“Calm, relaxed, friendly and professional… what more could a bride want in the lead up to her wedding day!

From our initial meeting with Matt and looking through his portfolio we knew his style was just what we wanted to capture our day. The options he offered allowed us to go for a package we could afford without any compromise on the quality and coverage of the wedding. Communication and organisation was excellent and I had no worries or queries unanswered.

I was so impressed that Matt came to check out not only the venue for our reception but the church as well and introduced himself to the vicar and my family so everything was in hand and ran smoothly on the day. Having the engagement shoot and looking at the results gave us both a chance to get to know Matt and see how he photographed us. Having seen the results we felt assured that our wedding photos would be lovely too.

We couldn’t believe the results when we saw the photos. Matt had been so unintrusive on our wedding day yet had captured the essence of every moment of the day from the raucous ushers’ breakfast to a quiet moment between me and my Mum then on to the anticipation of arriving at church with my very proud Dad, the importance of the ceremony and the laughter and happiness that followed for the rest of the day for us and all of our family and friends. Every time I look through the photos it transports me back to that magical day and brings back exactly how I felt. His photos glow with happiness.

Thanks Matt, you did a wonderful job.”

Olivia & Rob

This is essential! Before you do anything else make sure your photos are backed up. Any digital file that only exists in one place is at risk of loss. What happens if you lose the CD or you drop your laptop? External USB harddrives are cheap nowadays, and recordable DVDs even cheaper. We’d also recommend you keep a copy of your images in another location (at work, a friend’s house, etc.) in case of a catastrophe such as fire or flood at home.

1. Online image galleries

Flickr (www.flickr.com) is a fantastic resource for sharing photographs. It’s free to create an account, and you can upload your images in different galleries. You can then send the gallery link to friends and family. You have the option of uploading full-size images too, making Flickr an alternative, offsite backup option. Viewers can also add comments to your photos – making it a great place to get feedback if you want.

2. Create a photobook

A fantastic way to present your photos is to create a book. There are many options available for doing this nowadays. If you’re a Mac user then Apple’s iPhoto has some great book templates available. Alternatively if you’re feeling creative take a look at Blurb (www.blurb.com). Here you can create any type of book you want – hardback, paperback, coffee-table, pocket-sized – and the print quality is comparable to books you’d buy on the high street. Best of all you can order a single copy or a hundred, it’s up to you.

3. Make prints of your images

It’s amazing nowadays how few images actually get printed. However with the rise of digital printing it’s easier than ever to get prints made for yourself, or to give to people. You can either take a memory card into a high-street printer, or upload your files to an online service such as Photobox (www.photobox.co.uk) or SnapFish (www.snapfish.co.uk). These online services also offer the options of printing your images onto various items such as mugs, mousemats and t-shirts. If you’re looking to get prints made from images taken by a professional photographer, make sure you ask the photographer for a Copyright release. This gives you the permission to use the images that they have taken.

4. Use Facebook

Believe it or not, Facebook (www.facebook.com) is now one of the most popular ways of sharing photos online. It’s been estimated that there are close to 10 billion (yes, Billion) photos on Facebook. The advantage here of course is that as soon as you add new photos, all of your Facebook friends will know. Make sure you’re careful about what you share with who though – sharing inappropriate photos with work colleagues is a danger if you’re friends with them on Facebook.

5. Your iPod

Newer iPods and iPhones have a fantastic photo gallery built-in, allowing you to easily flick through hundreds of photos and zoom in on ones you like with a gesture on the touchscreen. If you have the right cables, you can even connect them up to a TV for that big-screen experience.

6. Slideshows

It’s really easy to create great slideshows from your photos, and even add in fancy transitions and music tracks to add a bit of polish. Mac users have everything they need built in to iPhoto, which is included on every computer. For PC users we recommend Google’s free image organising software Picassa (picasa.google.co.uk). For the ultimate in slideshow production, including the ability to create DVD and BluRay discs, take a look at ProShow software from Photodex – it’s not free but is an amazing piece of software.

7. Digital photo frames

You can now pick up a really good digital photo frame for under a hundred pounds, sometimes half that. These are fantastic as you just insert a memory card containing a selection of your images, and the digital photo frame cycles through them automatically. They’re a great conversation starter when you have friends over! Take a look at Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) or Ebuyer (www.ebuyer.com) for some good deals.

8. Screensavers and desktop wallpaper

Whether you’re using a PC or a Mac, you have the option to select a photo of your choice and use it for your desktop background. In addition you can select a folder of images on your hardrive and set the screensaver to cycle through these. To find out how to do this for a PC go here, and for a Mac here.

NOTE: We’re not paid to recommend any of these companies or software – we just think they’re great products that we use ourselves.

Do you have any other ways that you share your digital images? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

Sounds too good to be true? Possibly, but we’re doing it! Every couple who makes a confirmed booking with us for a wedding anytime in 2010 will be entered into a prize draw. Bookings must be made by 1st March 2010. The winner of that draw will receive their wedding photography absolutely free.

This offer includes the following:

- A pre-wedding meeting where we can go over the details of your wedding day.
- 6 consecutive hours of photography on the day.
- A slideshow containing a number of images from the day set to music.
- A web gallery of images from the day.

PLUS 60 (Sixty) 6″x9″ professionally printed images of your choice from your gallery.

You’re free to upgrade to add one of our wedding albums and/or a disc with the high-resolution images if you’d like. There would be an additional charge for this.

Even if you’re not planning on getting married in 2010, pass this information on to your friends who may be. After all free wedding photography would be a pretty fantastic wedding present!

1. Colours – Solid colours tend to look the best; avoid stripes and other patterns whenever possible because they can be very distracting and take away from the focus on your face. Bold colours are okay in most instances, as are pastel colours. A clean, crisp, tailored white shirt can also be very attractive, especially when it contrasts with dark trousers.

2. Styles – In general, opt for long sleeve shirts rather than short sleeves because it helps to draw the eye to your face. A nice V-neck shirt or button collar shirt looks good in most situations, as does a turtleneck. Choose clothing styles that “fit” who you are; in other words, wear the same kind of clothing you would normally wear rather than trying a brand new style for the first time.

3. Jewelry – It’s fine to wear jewelry as long as it compliments rather than overpowers your outfit. Choose pieces that are not too chunky, dangling, or otherwise overwhelming. Again, you want the final portrait to draw the eye to your face.

From casual to formal, business executive to “just for fun”, your portrait session is all about taking pictures that make you look your very best. If you have questions about what to wear or are unsure of what you want your portrait to look like, please give us a call so we can work with you to create the look you really want.