Archie - Newborn and Lifestyle Family Photography

Not sure I've ever blogged anything but my wedding photography. For the last 4 years I have pretty much focused completely on Weddings. I never wanted to be a "jack of all" photographer and focused everything on wedding photography. 

I found that a lot of my wedding couples would come back to me when they started a family and I was always happy to oblige but I never made a big deal about promoting myself as a family photographer. Truth be told when I first picked up a camera, it was families and newborns that gave me chance to improve my skills, but after my first wedding photography job, I was hooked and focused everything on being a better wedding photographer.

I am happy to say that I will now be blogging more of my lifestyle shoots and if you want to be part of that...get in touch here and lets's set up a shoot or to see more of my lifestyle work, click here

So here is my first Family blog!! Starring Archie, who was around 15 weeks old when we did this shoot back in August. He's a super cool lil' guy and is full of life and personality. He sat like a champ and is ridiculously photogenic, look at those eyes for goodness sake! It's fair to say this was awesome and I'm lucky to have people like Jillian and Gavin who were happy to get in on the action and go with the flow. I approached this shoot much like any wedding and kept it as natural as possible.

So ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you...Archie. 

Pamela and Reilly - Intimate Scottish Wedding

This is definitely on the list of my favourite weddings I have ever photographed. A small intimate family wedding.  There's something about smaller weddings that always raise the level of emotion. 

I've known Pam for a long time. She moved to Australia around 10 years ago and finally settled in New Zealand, where she met Reilly. They were coming over for her brothers wedding (which I also photographed) and made the most of her trip back to Scotland by getting married with her closest friends and family. 

Reilly is originally from South Africa but moved to NZ and although his family were unable to make it to Scotland from NZ, some of his South African family came over and skyped the entire wedding where his family in NZ dressed up in their finest attire and got up at  5am to see the wedding.

You can clearly see how in love Pam and Reilly are. It was a really emotional day and I absolutely loved witnessing their marriage. 

Enjoy x

Graeme & Caroline - The Lynnhurst, Johnstone

I completely fell off the blogging bandwagon recently after a string of weddings but I'm back with a belter. Graeme and Caroline at the Lynnhurst Hotel, Johnstone. 

A nice, classy affair full of awesome little treats from one of the most stunning dresses I have seen, to one of the most stunning CAKES I've ever seen. Graeme and Caroline put some great special touches into their wedding. Graeme is a huge DC Comics fan and I loved the subtle touches they placed throughout their wedding. See if you can spot them(they're not hard to miss) and when they told me Ernest were going to be their wedding band, I knew I was in for a treat when it came to the reception photographs. As soon as those first recognisable notes from "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against The Machine came one, the dance floor became a very well dressed moshpit. We had moshing, chest banging and the gents ties came off and put round their heads. It's always great to see a busy dance floor and it did not disappoint. 

The deets:

Caroline's Wedding Dress - Wedding Wise 
Bridesmaids Dresses - Very
Flowers - Buds N Blooms 
Cake - Scrumptious Cakes Dundee
Hair - Grace from Sorbie Hayes)
Make up - Natalie Duke from Chi Health and Beauty
Kilts - Kilts 4 U Hillington  
Wedding Band - Ernest

How To Write The "Best" Best Man Speech.

Massive respect to all the best men out there. I've been in the position myself and in terms of the "bro code" it's a tremendous privilege to be chosen for this role. It's a time when its acceptable to hug your pal for more than 0.5 seconds and of course you can give as many manly back slaps during that emotional embrace as you like. It's a guy thing, and as soon as the hug is over and you've gone back to talking about FHM and football, the dreaded realisation that you need to stand up and talk in front of lots of people sets in...and so do the cold sweats. 

Have no fear, your auld pal Ross is here to give you tips on how to nail the speech and get that nod of approval from your best friend.

Follow these tips and you'll be golden.

1. Set A Time Limit.

I'm not joking when I say that this first tip is absolutely crucial! There is nothing worse than a long speech (slight exaggeration). Weddings are fantastic, its a special day for lots of people. Spirits are high, people are in a great mood and your guaranteed to get laughs during your speech but if you prolong the dinner, people get "HANGRY" (when you're so hungry, you get angry) and those laughs will become far and few. 

Keep it to about 7-10 minutes and your sorted. It's not too long and not too short and you should be able to fill that with good content without having to scrape the bottom of the barrel for funny stories. Quality over quantity and all that. 

2. DO NOT INSULT THE BRIDE!!!!!

There's a good chance the bride thinks your an idiot anyway, after all, the groom has most likely told her some embarrassing stories about you, so keep her sweet. Funny wee jibes are fine but nothing too personal and always back up any dodgy comments with something nice about her. This goes for the groom too. You can be a bit more cruel to him but always throw in some nice comments too.

3. Keep It Clean

I've heard a lot of speeches in my time as a wedding photographer and dirty speeches are very cringy. Don't get me wrong, a bit of blue can be welcomed with almighty outbursts of laughter mainly from shock value, but i'd definitely say keep the dirty chat for nights out with the lads. On a side note, avoid swearing. Your audience is varied and Grandparents, kids etc don't want to hear it. Keep it classy.

4. Props Are Good. 

I think this may be down to personal preference but I've never seen anyone not get a laugh when using some funny props during the speech. It keeps things diverse and interesting and stops people from zoning out, after all, the best man speech is the last speech before dinner. People are hungry and may drift off if things are a bit stagnant. 

5. Don't Reminisce Too Much. 

It's nice to go back a few years and tell a funny story from the past but no need to go down memory lane and drag up lots of "good ol' times" stories. Half of the guests probably won't really know much about the other half.  The speech should be interesting to everyone. 

6. Use Que Cards

Do not have the entire speech written down in front of you. I recommend writing the full thing down when initially writing it but when it comes to practicing it, use que cards and try to remember as much as you can without reading it from the cards. This is awesome if you can do this. It makes you look confidant (talk loudly) and also gives you lots of respect as you have clearly taken the time to practice the speech.  If you're reading it like a kid in school, it's boring. DON'T BE THAT GUY!

7. End with a Flourish

Think about the headliner at a music festival, they don't just end the last song with a b-side that nobody likes and walks off. They end with a fan favourite and leave people feeling good. Take this philosophy in and make sure the last line is a beauty. It could be something nice or something funny but make sure it hits home.

8. Relax

I know this is a hard thing to do but remember what I mentioned earlier, people are in high spirits at a wedding, they love the best man speech, It's what the groom and father of the bride have been support acts for. They're ready to laugh and your the man for the job! Follow these tips and you can't go wrong. You've been chosen because your important to the groom and you won't disappoint. 

I would love to hear from any best men out there and to hear some more tips to help future best men. Write you experiences in the comments below and give us a laugh.

Rx

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How To Be The Perfect Bridesmaid

There are a lot of things that can make a massive difference to your wedding day. Some things can make or break it. The band for example, if your band (or DJ) suck, then your reception will fall flat, people will be bored and the whole excitement of the day can be sucked away. 

Personally, I believe there's another factor that is probably put in place way back before almost anything has been booked and that is...THE BRIDESMAIDS!! You guys can make my life easy or you can be a nightmare (yes, i said it). I love it when I go to the morning bridal prep and everyone is happy, smiling, welcoming and of course....prepared.  It makes things start off great and things get even better from there. 

I'm fortunate enough to say that I have always been very lucky with all my couples and their bridal party but, every now and then you run into some that make the wedding day a little more stressful than it needs to be. 

Brides feed off their bridesmaids, a stressed out bridesmaid is an even more stressed out bride so keep it cool and follow this handy checklist to make sure you give your friend/sister/cousin the best start to the biggest day of her life. 

- Don't leave things to the last minute. Make sure you have everything you need all prepped and ready so that you don't have to spend time (or stress yourself) trying to find things. 

- Make sure you schedule more than enough time for hair and make up. The bride usually goes last so make sure there's plenty of time for her to look her best. 

- By the time the bride's hair and make up is finished, you should be in your dress and ready to help her into hers. If your all ready and looking great it means you can help make things easier for the bride and of course it looks great in pictures when everyone is looking good. 

- Sometimes brides have a lot of bridesmaids and that's great, but, when it comes to helping her into her dress it's best if only 1 or 2 are actually involved. Give the bride space so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed and it also allows the photographer to get the best shots. Please be there though, in the background and available to go grab anything required. 

- Finally, remember who this day is for. This is a massive day for 2 people your very close to. It's super important to make sure the brides needs come before yours. If you follow these tips above, you'll be ready in plenty of time, looking fantastic and available to make your friend/sister/cousins day the best it can possibly be which can only lead to a fantastic day for everyone else involved. 

Stuart and Fiona - The National Piping Centre, Glasgow.

Stuart and I go back a fair bit. We knew each other when we both had long hair and played music in venues far less stunning than the beautiful wedding venues I see now. It's always nice to photograph a friends wedding. Sometimes there's a bit more pressure but it's also a tad more special. I've photographed a lot of friends weddings and this one was an absolute beauty. 

Stu (or Stubear as I like to call him) and Fiona are 2 of the nicest and most chilled people I've met. Throughout the day it was all smiles and hugs, just the way it should be. They said their vows in front of family and friends at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow and we remained there for the full day with a full blown Ceilidh (Reely Jiggered)at the reception. 

Fiona wore a gorgeous dress from Berketex Bride and was complimented by her gorgeous bridesmaids who wore classy gowns from Coast. Her hair was styled by Emma Leigh and the girls used their own talents for make-up. Finished off with some beautiful flowers by Lavender Blue, Fiona headed off to meet her man who looked the mighty Highlander in a kilt from A Crawford and Son. A special mention to Edwina at Rosewood Cakes because I love cake and it was amazing!!

Anyway, enough from me.

Enjoy

Rx 

Should I hire a videographer?

One of the most common things I get asked after a couple has hired me is "Can you recommend any Videographers?" yet I'd say that out of the amount of weddings I have photographed, only about 50% have actually had a videographer there. Videography seems to be one of those things where it's is even more of a luxury than anything else. 

The truth is, for most people, it comes down to affordability. Weddings are expensive, we all know this, but weddings are a luxury. The venue, the flowers, the food, the band, the photographer, the cars, the favours...EVERYTHING is a luxury. That is why these things are expensive. Anyone getting married can go to their local registry office and get married at hardly any cost but lets get real....most people use a wedding to celebrate the occasion with everyone they know and that's what makes weddings so awesome (read my post about why they're so awesome).  Take away all the luxuries and it would be a few people at the local registry office and then out for a meal and a few drinks.

So, anyway, the point is that you should only do what is right for you and whether it's within your budget. Personally, and of course I am totally bias, I feel like there are only a few things that stand the test of time after the wedding day is over. 

• A happy couple on a lifetime journey together
• Your wedding photography
• Your wedding video

Of course you could add things like, your wedding rings but you know what I'm getting at. 

When the day is over, the flowers wilt, the cars are gone, the food is eaten, the drink is finito (of course) even your gorgeous wedding dress is looking a little worse for wear, but 10 years, 20 years, 50 years later, you can still look back at your wedding pictures and video and relive the moments of your special day. 

My opinion is, If you can swing the cash to hire a videographer, do it. Videography has come along way over the years and gone are the days of static, boring shots from a camera on a tripod stuck in the corner. These days, videography is like having a movie of your day, with sweeping panning shots, beautiful music and quality sound to capture your vows and speeches perfectly. 

I've taken the liberty of adding a few videos from some amazing Scottish based Videographers. Have a look and ask yourself if it's something you can squeeze in the budget. 

First up - White Balloon Films

These guys know what they're doing. Stewart and Alina are a married company and know exactly how a wedding should be filmed. Unbelievable quality and with the choice of music you can't help but feel like you know the couples they film and are over the moon for them. I've felt myself chocked up a few times looking at their films. And they use a drone which is so awesome! 

Next up - MacDonald Studio

I worked with MacDonald Studio at a wedding back in 2012 and their work gets better and better every time I see it. Beautifully filmed and super nice quality. Robert is a true videographer who showed us a short film he had made whilst we chatted during the dinner at a wedding we worked together. He knows his stuff and is a fantastic videographer. 

Finally - Cinemate Films

Something that is extremely important when choosing anyone to handle a part of your wedding, is they should love what they do. It should come across that it isn't just a job to pay the bills and it shouldn't feel like your just another client to them. When you meet any vendor, they should feel like they care and will work hard for you to make sure they do the best they can do for you. This is exactly what Cinemate are all about. Just go to their website and look through it, you'll soon realise these guys LOVE documenting weddings. 

Let me know in the comments what you think about videography and what factors you took into consideration or are taking into consideration when booking your videographer.