Archive for August, 2011
Gold Coast Wedding | A Family Celebration
Aug 25th
I spend most weekends capturing the memories of other families. Just a few weeks ago my nephew Kris married his high school sweetheart, Shannon. It was a great feeling knowing that this time I was capturing moments that will become part of my own family memory. It was a very special day. Even though I love to have my camera in hand on occassions like this, the wedding of someone so special to me is also something to be part of (not just observing), so Adam came along & took the lead to record the day. It was great to just be able to be a guest at a wedding, yet still join in to shoot when I want, and especially still be able to do the location shoot. I’ve posted one of the location shots at Currumbin below. It was weird though posing for Adam in the family shots! (No you won’t get to see them). Thanks Adam for capturing this day for Kris & Shannon, and for the rest of the Bell Family. Kris & Shannon, Penny & I have loved watching your love blossom. A world of shared experience is in front of you, may your love grow more through all of it.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Shannon & Kris’ sneak peek slideshow.
Contact Shannon & Kris for the password.
Alexandra & Edward – Hamilton Island Wedding
Aug 24th
Destination weddings are always fun. When the guests come from all around to spend time in a holiday spot simply to celebrate two people they love – how can it not be fun and beautiful. Some destinations though, take beautiful to a whole new level. Here’s another wedding photographed by Adam at Qualia on Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays that proved just that.
Alex & Edward who live in Sydney, had originally planned to hold their dream island wedding on Hayman Island , but in the crazy Queensland weather this year Hayman Island suffered cyclone damage and Alex & Edward had to find a new venue for their island wedding. Luckily the six star Qualia resort on neighbouring Hamilton Island was able to help at short notice and the result - spectacular!
All their guests flew in from around the country and overseas, including much of Edward’s family who came all the way from the UK. Hamilton Island put on perfect weather, and combined with the refined and relaxed surroundings of Qualia, this was a getaway the guests will never forget, and a wedding worth dreaming about.
This time Adam Finch was the lucky one to capture this gorgeous wedding. Pretty good job too Mr Finch!
Alex looks gorgeous in her Pronovias dress. The bridesmaids wore Vera Wang and carried flowers from Floral Collections on Hamilton Island. The stationery that Adam has photographed so elegantly was designed and handmade by the bride & groom themselves. (Gorgeous & talented too!)
Alex & Edward we wish that all your married life feels like one relaxing holiday! Thanks for choosing Studio Impressions.
For more weddings by Adam click here.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Alexandra & Edward’s sneak peek slideshow.
Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online gallery.
(The slideshow and gallery are password protected. Please contact Alexandra & Edward for access.)
Sirromet Winery Wedding – Andrea & Anthony
Aug 24th
Just had to share with you the wedding of Andrea & Anthony photographed by Adam. This was a great wedding with lots of little touches and traditions that were a reflection of them. They had lots of flowers, a string quartet, Pacific Island dancers, and Andrea’s favourite band from PNG. And there were lots and lots of hugs & kisses from family & friends. Andrea got ready at the Marriot Hotel and their ceremony & reception were at the Sirromet Winery. Andrea looked amazing in her Elizabeth de Varga dress and the flowers by Julie Vine just set the whole thing off. Their wedding was colourful, warm and really special.
Adam told me a great story about how Anthony proposed to Andrea, that I hope they don’t mind I share. Anthony took her on a surprise trip to Melbourne where he had planned a romantic proposal. Trouble was, Andrea had other ideas about what she wanted to do in Melbourne. She wasn’t keen on going out to dinner or going for a walk along the river…every opportunity and idea that Anthony had, Andrea had another one. On the last day of their trip, after exhausting all options, Anthony just took a chance and proposed in a beautiful old Melbourne back street. Not exactly what he had planned, but he still got the answer he was hoping for.
Thanks for asking Adam to capture your day and for inviting us into a little bit of your happiness.
For another beautiful wedding at Sirromet check out Yena & Patrick’s Wedding.
Unforgettable Moments, Lasting Impressions | Wedding Paparazzi
Aug 19th
Doing a clean up the other day I came across my first ever advertisement in a wedding magazine. I remember having to come up with our first positioning statement that would describe our studio and our photography style. “Unforgettable Moments….. Lasting Impressions…..” was born. It just seemed to fit so well and seeing this again made me realise how much I still love this aspect of photography – forever capturing the unforgettable and seeking to always leave an ever lasting impression for my clients. So, in homage to the roots of Studio Impressions I’ve decided to create a new blog category titled just that – Unforgettable Moments & Lasting Impressions – and every now & then (because let’s face it I’m an inconsistent blogger) I’ll post an unforgettable moment & maybe hope it leaves a lasting impression on you.
Here is the first.
“Wedding Paparazzi” (don’t usually title my wedding images – but hey this one calls for it) was inspired by Doug (aka the groom). He wanted something different to the standard group shot of wedding guests. So, after a short brief, pulling out all of our studio equipment and beg, borrowing, and just short of stealing as much camera gear & lighting as I could get my hands on, Doug and Jacinta had their own personal “Wedding Paparazzi”.
Captured just after the wedding ceremony at St Stephens Cathedral in Brisbane. Lit with portable Profoto studio lights positioned out of the frame to overpower the setting sun. Guests were handed cameras and a range of Nikon speedlights connected to Pocket wizards to wirelessly fire the flashes that can be seen within the frame. The image was converted to Black and White using Nik Software “Silver Effects Pro 2″ to keep the post production simple but provide the feel of film, to the final image.
Thanks Doug & Jacinta, for giving me creative licence to do something out of the ordinary. Love Love Love my job. Unforgettable moment for me.
My Camera Settings and MY MENU
Aug 8th
It has been a while since my last post about equipment & technique, so I thought it would be time to open my kit bag to you again. This time I thought I’d talk about the settings I use on my camera and a few shooting techniques.
SETTINGS:
It is so important for a photographer to be in tune with their equipment, settings and technique because the moments we capture happen so quickly. The most extraordinary ones happen in milliseconds and they often only ever happen when you least expect it. Like the image below, this was a “one take” only opportunity, there was no way I could ask this little guy to repeat his action of curiosity (having 3 little boys myself I know).
Program Modes:
There are 3 program modes that I regularly use shooting a wedding (in order of priority):
- A (Aperture Priority),
- M (Manual) and
- S (Shutter Priority).
In addition to using the above program modes I also use the “AUTO ISO SETTING MODE & QUICK EXPOSURE COMPENSATION” when using both Aperture and Shutter Priority. I will turn this off when working in M-manual mode, as I prefer to use this mode in complete MANUAL. (Though if you do need to have a set aperture and shutter setting, it is nice to know that you can set these and then use the Auto ISO to correct for exposure.)
I use the Aperture priority mode most of the day to allow for variable lighting exposures. I shoot with Av mode with Auto ISO on with a minimum shutter speed of approx 1/250th sec. This is based however on shooting in environments that are not too low in light and is adjusted accordingly. I then set the ISO maximum to a whopping 12,800 on the Nikon D3s. This limits both camera movement and mirror slap and enables me to shoot multiple scenes extremely fast.
Once I’m in an environment where the lighting is consistent, I prefer to shoot in full M-manual mode. This is when I resort back to my early beginnings as a photographer. For most of my Canon years, I used to shoot my entire weddings in manual mode, taking control of everything. But after spending some time shooting with some of the great photojournalists like Jeff Ascough and Greg Gibson a few years back, they re-opened my eyes to the advantages of using Aperture mode. Now I feel that I use the best of both worlds at the right time in the right situation.
Once, in dark environments, we had no other choice to drag the shutter speeds of 1/15th of sec or even slower as High ISO performance was non-existent. But this meant that you got beautiful movement within the image, with the main subject pin sharp but the surrounds or other people were blurred, due to the use of the slow shutter speed. Sometimes, I still use slower shutter speeds on purpose just to recreate this effect. Here’s an example on an image I shot of the famous Brisbane author “Nick Earls” at a busy Brisbane street crossing some 6 years ago using this technique.
Here’s an example of pushing the boundaries shooting at a very slow shutter speed in dim light.
These days, to capture movement and expression I usually just set up my S (Shutter priority mode) between 1/15th and 1/30th sec. I then simply swap over to this mode whenever I need to shoot at slower shutter speeds. This overrides the minimum shutter speed set out in the AUTO ISO setting.
EASY EXPOSURE COMPENSATION MODE:
Most importantly, when I work in either Aperture or Shutter priority, I’m constantly adjusting the camera’s exposure to compensate for the light in the scene that I’m capturing. For instance, for a bright scene like a bride on the beach, I will dial the exposure into the positive, adding between 1 and 3 stops of added exposure. Where the scene is a dark suit against a dark wall, I do the opposite. Camera metering systems see the world as 18% grey and so you need to adjust the cameras settings to accommodate.
MY MENU
A feature I absolutely love is the “MY MENU” available in most cameras. I simply program the settings I always use & they are right there at the ready. It makes using multiple modes throughout the day a breeze. For example, one feature I’m always turning off and on is the Auto ISO setting. Having it quickly accessible makes it possible for me to switch between “A” (Aperture priority) and fully “M” Manual mode
Every photographer has their own personal style and they also have their own way they use the camera to record the moment. There is more than one way to get the job done and it really just comes down to personal preference. But, it really is about knowing your tools, and being able to quickly get the most out of your equipment at just the right moment. A great camera will get you so far, but creative use of your equipment and the ability to see a beautiful shot and to bring it all together in that moment, that is the true mark of a professional. And that is what provides the adrenaline rush that I love about wedding photography.
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