Welcome to my blog where I aim to upload snap shots of recent weddings.
You can view my full website at www.rogerbrownphotography.com

Tuesday 24 March 2015

The physical stamina of a photographer...

So I hate to have to admit it but it’s already nearly the end of March.  For me, like anyone else doing the infamous London Marathon this year, the days feel like they’re slipping away all too quickly!  32 days encounting, my fellow marathon runners…

Thought you might enjoy a little update on my journey so far.

Now it’s not an excuse but with all the travelling I’ve been doing lately all over much of the UK and in Europe, it’s been a struggle to fit in my training.  I’m just about managing 3 runs a week, including at this late stage, a longer 2 hour endurance challenge each week.  If I’m honest, everything’s hurting, my knees, my Achilles, you name it (no rude comments about my age please!)

I must be running on adrenalin as I’ve also signed up to do the London To Brighton Bike Ride in September and may even consider another marathon in Turin in November, so I’m either addicted to exercise or just plain crazy?!

On a more serious note, I am doing these events to raise money for The National Osteoporosis Society which is a really worthy cause indeed.  The National Osteoporosis Society is the only UK charity dedicated to ending the pain and suffering caused by osteoporosis and fragile bones and I really want to help raise some much needed funds for them.

If you’d like to sponsor me I’d be very grateful and my Just Giving Page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/Roger-Brown3/.  Thank you – even the smallest of donations really would make the pain of marathon training worthwhile.

Having said all that, I’m sure my job does go part way to helping with my training, as it’s no mean feat carrying a 30 kg rucksack full of equipment on my corporate shoots.  I’ve managed over the years to formulate my own hybrid kit, including lighting, lighting stands etc and get it all down to this one backpack but it weighs a tonne!  I’m sure I was about 6 foot tall when I started this job!

Over the past 6 months, there’s been quite a bit of corporate work mainly for Finance companies but also including a shoot for Hello! Magazine.  As you can imagine, this kind of work is very different for me than when I photograph a couple’s wedding.  Some organisations want a more informal approach so that the client’s personality comes across, whereas for some, the more formal business-like image works best.  Apart from a short brief, there’s very little time to get to know anyone, you fly in, usually have to drag the busy client away from their desk, shoot some images with them and then fly home.  It’s very intense but creatively very challenging and enjoyable.  Yesterday’s shoot in Nuremberg for example was an 18 hour day involving hours waiting for planes and travelling to end up only shooting for about 45 minutes! 

Anyway, here is a selection of my favourite corporate photos from the past 6 months – I hope you enjoy them and I promise to keep you updated on the marathon over the coming weeks.  In the meantime, if you work for a company who might like some corporate photography done, please give me a call or drop me a line and we can have a chat about it.

All the best,
Roger


























Tuesday 10 March 2015

Getting creative...

We’re all familiar with the classic wedding photos; the groom waiting at the altar, the bride getting ready, the happy couple post wedding vows, the dancing and fun at the reception and of course, no wedding album would be complete without these.  However, it’s great as a wedding photographer when I get to throw in a "curveball" every now and then and use a bit of creative license!  It’s so much fun when I get the opportunity to go beyond the expected.  

When I’m working at a wedding, I’m always looking out for those impromptu moments between the happy couple or between guests, capturing intimate moments between people, anything to capture spontaneity, emotion or personality.  I believe I’m not just there to record what a couple look like on their wedding day but to truly capture WHO they are, take photographs which will tell a couple’s story and express their feelings.  In both the lead up and on the day, I’m always trying to ask the right questions to get to know a couple, in what is often a very short space of time.  What I really want to do is create images for them that in years to come will transport them back to that day whenever they look at them, recreating those wedding day emotions and capturing the detail that can so easily be forgotten over time.

This fun loving couple from Bahrain, Aisha and Khalid, chose Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire for their wedding and it was full of fun, glitz and glamour.  The combination of winter white trees, lace, candles, antique vases and a lot of sparkle created a magical Winter setting which worked so well.  As I hope you’ll see from the photos below, it was a really fun day too with a lot of laughs and happy faces along the way!

Brocket Hall in Welwyn in Hertfordshire is a stunning estate set in 543 acres of landscaped gardens.  It’s a pretty unique venue as it’s been the home to two prime ministers, played host to George IV, Queen Victoria and the infamous Lady Caroline Lamb who introduced the Waltz to England in the Ballroom.  It’s also sumptuously decorated with fine paintings, ornate ceilings and is truly a photographer’s dream in every aspect.

Because this lovely wedding was held in late December and the ceremony was not until 4pm, I had to be quite creative with lighting as it was already getting pretty dark by the time the wedding was taking place.  But as I’ve often said before, low lighting can create a great atmosphere and means you can be quite imaginative about your setting and style of photography.

I was blessed with a great sky so decided to do something a bit out of the ordinary and silhouette them against the sunset.  This is one of my favourite shots of the day!

A huge thanks to the very talented Pippa and Jo of Nova Wedding Planning in Kent who recommended me for this wedding.  You’re doing a great job guys and I look forward to working with you again in the future.

That’s it for now folks, more next time…

Roger