Wedding Photo Blog

Matt and Julia's Wedding

2010-09-21T11:11:00.000+01:00

Lovely wedding on Friday in Bucklebury Church (complete with the oldest Norman entrance in the country) followed by reception in the Pot Kiln...

Pre-wedding visit to Bucklebury

2010-09-03T09:06:00.000+01:00

Had a quick visit to Bucklebury to see St Mary's Church in preparation for a wedding on 17th and just had to take a quick photo...

Digital Photo Books

2010-01-14T10:53:00.000Z

Digital Photo Books
These are the ideal way to store those precious memories for future generations to enjoy. Whether the images are of your wedding, that dream holiday or your new baby, there are now a fantastic number of digital photo books to choose from in order to present your images in their best light.

So are all photobooks the same?
In short, no. Many of the books are quite cheap, both in cost and quality, and this is shown in the quality of the printing. In order to have good quality printing the images must be printed on photographic quality paper, and this is only available on a few of the high end photo books, but this is really the only way to go for long term image presentation and archival storage, and is especially suitable for wedding storybooks.

Do you want a unique design?
Most of the books allow you to choose templates in which to drop your photos, but this does mean you are limited in the design, and your book will look just the same as many other peoples books! However, some books allow free format design of the pages using other image applications providing the option of having an absolutely unique design of book.

So does this mean that if you are already married and have a traditional album that you cannot have a digital book?
Absolutely not! And even if you have no album at all but selected a 'shoot to burn' style of wedding photography on CD or DVD you can still have a storybook album designed for you.

Family and Baby Books
When you have a family portrait session, or a bump or new baby photo shoot, then why not consider a digital photobook of the images as a family memento?
You can even have that dream holiday captured in a digital album with a unique design just for you!

So if your traditional album is starting to look a bit jaded, or your prints are falling out, why not ask about a digital photobook?

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

CD or DVD Storage?

2009-11-25T15:05:00.000Z

Many people use both CD and DVD disks in order to store their precious photographs for the future, but how safe is the data on these media?

To find out, the US Library of Congress did some research into this and discovered that both media were subject to serious deterioration over time depending on the conditions that the disks were stored in. However, CD media was found to be much more reliable than their DVD counterparts. This is worrying since many people are now using DVD disks to store their data due to having higher storage capacities.

So it seems that if your family photos are stored on CD or DVD disks that you may well find that they have become unreadable in just a few years time!

Which all goes to show that the printed media is not dead! Many manufacturers are quoting inkjet print lifetimes of 200 years or more and how many DVD players will be around in 200 years let alone readable disks?

Now is the time to transfer your precious images to paper or digitally printed album to safeguard the images for the future!

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Where is Your Camera?

2009-11-07T12:03:00.000Z

So there you are just walking down the street minding your own business, when all of a sudden Prince Charles runs across the road in front of you being chased by a pack of angry corgis!
Not something that you happen to notice every day, and probably not something that most other people will see very often either.

So what do you do?

Well obviously, the first thing to do is to whip out your camera and photograph the event just in case you are the only person to have noticed, so you can make a fortune by selling your photo to the papers and being on the font page of all the major tabloids.

But oh no! What camera? The new digital SLR you got for your birthday is still in its box in the cupboard at home because you haven't had time to read the enormous instruction book yet. And your compact camera is in the glove compartment of the car because it has a flat battery. Oh, and your mobile phone camera is in its expensive case inside your coat pocket and you haven't figured out yet which buttons to press to operate the camera function!

Oops. That's another scoop you just missed out on then!

It always pays to have a camera handy and ready to use wherever you may be, because you just don't know what is going to happen (unless you have been watching Flash Forward on the TV and know where you will be in 6 months time!) and photo opportunities happen all around us all the time.

Manufacturers make a fortune selling us fancy camera bags and cases to protect our precious cameras and phones, but this just makes it more difficult to keep them handy and ready to use at a moments notice, especially if we are away on holiday or at a special unique event.

So keep your camera available and ready to use wherever you are - you never know when it will be your turn to get that scoop!

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Where Do You Keep Your Photos?

2009-10-05T15:23:00.000+01:00

Hands up all those who store their photos on their computer at home. Now put your hands down if that is the only place where you store your photographs. Anyone still with their hands up?

It is so easy to think that once your photos are on your computer that they are there forever. The reality is a bit different though.

Computer hard disks (like the rest of the machine) don't last forever. They have a finite lifetime after which they can be expected to fail. They can also be damaged, corrupted, lost or stolen.
Equally, computers break and are regularly replaced with the latest model, and often the contents of the old one are not retrieved and copied to the new one, either because the old disks were unreadable or because the owner didn't have the knowledge of how best to do it.

Some of the more enlightened people back up (copy) their photos and documents to CD or DVD disks, but the cheap (non-archival quality) ones often degrade after a few years and become unreadable, and the contents are lost.
And how long will CD and DVD players be available? Remember the Walkman cassette player?!

External hard disks which plug in to the USB or firewire port on your computer, or more recently are connected directly to your home network, also have a limited life span, and it can be very slow transferring large quantities of data between external hard disk units.

A very popular solution nowadays is the online backup, where everything is transferred over the internet to a third party site somewhere else in the world, and where additional backups are then someone else's responsibility. And whilst small volumes of data (typically 2Gb) are stored for free, these can cost real money every month for sufficient space to store even modest photo and music collections.

Every photo you take is a memory for future generations, and the only durable way to pass these memories on to your descendants is by using old fashioned paper prints, or by having your photos printed in the latest digital photo albums to store safely in your book case.

We live in a throw away society. Don't let your photographs and memories go the same way!

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Another Holiday Tip

2009-09-29T20:59:00.000+01:00

We have all done it I'm sure. Looked in the attic or the cupboard and found a box of old holiday photos from the dark ages. We remember (vaguely) where the holiday destination was, but the actual location of the photograph eludes us.

Time was when every photograph you took was either a transparency (slides - er yes, remember them???!!!) or was printed on a piece of photo paper and cost you your hard-earned cash for each one.

Well of course, digital photography has changed all that, but unfortunately it has not always changed peoples habits in their holiday photography. Most people still just point the camera at a suitably picturesque scene, press the button and then put the camera away again. Since it doesn't cost anything to take a photo (whoopee, the government hasn't cottoned on to this one yet!) why not take a number of photos of the same scene - you can always delete the worst ones when you get home, and you might just get a winner.
If you go away with your camera on an exotic long haul holiday you should never come back with less than 500 images! And 1000 would be better!

So, back to the original question, how do we know where we went on our holidays?
The answer is easy. Wherever you go, remember to take a photograph of all sign posts and place names. In fact, anything with an address or location on it. These images will be in the right order in your holiday photos and you will then know where you were when the surrounding photos were taken!
They cost nothing but time to take, and will bring back memories for ever.

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Holiday Photo Tip

2009-09-27T15:38:00.000+01:00

Holidays are the best time of year for many of us and in many cases this is the only time when we dig out our trusty camera for some photographs of the family enjoying themselves.

How many times have you turned on your digital camera and found last years holiday photographs still on your storage card? Or even worse, pictures from the year before!!!

It is amazing how often you find yourself talking to someone about a place you have both visited but you just can't find the photos to show them or to remind yourself of what it was like.
Perhaps you have changed or ugraded your camera and the new one uses a different format of storage media, or the kids have borrowed the camera and formatted the card.
Either way, that's it. No more photos. They are gone for ever!

Don't leave your holiday memories to chance. As soon as you return home get those photos downloaded onto your computer and then copy them onto a CD or DVD for safekeeping.
Oh, and don't forget to label it clearly so you know what's on it!

http://www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Business Cards

2009-09-18T22:17:00.000+01:00

When did you last revise your business card? In fact, when did you last look at your business card? And have you compared it to your competitors cards recently? Is it too busy and cramped, or is there just not enough detail for people to connect with?

Traditional business cards simply stated the name and contact details of the person, together with their company name. However, cards with company logos soon became fashionable and many cards now follow this simple formula of providing a logo followed by the contact details.

But some companies have been much more adventurous in their business cards and some really imaginative and clever ones have been created for modern thinking individuals. A quick search on Google for the terms 'Unusual Business Cards' will generate a good few minutes entertainment looking at some of the more ingenious ones, such as Apple's Steve Jobs metal business card based on an Apple computer.

However, if someone gives you a business card how will you remember what they look like after a time apart, or if the card presented is for someone else how will you recognise them when you need to meet them?
This is where the photo business card comes in to its own, where you can know that the person on the card is the person you are speaking to.

It is so much easier to put a name to a face when you have a photograph of the person and it makes the business contact much more approachable and personable.

Why make business any more difficult than it already is? If you are in business then people should be able to know who you are. So get creative and order some photo business cards today!

www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Bumps and Babies

2009-09-16T14:41:00.001+01:00

It's been a big hit in the USA ever since a naked and pregnant Demi Moore appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine in 1991, and now bump and baby photography is taking off over here in the UK.

You can expose as much or as little as you are comfortable with, and as long as you wear sensible colour clothing (see your photographer for details!) then the results can be stunning.

Bump and baby photography can also include both partners so that the experience is shared, and then once your baby is born you can have additional photographs of the new member of the family.

Grandparents also love to have these images, which can be in colour or black and white (or even both!) and can have special effects such as sepia toning and antique lighting applied to give them an olde worlde appearance.
And of course there is always the option of airbrushing away any unwanted marks and blemishes to give everyone a perfect appearance!

You can choose to have traditional prints, large canvas or acrylic wall hangings or a printed photo book of the images (and yes, some people choose all of the above!) which will allow you to enjoy your new baby for years to come, so why not make the most of your pregnancy with some professional bump and baby photography?

Mark Llewellyn
www.markllewellynphotography.co.uk

Mark Llewellyn Photography

2009-09-14T11:31:00.001+01:00

All blogs have to start somewhere and this is mine!

I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based near Newbury in Berkshire and have now turned to photography full time after being made redundant from my proper job twice (both times from the same computer company!). As a professional member of the British Computer Society I get letters after my name - MBCS.

I have been photographing weddings for thirty years and have qualified as a licentiate of the Society of Wedding and Portrait photographers - so I get to have more letters after my name - LSWPP!

I teach adults photography and Photoshop for Newbury College and would like to do more teaching so get in touch if you need photo training!!!