Persian wedding, Pegah & Sam...

This recent shoot will always stick in my mind as something fun, stylish and wealthy in character.

Pegah and Sam are Iranian and shooting a Persian wedding was a first for me. The location was a private residence and  although it doesn't look like it, the day was blighted with frequent showers. 

The detail of the wedding ceremony feast, the guys in black tie and a lovely, happy bride made the day constantly interesting and its laid-back nature made for simple, personal photography and pretty close to ideal from my perspective. We've met up since to shoot some portraits, such was the extent of their enthusiasm for the final results.  A great day and a great couple.

As usual I haven't included the whole shoot, but here are my favourites from the set. Click any thumbnail to enlarge...

Mirror Mirror...

You've got to love a business that's only beaten in a search engine by a Hollywood movie... Punch Mirror Mirror into Google and the first thing you'll see is a Julia Roberts film. But right next to it is Mirror Mirror London, the UK capital's best-known bridal atelier. 

With shops in Angel, Islington and Crouch End, Mirror Mirror have their own couture dress line as well as stocking leading ready-to-wear designers such as La Sposa, Cymbeline, Paris and Yolan Cris. Their dresses have been worn by celebrities such as Amanda Holden, Zoe Ball and Tamsin Outhwaite. 

So it's really great news that I've just become a photographic partner and somebody, quite literally, that Mirror Mirror 'loves'. The business was formed in 1989 and since then has established tself as THE go-to outlet for brides. Numerous awards from the wedding industry press has cemented a reputation for excellence and ensured a bursting order book.

We'll be working together on numerous shoots in the coming weeks/months and it's terrific for me to develop new commissions and relationships via Mirror Mirror clients. Partners, Maria Yiannikaris and Jane Freshwater, are market leaders at what they do. I believe that when you are striving to be the best, you need to work alongside the best, so this makes me incredibly proud and excited.

It has also totally taken my mind away from having eaten too much Easter chocolate...

Fiona Leahy feature shoot...

I'd never met Fiona Leahy before, but a quick visit to her home in London immediately propels you into creativity. Then via some form of osmosis you leave with far more energy than when you arrived.

No point going into detail here, you can read all about the lady via the lovescarlett.com feature for which I was shooting. Suffice it to say that Fiona is an event planner extraordinaire, with Royal clients and celebrity friends, and I had a ball playing around with detail and some fun portraits shot very quickly indeed, all with natural light, no flash at all.

Consider this a blog-let which just touches upon the final selection produced. As usual, I'm not one for scores and scores of shots on a blog, you get the picture (boom boom)...

Love Scarlett...

couple of weeks ago I blogged the behind the scenes video to a portrait shoot in preparation for the launch of Love Scarlett. Well, yesterday the site went live and it looks the business.

A bold, sharp and stylish resource for couples who want to read about the very best in British wedding style, the blog feels like a high spec magazine with something for everyone ; wedding meets fashion meets lifestyle - updated daily.

I've been working with Penny Cullen on numerous shoots ready for today's launch, and while there is lots more great stuff in the pipeline, it's fair to say I'm super impressed with the way she has pulled it all together. Never one to rest and stand still, Penny has gathered together a bunch of leading individuals in the wedding industry to inform and excite, and such input will make Love Scarlett rich in depth. But the key is that everybody works together, a collective, so the sum of the parts leads to something fresh and different.

An initial feature getting some social media play centres around a wedding I shot alongside photographer, Anna Hardy. We were commissioned totally independently, a first for us both. Click here to read the piece..

From the archive... #3

It always intrigues me why people like certain pictures within a set. This little sequence is one on which clients always linger in my portfolio. Here's a little background...

The commission was a Christmas wedding last year with the drinks reception in a private residence. I had worked the room a little in search of off-beat and candid portraits, but kept noticing the little flower girl nipping away into one of the downstairs rooms.

didn't really pay much attention to this until I heard the piano certainly not making a great sound. After putting two and two together it was suddenly obvious that the little rascal was making her own entertainment...

Adopting my very best stealth approach, I let her just play around nd tried to shoot frames as she hit the keys, so as not to disturb the scene. It wasn't until she'd finished that my presence had been sensed, and she immediately scurried from the room. It's the last image and the look on her face which absolutely makes the set.

(Canon 5DMK2 body, 85mm lens, 1600asa, 60th @F2)

A photographer's diary...

Back in June I thoroughly enjoyed working with Melanie Helen of Cranberry Blue Weddings & Events. Mel has a fresh take on planning and over the last year or so we've had some great chats about collaborating on projects. (These conversations usually take place over a long lunch a One Aldwych!)

On Mel's blog is a basic overview of a wedding day from a photographer's perspective. It was fun to write and (I hope) interesting to read...