Thank You!

Once upon a time, in the old days, when I started wedding photography (actually, its only ten years - the intro makes it sound as though I had to put a black sheet over my head for each picture) (although some clients have suggested this might be preferable even today!), the wedding season was really Easter to the end of October. Now, its a 12 month season and I'm just as likely to be shooting winter weddings as summer celebrations. I fact, I'm becoming quite a specialist a low light, winter weddings - I love the cosy feel, the pictures in front of a roaring log fire - winter weddings have a unique ambiance. But, when I get to the end of October, it still feels like the end of the season...

So I just wanted to pause for a moment and say a big 'thank you' for all the thank you cards we've received over the course of the year. I know how busy everyone is and how quickly real life kicks in when back from the honeymoon, so I'm always amazed that couples find the time to write. Having a passion for great photographs is a good starting point, but that passion is a bit lost if it doesn't translate into happy clients, so the feedback is really important. This year especially we've had some lovely comments, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Bibury Court Wedding Fair - This Sunday

copyright: www.andrewjacksonphotography.co.uk

Just a quick blog to let you know that Saskia and I will be at Bibury Court wedding fair on Sunday, making an exhibition of ourselves! If you are still looking for the perfect Cotswold wedding venue then Bibury Court is definitely worth a closer look. The village of Bibury is picture postcard perfect and the hotel is just as beautiful - set in lovely grounds and with a brilliant team to look after your day. Its been one of our main venues this year and its been a real pleasure shooting there. So, do visit us on Sunday 31st and we promise not to talk at you for ever about how great we are!!!

2011: Portraits in Bristol

All pictures copyright Andrew Jackson Photography

As part of next year's portrait relaunch, I've been looking to capture a little more emotion, more intimacy than in my work to date. These three are just a small sample of pictures from Bristol Docks with Stina & Joel. Pictures shot yesterday, all with natural light and all on location. Fab shoot - and if you would like something similar, there is still time to get a Bristol portrait shoot in the diary before Christmas - just contact me via the website.

Andrew Jackson Photography at Wedding Fair

This Sunday, we shall be at the Bannatyne Charlton House Hotel in Somerset for their first wedding fair since Duncan Bannatyne bought the hotel earlier in the year. It has always been a fab wedding venue - big enough to invite a good number of guests but its layout, and its wealth of original features, really gives the impression of an intimate, cosy place to get married. In Summer, the gardens look great, but as the evenings draw in, those big sofas start to look very inviting!

So Andrew Jackson Photography will be there showing off some of the latest albums and talking to couples. Its difficult to have a proper conversation on these occasions but we'll have our diary with us, so if you like the pictures and would like to talk through your day in more detail then we'll be able to sort that out with you.

The wedding Fair is Sunday 24 October, 11:30-3pm at Charlton House - we look forward to seeing you there.

2011: Amazing New Albums

Firstly, I mentioned a couple of posts ago that there are lots of changes in motion for 2011 and that I would be letting you know what was going on over the coming months... well, to help the 'search' facility, I'll start each of these with '2011' in the title bar... hopefully, this will make it easier to find.

So, new albums... I'm really pleased to announce that we have just signed up with Graphi Studio to produce our book style albums. For those of you unfamiliar with these albums, the printing is direct onto the page, so it produces a very modern, contemporary presentation for wedding and portrait photographs. Best of all is the ability to print a picture across a double page spread, so pictures can be used much, much bigger than in a regular album - so loads of impact. We have a great sample here from one of our weddings at The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath, which will be on display at our wedding fairs this month.

Now, I know that this style of album has been around for a while, but I've always resisted using them because there are so many dreadful alternatives out there. Just because it is now possible to make photo books doesn't mean that its right for a polite society; I've seen so many versions where the pictures have looked second rate and its only the gimmicks offered by the album that makes the product even remotely usable. BUT when I saw what Graphi Studio produced, I have to say I was blown away - the quality is first class - both in the construction of the album (after all, the stitching and binding has to be top quality to hold together as you share your pictures with family & friends) but the print quality too was supberb.

So we are still offering the jorgensen albums for those who prefer a more traditional approach, but have the option of the very best in book albums for people looking for something a little different. Hooray!

Portrait Promotion

www.andrewjacksonphotography.co.uk

Recently, I've been really doing a lot of navel gazing (or is it naval? I'm rubbish at spelling and this is one of those moments where there really is quite a difference: one spelling suggests I spend my weekends at Portsmouth harbour, the other that I am a belly button obsessive - anyway, its the later). So, having removed all the fluff, chewing gum and the remains of last weeks hummus & avocado sandwich, I started to think about how we approach the various styles of photography. And with portraits particularly it felt that I was shooting in much the same way as two / three years ago. So, I've gone back to basics, reassessed my style and approach and created a style more inspired by the fashion pages. First trial shoots have produced some lovely shots and the 'new look' is getting a really good response. Different to the usual studio portraits, it is a style more about capturing movement, emotion and atmosphere.

Special Offer? Well, until Christmas we're looking for victims (doh! sorry, 'customers') to experience the new style shoot. Its a special price of £25 for the session fee (will be £125 when officially launched in January), with discounts on any prints ordered. It's ideally suited to couples or teenagers (rather than family shoots - sorry), so if you know anyone who might be interested, do get in touch as soon as...obviously, good timing for Christmas presents, but even so, a fab experience at a great price. Email the Andrew Jackson Photography website for more info.

All Saints Photo Project

www.andrewjacksonphotography.co.uk

Very busy right now, with the All Saint's Church exhibition rapidly reaching its conclusion. The church (one of the friendliest I've found and with all our weddings, I see a lot of churches) (perhaps there should be a Trip Advisor review service for churches?!) is celebrating 150 years at the end of the month and the photo project is a central part of that. The project has been fascinating and the picture above one of my favourites -although it didn't make the final selection!! I love the light and the colours - its difficult to come up with a new interpretation of stained glass, but I think this works really well.I am looking for an interesting project for 2011, so if you have any thoughts do drop me a line via the website. Any ideas based around French vineyards especially welcome.

Weddings UK & France

www.andrewjacksonphotography.co.uk

Very pleased to announce that our new prices and packages for 2011 are now available... I say very pleased because for the first time since we started I've really changed pretty much every aspect of what we do and the way we do it. Its the first time we've really 'gone back to basics' since I started the business (well, since 2003 - I started in 2000, but I really didn't have a clue what I was doing then) (not much has changed over the years, obviously) (well, other than the widespread use of web and e-mail, mobile phones and the death of video hire shops - do they still exist somewhere?) (and the introduction of coffee shops - thank God!). Anyway, big changes, top to bottom, effecting just about every aspect of the business. So exciting times. Over the coming weeks I'll start to introduce some of the new products and services but more importantly, explain some of the background to why the changes came about.