You just wouldn't ..

I had an enquiry about Wedding Photography recently from yet another bride who has now decided to "go with a friend". She emailed me yesterday and all I could do was shake my head! Obviously that's partly because it's a booking I won't get but it's also because I really feel for a bride who would go to all the expense and trouble of organising their Big Day and leave the recording of it to .. a friend!!  Maybe I'm missing something! It just must be that all these girls have friends who have been professional photographers for 36 years and can handle any situation of light, equipment, timing, posing, weather, guests, composition .. (and who have, let's not forget, that all-important insurance!) ..

Yes, it must be that, 'cos if your friend is just someone with a 'good camera' .. well, you just wouldn't, would you?..

Building an audience ..

I had a great PR shoot for an in-house construction magazine yesterday, which came in at the last minute on Monday. "How did you find out about me?.." I asked the writer that called. "Well.." he said "I Googled the words Editorial, Photographer and Manchester .. and your name came up!"

Brilliant! Don't tell me this SEO malarkey's actually starting to work!..

I'm still getting mixed reactions about my Wedding website. The criticism now is that my slide show is too fast. Eh? Any slower and it'd go into reverse! No matter! I like it and I think it works well. It's now chock full of Wedding keywords and phrases, and with the news that marriages are finally on the increase again I hope that construction photography isn't the only thing that starts to build ..

Gimmix! ..

There's a great track by Salford 'punk-poet' John Cooper-Clarke, called 'Gimmix' released as - wait for it - an orange, triangular record. One of the lines in it is 'Another day, another fad' and the tune came to mind when I saw a Wedding photograph on Facebook last week. It showed a bride and groom with two bright red smoke flares going off behind them. What? I thought! Who the hell would set off red smoke flares at their Wedding? (Don't answer that!) Anyway, I proceeded to the photographer's website to find - wait for it (Part Deux) - it was him that had put them there! What? (Also Part Deux!) Oh, come on! How gimmicky is that? Am I just getting old-fashioned or is there suddenly some law that you can't take straight-forward, intelligent, clean, fresh Wedding images without tweaking them to an early sickly-yellow vintage death in Lightroom or adding stupid props like bloody moustaches on sticks or ... flares!? Hey, hang on! What if we put the bride and groom in a brandy glass? .. 

Wet yer whistle ..

I have a feeling I'll be able to get a few more shots like this tomorrow, as the weather forecast's none too hot for my next Wedding. Never mind, the show always goes on. I'll just have to make sure I'm packing my studio lights in case all the shots are indoors!..

I've been having a little tweak this morning  .. of my Manchester Wedding Photography website, of course! Adding keywords, changing captions, just trying to do all I can to get it up the rankings. I've now been told I'm providing too much information on my pages - a bit like I was told I was showing too many images! Jeez! It's a flippin' nightmare. Oh, for the days when all I did was take photographs! I'm going to the pub ..

Actually, I'm going back to The Raven, in Glazebury, to finish off the shots of their renovation. I did the first images a few weeks back, but they've had their new chairs delivered now so it finally looks 'like it should'! Is 9.45 too early for a Guinness?..

I'll have the squits ..

Busy few days ahead for me, with a range of PR jobs to shoot and a lovely Bank Holiday Wedding to round off the week. I'll be at a primary school on Wednesday, photographing the kids for a new school website and brochure. I'm also photographing a 'Summer Showcase' for the Imperial War Museum North, and then it's a trip down memory lane as I get to return for a shoot at the one and only Coronation Street Tour, at the old Granada Studios site in Manchester. I used to shoot all their PR photography, so no funny comments about it shutting down all those years ago!!..

Of course, as soon as one is busy again any recent holiday seems to disappear into the distance faster than a 99 on Blackpool beach. It's a week after our return from Greece now, but I'm pleased to say we had a pretty fair re-run of the holiday yesterday. Great weather, al fresco dining and lots of lovely drink! Here's something we didn't order from the menu, though!..

Just thought I'd share that ..