There’s no exact answer to this question except for - whenever I get around to it! This blog is a personal project of mine to keep people updated as to whats going on in my day to day life. I do it first for my own enjoyment, and second in the hopes that other people get some kind of enjoyment out of it also. It is not a professional service that I offer, and I make no guarantees as to when any given event is going to appear. It just happens when it happens.
Blogging weddings for me is not a matter of taking pictures from the camera and putting them on the web. First up I have to download and backup all of the images from the day. I then sift through images from all four cameras, tagging my favourites and getting them into something representing a chronological order. From there, I have to convert these images to JPG’s, after which I open each file individually and make custom adjustments. The last step is then compiling the slideshow, and uploading images to the blog.
My first priority has to be ensuring clients receive their deliverables on time. During extremely busy times, blogging has to take a backseat while I get proofs out to clients who were married 2-3 weeks ago. Sometimes I have extremely hectic weeks full of client meetings which don’t allow me an awful lot of computer time. All of these things can delay images being posted to the blog.
These days I’m posting anything up to 70 images per wedding. In the old days I was posting maybe 20 or 30 images, and in the old old days it was more like half a dozen. Back then I was getting the images up the next day, sometimes even the same day, so I guess people have come to expect that.
I know it sounds like I’m whinging, but I also know I need to have the reasonable expectation that by creating this blog I may now have readers who are frustrated when there are no new images to see until a few days after the event. In the interests of a win-win situation and keeping everyone else and myself happy, I thought I’d throw it out there as to what you would like to see. I’d be more than happy to go back to the days of old and post only a dozen images and have them up quicker - but some people do prefer the wider coverage they get from my posts these days.
So I’m going to let you decide. What’s it going to be?
Last Sunday week (April 20) Rick & I headed out to photograph Reuben & Wynita’s awesome wedding. I’ve loved these guys from the moment I met them, and I knew the day was going to be filled with much love and laughter.
Wynita and the girls were getting ready in the city, and were ready way ahead of time (thanks to Toula and her amazing team!) and were relaxing with some champagne. No nerves, just excitement. Wynita picked the most perfect gown, and even amazed me by having made all of the bridesmaids dresses.
We then got over to St Bernards’ at Mt Gravatt where the boys were on fire. The jokes and wisecracks kept coming, and had us in stitches for most of the afternoon. Reuben was silenced though when he saw his bride walk down that aisle, and I just knew the big man was fighting back tears.
Then it was back into the city for some crazy times down by the river, before we sent the bridal party back to the reception and wandered over to West End for some shots of the happy couple outside a funky cigar shop.
By the time we got back to the Glen we were totally worn out, but had had an awesome day. When I was offered a beer, I didn’t say no!!!
I have no idea what was said here, but maybe it was funny??…
Me cracking up after a hilarious, yet totally inappropriate joke…
I took a liking to Reuben’s hat…
I’m also shooting Wynita’s brothers wedding in October. How cool are Lucas & Renee - they’re even trying to line me up a date for their wedding!!!…
I tend to get a lot of enquiries after I post shoots like these, so I always have to add a disclaimer. I do not consider myself a childrens photographer. I am a wedding photographer - that is my path in life! For me, shooting children & families, and shooting weddings are two totally different crafts. I know people who can do both equally as well, but wedding photography is where I find my groove. That’s why a while back I removed all portraiture from my website to focus solely on weddings.
These days I only shoot non-wedding related stuff by special request - usually for friends or family. Before I went away I shot my friend Melissa’s maternity session, and while I was in Vegas, she gave birth to a little girl, Indianna. A couple of weeks ago I went over to meet her for the first time, and get some pictures.
I have nothing but admiration for people who shoot babies & infants on a regular basis. It’s the hardest thing in the world to do! Indianna was wide awake the whole time, which meant she was constantly kicking and moving around, which made her awful hard to capture. Adding Scotch to her milk was out of the question (hence why I’ll never be a mother!) but we made the most of what we had.
I love the relationships I have with my clients. Yesterday I got a couple of MMS messages from one of my clients Andrew (aka Doogs). He’d been having some fun with some of my personalised ribbon, and couldn’t wait to show me his new “headband”.
He said he was going to wear it down to the shops, until Jo put a stop to it! That Jo sure has her work cut our for her!!!
My computer is back and I feel whole again!! So I’ve made a start by getting together the collection from Jeff & April’s wedding last Saturday, April 19.
April & Jeff were married in a ceremony held on their property near Samford (by the way guys, waaaaaay better than Roma St Parklands!!). The weather had been on and off all day, and after a few showers the clouds parted for a gorgeous afternoon.
I’ve had a few weddings lately with no bridesmaids or groomsmen, and I’m really enjoying the smaller intimate feeling I get from a wedding like this. April & Jeff were really big on wanting an easy going relaxed day. After the ceremony the guests enjoyed drinks by the pond, while we walked around the property for some photos with the happy couple.
We headed back into the city (with some minor drama - more on that later) and stopped off at the Treasury Hotel for some night time pics, before finally making our way to Gambaro’s for the reception.
So on the way back to the city, the Bentley got a flat tire. As it’s not one of those kinda tires you can just change on the side of the road, so April & Jeff were stuck. But they took it all in their stride…..
So they got to pile into my car for the rest of the journey. Here’s April showing her appreciation for the Snelly car…
The computer crash I mentioned last week finally claimed the life of my PC this week. We’d been doing ok, one minute she was up, the next minute she was down. This week she finally died, and has been sent off to intensive care. (Once again I repeat, EVERYTHING is backed up!) I’m limping along on my other computer for the time being, but things just don’t feel the same. On average my computers only have a lifespan of 12-18 months, and this one was doing so well too, the two of us were inseparable! I’ll be catching up and blogging my recent weddings over the weekend.
On a side note though, Mum & Poo finally have arrived home from the States. They landed in Sydney on Wednesday, and rolled in last night after a long days drive. What was even more exciting was that they bought their grandkids up with them…
Moscow & Mikesha are staying with us while one of my sisters is overseas.
Now I can settle in to actually eating real food again!! My heartfelt thanks goes out to my dearest friends, and even my amazing clients who took me out to lunch or gave me a meal when I dropped around their house during the last couple of weeks!!
A big congratulations to my sister Cherie, who offically this week received her appointment as Senior Constable. This can only mean that I’m going to have to hit the road sometime soon to grab some shots of her with her new stripes!
There’s been a computer crash this week at the Snell fortress (don’t worry, everything gets backed up!!), so I’ve been slower than usual in getting my work done.
On Sunday we headed out to Jay & Jacki’s wedding at The Ox at Margate. Jacki has been a bridesmaid for me previously, so she knew what to expect. The wedding went off without a hitch, and we headed out with the bridal party to Margate beach.
Rick provided most of the entertainment for the afternoon when he bent down to get Jacki’s dress, and promptly split his pants (unfortunately he wouldn’t let me take a shot for the outtakes!) Rule number one of wedding photography Rick - The photographer shall always wear black underwear!!
Fortunately this didn’t stop us getting some great pictures…
I only first heard from Nicole about two months ago, when she was looking for a photographer for her impending wedding. It was a sheer stroke of luck that I was available, as the wedding I originally had booked was postponed until next year, and I had a prime Saturday free!
Nicole & Steven did so well to plan their wedding in a short amount of time. After many many years together they decided to take the plunge, and thought “why wait”. They chose the new Niche hotel at Springfield Lakes, which totally blew me away with how uber cool it is.
It was a very intimate with wedding, with the guestlist hand selected so that they were surrounded by the people who mean the most to them. Afterwards, we stole Steve & Nicole away down to the lake for a little bit of canoodling, and some gorgeous photos…
I was on the phone with my friend Justine from Infinity Studios on Monday telling her about my trip, when she suggested I come out with herself and Ben for a wedding on Friday. I jumped at the chance, not just for the opportunity to shoot with them, but because if we can have so much fun hanging out in the “real” world, imagine shooting a wedding together!!!!!
We had an awesome time together and I loved every minute of it. Ben is the master of shooting with artificial light, and was able to teach me a thing or two (and didn’t he look so proud!!!).
Here’s some of my efforts of Ben & Justine in action… (I particuarly like this first one)…
How lucky was I to have Mike Gordon presiding over the ceremony…
This is Ben’s “lusty adonis” pose….
But I think this one suits him better…..
Crouching Tiger Hidden Justine…
In return Ben sniped a few of me…
Oh, in amongst all this, we did managed to take a few photos of the Bride & Groom. They’ll be over on Ben’s blog very soon!!
