DJB Photography Blog

This weekend saw me very busy firstly setting up a stand at Sandburn Hall wedding fair on Saturday evening, and then setting up and manning a stand at the Allerton Castle Wedding Experience.  Allerton Castle wedding fairs are always really nice, classy fairs, with excellent quality exhibitors.  The location sets the scene for a really high class fair where couples can gain a lot of information in preparation for their wedding.  In contrast to some wedding fairs there was a nice steady flow of people through the doors, and although numbers were slightly down on past fairs, I never really felt I was standing about waiting for a long time.  Most couples were planning on having their wedding in 2010, 2011, with some as far away as 2012.  Although I did not take any bookings on the day, and never really expect to, I usually receive several enquiries which hopefully lead to bookings.

Claudie, Sophie and their team from Dine Services, once again, did a great job in the planning and organising of this fair, and couples who attended, I believe, got a lot out of the day.  The weather certainly helped to show off Allerton Castle in its best light, and with several photographers who did not attend the fair this time I think it will prove to be very beneficial for me personally.

I must also thank Annita and my mum for manning the Sandburn Hall stand for me, which I very much appreciated.  I have written a separate article review of the Sandburn Hall wedding fair.

In addition to the Allerton Castle Wedding Experience I also had a stand at the very first Sandburn Hall wedding fair.  This was not really by design as originally the Allerton Castle fair was to be held in February but was rearranged to be on the same day as the Sandburn Hall fair which I had also booked.  I therefore asked Annita and my mum if they would be happy to man the Sandburn Hall stand for me, which they duly did and it sounds as though they had an enjoyable day.

Last week there was an awful lot of work involved in preparing for the two fairs, and I had to hire a separate set of display boards from Geoff at Fastlane Displays.  I had to give both Annita & mum a training session on the sorts of questions they would likely be asked and how to answer to provide accurate and meaningful information to potential couples.  I also had to select suitable albums to be used at both fairs to ensure that the range of albums I offer were available for people to look at.

It sounds as though there was a steady stream of people through the doors with little time during the day where there were quiet periods.  I apparently had a lot of positive comments about my work and quite a few people had heard of me already and were aware of my work.  In contrast to Allerton, couples were mainly enquiring about 2009 & 2010 wedding dates, and with 2009 dates almost full it would be nice to have the enquiries and bookings to fill 2009 and concentrate on 2010 and beyond.

Hayley and Sarah at Sandburn Hall have done a great job in organising their first wedding fair.  Sandburn is a nice venue for a wedding and has a lovely oak framed function room with a superb large south facing window.   Hayley and her team are particularly motivated and devoted to ensure a wedding day is well planned and runs like clockwork and I enjoy photographing weddings there.  If you are looking for a very nice yet different to the norm venue for a wedding then Sandburn Hall is definitely worth looking at.  Along with the Griffon Forest log cabins as a place for the bride to get ready and guests to stay in, it has a very nice overall package to make a wedding day very special.

It sounds as though the wedding fair was the success it deserved to be and I thank Hayley and Sarah for contacting me to have a stand at the fair.

I have this afternoon just finished a corporate photography shoot for Red Sky, for their website.  Claire, Alex & Steve, all new to the Red Sky business, came to Myton for their portraits taking so I took the opportunity to try something a little different, to give a bit of variety to the shoot.  They are a great bunch of people, and Peter, who runs the business, was instrumental in me giving up paid employment to run my photography business full-time a few years ago.  Something which I am very grateful for, as it was the push that I needed to make the leap into self-employment.  I have also previously taken some photographs for the company, some of which appear on their website, and today with the employment of three new members to their team we updated their portfolio of photographs to use.  Here is a selection of those photographs taken:

Wow, this weekend was the wedding of Laura and Kris at Allerton Castle, and what a weekend.  The weather once again was perfect, especially considering the time of year.  Warm, sunny, with not a breath of wind.  Laura looked stunning and it was a brilliant day.  Laura and Kris did not really want any formal posed photographs as such so it was almost all photojournalism.  I did however capture some lovely shots of the two of them together in a very natural sense.  Allerton Castle, once again as always, was the perfect setting for a wedding, and I was treated to the full works in terms of meal, which I very much appreciate.  Laura and Kris are now on honeymoon for four days so I wish them all the best and look forward to speaking with them soon.  Here is a selection of photographs from their wedding day:

It has been a most pleasant day photographing the wedding of Sarah & Mike at Burythorpe House Hotel near Malton.  The weather was perfect for the time of year, and very mild, and Sarah and Mike are a lovely couple.  I felt it an honour to photograph their wedding and be a part of their special day.  With 26 guests it was an intimate wedding which is what Burythorpe House Hotel specialise in.  The hotel was very well presented and catered for their wedding perfectly.  Sarah’s highlight of the day…Liverpool beating Manchester United 4-1.  Only joking, but with Sarah being a Liverpool supporter and Mike being an Everton fan it looks like being an interesting time when the local teams play next.

Sarah & Mike did not have a first dance but had fireworks instead at 10pm, which rounded the day off nicely.  I wish them all the very best for their honeymoon and married life together and look forward to creating an album design for them.  Below is a small selection of photographs from their wedding day.

Due to the current economic situation and realising that people’s budgets are tight I am offering for a limited period ‘Recession Beater Prices‘ for wedding packages.  These prices do not replace my current pricing but offer a limited package in terms of album.  The albums are still sourced from Queensberry in New Zealand so you can be sure the quality has not been compromised.  However the options available for the album cover material and page options are limited.  There are slightly less photographs in the album, however there is the ability to add additional images if you so desire.  This pricing is available for a limited time and is separate to my normal price list.  If you would like further information then please complete the ‘Contact’ form on my website.

Yesterday evening I attended an inspirational talk by the chef James Martin, organised by Business Link at the National Railway Museum in York.  What an evening.  I never expected the evening to be organised the way it was.  I heard that James Martin was coming to give a talk from receiving an e-mail from Business Link and the seminar was free.  Naturally when someone who has made it like James has and the chance to hear him talk is free then I want to be there, but I was very much expecting it to be a lecture theatre style layout and to simply hear him talk.  I was therefore quite amazed and very pleasantly surprised when I arrived to be met with a glass of wine and to see the place set out with table cloths, place settings, ready for a meal.  I did wonder whether I had come to the right place, to be honest, as I did not expect a full sit down meal with approximately 400 other like minded business people from in and around Yorkshire.  To say that Business Link pulled out all the stops and really went to town is an understatement.  It was organised very well and was a very pleasant evening.  Having James Martin speak was a bonus.

James really talked about how he has got to where he has and become a television star, as well as owning quite a number of businesses, not only restaurants, but a range of different businesses including a couple of clothing shops.  It was very interesting to hear how and at what age he started, and his passion for being a chef, and what he had to do to get to where he has.  Living on the Castle Howard estate I suppose he was fortunate to have the opportunity to work in the kitchens at Castle Howard by the age of 8 and he worked his way up knowing he wanted to do better and follow a passion to work with the masters in the industry.  I suppose some chefs would be very happy to get the opportunity to work in the Castle Howard kitchens alone but James had a drive to want to achieve higher.  I would certainly enjoy the opportunity to photograph a wedding at Castle Howard as I photograph at a lot of fantastic venues around the country, and Castle Howard is certainly up there with the best of them.

I think being in debt to the tune of £18k and working for nothing, moving away from his family to go to London at 17 is not something that most people would willingly consider, but if you have a passion for something then you aim as high as you possibly can to work at the highest possible level.  James set his sights on working with the best in the best kitchens in London in order to learn his craft, and getting the opportunity to work in television seems to be where his career turned around from being poorly paid to being very well paid for what he does.  At the young age that he has achieved his ambitions he was very inspirational, especially at a time when a lot of businesses are being hit by the recession.  I wonder whether he would have made it if he had stayed in Yorkshire, as opposed to working in both London and France.

James has recognised his name as being a brand and uses that to endorse products, and in his business speculations.  He believes everyone is a brand and how you market that brand will ultimately lead to whether you become a success.  If you have a passion for something then you will ultimately work as hard as you can to achieve your ambition, and to this day James will be the first in to work and the last to leave.

If you get the chance to hear James speak then I would recommend taking the opportunity as he was witty, and being a Yorkshire fella had that dry sense of humour that Yorkshire folk are renowned for.  I would highly recommend people taking advantage of the seminars that Business Link have to offer at the moment, as most are free, and they offer a lot of very helpful advice for anyone in business.  All in all a very worthwhile and great evening.

Today I have been photographing a couple of displays for Linda Carter of Display Fit UK.  Display Fit UK create bathroom and kitchen displays in places like B&Q so that customers can see what they are like, and I was photographing a couple of displays at their own location in Bradford for the manufacturers to use in their own promotion.  It was not the easiest of photographic assignments with a whole host of reflections to deal with, but with a little work, and rearranging of lighting I believe I have managed to capture what they are looking for.

Although I specialise in weddings and do not promote or advertise for anything other than weddings, I do occasionally get asked to photograph other things.  I don’t mind taking on other work if I feel I can do justice to the subject, and the result is usually that I get more work from it.  Weddings are without doubt my passion and what I do photography for.  It is why I am in business as I absolutely love photographing weddings, however it is nice and does make a change to work for businesses and to do something a little different.  It was an enjoyable experience and hopefully it may lead to a little more work in the same line.  Here are a small selection of photographs that I took:

After a busy weekend at the Yorkshire Spring Brides Wedding Fair Show I have finally got everything put away and just getting back into my normal working week.  Day 2 seemed busier than day 1 with a constant flow of people passed my stand.  In some cases there were a few too many people at the stand and I was unable to speak with everybody.  However I have given out plenty of brochures and literature, and spoke with a lot of people potentially looking for photography services for their wedding.  This is one of the best shows in the area and although overall there may have been less people through the doors than previous years, there were certainly a lot of genuinely interested couples.  I expect a fair few number of couples to contact me after they have had an opportunity to review the literature they have collected at the fair, and with 13 photographers in attendance there is certainly a lot for people to think about when choosing a photographer.

I want to thank Cathy at Yorkshire Brides for giving me the opportunity to have a stand and for the organisation of the event.  It was very professional indeed and I would recommend it to couples looking at attending a wedding fair in the future.