Family Portrait Photography Somerset | Anna & Pete

I had the pleasure last week of photographing Anna and Pete, whose wedding I shot a few years ago on the Dorset coast, this time doing a family portrait shoot for them. This was a rather unique shoot because it wasn't just Mum and Dad, but also their 6 month old adorable baby girl (who behaved beautifully it has to be said!), Welly (the 18 month old black labrador, behaved well most of the time!) and Sammy (Anna's palomino horse). Getting great shots of all of them was the aim, before the clouds opened up! We kept things very relaxed, nothing very formal. They have a lovely cottage in the countryside and we used the garden and fields to get some outdoor shots while we could. Here are the results...

If you've enjoyed looking at these photographs and would like your own family shoot, then feel free to get in touch with me by clicking here.

Wedding Industry Experts 2012 Awards

I have been nominated for The 2012 Wedding Industry Awards and need your help! This is a chance for anyone who quite likes, loves or adores my photography to cast your vote. 

The way this works is on the number of total votes in a category, and here's the thing: you can vote once per day. This means for the two weeks you can vote everyday if you're really feeling the love! And do feel free to spread the word to family, friends and co-workers if you think I'm worthy. With all the other competition I will need all the help I can get to compete with the big fish. 

This will be Simon Biffen Photography's first year as a full time business and I would love to kick things off with some bling! Seriously though, it would be awesome. Since leaving teaching to take my passion for pictures to the next level I can safely say it has been a roller coaster ride, but I am absolutely loving it. 

There we go, I'm done :) Don't forget to cast your vote each day you lovely people... 

Voting commences on the 13th August and runs till the 31st August.

A Thousand to One

How many photographs do you need to tell the story of your wedding? 

 

A thousand? 

A hundred? 

Ten? 

...One?

Could you pick just one picture? Is that even possible?

And what sort of picture would it be? Would you choose a person? A moment? A detail?

Can you imagine if wedding photographers didn't give you hundreds of images, but instead had to chose just one? 

That one image would have to be mindbogglingly good wouldn't it?!

You bet.

So, where am I going with this?

Well, I think the old saying 'less is more' is fitting here. Think about this: would you rather see ten OK pictures of you having your hair done, or one exceptional picture? Six average pictures of you walking down the aisle, or one that's spectacular?

Quality not quantity, in other words.

The world is full of average-to-appalling digital photographs, and you certainly don't want to receive any like this from your wedding photographer.

You don't walk into an Apple store and see old tatty iPods and iPhones, packaging on the floor or day-glo sale signs. That is because a sense of quality resounds through everything they do, from the chirpy, 'How are you today?' to the last play with the latest iPad before you leave. You are happy in the knowledge that you are being provided for, looked after and that the product is completely worth investing in.

I think that wedding photography should be the same: you should love the photographer's work, have a good connection with them and be shown that they care about you and your day.

Every wedding I shoot has my complete and utter attention. I want the end result to be genuine happiness from the Bride and Groom at seeing their day captured just how they envisaged, and sometimes a little better.  I want my couples to value each and every photograph I give them. Each will have it's place.

Deciding on what makes the final disc is a long process for me. I need time to consider and think carefully about the story of the day and including relevant pictures and culling the chaff. But it is completely worth it. This is obviously all pointless if you don't have great photographs to choose from to start with! 

The title of this blog is 'a thousand to one'.

These are odds that you could bet on and retire happy but if i rejig it a little and swap a word... you get 'one in a thousand'. This saying could relate to your photographer, your dress, your other half... but essentially it means that you've chosen something or someone so special that it isn't going to be matched easily. 

I'm aware of how many thousands of photographers there are to chose from, but I'm safe in the knowledge that none of them are exactly like me, or have my unique passion for wedding photography, and of course none can beat me at welly wanging - and if you think you can then head to the World Welly Boot Throwing in my home town of Wellington in and challenge me!

If you would like to find out more about what makes me stand out pay me a visit at Somerset wedding photographer.

Dorset Wedding Photography | Polly & Andy

The weather held (just!) and Polly and Andy got the wedding they dreamed of: a classy, country affair in delightful Dorset. Things started with a bang with the boys in the morning on their clay pigeon shoot with Justin at On The Peg. There was serious competition between the boys and no one was going to let the groom have it easy. Andy did in fact come second, after upping his game.

The church was in the enormous grounds of Bryanston School where Polly was a former student. The Rev'd Andrew Haviland captivated the congregation with his delightful positivity during the ceremony. One word: "Wow!" :)

The reception was held at another of Polly's old schools, this time at Hanford. The gorgeous box gardens allowed us the perfect escape for half an hour to get some stunning portraits. We were interrupted at one point by the Headmaster's dog who came and gave his personal congratulations to the happy couple!  

I wanted to try a few shots using the quite spectacular tree in the grounds and the boys were keen to do a bit of climbing to get into position. Only thing is that full stretch lunges aren't really what these suits were designed for and there was one 'accident' in the nether regions of one unnamed usher ;). 

Having spent five years as teachers at The Banda School in Kenya, Polly and Andy wanted to bring an element of their time in Africa to their wedding. There were Masai rugs, carved animal favours and their favourite places in Kenya were designated as table names on a huge map. The marquee was set in the grounds of the house and had what seemed like hundreds of metres of bunting decorating the inside. This, alongside lanterns and fairylights, gave it a wonderfully bright and colouful feel inside.

Croquet was available for those who were feeling competitive. I'm not sure what it is with croquet, but it seems men just can't play it without turning into monsters! The nicest guys suddenly become possessed once they realise they can knock their mate's ball into the next postcode! 

The food was delicious: fresh country produce that fitted in perfectly with the day and was presented beautifully.

Ah, the speeches! One of my favourite parts of the day, everyone is relaxed, and the only one stressing is the best man. Or in this case, men. These two chaps paired up better than Batman and Robin and delivered a fantastic speech which had the Groom squirming just the right amount. Talking of which, poor Andy. Not only did the heavens open for your speech, but that thunder couldn't have come at a more inappropriate moment! Nevertheless, you moved us all with your heartfelt words.

Not a fan of traditional wedding cakes, Polly and Andy opted for a cheese cake, yes real cheese! It was truly a sight to behold especially when cut with a massive sword!

Jim Etherington and his band got the dancefloor filled and feet moving. Their version of Zorba the Greek was unbelievable. I have never in all my days seen a crowd respond quite so well to it!

So... that was the wedding of the lovely Polly and Andy!

 I hope you have enjoyed this sample of their wedding. If you like what you see and would like to know more about my wedding photography head over to my website or contact me.

Website Re-Launch Offer

To celebrate the launch of my new website I wanted to come up with something that people could get excited about. Something that gave new clients a great deal but also allowed my current and existing clients a nice treat as well...

I am offering all new clients a £250 voucher towards any part of their wedding photography if they book before September 1st 2012. 

All existing and past wedding clients, for every couple you recommend, who then book their wedding photography with me gets you a cool £50 cash. It really is that simple...

For full terms and conditions please email me.

How the new website was born

At long last. 

Many moons ago I decided it was time to make my website stand out from the crowd. It is the window to my world, the way I work and the images on it are there to give people the best impression of me. So of course it needs to be good. For three years I had been using a template website which I had tweaked and fiddled around with, but it was never quite right. With the added goal of driving my photography to new heights, I needed some help getting the job done properly. So I started shopping. Not an easy thing to do with so many options... 

I finally came across Nige and Jamie at the SWPP Convention in January. Their company Freebird design some of the best websites I have seen and after a chat and showing them my work I knew these could be the guys who could pull it off. 

The first stage of design was the logo. Back and forth we went with ideas and sketches finally deciding on the simple but elegant one that you see below. It is balanced, stylish and unique. The birds? Well you can decide what they represent, but I think they could symbolise love and companionship... and what are weddings all about?

So the next stage was coming up with the overall look and feel. I wanted something that was reminiscent of a wedding. Appeal is aimed to be universal with small details for the keen eyed, but at the same time it should make the viewer feel comfortable with how to navigate and discover what I am all about. This is how the landing page looks...

There are links along the bottom of every page to Facebook, Twitter and this blog. With social media taking such an important role regarding exposure and reach, it is vital to have these incorporated. The Portfolio page is there to show off my photographs so we opted for a 'dim the lights' effect to reduce distraction. There is also a 'Watch Me' link to view a recent video slideshow.

Accessibility is key and being able to get to various parts is generally only one or two clicks away, for example, the side bar allows you to navigate to various sections from every page. 


Really really pleased that it is now built and up for the world to see. I have to thank the awesome team at Freebird for their hard work and patience dealing with all my changes. I also couldn't have done it without the support and advice from my gorgeous wife. Thank you. :)


If you haven't seen the website yet then do head over by clicking here and if you like it, spread the word!

Cheshire Wedding Photography | Kim & Chris

The first of two Jubilee weddings was this one in Cheshire for Kim and Chris. Equal amounts of laughter and tears meant a very emotional day for all involved. From the traditional church ceremony at St Oswald's Church, Lower Peover to the grand marquee setup at nearby Nether Peover, the Bride and Groom couldn't have been happier all day. The amazing bond between father and daughter was clear and there was not a dry eye in the place after his heart-felt speech. The party went on well into the night with the Essex crowd showing how to really celebrate in style! A fabulous day for a fabulous couple, congratulations Kim and Chris! Click to enlarge photographs...

If you would like Simon to take stunning photographs at your wedding please phone 07414977696 or email info@simonbiffenphotography.co.uk. 

Visit www.simonbiffenphotography.co.uk to see more weddings or alternatively find me on Facebook.