Monday 30 April 2012

Motorsports Photographer: BSB at a Very Wet Brands Hatch

Every year i try to attend a round or two of the British Super Bike Championship at the amazing Brands Hatch, one of my favourite circuits.

Bikes and bike racing are a huge passion of mine and i grew up watching the likes of Barry Sheene from the early days of his career right up to his last year in Grand Prix.

Jacob and I decided to attend on Easter weekend, and of course after a superb March, it decided to rain hard all day on race day. Despite the cold and wet, there was a large crowd present and some exciting racing for most of the day.

I took along the D3s with my 180 f2.8 lens to see if i could capture anything through the catch fencing that encases the Indy Circuit.

We watched from the last series of corners as the bikes were lent over and the riders used their amazing skills to tip toe the bikes round as if on ice, before blasting through Clearways onto the start finish straight.

The spray hung in the air all the time and i have to say that camera and lens performed heroically throughout.

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Wednesday 25 April 2012

Sussex Wedding Photography: Peter Prior Photography

WELCOME TO THE BLOG OF PETER PRIOR PHOTOGRAPHY!

Sussex based photographer, Peter Prior is a creator of artistic and timeless wedding images with an international reputation for constantly exceeding his clients expectations, producing pictures that other photographers simply just don't see. This leaves couples with an exciting and dynamic life long memory of the most important and exciting day of their lives.

His work is more that a set of wedding photographs; Peter allows viewers into each wedding so that they feel as if they were actually there, even if the were not present. A storyteller, he reveals the atmosphere and emotions of the day and combined with his amazing use of light provides clients with unique stunning albums every time!

A low key, gentle and discreet approach enables Peter to become completely absorbed into a wedding day, allowing his clients to switch off and enjoy the day without having to worry about their photography.

Having been a specialist wedding photographer for 16 years, Peter has covered in excess of 700 weddings to date and is available to photograph anywhere in the world. His vast experience as a Full Time Professional Wedding Photographer really sets his work apart when compared with the multitude of newcomers to the world of wedding photography. He has covered weddings from Aberdeen to Cornwall, Wales to Cyprus as well as more local ceremonies of course!

Peter's talent, amazing eye, attention to detail and exemplary customer service really provide his couples with an experience that is second to none.

He is also the a winner of over 60 industry awards, including being the current South East MPA Documentary and Classical Wedding Photographer of the Year and being awarded two Awards of Excellence at the National MPA Awards in Newcastle in October 2011. Peter also won the Documentary Wedding Photographer award in 2010 and the Classical award in 2009.

A sought after teacher and lecturer of wedding photography,Peter has been a mentor to countless aspiring and established
photographers and is passionate about promoting the highest possible standards of wedding photography.

For all the latest weddings and news about Peter Prior Photography please follow this blog. Articles are posted below regularly and the archives are fully searchable by using the categories on the right hand side. Comments are always welcome so please feel free to contribute.

Monday 23 April 2012

Sussex Wedding Photographer: Some Very Kind Words

It always great to hear that your clients are happy with the images and service that you have produced for them.

For me, being asked to photograph a couple's wedding day is always an honour and a privilege and it is always my aim to produce something special for every couple. Photographing weddings has been my passion for the past 16 years and long may the buzz continue.

Over the past few days i have received these three messages after photographing Corrinne and Tom's lovely wedding at Crockstead Farm Hotel in March.

I really enjoyed being their photographer, where i photographed their ceremony outside by the lake in what was unseasonably warm and sunny day!

I thought i would share the very kind words with you.

Hi Peter - they are brilliant, thank you so much! There are some truly beautiful pictures in there - we couldn't be happier
And a million thank you's again xx



Corrinne


Hi Peter! hope you're well.
The pictures are incredible, thank you so much.
Couldn't be better.


Tom.





Hi Peter. Just seen your fabulous photos of Tom and Corrinne's wedding. You have really captured the day. Beautiful colours, and relaxed atmosphere, all in all a perfect day! Thank you so much 
Yana xxxx 


(Mother of the Groom)




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You can view my wedding portfolio here.

Saturday 21 April 2012

Wedding Photography Standards: A Call to Action for the Professional Photography Bodies

After seeing another "Wedding Photography Horror Story" in the news again this week, i can see a huge PR and public education opportunity for the so called Professional Bodies of the photography world.

The story i read via the Daily Mail's website has been printed elsewhere and even featured on the BBC News! As i see it, the adverse publicity and the very sad tales of woe we read and hear about all the time offer the so called "Professional Bodies" the perfect PR opportunity to help educate the public, other wedding suppliers, venues and of course the photographers themselves. If the MPA, BIPP etc really had the best interests of the profession and their memberships at heart, they would be constantly shouting the message about why you should use a genuine profession over an untrained or inexperienced "Saturday Cowboy" who is just out there to make a few quid ono a weekend.

Now i know it is a real minefield out there for couples selecting their photographer for the biggest day in their lives and i also appreciate that times are tough for us all, but in my very honest opinion the biggest problem is the messages being given off by photographers themselves. A bit of digging has revealed what i guessed to be the very sad truth within the ranks of the wedding photography world.

These days, it seems desperation has set in amongst wedding photographers and not this is no only aimed at the newer ones either. I have seen countless adverts and websites where basically, in the mad scramble to book any wedding in what is a vastly over saturated profession, folks are charging extremely unrealistically low prices and giving away everything including the kitchen sink.

I have been asking myself why this is and wondering why they are happy to operate at a real world loss.

I think i answered my first question by saying "it seems desperation has set in". For many it is a sad fact that they are desperate to generate any income regardless of what it is doing to their business in the short, medium and long term.

The answer to the second question is slightly more contentious. There are a number of reasons as to why the giveaway prices may be offered. This could mean they are working illegally by not declaring earnings for income tax, NI etc, probably working uninsured and or may be working without adequate back ups, equipment etc. However if they don't meet these criteria for being able to offer crazily low prices they are in fact probably on the short steep road to going under.

The story in the Daily Mail is unfortunate and sad for the couple BUT with the correct education from the professional photography world, they would have realised that if you pay peanuts you tend to get monkeys. I appreciate that £750 is a lot of money in the normal world to anyone but if a photographer is charging a properly priced rate, based on paying taxes, having insurance, having the right training and kit and then actually making a profit, then this figure is totally unrealistic unless they have another major income stream to support them.

Right back to the original purpose of this post; a CALL TO ACTION for the professional organisations; going by past experience over a 16 year career, my feeling is that they won't seize the opportunity to promote true professions to the public yet again. I find this very frustrating and this is one of the reasons why i sadly and reluctantly resigned my last membership of one of these bodies in March.

Maybe if they pooled their resources and worked together rather than worrying about their own little political games against each other, they might actually be able to offer a real benefit to photographers and the public alike.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Photo Training: Feedback from my Seminar at SIM2000 Imaging

I was privileged enough to be asked back to speak for SIM2000 Imaging in Hertfordshire last week and as last year was met with a full house.

The day seemed to go very well, with lots of questions and positive feedback on the day.

However, its always terrific to get pats on the back later on away from the day and i have been overwhelmed by the kind messages i have received in the past few days.

Here are just a few.

Hi Peter

I hope this is the correct email address to contact you on. I was at your seminar at Sim2000 today. I found it very interesting and, as you say, refreshingly BS free! I would be interested to hear if you decide to hold any more.

My sincere thanks for an interesting day.

Kind regards

Kevin Taylor



Hi Peter,

I just wanted to write you a quick email to thank you for the seminar
on Wednesday, found it really useful.

I've always found this game to be a bit insular and some are really
quite guarded about how they work so it's really good to meet somebody
else that is willing to share.

My weddings have dropped off a bit this year and what I found most
helpful was the information about blogging with links and doing more
'networking' with venues and suppliers. I know I should be more active
in doing it so thanks for giving me the kick to get on with it.

Thanks again,

Fiona.

Fiona Jones Photography


Hi Peter,

Just wanted to thank you for a very informative and enjoyable day yesterday at Sim 2000.
You were very open with the way you run your business and you displayed some wonderful images.
Thanks for a great day

Kind Regards
David

Bassett Photography



Hi Peter,
I was at the seminar you delivered yesterday at SIM2000, thank you very much for such a great day and so much information shared, I found it most useful however on listening to you and talking to Jacqui Matthews it has become clear I need to change my charging structure and quite quickly as I am blatantly undercharging, for someone who has been in the business for 27 years and confident at what I do Jacqui said I am undervaluing my abilities.

Thank you very much for yesterday and I hope you had a trouble free journey back home.

Best wishes

Peter

Peter Webb LBIPP LMPA




Hi Peter -

Thanks for the course and the useful practical information.

I was very interested in the simple, but standardised approach to pricing.

Thanks again.

Tony



Hi Peter,

Thanks again for yesterday's seminar, it was lovely to meet you, and really helpful to hear your experiences, and have an insight into how you approach shooting a wedding - and no waffle or soapboxes in sight - honest!

Many thanks

Sarah Khamsoda



Hi Peter,
Thanks again for the great seminar - it was of immeasurable worth to those starting out, like me, and it seemed the more experienced photographers also enjoyed it.
All the best,
Po

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Sandhurst Royal Military Academy Baptism: Arabella's Baptism at Sandhurst, Surrey

I was very excited to meet be asked to photograph the Baptism of Simone and Alasdair's latest arrival, the lovely Arabella at Sandhurst in Surrey on Easter Sunday.

It was lovely to meet up with the family again as it was almost three years since i photographed the Baptism of Amelie Rose and seven since their wedding!

Working alongside my friend and amazing videographer Barry Weare again was great as we had recorded each major family event since Simone and Alasdair were married at the same Chapel.

Following a lovely ceremony for very close family and friends we moved onto Great Fosters near Egham, Surrey for afternoon tea. Great Fosters was the venue for their wedding reception back in 2005.

Here a couple of images from the day all shot on my Nikon D3s using my 24-70 2.8 zoom and 85mm 1.4 lenses.

You can view my wedding portfolio by clicking here and follow me on Twitter (@PeterPrior).


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Baz in action.

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Monday 16 April 2012

Sussex Wedding Photographer: Featured in Wedding Ideas

Its not often i find my work featured in wedding magazines these days as i generally have clients who prefer to fly below the radar and, of course i am always happy to be discreet and follow their wishes.

Obviously it great to see your images in "print", especially when it is a very special wedding at a extra special venue, Ashdown Park Hotel in East Sussex.

I was approached to be the photographer for Eliska and Tim by my good friends Sue and Clive professional wedding planners who run Eleganza Weddings. They are always amazing to work with and over the years we have been involved in some superb weddings.

Anyway, Sue has just sent me a link to the on-line version of the article so i thought i would take the opportunity to share it here. to view the article, please click here.

My original blog post can be seen by clicking here.

You can view my wedding portfolio here and follow me on Twitter (@PeterPrior).

For further information about Eleganza Weddings please click here.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Wedding Photographer: A Photo of Me in the Six Bells Toilets!

Its not often i get to be photographed. Quite fortunately for the world's photographers i should add!

Last week i met up for lunch with my very good friend, Leo Ferenc, videographer and owner of the mad Coco Photo Booths. Leo is a terrific videographer and great fun to spend a couple of hours with, putting the world to rights!

We were forced to pop down to the wonderful Six bells Pub in Chiddingly, which must be one of the best pubs in the UK! Leo had just picked up a brand new Canon 5D mark 3 and was keen to try it out.

So in a packed pub, i had my arm twisted and "modelled"...if that's the right word...although it doesn't seem appropriate when i am the subject.

After his various attempts to get something he was happy with we decided to look for an unusual or interesting background and ended up with me in the gents because of the amazing wall you can see in the image below. Leo had only bought his 85mm 1.2 lens so had to stand outside in the main body of the pub with his foot in the doorway to keep it open.

It was such a laugh as we ended up with a small audience who joined in the hilarity and were full of wise cracks.

Anyway, Leo emailed me a couple of images and this is my favourite. I have it in colour on my Facebook profile page but i prefer this version that i have processed in Photoshop.

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You can follow me on Twitter (@PeterPrior) or view my wedding portfolio here for further information.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Sussex Wedding Photographer: Eileen and Lee's Wedding at the George in Rye

After a mad couple of weeks, i am trying to catch up with editing and designing albums and images in around the Easter Holidays.

Just a couple of weeks ago i covered the wedding of Eileen and Lee at the lovely George in Rye. I hadn't covered a wedding in the beautiful "smuggler's" town of Rye for a few years and couldn't wait to take the walk up the hill through the narrow old world streets to the George.

Again the weather was terrific for March and this certainly helped to create a buzz in the drinks reception in the courtyard outside.

Eileen looked absolutely stunning and as a couple i have to say, they looked perfect.

The hotel itself was lovely and the staff extremely keen to ensure everything went well. They couldn't have been more accommodating.

Below are a few images from a superb and very enjoyable day and you can view my wedding portfolio here.

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Thursday 5 April 2012

Wedding Photographer Sussex: Corrinne and Tom's Intimate Wedding at Crockstead Farm Hotel

Corrinne and Tom's wedding took place on a stunning Spring day at the pretty Crockstead Farm Hotel in East Sussex.

The weather was certainly a blessing as the ceremony took place outside beside the lake and was watch over by the resident peacock, who joined in the vowels at every pause!

After a long drinks reception, they enjoyed a meal in the Mill Room and i left as the guests sat down to the wedding breakfast.

Corrine was driven to Crockstead by Tom's Dad in a 1966 Daimler, a family treasure and it was perfect for the occasion.

Here are a few favourite shots from the short time i was present.


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The family Daimler

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You can view my wedding portfolio here.