Thursday, May 21, 2009

Gary & Rebecca Feb 16th 2009




Gary & Rebecca were married at the stunning Borthwick Castle, near Dalkeith.
A smaller wedding party ensured a very intimate ceremony in superb surroundings up in the Garrison suite. After some running around the castle shooting portraits , candids and then some groups  in the state room, it was down for dinner in the great hall.I enjoyed the reaction of some of the non-Scottish guests during Roddy the piper's highly animated and superbly delivered  'Address to the Haggis' by Robert Burns .Great stuff.

Andy&Katie





Images from Andy and Katie's wedding at Houston House on Feb 7th..A beautiful winters day with crisp snow on the ground, which meant only one thing as far as the men were concerned..
Andy took the snowballing well, although Im sure his thighs were burning after a few below Kilt-line shots! We then wandered around the stunning grounds and shot some cool bride and groom portraits with the sun dipping down low, helping create long shadows and dramatic light.All in all a cracking winter wedding and a very enjoyable (if sometimes surreal) service by a local minister who kept us all highly amused. :-)

Recent wedding images...

Hi

Just an update on the year so far, I will be posting images and maybe a wee story or two from each wedding individually for the remainder of the year as of now, but as I dont want to leave anyone out I will post some images from previous weddings from February up until last weekend...
Ive been very lucky with the weather so far, with some glorious sunny days and some lovely soft overcast skies aswell (always good for portraits) although the odd shower has created some interesting light aswell so I dont mind a little bit of rain ( 5 minutes is enough though!)..

Enjoy the pix


Take care..

Sean

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Photographer Of The Year

Hello

Just a quick post..

At the CIB awards ceremony on Friday 27th Feb 2009 I was named Photographer Of The Year.

This is for my work on branding, marketing and promotional material with the National Museums Scotland throughout 2008.
The museum also won Best use of photography for their Annual Review, Best external publication and best external magazine!

Its great to be awarded the title after all the work throughout the year, but my job is made a lot easier by the excellent marketing and comms team at the museum so Well done to all!

Full results here:-
http://www.cib.uk.com/content/latest-news/1452-cib-scotland-awards-2008-winners-announced.html

Cheers for now

Sean


Monday, February 16, 2009

Wedding update








The new website will be here soon and I will be updating this regularly with images from every wedding throughout the year..
Meantime I will add wedding photographs to this blog along with any special offers..

First up is the wedding of Bruce and Samantha Hadden on the 3rd January 2009 at Newtongrange mining museum..
It was a cold but clear winters day,  a little bit different to the Bermudan beaches that Bruce and Sam are used to, but they managed a few poses in the cool Scottish wind  and they looked every bit the happy handsome couple.


More soon.

Cheers

Sean

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Life Long Learning

Hi

After a winter full of new equipment purchases, web site designing and admin duties, Ive been going a bit stir crazy, Im now just desperate to get out there making images again! I never thought that as a professional photographer, only 50% of my time would involve actually taking photographs! Running a modern photography business involves many different tasks, each of varying degrees of interest, from the mind numbing admin accounts and invoicing, through to marketing, order building and the other good stuff , Taking pictures!!!
As part of the winter season I like to get involved with and get familiar with new technology, products and techniques.Its an area where we photographers have keep up frequently, or get left behind.
So yesterday myself and my lovely (but not very blonde) assistant Mark, went off through the snow and wind to deepest darkest Grangemouth, to join a seminar by ace photographer Mark Cleghorn.
The seminar was called Monkey Business and Mark enthused his way through a day packed with workshops on advanced lighting techniques, post shoot workflow advice, album creation and software demos.The pace was quick and I enjoyed his delivery, very matter of fact but still very inspiring.
Im always surprised at these events and especially yesterday, I feel quite experienced and in tune with my lighting techniques, after 8 years of doing it daily and especially in a live news situation, using flash creatively has become second nature to me, but still I picked up some great tips from Mark, opening my eyes to new possibilities and styles and I will be using them to light up Brides, Grooms and their guests even more beautifully throughout 2009.
I think it goes to show that we can always learn, no matter how well you think know your job, there is always something you can learn to make it easier/more efficient/more creative....etc etc
Since I left college in 2001 I have continued to learn about photography, for me it will be life long, its exciting as I love the process of gaining knowledge, I feel lucky to have a job in which Im passionate about, can develop (no pun intended, honest guv) week to week, month to month, year to year, and see instant results.
Producing quality work for clients and receiving praise and compliment for that work is the most satisfying thing in the world and I believe its all the product of listening, looking and learning, With a wee bit of talent thrown in :-)

Mark and I came away inspired yesterday, full of ideas for our upcoming weddings.Roll on 2009.....

And a huge thanks to Mark Cleghorn for a superb seminar, well worth it!!

Cheers

Sean

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Awards Shortlist

Good Morning All

I have just received an email informing me that I have been shortlisted for Photographer Of The Year at the Communicators In Business Awards for my work with the National Museums Scotland.
The team at NMS have been nominated for 'Best Use of Photography' and the Annual Review 2008 has also been shortlisted for 'Best One-off External Publication'..
The awards dinner is to be held on 27th February so fingers crossed.The marketing team at the NMS work tirelessley and really pull out the stops to put together great looking publications and design, which make my photos look nice :-)
I have worked with the NMS since 2006 and have shot everything from web content to brochures to billboards to banners and beyond, the work is so varied and people based I have really got to keep on my toes creatively whilst shooting to design requirements, Ive learned a lot and had some very memorable shoots.The Moose on the forklift being a particular favourite :-)


Cheers


Sean