David's photography blog

Weddings in Bromley

2009-07-05T07:06:00.004+01:00

My website: Kent Wedding Photographers

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

I had the pleasure of photographing Emma and Matt's wedding yesterday in The Garden Room at Bromley Civic Centre followed by the reception at Bromley Football Club. It was a really hot day - don't forget to take plenty of water with you shooting weddings under these conditions!

Their wedding gallery will be appearing shortly.

My website: Wedding Photographers in Kent

Oliver James Fenwick has arrived!

2009-07-03T15:09:00.004+01:00

My website: Wedding Photographers in Kent

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

Oliver James Fenwick was born yesterday (Thursday 2nd July 2009) at 19:20 weighing 7lbs and 4ozs (3.3 kg). It was a dash to the hospital in an ambulance - from first minor twinge to birth was just 90 minutes. Second babies don't waste any time exiting!

My website: Wedding Photographers in Kent

Medway Wedding Photographer

2009-07-02T17:40:00.004+01:00

My website: Kent Wedding Photographer

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

A selection of Kathy and Lee's wedding photographs shot last Saturday at Holy Trinity Church, Twydall and Gillingham Golf Club - see their full wedding gallery.

A really impressive looking church which, alas, is due to be demolished since the upkeep is so costly. The first two images are high dynamic range (HDR), taken handheld.

Ambient exposure -2 stops, flash exposure compensation +1 stop.

No close-up photography was allowed in the church so I sat at the back and used my 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS lens.

The first time I've encountered rain at a wedding in 2009! Not bad going.

Fortunately it was nice and light inside - no difficulties with the group shots.

My website: Kent Wedding Photographer

A summary of my online presence

2009-07-01T17:04:00.002+01:00

My website: www.davidfenwick.co.uk

My blog: www.davidfenwick.co.uk/blog

My Facebook profile (you'll need to add me as a friend): www.facebook.com/david.fenwick

My Facebook group: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=103063409616

My Flickr photostream: www.flickr.com/photos/kent-wedding-photographer/

Wedding Photographers in Gillingham

2009-07-01T06:53:00.006+01:00

I've just received some lovely feedback from Kelly and Craig whose wedding I photographed recently at St Peter of the Apostle Church and Balmoral Masonic Hall in Gillingham - see their wedding gallery.

Hi David,

We were so impressed that our wedding discs arrived home before we did after our honeymoon. We had a truly magical day which was captured in every one of the pictures you took.

We can't thank you enough for the lovely pictures and would happily recommend you to our friends and family.

Yours,

Kelly & Craig, June 2009

My website: photographers in Kent

Kent Wedding Photographers in Sevenoaks

2009-06-30T06:24:00.002+01:00

I received some lovely feedback yesterday from Kim and Stephen whose wedding I shot at St Mary's Church and the village green Stansted, near Sevenoaks, recently - see their gallery.

Hi David,

The discs arrived safely in Australia just a few days after our return so perfect timing - thank you very much indeed! The photos look truly amazing!!

Steve and I had the most incredible day and your photos have truly captured our experiences throughout. I'm glad that you took so many shots as we've got some amazing memories captured.

You managed to find some perfect spots with regards to lighting and background. The shots in the church are absolutely beautiful.

It is clearly evident, both due to the fact that you seem to spend every spare moment working on your photography/blog/research and due to your care and attention in every photograph, that this is more than a job for you - it's a true passion.

We wish you all the best for your photography career and thank you again for your knowledge, patience and expertise in making the most of what the elements and surroundings had to offer.

Thanks again.

Kim & Steve

My website: Kent wedding photographers

Wedding Photographers in Medway

2009-06-29T07:50:00.002+01:00

Kathy and Lee's wedding gallery, photographed at Holy Trinity Church, Twydall and Gillingham Golf Club on Saturday, is now online.

My website: photographers in Kent

Weddings in Medway

2009-06-28T21:02:00.004+01:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Kathy and Lee's wedding yesterday at Holy Trinity Church, Twydall and Gillingham Golf Club. There was a brief downpour making it my first wet wedding of 2009. Obviously the Wimbledon effect!

Their wedding gallery will be appearing shortly.

My website: Kent wedding photographers

Weddings in Gillingham

2009-06-27T07:45:00.003+01:00

A selection of photos from Kelly and Craig's wedding in Gillingham last Saturday. The church was in a built-up area so careful framing (and a bit of cloning in post-processing) was required.

The one green corner of the church. Unfortunately there were a couple of lamp posts and signs in the background which had to be cloned out.

If you look carefully you can see the best man being showered with holy water from the blessing of the rings!

Options were limited in the reception hall so I concentrated on close-in portraiture.

A very special relationship - one man and his pint!

My main website: wedding photographers in Kent

One lens to do one job really well!

2009-06-27T06:03:00.003+01:00

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

I had a great question from a reader yesterday.

Hi David,

I hope you don’t mind me emailing you out of the blue, I always enjoy reading your blog and thought I would push my luck with the following question. Anyway, I have an interesting event coming up and if you can spare the time I would really appreciate any thoughts you may care to offer as you are without doubt the most qualified person I can think of on the matter!

My brother Rob is getting married next April and I'm hoping to get some nice pictures. I should stress that I’m only a keen amateur. I will be using a Canon 450D which has a cropped sensor, the lenses I have at present are the Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 and Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-4.6 (this may change to Nikon kit in due course but the principle of the question doesn't really change).

I know that there is nothing especially poor with my lenses, however I’m thinking that as it’s going to be such a special day I might hire a top-notch lens to firstly increase my enjoyment of the day and secondly to hopefully obtain some better pictures!

My thoughts are that I would only wish to carry the camera with lens attached as I don’t want the hassle of changing lenses nor do I fancy spending the whole day with the unused lens in my pocket or carrying a separate bag with it inside. Just a camera and lens seems right. I’m guessing at this stage your bracing yourself for the inevitable 'which lens to take' question however there is a bit of a twist! ….

I'm probably going to be concentrating on taking candid portraits and especially so of my 3 year old nephew and so I’m not interested in taking pictures of the same thing that everybody else captures. Things like the the wedding vows, speeches, aisle walk etc are not important as they will be well documented by others, plus it’s my brothers wedding and I want to watch the important bits with my eyes and not through a lens!

I’d rather come home with only a few pictures that stood out rather than 100s of pictures of the usual quality. Question is how do I achieve it!! Obviously an f2.8L zoom would seem to fit the bill for a great all rounder but I’m thinking one step ahead of that (or at least I think I am!). I'd rather have a lens that absolutely excelled at one particular type of picture than having a jack of all trades, master of none type lens and so I’m thinking of specialising in portraits with good bokeh on the basis that nobody else apart from the professional will have an f1.2 lens in their bag to achieve it and he she wont be pointing hers where I’m pointing mine. Therefore my plan should result in me producing portraits with unique characteristics, i.e. bokeh.

I think my plan a good one, at least in theory!!!

My thoughts are that the following lenses would fit the bill:

50mm f1.2L USM (80mm on cropped sensor)
(small, compact, light, inconspicuous, great for leaving camera with other people for moments I can’t hold it and comfortable when the camera is around my neck).

Or

85mm f1.2L II USM (136mm on cropped sensor)

I know that you must get hundreds of which lens questions but I really have tried to work it out myself, I’m just stuck on the last bit and interested on whether you think an amateur (and the AF) could handle an f1.4 with a 50mph kid or would I be better off with an f2.8 zoom.

Any thoughts you might have on a lens choice would be very much appreciated and obviously I appreciate that you are a busy man so there is absolutely no rush for any response you may care to give.

Best regards

Andy

Hi Andy,

Many thanks for your positive feedback.

I love receiving questions - particularly when they're as well-thought out and eloquently written as yours is.

I think your analysis is absolutely spot on. One lens to do one job really well.

However, rather than hiring a 50mm f/1.2 I would suggest you buy a 50mm f/1.8 - they're about £80 at the moment.

It's not an L-series lens but the optical quality is absolutely stunning. In terms of value-for-money it's Canon's best lens. You'll be able to have a good go with it before the wedding - shooting at wide aperture close-up to a subject requires a bit of practice - and you'll be able to enjoy it after the wedding too. You may need to start using focusing points other than the centre - focus-recompose can leave your subject out of focus.

Keep me posted with what you do.

All the best,

David

Any other suggestions for Andy?

My main website: Kent wedding photographers

New look wedding galleries

2009-06-27T05:57:00.003+01:00

I've had no time to blog this week as I've been busy working on my website - for the better I hope!

Check out examples of my new look gallery overview and gallery pages.

Any feedback is most welcome.

My main website: Kent photographers

Wedding Photographers in Lenham

2009-06-23T06:51:00.004+01:00

I received some terrific feedback from Charlotte and Steven yesterday, whose wedding I recently photographed at Holy Cross Church, Bearsted and The Lime Tree Hotel, Lenham.

David is a first-class photographer. He pays meticulous, almost scientific, attention to detail, but combines this with an artistic eye and an instinct for human emotion. He is confident and a good director, making sure the right people are in the right place, but always in a charming and friendly way. He is particularly skilled at lighting his subjects which makes all the difference to the final results.

His photographs are far beyond what one would expect from a wedding photographer, and are more akin to those seen in glossy magazines. If you are lucky enough to book David as your wedding photographer, you will have every aspect of your day beautifully captured, sensitive and characterful pictures of your guests, and a stunning and flattering bride and groom portrait session. You can trust him absolutely to do an excellent job.

The efficiency with which we received the CD, DVD and website images was quite amazing, and all were very easy for us to use and share, plus the CD has many variations and treatments of different shots.

Overall the service from David has been outstanding - far beyond my expectations and incredible value for money.

Charlotte and Steven

My website: wedding photographers in Kent

Wedding photography in Medway

2009-06-22T06:37:00.003+01:00

Kelly and Craig's wedding gallery, photographed at St Peter of the Apostle Church and Balmoral Masonic Hall in Gillingham, is now online to view.

My website: Kent wedding photographers

Wedding photography in Gillingham

2009-06-21T19:37:00.002+01:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Kelly and Craig's wedding yesterday at St Peter of the Apostle Church and Balmoral Masonic Hall in Gillingham. Their wedding gallery will be online shortly.

My main website: Kent photographers

Weddings at Chilston Park, Lenham

2009-06-20T07:05:00.005+01:00

I've just received some lovely feedback from Rachel and Ian, whose wedding I photographed at Chilston Park Hotel, near Lenham, last month - see their wedding gallery.

Just wanted to say a big thank you for the photography job you did on our wedding day. The photographs capture the mood and essence of the day perfectly, while the reportage shots allow us to see some of the small things and moments we missed. I think what helped in achieving the perfect photographs was that you made both of us, plus the other guests, feel relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. Thanks again for all your help, both on the wedding day and with the planning of the photography beforehand.

Rachel and Ian

My main website: Kent wedding photographers

Weddings at Mount Ephraim, Canterbury

2009-06-19T05:56:00.004+01:00

I've just had some lovely feedback from Emily and Che, whose wedding I shot at Mount Ephraim and Chilham village hall recently - see their wedding gallery.

David, we simply cannot thank you enough. We have some truly beautiful pictures to treasure forever. All of our friends and family have said how lovely they are and have all remarked on how great you were on the day. You made us feel so at ease and we are so happy with all the pictures. You fitted in perfectly.

Just perfect!

Emily and Che, May 2009

My main website: Kent photographers

Sevenoaks wedding photographers

2009-06-18T08:34:00.003+01:00

I've just had some preliminary feedback from Kim and Stephen whose wedding I shot at St Mary's Church and the village green Stansted, near Sevenoaks, on Saturday. They're currently en route to Australia, as indeed is their DVD of wedding photos!

Hi David,

The photos look truly amazing!! We didn't quite realise what a picturesque setting we had found and you've captured it perfectly! Thank you so much again and we'll post you some feedback once we've seen all 500-odd !

All the best,

Kim & Steve

My main website: wedding photographers in Kent

Wedding photographers in Sevenoaks

2009-06-17T06:49:00.004+01:00

Continuing from yesterday, a selection of photos from Kim and Stephen's wedding in black and white.

My main website: photographers in Kent

Weddings in Sevenoaks

2009-06-16T06:50:00.004+01:00

A selection of colour photos from Kim and Stephen's wedding at Stansted, near Sevenoaks, on Saturday. B&W tomorrow.

My main website: wedding photographers in Kent

Wedding photography in Sevenoaks

2009-06-15T16:13:00.004+01:00

Kim and Stephen's wedding gallery, photographed at St Mary's Church and the village green Stansted, near Sevenoaks, on Saturday is now available to view online.

My main website: Kent wedding photographer

My key photographic tips

2009-06-14T09:50:00.003+01:00

I've gathered together what I think are the key technical posts I've made over the past year and published them on my main website - check them out here: key techniques

This should make it a little easier to read and print out anything you're interested in.

My main website: photographer in Kent

Wedding photography at Stansted, near Sevenoaks

2009-06-14T09:40:00.003+01:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Kim and Stephen's wedding at St Mary's Church, and the village green, Stansted yesterday - and what a beautiful village Stansted is. It was sunny but with plenty of cloud cover to soften the light - perfect! The church was lovely and the vicar utterly charming - "there are no rules here, do what you need to do", he told me. Music to a photographer's ears! Kim and Stephen, and all their family and guests, were on top form - it made my job very easy.

Their online gallery will appear shortly.

My main website: Kent wedding photographer

Wedding Photographer in Bearsted and Lenham

2009-06-11T06:32:00.004+01:00

A selection of photos from Charlotte and Steven's wedding at the Holy Cross Church, Bearsted and the Lime Tree Hotel, Lenham - see their full wedding gallery.

1/3200, f/1.4, ISO 50, -5/3 EV, 35mm (35)

A classic scenario where negative exposure compensation is required. If I had let the camera meter for this one Steven would have been massively overexposed.

1/1600, f/2.0, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/100, f/2.8, ISO 1600, +1/3 EV, 85mm (85)

The quality of light in the church was very poor with the couple being illuminated by a bank of tungsten lamps of differing colour temperature.

1/60, f/4.0, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

A good conversion to black and white removes this issue.

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 2500, +1/3 EV, 70mm (70-200 IS)

1/100, f/2.8, ISO 2500, 0 EV, 200mm (70-200 IS)

1/200, f/3.2, ISO 1600, -1/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

I used flash to light them as they exited the church and got some good shots. The shot above is without flash as the unit was unable to recycle in time - they were lit nicely by window light, however, so I kept the shot. It's not often this happens and, if it does, I just discard the shot in my initial triage. Using a CP-E4 external battery pack makes it even less frequent, though I'm loathed to have it on my belt at summer weddings.

1/640, f/4.0, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

1/5000, f/1.4, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/3200, f/1.4, ISO 50, -1/3 EV, 35mm (35)

The sun was nicely softened by clouds which made it a lot easier with the group shots.

1/125, f/6.3, ISO 50, -1/3 EV, 16mm (16-35)

I always like to do a full group shot and it's much easier if I have access to an elevated spot. I had to think hard about where to do this one because of the scattering of old headstones in the church's grounds - there's one hidden behind the couple!

1/3200, f/2.0, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

I got some really fun confetti shots. I always ask the couple to try and fight the instinct to clamp their eyes tightly shut during the ordeal.

1/2500, f/2.0, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 35mm (35)

1/1250, f/1.4, ISO 50, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/500, f/1.2, ISO 50, -2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/800, f/1.2, ISO 50, -1 EV, 85mm (85)

1/400, f/1.2, ISO 50, 0 EV, 85mm (85)

1/200, f/2.8, ISO 50, -1/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/200, f/4.0, ISO 200, 0 EV, 35mm (35)

1/50, f/1.4, ISO 50, -1 EV, -2/3 FEC, 35mm (35)

1/200, f/1.4, ISO 400, -1/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/640, f/1.2, ISO 400, -2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

1/200, f/1.2, ISO 400, -2/3 EV, 85mm (85)

Comments and queries welcome as ever.

My main website: wedding photographer in Kent

David Fenwick Photography is now on Facebook

2009-06-10T12:49:00.003+01:00

I'm joining the party a little late but I've finally got round to creating a profile for myself and my photography business on Facebook. The pages are a bit rough-and-ready at the moment but I'll try and sort that out in the near future.

My profile: David Fenwick

My group page: David Fenwick Photography

Please come and say hello and add me to your list of friends!

My main website: Kent photographer

Wedding Photography in Bearsted

2009-06-08T07:41:00.004+01:00

The wedding gallery of Charlotte and Steven, photographed at the Holy Cross Church, Bearsted and The Lime Tree Hotel, Lenham on Saturday, is now online to view.

My main website: wedding photography in Kent