Saturday at Stubton Hall

On Saturday the sun shone for Mirror Imaging's wedding fair at Stubton Hall near Newark. Mirror Imaging Photography had a huge stand in the orangery, between Angela Vickers bespoke wedding gowns and a strings duo playing some beautiful classical sounds. My stand featured 300 stems of gloriously scented narcissi and our wonderful favours proved a big hit too. A big thank you to everyone who came to say hello and look through my Queensberry albums; I spoke to everyone who passed by with quite a few of you marrying at Stubton itself. The feedback I got from visitors was amazing, and the whole day proved a wonderful opportunity to talk in person to brides and grooms-to-be. Here's to many more successful wedding fairs!

Mother and Baby Photography

This week I had the pleasure of photographing baby Mia and her parents, Inese and Mark. Mark contacted me via facebook after seeing the images I captured of a friend's baby and travelled from Aberdeen, via family in Derbyshire, to have the photoshoot! Mia's name means my little beauty and she certainly was! At 16 weeks, she is very expressive and learning to interact with her surroundings, which is perfect for capturing on camera. Inese was first treated to a makeup session with Susan at Pretty Flamingo - something we now include in all our photoshoots. The resulting photographs show some very special, natural moments between mother and baby to be celebrated and cherished, and my thanks to Inese for her permission to put them online. To Mark and Inese - I hope you love the photos and look forward to showing you the rest!

Please visit Portrait Photographers Nottingham for more information on Mother and Baby photography.

Queensberry Wedding Albums

Our wedding albums are always eagerly anticipated by the bride and groom - and me! I have therefore been passing them over to my clients as soon as possible, so when Claire and Martyn's gorgeous Newstead Abbey wedding album arrived recently, I thought I might take a moment to photograph some of its beautiful detail and craftmanship. Claire and Martyn opted for the 12x12 inch digital Queensberry album, with a silver bengaline cover. One of its pages features a 'flip-out' to show off the stunning palm trees in Newstead's gardens and it certainly gives this album the wow factor! The beauty of the digital album is that the images run to the edge of the page, creating a contemporary look - but the albums still feature 'real photographs', as they are printed on lustre photographic paper and board mounted. Queensberry albums really are in a class of their own and I am exceptionally proud to be able to offer the very best.

Choosing A Good Wedding Photographer: Style AND Substance

Choosing a good wedding photographer can be a daunting task when you first begin to plan your wedding. It’s really the second job to tackle after securing your dream wedding venue, followed by the dress, cake, flowers… and all the details that make your day special. There are many factors involved in picking the right wedding photographer: their style of image taking, their layout of albums and design (even good photographs can be spoiled by overcrowding the pages or poor album materials), their personality, attitude and smartness, experience and, of course, value for money. As you begin to look at more suppliers, your list of ‘must-haves’ will begin to take shape. For example, I have secured some bookings from clients who preferred a female photographer (much less intrusive during the morning bridal preparations!). One of my brides was delighted to have found a Queensberry Albums supplier who hadn’t stinted on the size and luxury of the finishes, offering her the albums she both loved and could afford. Another client confided after booking that it was a lack-of-ego that was important to her and she wanted her photographer to be someone she would happily welcome to her wedding, not wish they weren’t there. In addition, many of my clients have noted that I leave my wedding galleries ‘open’ online, so you can view a wedding from start to finish, as well as meeting to see my wedding albums in full. Full disclosure is a really important point – with the current trend amongst many other photographers being to ‘blog’ a handful of funky photoshopped wedding images and the remaining photographs from the day are often simply downloaded straight from camera and passed to the client, who perhaps expected every image to look as polished as the ‘blogged’ portfolio photographs.

Photographing weddings is most definitely a passion but there is so much more to it than being able to take good photographs and many factors can affect the quality of the images. It’s therefore vitally important, whoever you choose as your photographer, that you see one of their weddings from start to finish – in album format or otherwise.

A capable wedding photographer is multi-faceted: Showing sensitivity on the day, having an eye for beautiful detail, thorough planning and organisation, smart appearance, and their ability to strike a balance between taking epic, award-winning photographs and knowing that you don’t want to walk a mile on wet grass in white heels! Having a qualified stylist with me on the day helps me focus 100% on capturing gorgeous images and I can really trust that the other details are being taken care of by her. And as more than one of my brides have said: “In the end I chose you as my photographer because I knew it really mattered to you that I looked beautiful in the photographs.” And this is perhaps ultimately the most gratifying feedback of all.

Please visit Mirror Imaging at Wedding Photographers Nottingham Derby and the UK

Stubton Hall Wedding Fair - NEW DATE

Stubton Hall Wedding Fair has been rearranged (due to heavy snow on the original February date) for 27th March 2009, 11am - 4pm. Apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced and I am assured that the 40 suppliers who booked to exhibit in February are also attending the March date.

Many talented suppliers that inspire, including Angela Vickers wedding gowns and Vaas florists, will be at Newark's stunning new premier wedding venue. There is free parking and entry is £3 per party inclusive of a special pamper bag with many products including White Weddings Magazine, Perfume, Chocolates. Canapes and refreshments are also available for you and your guests.

Visit Stubton Hall: http://www.stubtonhall.co.uk
As seen on Channel 4 'Ruth Watson's, Hotel Rescue.' The newly renovated Stubton Hall with its fine reception rooms and stunning bedrooms is a glorious setting on the Nottinghamshire-Lincolnshire border for weddings, civil partnerships and house parties. Sample the ambiance of the day with grand reception rooms and elegant fountained gardens set within 24 acres. Special packages are available for brides for 2010-2012.

Mirror Imaging Photography will have a stand with sample albums and prints and I will be there to talk about your big day. I hope you're able to visit and look forward to saying hello!