Jenny & Chris' Engagement Shoot...

Hi All,

Thanks for checking in. So, our new year has started well and we are well and truly kicking into "Wedding" mode already. On Sunday afternoon we headed out into Dover with Jenny Sutton and Chris Townsend to spend some time getting to know them and shoot their pre-wedding images prior to their wedding on 1st April (and yes, it really is going to happen!)

I (Matt) actually met Jenny a few years ago as her sister was dating one of my housemates from University. As it happens, they are now engaged and due to be married in February 2012, so congrats to you both!

Anyway, back to Sunday...initially it appeared we might get rained off thanks to the 'delightful' Dover weather that has been hanging over us for what seems like weeks now, but we managed to catch a break in the rain and got out there to shoot at our 4 chosen locations. Neither Jenny or Chris had spent any time in or around Dover before, so it was a great opportunity to try out a couple of new places and show them the sights at our chosen spots, including Kearsney Abbey and Russell Gardens.

Both the guys quickly felt at ease in front of the camera, which was awesome to see considering their worries prior to the shoot, having not really spent any time in front of a camera before. This allowed us to be really creative with them and we had a great laugh in the process and I think that comes across in the final collection of images we will be giving them. Plus, it really does make your job as a photographer easier when you say to the bride-to-be "hey, fancy just climbing up that wall there?" and she says.......Yeah sure!!".

For now though, it was decided that these were the shots of the day. The grey, overcast conditions really lent themselves to black and white images and this first one, taken in a quiet corner of the Abbey grounds, really stood out during the edit and is one we are both especially proud of.

Thanks to Jenny and Chris for being being great sports on the days and a great couple to shoot. We can't wait for your wedding to roll around!

Thanks for checking us out, catch you on the flip side.

Matt & Chris

A Day With Alice Dawn

Hi All,

Just another quick update for you on the coming's and going's of life as a photographer! Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend one of the most romantic days of the year with the gorgeous and talented Alice Dawn.

Now, you may be saying "well, of course you did.....she is your girlfriend after all", but we did venture out with a purpose other than merely enjoying each other's company on one of the only sunny days the south-east has seen for a good few weeks: to get some new images for her new website.

Ali had a good idea of what she wanted from the shoot, so we decided to head down to the beach to take advantage of the good weather and get some lovely natural shots. I also took the opportunity to have a proper play with the HD video function on my Canon Eos 5d mkii, as I have not yet really tested it out. I must say that it performed admirably and I can already feel the "I want to shoot more video" bug coming on!

We ended up with some great shots on the day, both stills and video, thanks largely to Ali's very relaxed and natural approach to being in front of the camera. She really is a joy to work with (and no, I am not just saying that ;-) and we are both super happy with the final images.

It was decided that the shots below were the shots of the day, but if you would like to see more, you can see them on Ali's website:

www.alicedawn.co.uk

You can also check out the video on Ali's Youtube channel, MusicAliceDawn here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmDPB004vs

I hope you enjoyed the images and video. Thanks for checking them out and for reading, hope to see you soon

Matt

Steve Bradley Images...

Yesterday was another fantastic day for ebbage-photo, thanks to a great days shooting and editing with Steve Bradley,a local actor and performer. I met Steve a few months ago when he performed in the musical production of The Wedding Singer that I shot (see events photography section of the website) and it was great to see him again and shoot some headshots and a few portfolio images for him.

Steve brought a great array of outfits and accessories so being creative with his images was very easy for me, as he is a great guy and very open to trying some new things and goofing around in front of the camera. We nailed his headshots pretty quickly so we went for a coffe and then decided to use some of the items he had brought along and tackle some portfolio images.

While his headhots were the main focus, I feel pretty confident that Steve would agree that this image (left) is the shot of the day! As soon as we got back home and got set up in the study with the laptop, we were both keen to get this image edited and finished because it looked like a winner straight out of the camera.

Steve also knows my girlfriend Alice well, so after our shoot and editing session he was happy to accept our invitation to stay for dinner and catch up on some musical theatre chat whilst watching the movie version of Rent. Good times had by all.

Thanks to Steve for a fantastic day, both during the shoot and the hours spent editing and chatting afterwards. We certainly had a great day and I hope that comes across in the images. You can see the full catalogue of images from the day on Steve's awesome new website. Go and check it out, you won't regret it!

www.steve-bradley.co.uk

Cheers for tuning in, catch you on the flip side!

Matt