Recently a couple approached me about wedding photography as they had been recommended by someone that knows me and were interested in finding out what I could offer them as a package. We arranged to meet so we could discuss the wedding and I could take a few shots of them together in the style of an engagement shoot, something which I have been waiting to do for ages.
We arranged to meet at a local lake on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. As their wedding is in October we decided it would be nice to have a kind of autumnal feel to the photographs with the changing colours of the trees. The lake itself can be walked around in about 30 minutes so I suggested a leisurely stroll round with a few stops along the way for some photographs.
I have to admit I was pretty nervous, having never taken these kinds of shots before and also this being the first time I had met the couple Debz & Chris but they were really friendly and soon we were chatting like we’d known each other for ages.
The lake is surrounded by trees and grass and has a couple of nice little bridges which make a really nice setting for photographs. We stopped at the first bridge where I got a few nice shots.
We then walked round the lake and took some photographs underneath one of the large trees. It was a very sunny day considering it was the middle of October and this made the shooting conditions quite difficult with some rather nasty shadows but I think we were all just pleased that it wasn’t raining!
Debz came up with the fantastic idea of her and Chris having a bit of a fight with some of the fallen leaves, these made for some great pictures – these were really fun to shoot and it showed in their faces.
I tried to vary the style of the pictures and was pleased at how natural they both were in front of the camera, especially as Debz had commented how they hadn’t had very many pictures taken together which weren’t self portraits shot at arms length. It was nice to catch some really natural moments of them together and these are the shots I am really pleased with.
The lake really was a good choice I think as it offers such a lovely backdrop to these kinds of shots. It was a relatively quiet day given the good weather conditions so it was nice to be able to pick and choose where we could stand to try and get the best views.
When you get round the bottom end of the lake there is a really nice area which is brick semi circle that is kind of a watching station for walkers to view the wildlife at the lake. I’d had the idea of trying a few pictures using this as a focus when I was planning the shoot and I think they turned out pretty well.
After a while we had done our lap round the lake and I had managed to get a good amount of different pictures, I felt it had been a productive day and that I had managed to some shots that Debz & Chris would hopefully like. Time for a well deserved drink in the nearby pub although it was soft drinks only for me!
A couple more of my favourite pictures from the day
These kinds of shoots are definitely something that I will be offering as part of my wedding packages from now on as I think it is a great way to meet the couple and work together to do some test shots prior to the actual wedding, plus the couple get some lovely pictures to treasure in the future.
