Mike and Amy's Blog

We’ve been looking forward to putting up DJ and Amanda’s wedding for a little while now, since their wedding we have been trekking in Tasmania and now that we are back it’s time to catch up on some blogging!

DJ and Amanda married at the beautiful Coffs Harbour resort of Opal Cove. The bridal and groom prep photos were our first port of call, Amy stayed with the girls whilst I headed to the guys. The ceremony itself was held next to the Lagoon and overlooking the ocean. The weather was absolutely perfect for a winters day, sunny and warm and without any wind you could not have asked for a more beautiful day for a wedding.

One of the cutest things was how their little girl arrived at the ceremony… in her very own 4wd! There was a lot of emotion as the time finally came for Amanda to walk down the aisle and I just love the look on her dads face as he walks beside Amanda.

After the ceremony and family photos we headed to a few locations around the resort. The beautiful tree lined road leading into the area was our first stop for photos. We love shooting here as the afternoon light so beautifully glows through the trees. Our next stop was the beach for the later afternoon shots as well and once again the lighting was incredible.

The reception was next on the agenda and with the delicious food, hilarious speeches and great dancing the night was all but over for us.

Here’s a few pics from the day! The rest of your photos are in the mail Amanda and DJ!

Mike

Last Saturday I was privileged to photograph the wedding of Marissa and Matt. We started at the St Bernards Catholic Church in Baccus Marsh. Matt was there ready and waiting along with some of his family and friends, I took them for a few portraits before the nervous wait for Marisa to arrive begun.

Marisa was a radiant bride as she arrived in one of the big 4WD’s that they used as wedding cars for the day, she looked stunning and Matt sure looked pretty happy with himself as she walked down the aisle with her beautiful mum.

After the ceremony we did a few family photos and portraits around the church grounds and then headed out to a special spot in the Lerderderg State Park with the 4WD’s. It was such a nice location for photos and provided the quintessential aussie ‘look’. We had a bit of time up our sleeve so headed to the St Anne’s Winery on the road out towards Wallace, a small town near Ballarat.

The Wallace Hotel was where the reception was held, it provided a great atmosphere for a country wedding and was a lot of fun to be at.

I thoroughly enjoyed being part of your day Marisa and Matt, here are a few pics from your wedding!

Mike

Last weekend I had the pleasure of capturing the wedding of Liam & Hannah at the beautiful Poets Lane in the Dandenong Ranges.  It was a rather cool winters day. The rain held off for just long enough to capture all we needed before heading into the reception.

I started my Day with Hannah and her girls. Hannah’s dress wasn’t the traditional white, ivory or cream that a bride would wear- It was Hannah’s favorited colour. Hannah you pulled it off beautifully. You looked amazing. The girls wore a gorgeous purple.

Liam was getting ready at Poets Lane. I captured a few images of Liam and his boys and a few family photos before it was time to head over to the Chapel to be married to his gorgeous bride. Liam isn’t the type to enjoy having his photos taken, but he embraced it and did awesome.

Hannah arrived in stunning vintage and took a few minutes with her father before entering the venue to marry her Liam.

The ceremony was followed by family photos and then photos on the grounds of Poet’s Lane. It was freezing cold for Hannah but could not even tell in the photos.

Thanks for an amazing day. Love capturing these memories for you.

Amy x

A few weeks back I was delighted to capture the amazing wedding day of Lisa and Jake. I first met Lisa and Jake last year at a bridal expo and knew that they would be an absolute delight to photograph and they certainly were.

Jake & Lisa went with a very classic Australian Native flower theme for their wedding. It was amazing, from Lisa’s hair right through to the flower arrangements at the reception. It was stunning.

I visited Lisa and her girls at South Bank where they were getting ready. The girls were delightful to work with. Lisa’s dress was beautiful and her girls dresses were also stunning 🙂 Preparation photos, bridal portraits and a few family photos were captured before it was time for me to make my way to the boys.

The boys prepared for the ceremony at the Melbourne Zoo where the ceremony and reception was hosted. The boys were running a little late and it was certainly a mad rush to get those ties done and the boys to the ceremony before the gorgeous bride arrived.

Following a beautiful ceremony family photos were captured along with friends photos 🙂 We then set out on our tour of the Zoo to capture some stunning memories of Lisa & Jake and their bridal parties.

What an amazing day with a special couple. Thanks for trusting us to capture your special day. 🙂

Here is a little look at their photos

Amy x

The last few years now have seen not so much a resurgence but a spectacular rise in the use of Photo Booths. Nowadays they are regularly appearing at weddings, corporate functions, parties, or at any other kind of event you can think of. Technology has paved the way for photo booths to now be affordable additions to any of the above private events. As photographers who shoot primarily weddings we come across these crowd pleasers on a regular basis.

With the many options now available to choose a hire company what are some things one should look out for when selecting a photo booth? Here I’ll have a brief glance at the quality of the images. Now I’m not talking about the print quality and paper quality as that’s something you have to physically see a hard copy of, but I’ll be looking at the actual image. Below is two sets of photo booth images with different setups which I will now critique. I will cover four points of difference. Both sets of images have been provided us by Elegant Photo Booth Hire. Please note they have been shrunk in size for internet use.

1. At the end of the day when someone enters a photo booth, the composition of the subjects within the image is, well, entirely up to them, that is the people in the picture! They are the ones who choose where to stand/sit, how to do so, etc. However a good photo booth should make it easier for people to know when the photo is about to be taken and where they should locate themselves for the best possible shot. Notice in the left side column (white background) one of the subjects does not appear to be ready, sometimes this is simply a matter of the people not knowing when the image is about to be taken. A good photo booth should make it clear when it is about to take a photo so the subjects can be ready, the right side column (red background) appears to do this as the subjects are ready and the resulting portraits are far more pleasing to look at.

2. Another aspect to consider is movement and focusing within the image. There shouldn’t be any blur. The top two images on the left column are fine but the bottom one has what appears to be movement blur. You may not notice it at first glance but if you click to enlarge it becomes obvious. This can occur if there is not enough light in the booth, to compensate, the shutter speed of the camera is reduced and if the subject moves you have a blur. The column on the right appears sharp and crisp indicating the focus and amount of light are sufficient.

3. Colour balance is also something I will consider for these images. I regularly calibrate my monitor so that it accurately represents how the images will look when they are printed. When I look at the left column I immediately see a strong red hue. White should be white, or at least as close as possible, these images make the background look pink, the problem with that is not so much having a pink background but that if you’re in the picture, your skin will also have a red tinge to it. Most of us don’t particularly want the freshly sunburnt look! The column on the right if you look at the skin tones they look natural. This accurate representation of colours is a factor in what makes a good image.

4. Finally, the last thing I’ll consider is shadowing. Notice the left column has a rather flat appearance in that with the exception of the slight bottom right shadow, equal light is hitting the subjects from all angles. This can sometimes be preferred but in this case I like the added depth a shadow creates for our images in the right column, it makes the subjects pop out and feel that little bit more 3D.

As with anything to do with weddings there are so many options to choose from. Hopefully I’ve given you a few things to think about next time you consider hiring a Photo Booth!

Mike