Matt & Kathryn's Engagement Shoot

1) I love engagement shoots
2) I love Bristol

It goes without saying that when both of the above combine it makes me happy. Matt and Kathryn are good friends of mine and are going to become Mr & Mrs in May. This was my 4th visit to Bristol in about 9 months, and I love how artistic and alive it is, with all kinds of people doing their thing.
 
For the shoot I was totally relying on M&K to help me out with locations, and they took me to a couple of really nice places - Matt was keen to avoid the typical graffiti'd wall backgrounds so we headed to a cool park with some secluded little areas. Now, here's where I should probably admit that I HATE having my photo taken, and generally look like either a terrorist or a village idiot (or a combination of the two, which is worrying). Luckily, M&K really helped me out and at least pretended not to be too self-conscious.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how edgy the background, how sublime the lighting conditions are, and how well composed the pose it, if the couple are tense and not having fun the photos will simply not be any good. I'm really happy with the way the shoot went and I dare say we even had a bit of fun along the way, too.

Anyway, here are a few photos of this most excellent of couples, and I can't wait till May!

Phil

Embracing Your Inner Snob

We live in a disposable culture. You can buy anything at a discount price and easily replace it; nothing is worth anything anymore. Nescafe & Primark have convinced us that it's better to have 'cheap & cheerful' (which really means 'adequate and replaceable') than spending more for things that last and that we actually want, need or like.

I have had enough. 

I want to have things that last, but that I love and am proud to own. And those are the kinds of products I want to provide. Not prints that cost 2p each and look 'alright' - prints that cost a little bit more but are worth every penny. I've decided to offer you products you will want to show off to your friends, not hide when they come round.

This is why I am so pleased to have found Folio - high quality, highly ethical practice and just generally amazing. I've just received, & now passed on, Ben & Clare's wedding photobook. Don't get me wrong, these books do not come cheap, but man they're good. They've paid attention to every little detail, from the sumptuous leather cover, to the organic feel of the presentation box. Here are some pics to prove it.

(Presentation Box) 

 (the cloth bag to further protect your book)

 (names  can be stamped on the front cover to completely personalise the book

)

 (high quality 'art cotton' media - you can even see the protective paper inserts that it comes with)

 (lay-flat spreads enable prints plenty of room to breath without being sucked into the central gutter)

(crisp and vivid colours)

Yeah, so I guess this is a taste of what I'm about, with Folio as an example. I also design my own page layouts, so will see the process through from beginning to end.

I'd love to hear you thoughts on this, so comments are more than welcome :)

Phil

p.s. thanks to Ben and Clare for letting me use their book in this post