Wedding photography at "The Gherkin" in London

 The wedding of Rahael Kilby Tyre and Alun Robinson Parry @ Searcys 40/30 at The Gherkin

If you gave the address, 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London, and most people would stare at you blankly. If you said "The Gherkin Building" most people would know exactly where you were talking about. Lets face it, it is one of the most iconic buildings, not only in London, but across the world.

Not only is The Gherkin a fabalous building, it has a second to none venue at the very top (and I mean the very top) run as Searcy 40/30. A comapny that knows what they are doing, why they are doing it and most impotantly, who they are doing it for. Dealing with Oliver, the functions manager was a pleasure throughout and the staff were, without going over the top, brilliant.

But the story starts months before.......

When Rachael contacted me about photographing her wedding, I didn't realise that it was going to be on the same scale as a Hollywood production. Not because of the numbers of guests, about 120, but because each location was so far apart considering the tight schedules that weddings have to run to. The bride lives in the Cotswolds. The groom spends most of the week at his London apartment, the ceremony would be in the City of London, the groom would be in the docklands apartment, the hairdresser was in the West End and the brides suite was...... well, I think you are getting the drift.

A short telephone conversation later and David Purslow, a friend and great pro photographer was on board.

A week later and I had visited The Gherkin as a guest of Searcys 4030 and scouted the location, checking for lighting issues etc. At the same time I had visited a number of locations for a pre wedding shoot which yielded Leadenhall market and Millennium bridge as my two favourites.

Another week later and the dress was announced to me.... you will see from the images why when I heard about the colour my heart soared... a photographers dream, given the Searcys venue.

Another week and I visited the florist, Clare Lee, to see the plans and colour schemes. I came away thinking, WOW.

And before long the weekend arrived. I met David at our hotel early on the Friday to finalise our shooting arrangements. Then in the evening we joined the bridal party for an informal get together. Then to bed early as I had to be across London at the hairdressers by 8am.

The day unfolded like clockwork. I met the bride and stayed with her (joined later by the three bridesmaids. Poppy, Bethan and Evie) until the ceremony.

David met the groom and covered the arrival of the guests.

Our thanks to The City of London Registrars who assisted David and I by allowing photography throughout the service. They really did want what was best for the couple.

So now the day is over but captured forever, please enjoy the images.....Sorry that they are not in order...

When top interior designer gets....

When top interior designer, Rachael Kilby-Tyre, decides to get married you know it's going to be in style.
Rachael has agreed to tie the knot with London business consultant, Alun Robinson Parry on Saturday 27th November 2010 and what a venue they have chosen.
They are to be married on the top floor of the iconic "Gherkin" building in the city. I am proud to have been asked to record the day.





If you would like to see the venue take this link and be prepared to say WOW. The site takes a little while to load but is worth the wait.

Wedding photography prices

There are two sides to this coin - on one side we have the Bride and Groom (who probably don't have in infinite budget) and on the other we have the wedding photographer (who in line with all wedding suppliers) has to make a living. So I am trying to see this question from both sides.

The confusion that can be caused by websites is generally down to the individual photographers pricing structure. The price quoted is often not the price that is paid. For example - Wedding photography for £600 but when we delve a little deeper we also need to pay for an album, then extra photographs then this and then that. To keep this confusion to a minimum for my clients I simply quote the whole price. obviously there has to be some movement in that to allow for brides wishes but I try to keep this to a minimum.

People often say to me "I've seen the prices you charge, you're not doing badly for yourself, for only working Saturdays". Well, like all businesses things look different from the inside. What these same people don't realise is that I (like most full time professionals) spend about 60 hours on ONE wedding. I only use the best albums (they cost money), I bring in other professionals to design the albums or for post production work. I have a studio, telephone bills, fuel charges to pay for, tax etc etc and all of the time this is coming out of the price that is seen initially (by some) as the money that I am making. I am not moaning about these costs, all businesses have them, but it needs to be said.

I also think that clients need to look at the cost of things going wrong on their big day.

Two of the main reasons (apart from cost) that the Bride and Groom make a decision on hiring a particular photographer are 1. They like the photographs in the photographers portfolio and 2. They like them as a person - and if I may say so, very valid reasons. But there should be more to this process of thought.

Here are some of the things that I would ask:-

Are you a full time professional?
Are you fully insured against public liability and professional indemnity?
Do you carry back up equipment including spare cameras, lenses and lighting?
What exactly would happen if you were taken ill on the day?

The reasons for these four questions, to my mind, is simple.

A full time professional does this week in and week out. They have a work pattern that is aimed at producing "The Album" which to my mind is the future family heirloom. This takes experience. There is only one chance to get all of this right. Miss that vital moment and the moment is gone forever. The person who does this part time or as a Saturday job (the weekend warrior) maybe a great photographer when they are not under pressure and have all the time in the world to take a photograph, but weddings happen at a pace and there is no pause or rewind button. They may be confident that they can get the job done, after all they did their cousins wedding - are you that confident? I also mentioned that a professional will spend around 60 hours on your wedding - could someone who holds down a full time job give you that sort of commitment.

Being fully insured shows the photographers attitude to working in a professional manner. It gives you piece of mind knowing that you will not be liable for their actions and if the worst does happen there will be some sort of compensation.

Someone telling you "I have a really good camera" or "I've never had equipment break down on me before" is simply not good enough. Take the attitude that if it is mechanical or electronic (cameras are both) then they can go wrong. A photographer should carry at least two cameras, better if it is three. An array of lenses that can be used by all of his cameras and adequate lighting. You should never put yourself in the position of hearing "I'm sorry I only recorded the first hour of your wedding day because my camera wouldn't work".

If the photographer is taken ill on the day, another photographer should appear seamlessly. I would always want to know before the day - who that photographer would be and also see work from their portfolio. Things could be a little hairy should the photographers neighbour turn up to take your photos on the big day, because they have not planned for every eventuality.

Now, as with most things in my life, I like to look at things in a balanced way.

It would seem from above that I am against new photographers coming into the business. I am not, there are some extremely talented people out there who by virtue of being new to the business don't necessarily have all of the equipment yet, let alone back up equipment. And whilst they are talented, they also possess a certain business sense that allows them to think outside the box (ie I have a wedding, so I'll make sure I can borrow a spare camera). Try looking at Dashas site to see an example of someone who is new to the business but can be trusted. She is constantly working to improve and appears to invest in her future by buying equipment when she can. As with all businesses there are others that buy a camera and see wedding photography as a way to make a quick buck. There are a group of individuals on a photography forum site called The photography Parlour that are worth looking at and more importantly perhaps talking to. The reason that I say this is because they all admit their limits and are hell bent on improving. Try the site out and sit back and watch what is being said - If you like what you hear from someone simply click on their link to see some of their work.

Moving Forward

It’s not that I don’t use computers, I do. I use email to communicate, Goggle for the things I need to find out about and ebay. I use digital cameras and software to enhance my business, so I’m not a total computer novice but there were limits.
This month I have decided to change all of that.
I have started writing this blog and so far it seems like fun. I am in the process of (after 20 odd years in business) putting together my first web site and I have joined a forum for photographers.

So “why now”?

The Nicholas James Photography Blog
I’m not really sure what the purpose of blogging is but it does appear to be somewhat like keeping a diary. Something that I’ve been meaning to do for years. So lets see how it goes. Mostly it will be about my life as a photographer and all things in the photographic world, but from time to time I may deviate into the personal.

Joining a Forum
I’ve always been keen to talk to other like minded people, especially about business related topics and in particular, photography. Getting to know what others are doing, opinions on new equipment or just chin wagging. Until now, this seems to have been the remit of attending courses and exhibitions. Now I have the ability to log on at anytime and converse with others. There has only been one problem with this so far – I keep taking breaks to look at new posts.

The Web Site
http://www.nicholasjamesphotography.co.uk/
I could never see the point in me having a web site. My business has been going for years, I have more requests than I can handle, I never advertise and all of my work comes from word of mouth. This year I am fully booked and talking to clients about next year’s available dates. I really could not see the benefit.
Until someone pointed out that whilst I attended courses to evolve as a photographer, my business image was stagnant. Well, I have never thought of my business as stagnant, I run around at 100mph most of the time so how could it be, but if that were the perception, then it needed to be changed. I consider myself cutting edge in photographic terms so will now reflect that on the web. At this stage it is early days so please do not judge the site too harshly, but soon it will be up there with the best.
Not having the ability to write the whole thing from scratch, not wanting to pay a designer (I was quoted £10,000) astronomical sums, I have opted for a supplier called Phosys I hope it works out.

http://www.nicholasjamesphotography.co.uk/