To complete a trio of consecutive wedding-related posts, here’s one about my latest wedding adventure… The Rob Pugh Wedding Photography Bonanza!
I first met Rob back at the Gadget Show 2014 when we were both running Olympus cameras. Since then we’ve both moved onto the Sony platform, but that’s a story for another day… I did a photo walk around Bristol with Rob later in 2014, where I learned ways to set the camera up in the most efficient way using quick access buttons.
The Wedding Photography Bonanza workshop was a three day event to learn all about the wedding photography business. From running a business, workflows for editing, albums and printing, lighting, and of course some shooting practice. Again Rob’s expertise in efficiencies shone through.
I learned so much, and realised the stark difference between a serious hobbyist like me who does the odd paid wedding or shoot, and a full-time pro who’s invested the time to get all their processes the most efficient and effective way they can be. A good example of this is photo editing… For Silvia and Dave’s wedding I spent around 40 hours editing the photos, whereas Rob would have spent less than six. Using presets he’s built in Capture One his editing is so fast, and the results so good, he has more time for other income-generating work.
A few other bits I learned were… Using Rotolight kits to light brides and grooms and using the clever adjustable colour temperature to match other light sources and make the light look so natural (many of the photos below used Rotolight Neo 2 and Aeos lights). Using Shootproof to build photo galleries for happy couples with print fulfillment using Loxley Colour. And using Fundy Designer to design albums, again with print fulfillment by Loxley.
The day I enjoyed the most was shooting with three models, Sorcha, Jessica, and Marc, in wedding clothes. We did shoots in a church, on the street (with lots of bemused looks from passers by), in a park, and in the hotel where we set up for the three days. The models were all great, even with a chilly wind blowing outside, and assisted by make up artist Katie.
These are some of the best photos I’ve ever taken, and it’s spurred me on to think about doing more photos of people with some proper lighting, and maybe more weddings too. In fact, after posting a few photos from the day I had a wedding photography enquiry! With The Photography Show coming up next month I’ll definitely be looking out for Rotolight and Capture One deals.
