Weddings
Jeff Ascough
Wedding Photography
http://www.jeffascough.com/#!galleries/wedding/8
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/masterclass/shooting_weddings.do
As quoted on Jeff's website:
"If Cartier-Bresson shot weddings... Thats what it feels like to look into the images of Jeff Ascough's incredible, evocative and emotional available light wedding photography..." - John Nackay, author, Queensland, Austrailia
I adore Jeff's Wedding Photography, especially his black and white work. Jeff takes a documentary style approach to his photography, which has inspired me to incorporate this technique into my own work as my USP. Many of his photographs have a certain focal point, where he has vignetted the subject so it stands out more, or he has used Depth of Field to create the focal point. Jeff also uses the rule of thirds within his work which creates a wonderful balance and composition within the image.
From watching video's of some of Jeff's tips, he mentions that he always likes to stay at no further than 15-20 feet from the subject. He likes his 24mm which gives him a great field of view and the 50mm which he uses for a great point of view and emotional shot. I wish to expand my knowledge and experiment with these lenses. Likewise with Jeff, I hate using flash. His work uses the balance of natural light to create the perfect juxtaposition of light, which has really inspired me. Another aspect of his work that has inspired me is his use of reflection. Jeff uses refletction in images to tell the story. For example, one of his images is of the flower girl in the car, where in the reflection on the window you can see the bridal party outside the church. From this you can tell exactly what is going on in the image. It works as if the image is a puzzle.
Steep Street by Kelty
Photographer and Art Designer
http://www.steepstreet.com/hello.htm
I absolutely love Kelty's Wedding Photography. Her vintage, polaroid and saturated technique creates a unique style which make her work special. Her images are premeditated which is exactly how she creates a delicate, yet creative image. Once again, I'm attracted to her work by how Kelty uses natural lighting to correctly expose her subjects, or which the area she wants to be in focus. Another attraction from her work is the use of focal points and DOF used to frame the image. For example, within her portrait images a shallow depth of field is used, however within her landscape images, a deep depth of field is used, however the background is soft therefore still creating the focal point on the subjects.
I sent an e-mail to Kelty asking her about her work and I was fortunate to get a reply.
Darren Hull Studios
Wedding and Engagment Photography
http://www.darrenhullstudios.com/album/engagement?p=1&s=UA-251469-13#25
As well as Wedding shoots, I will also do Engagment shoots. I wanted to introduce to my potential customers the possible idea of having an Engagment shoot to meet the couple, discuss the style of the photogoraphy and practise certain scenario's they may want to capture on their wedding day. This will also give me the chance to get to know them and create a strong and confident relationship with my customers, therefore giving them the trust for me to capture their special day.
Darren's engagment photography is an example of the perfect starter in capturing a couple's special day. His style is rehearsed and staged and he uses lighting and depth of field to create an impact on the focal point. Although some of his images don't shout 'Engagment' you can see the affection from both subjects which helps tell the story of the image. Where as some of his other images, for example, a hand with a ring on it, you can clearly tell what the image is about. I really like how he has positioned his subjects and the light within these photos as it really makes them stand out and produces a creative and stylish image.
Sica Films
Cinematic Wedding Videography
http://sicafilms.ca/investment/cinematic-wedding-films/
Sica Films are a videography team in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The create modern, cinematic wedding films for couples across Canada and collaborate with people who 'appreciate good style, who have a great sense of humour, who enjoy a good story-driven film, and who are hopelessly in love'. The company produce unique wedding and engagment films for each couple they work with, as well as offering a small pre-wedding video that their customers can use at their reception and business video's.
Sica films aren't cheap though, with their starting off price at $3400, however it is an important investment to make and when done properly it's worth it.
What I like about Sica films is their good sense of communication and optimistic personalities which help create the excitment of the day and on many of their shoots, at least two members of Sica films attend the shoot, therefore not missing a moment. This may be something I need to take into consideration when going on my own shoots.
Christenings and New Borns
Maria Murray
Newborn Photography
http://www.sweetbambini.co.uk/index.php
The beautiful photography by Maria Murray, reminds me of the wonderful story of Adam and Eve. Maria's photography style is simple. Using a shallow depth of field, her subjects are the only focal point of the image. Her subjects, normally newborns and their parents, are mainly captured naked. I believe this is to portray the natural beauty within creating new life and the closeness they have with eachother. Although her images are set up, the emotion within the subjects is natural.
The majority of Maria's images are taken in colour, as she uses the colours to differentiate the sex of the babies. She also uses small details like hats, towells and bows, to symbolise the sex of the baby. As mentioned before, each image has a shallow depth of field, which makes the baby or parent a strong focal point of the image. Alongside this, Maria has often Vignetted her images to draw the viewers eye to the subject. I really like the simplicity and natural style of Maria's images and hope to practise this style with my own newborn photograpy.
