Martin and Karen Photography Blog

Please visit my new blog

martin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:18:14 +0000

I’m thrilled to finally be able to tell you that my new blog is now live, and part of our brand new shiny weddings web site.

You can find the new blog here.

Photographs from Debbie and Robert’s Winter Wedding at Leez Priory

martin — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:47:29 +0000

Debbie and Robert’s wedding earlier this month at Leez Priory was a fabulous day. The Priory is a fascinating old building, complete with an ancient tower with spiral staircase leading up to the ceremony room. That’s a first for us! Debbie managed it admirably in her dress. It was a typical cold winters day, but with a roaring log fire and a lively party no one was feeling the cold. The weather improved to allow us to take a few outdoor photographs later on.

Here are few sneak previews. Debbie and Robert haven’t seen their images yet so we’re keeping a few of our favourites to surprise them. Check back in a couple of weeks and I’ll add them here.

Woburn Sculpture Gallery – Winter Wedding Photography

martin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:44:45 +0000

We love winter weddings and love photographing weddings at Woburn Abbey’s Sculpture Gallery. So it’s no surprise that a winter wedding at Woburn is our idea of heaven. This one late last year was no exception, with a lovely bride and groom, a great group of people and some atmospheric fog thrown in to create some extra special pictures!

We hope that you enjoy some of our favourite photographs. Check out the groom on his Harley in near zero temperatures and the atmospheric bride and groom shots taken on a drive through the Abbey’s deer park.

Destination wedding photography

martin — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:25:52 +0000

If you are getting married abroad and also want gorgeous wedding photographs you face a dilemma. The standard advice when choosing a wedding photographer is to make sure you meet the actual person (or people) who will be taking your photos and to look at several complete finished albums not just a greatest hits collection. The advice is just as relevant for couples having a destination wedding as it for couples getting married in the UK. But they pose a particular problem when the photographer is in another country. The easy (and understandable) option is to rely on the advice of your venue or wedding coordinator and use a local photographer. Unfortunately there are many reasons why a photographer might be recommended by an overseas venue and the quality of their work isn’t always top of the list. Proceed with caution.

There is another way – and that is to use a UK based photographer. Better still – use us! Many photographers, us included, will only ask you to cover the cost of their flights and two nights accommodation. In this era of cheap flights that needn’t be a significant obstacle. But the benefits are many: you’ll get to meet us and visit the studio to see our range of show albums. You’ll have a pre-wedding shoot in the UK so you’ll be more relaxed in front of the camera on your wedding day. You won’t be spending your wedding day in the company of a total stranger with a camera.

The benefits continue after the wedding. As with our UK clients you’ll benefit from the amazing work of Lola Williams our professional image editor. Then you’ll enjoy a day in the studio choosing your pictures on our big screen. With us on hand to advise on image selection there’s no better way to put together a fabulous collection of images for your album. Lola will create your perfect album design which will then be carefully assembled here at the studio. Imagine trying to do all that with your photographer in another country!

If you’d like to discuss the possibility of us photographing your destination wedding please contact us at the studio. We’d be delighted to send you a fact sheet and a DVD showreel of photographs from an overseas wedding.

If you’ve already had your wedding abroad and have your images on disc then you might be interested in our album design services. Please contact Lola at the studio for more information.

Fabiana and Simon’s Wedding

martin — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:23:32 +0000

Fabiana and Simon were married earlier this year at the fabulous Castello il Palagio in the beautiful Chianti hills. Karen and I flew out the day before via Easyjet from Luton. It was a hassle-free trip and we were able to carry on to the plane all of our camera gear – always a big relief. We joined the eve-of-wedding party and from that point on we knew we were in for an amazing day. We weren’t disappointed! With a combination of great weather, fantastic surroundings and fun couple who loved their photography Karen and I were in heaven.

The resulting collection of pictures is one of our favourites and we weren’t surprised when Fabiana and Simon selected around 140 images for their album. We loved it so much that we made one for ourselves! It went down a storm at the recent National Wedding Show and everyone who visits the studio loves it too.

Here’s just a small selection of our favourite images from the day.

Helen and Doug’s Pre-Wedding Shoot

martin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:42:22 +0000

Normally we do pre-wedding shoots somewhere near the studio, just outside Northampton. We do the photographs in the morning, then while the clients have a leisurely lunch Lola will edit the images. The couple come back mid afternoon to view their images and choose any they would like to buy.

We’re always open to new ideas though and when Helen suggested we do their shoot on London’s South Bank I jumped at the idea. We did the shoot one evening and Helen and Doug came to the studio a few days later to see their pictures.

This kind of shoot really gets the creative juices flowing, especially as I already knew that Helen and Doug would love a set of edgy pictures with a twist. So armed with my portable lighting kit we set about making some cool pictures. We started at the skate park near the National Theatre and then walked half a mile or so down the embankment. Stopping off at the London Eye where a super zealous security guard moved us on (but not before we’d grabbed the funky picture with the Eye in the background you see below). Finally the setting sun gave us a chance to do a fab shadow shot before we headed off for a bite to eat. Great shoot, lovely couple. Hope you like the images.

Tory and Shane’s Wedding

martin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:10:01 +0000

It’s with great pleasure that I share with you some of my favourite images from Tory and Shane’s wedding. Coincidentally today we put the finishing touches to their gorgeous wedding album. It ranks amongst my favourites ever.

Tory and Shane were married in a Catholic ceremony in Weybridge which was followed by a reception at the amazing Great Fosters near Egham. Great Fosters is one of those venues that really needs fabulous weather to be at its best. Luckily we were blessed with warm sunshine all day.

Tory and Shane selected a fab set of images for their album. You can see their whole album collection on Facebook here

If you’d like to see all 300 or so images from this wedding, or buy any of the photographs – head over to our online web galleries

Here’s 30 or so of my favourite images from the day.

If you’re wondering about this last image: it’s a digital infra red photograph!

Carly and Nicolas’ Pre-wedding Shoot

martin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:47:36 +0000

Carly and Nicolas live in the south of France so their pre-wedding shoot was the first time that we’d met. They are a lovely couple, relaxed and obviously delightfully happy in each others company. It was a joy to spend some time with them having fun taking their photographs. Carly and Nicolas get married later this year at Coltsfoot Country Retreat, one of our favourite venues. We can’t wait!

On a catch up mission

martin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:34:46 +0000

Karen and I are just back from a short summer holiday between weddings. Of course we are right in the middle of the wedding season, and that coupled with the runaway success of Alter Ego Portraits means this blog has been a little neglected recently. Well that is going to change because I have some amazing shoots I want to share with you. I’ll be starting with a quick catch up of some of this year’s pre-wedding shoots then sharing some truly spectacular weddings. Watch this space.

Ruth and Mark’s Pre-wedding Shoot

martin — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:55:23 +0000

Thank goodness weather forecasts aren’t always right. On the day of Ruth and Mark’s engagement photo shoot it was supposed to rain heavily all day. As it transpired, apart from a brief shower, it stayed dry until after the shoot was over. I don’t mind photographing in the rain – it’s a fact of life for a UK wedding photographer – but I was happy it stayed away.

As well as being a good looking couple Ruth and Mark were also great fun to be around. That’s usually a recipe for fab pictures and so it turned out. Here’s just a selection of favourites from the shoot.