.

To contact Ian and Danuta go to Suspended Motion

To contact Hayley Allcoat go to 1st for Balloons and Flowers

To contact Helen McNeill go to I Am Beauty and Make Up

Location: Blair Adam House walled garden

Contact: Blair Adam House    

Wedding Planning with your Photography in mind...Part One

For anyone planning a wedding, there's no shortage of inspiration out there. Even though I've been shooting weddings for over a decade, I never tire of looking at wedding blogs and the fabulous work of other photographers. I literally drool over those cute detail shots and am constantly amazed at the variety of finishing touches on offer. Some weddings seem to have so many details that a collection of wedding photographs can start to feel a bit like a product shoot for Country Living Magazine. And I'm not complaining.  I LOVE Country Living magazine.

But if your wedding is not being held in a bothy (small hut for non-Scottish readers), barn, tree house or tepee the devil's still in the detail from a photographic point of view, so if you want great wedding photographs here are a few tips which will help give your images the wow factor.

Shooting the Bride and her attendants getting ready is always great fun, but there are a few things you can do to ensure a gorgeous set of getting ready photos. First, make sure your "getting ready"room is tidy. This can be tricky when you have three or four maids, a hair stylist, make up artist, a mum, young flower girls and a photographer all bombarding your space, but at the very least, clear away unsightly plastic bags, drinks cans, cups, glasses, half-eaten sandwiches...you get my drift. I never mind moving things around to shoot them (it's part of the job) but it's a great deal easier if the room is tidy. A tidy room is also going to look a whole lot better in the wide shots too. It's desirable to have your dress, bridesmaids' dresses, shoes, jewellery, perfume, garter, veil (and even your pretty underwear) on show if you would like them to be photographed, but tidy away anything which does not scream "wedding day".  

Matching robes for the bride and her maids are deservedly popular as they look so much better than an old t-shirt whilst you're having your hair and make up done.  White robes are great because they reflect light back up into the face which is almost always a good thing. Hangers are important...yes, really they are. Padded or wooden hangers are essential for your dresses. If you are getting ready in a hotel room, remember that many hotel hangers slot into a ring which is fixed to the wardrobe rail, so you can't take them out and hang them over a door frame or curtain pole. Invest in decent hangers - there are lots of personalised hangers available which also make a lovely bridesmaid gift...just a thought. 

I know I'm beginning to sound like an obsessive, compulsive cleaner, but I have to mention mirrors and polished wood. Dusty, smeary mirrors do not look great in a photo with one exception. Old glass mirrors pockmarked with age are "artistic" but regular dust and fingermarks are not. Similarly, if you have polished wooden surfaces in your room, these are perfect for your perfume and jewellery photos, but not so great if they are coated with dust. To be fair, by the time your hairstylist has used five cans of Elnett, furniture can start to look a little foggy, even if it was clean to start with, so the photographer's sleeve can be used in an emergency.

Last little tip now for Brides and Bridesmaids. Remember to try on the underwear you intend to wear with your dress actually with your dress before the wedding day and take some selfies with your phone. Be on red alert for peeping bra straps and VPL, the latter being especially important if you're wearing satin. Remember Pippa Middleton? The whispers were all about her rear, not about her underwear! 

Golf Crazy or Crazy Golf

Decisions, decisions.  Oh heck, we'll shoot them both!

In my last blog post I was talking about some of the commercial photography I do, but in the past week, I've been shooting something entirely different again.  Back in January I was asked if I'd be prepared to shoot some images of the Links golf courses in St. Andrews to partner some aerial images being shot with drones, all of which images are to be used in the production of a computer game on the far side of the world.

  

Always keen to take on a challenge, I said I'd love to be involved.  As usual the client is in a hurry, and of course, with the short days and low winter sun (beloved of we photographers in wedding mode) it soon became clear that January was not going to be a good time for shooting the kind of images required.  Artistic lens flare and silhouettes are not too helpful for animators trying to construct a game, so we've had to wait.  Now that the sun is sitting a little higher in the sky, we're onto the job with a vengeance, and what a job it is.  Imagine yourself in a computer game, and you're at the tee box (see, I'm down with all the technical golf speak now!) and you're looking around at the view before you select your spot and put your ball down.  I've been creating that view, then the view all down the fairway, round the bunkers and on to the green, all around the green with additional views from the hole cup (that's a 360 rotation), and some additional sweeps right to left and left to right from the back left and back right of the green....okay, so now you've zoned out!  Welcome to my world.  Multiply that by eighteen holes across three courses and you'll see why I was so delighted to find Mike and the catering van on the New Course yesterday.  Just a couple more days to do thank goodness, but if anyone needs any advice on the slopes and dips on those courses....then please don't ask me, because by now it's all a blur. 

Fantastic catering van with a personal touch from super cheery Mike.

Eden Estuary - stepping stones to....getting wet I guess!

"A Owl" - looks like he needs a wash and brush up.

Encountered more than our fair share of this as we scrambled about.

A brief sit down in the "rough" - waiting for golfers to play through.

When you've been photographing grass all day, this is a welcome respite.

Not only weddings but also.....

If I had managed to keep blogging regularly over the past  12 months you would no doubt be aware by now that I don't only shoot weddings.  I absolutely love to shoot weddings, but I also love to shoot portraits, interiors, exteriors, products, food and well...everything really (but not sharks!)

Over the past twelve months or so I have undertaken all kinds of assignments which would fall under the category of commercial photography.  

My clients have included:

• Woodmill High School
• Bandrum Nursing Home
• Cashmere at Lochleven
• Cora Studio
• Wazfit
• Balmule House
• Eskgrove Homes
• Francine Wardrope Hairdressing
• Highland Kilt Connections/To Be Wed 
• Thomas & Adamson
• Sashes Venue Styling
• Settle Land Surveys
• Blue Ice Live Band
• It's No Reel Professional Ceilidh Band
• The Kingswood Hotel 

This January, I was delighted to be commissioned to shoot interiors, exteriors and staff portraits for Dermal Clinic in Edinburgh.  The clinic has a very striking interior with lots of funky, recessed lighting which was central to the brief.  Shooting whilst the clinic was busy with clients meant that we had to be nimble on our feet and flexible in our approach to the shooting, switching location at a moment's notice.  I just loved the helix sculpture, even if I had to contort myself into an extraordinary position to get the angle I wanted.  

www.dermalclinic.co.uk

The Wedding of Pat & Martin, Rufflet's Hotel, St.Andrews

The irony is that I love to write blog posts.   I've just been really bad at doing it.  It's not my fault; I'm short of time.  The problem with running your own small business, micro business actually, is that you have to do everything yourself, all the time, and if you want to have any kind of a life as well, then some things are inevitably going to get side-lined.  It's never going to be my clients, so the poor old blog has been left in the corner, like "Baby" (the girls will get that reference; boys don't stand a chance!)

Listen.  That rustling you can hear is the sound of a new leaf being turned over.  I'm going to try so much harder to do so much better.  

So, 2015 begins, and I've been busy from the start.  The winter is "low season" for wedding photography (although that's changing and many photographers will already have several weddings under their belts by now).  For me, 2015 kicked off with the wedding of Pat and Martin at the gorgeous Rufflet's Hotel in St.Andrews on the 3rd January.  It was a tad chilly outside, but we had a touch of that beautiful golden winter sun which meant that we simply had to go into the gardens for a few photos.  The bridesmaids looked fabulous in their silver-grey dresses with lace detail, the colour being picked up perfectly in the sash on the flower girl's dress.  Pat's beautiful wedding dress was one hundred percent, classic glamour.  I do like dresses with straps, sleeves and detail around the top, and the cowl draping down the back looked simply stunning.

Hair by Francine Wardrope Hairdressing  07919 926418
Flowers by Hayley Michelle Allcoat www.hayleymichelle.co.uk