portfolio

Weddings

I have a fascination with the 'decisive moment' to quote Henri Carter-Bresson, and I believe the key to successful wedding photography is the ability to unobtrusively capture the happy moments and emotions that occur throughout the day…

My wedding photography is a natural extension of my reportage & street photography (see the Cuba folder). In essence this requires being a witness to what happens around me, being alert to potential photographic opportunities before they occur and having the camera ready to the eye when the moment happens. This requires constant awareness and effort on my part through out the whole day - not just at those inevitable 'set piece' moments - brides arrival, cutting of the cake etc.

Nervous?

If as the ceremony and speeches weren't enough… for many people their wedding is the first situation in which a camera is trained upon them in such an intensive way - this can be very unnerving. It suits my photographic style to shoot in the background when ever possible … most of the time you won't even notice me. Even when you would like some family group shots, I will merely set you off to interact with yourselves and inconspicuously record what happens. The result of this photographic style is a more natural and accurate record of the wedding day.

Quality & Consistency

No doubt you will be looking at the work of other wedding photographers when deciding who to use; not only do I believe in quality, but also consistent quality through out the day and this is in line with my philosophy of always being 'on duty' for any opportunity that presents itself. The gallery section illustrates a few weddings - this is opposed to show casing only the best shots from a large number of weddings… being at a wedding with a camera almost guarantees at least some good shots - but this is not enough and doesn't make a satisfactory set of wedding images.
The new album trend is for Wedding Books. These have great style, are some what expensive, but shouldn't be used to hide mediocre photography with unnecessary 'sugar coated packaging' .
I take great pride in the quality of my photography and make a big effort to capture all that I can. I'm a perfectionist! Take a look at all the other photography on this site. I have great artistic drive in my personal work - this is important because it will carry over to your set of wedding shots.

Style

As you may have seen from the other gallery areas my speciality is black and white, however I'm equally at home using colour - it's just that the Isle of Man isn't California, and blue skies can't be guaranteed! … but it's up to you: black and white, colour or a mixture of both. However, I personally don't like heavily retouched photography - heavy vignettes and soft focus filters. Only enough to keep the bride looking beautiful!

Experience

I have been working as professional photographer for many years and have covered hundreds of weddings successfully (read some testimonials in the next wedding gallery). I consider my costs very reasonable for this type of photography, but this should not be equated to delivering an 'average' standard! I consider myself the equal of any photographer on the Island – I hope the gallery images demonstrate that; I give you the opportunity to commission the photography as a stand-alone without tying you down to expensive wedding albums as well.

Cost includes:

Coverage of the wedding itself (typically from mid morning to the first dance) -
followed by at least another day post production, administration and client consultation.

OPTION 1 - £675. Coverage: (approx 12am-8pm) - supply of DVD with all colour digital hi-resolution jepgs - this may contain more than a 1000 pictures! (Your computer must be able to read DVDs and handle jepg files of 34meg size when opened). A preliminary edit will be made by me, together with basic image enhancements, where necessary. Image editing software will allow you to get the best from the files (for example applying vignettes, converting to black and white etc). You have an unrestricted license to use the pictures as you wish.

OPTION 2 - £750. As above, but with an extra set of 40 worked-up and retouched toned black and white and colour jepgs (as in the gallery below). At additional cost, you can commission me to produce your Wedding Book (examples at www.sim2000imaging.com, prices from £800), or a more simple style book from £450 - Both these will present the photography in a stylish and contemporary way... I can show you samples before or after your wedding day and the decision to produce an album can be made after the wedding and supply of the DVD.
If you order an album i can, if you wish, organise a link to a web gallery of those pictures selected for the wedding album. This is not only useful for showing distant friends and family the photography of the day, but they can also order prints online without bothering you with complicated and time consuming print requests.

WEB: As mentioned, I can organise a link to a web gallery of the wedding. The stand-a-lone cost of this will be £120.(maximum of 70 pictures). The link will remain live for three months.
The Albums or Wedding Book can be commissioned after the wedding and the DVD has been delivered. This will allow you time to chose your pictures for the album.
Weddings south of 'Mount Murray' are subject to an extra £25 to allow for the extra travel time and fuel.

Please contact me on T: 422007 enq@simonparkphotography.co.uk for further enquiries and available booking dates.