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Are you having a good weekend Brides Up North? I hope so! I’m off on a friend’s hen weekend at the moment, so I leave you with this lovely chat I had with the fabulous photographer Tux & Tales Photography earlier this week. What a cool chick and what beautiful images! This wedding blogger is all agog (and it ain’t the hen do grog!)…
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How did you get into wedding photography?
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I started out years ago doing what is called ‘art photography’ – which mostly involves a lot of gallery showings and not a lot of money. Although I still love art photography (particularly photographing abandoned buildings and places), I decided that I really wanted to make a living doing it and so the progression into portraiture and eventually weddings seemed only natural. I grew up in a photography family, with my father having been a photographer years ago and remaining a die-hard enthusiast for years after leaving photography as a profession.
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Why wedding photography specifically?
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I know it may sound silly, but as soon as I decided that I wanted to become a full time photographer, I wanted to photograph weddings (it just took a while to build my confidence!).There is something so exciting and irreplaceable about being a part of someone’s wedding day. You are an integral piece of one of the biggest days of someone’s life and you are helping to create the photographs that will be shared for generations to come – how could I not completely love wedding photography?
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What is your favourite thing about being a wedding photographer?
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My favourite part is getting to know the couple. I get so attached to my couples that I even sometimes cry during the speeches. Sad, but true!
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How do you get couples to relax on the day?
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Lots of Champagne! 🙂 … noooooo… don’t do that! Unless you really like that one eye closed ‘pirate’ look! Honestly, I believe that the best way to relax in front of the camera is to get to know your photographer really well before the day. We offer complimentary engagement sessions and during this time, you get an opportunity to see how I work and to get to know me a little bit on a personal level. It is so much easier to relax if it feels like a friend is photographing you rather than a stranger.
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Any advice to any brides who don’t like to have their picture taken?
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Boy, I am going to sound like I am harping on engagement sessions, but they really are critical to creating great photos – particularly if you are camera shy. I hate having my photo taken – I have been known to literally run from a camera before. I think it is one of the reasons I decided to get behind the lens (no running if you are the one taking the picture). From my own camera-shy experience, feeling comfortable with the photographer makes a huge difference. I know that I feel so much better about having my photo taken if I know in advance that my photographer can pose my body to hide all the wobbly-bits that I hate.
It also doesn’t hurt to practise a little before the day. A tiny lift of the chin or turn of the ankle can make a huge difference, so it never hurts to get into your wedding dress before the day and ‘get your pose on’ in front of a mirror. C’mon – it isn’t like you really need an excuse to put on that lovely dress!
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What sort of makeup should a bride wear to look great in her pictures?
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I always recommend a professional makeup artist for your big day because they really are pros and know which brands look best on camera (some really do look better than others!) But let’s be realistic, not everyone has the extra money in their budget. So my biggest bit of advice is to watch your skin tone matching – it is really rough when the photos look like you have an orange mask on your face and a white neck. If you have creamy skin, rock it – don’t cover it. I have found that MAC makeup looks really great and you could always have a consultation with a MAC makeup artist before the day. One last hint (as I ramble on…) watch the false eyelashes. Glue them on really well because crying can dislodge them and you may not notice that they have peeled back for quite some time!
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Anything to avoid which might look bad in the wedding pictures?
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Avoid rushing and give yourself time in the day to have your photos taken. Wedding photography is usually the largest amount of money anyone will ever pay for professional photography – make the most of it.
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Which celebrity wedding would you most like to photograph and why?
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Wow… so many… how would I ever narrow down the list? I would have to say it is a tie between Maggie Gyllenhaal’s wedding and Stephen Fry’s civil partnership.
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Any memorable weddings that you have captured?
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I love both little DIY weddings full of fabulous details as well as big, luxury affairs. Recently we photographed a wedding that was a bit of both. The bride and groom had this really elegant luxury wedding at Sudbury Hall National Trust property (NT weddings rock!) and when they went home, they had this great boho-eclectic DIY reception at their house. There was salsa dancing and a treasure hunt! In the groom’s speech he said that being with his new wife was better than the Evel Knievel action figure he got as a kid. I cried.
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Are you married? Tell us about your day.
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I am married to the best husband in the entire world (who also just happens to work as my assistant). When we got married a few years ago we were po’ (too poor to afford the ‘O’ and the ‘R’) and we did the whole wedding on £1000. I wore a charity-shop wedding dress and we were married in a mixed faith ceremony at the local church. We were so poor the vicar even rung the bells for us for free because we couldn’t afford to pay for it. We had a fabulous, really fun day and even though we were on the world’s smallest budget, I still remember it so fondly. We have decided that in a few more years, we will renew our vows and do something really quirky and out-of-this-world (he was talking rickshaw and those great tee-pee tents…need I say more?).
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Any funny stories to share?
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We were recently at a wedding were the best man and the groom had accidentally swapped coats and at the end of the evening, everyone was waiting to give the bride and groom their big send off and the groom couldn’t find his keys! Everyone was in a mad panic trying to find the keys including the best man. This went on for a half an hour or so before the best man realised he had the keys in his pocket because he was wearing the groom’s coat. Poor guy turned about 19 shades of purple. I think it is fun stuff like that which is remembered years and years later. It seems embarrassing at the time but makes for a great memory.
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What sets you apart from other wedding photographers?
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Our business is created following the ‘boutique’ model – meaning that we take on fewer clients but give them more service. I am a complete nut for good customer service (and not afraid to write a stern letter when I get bad service!) and I want to be the part of the wedding that goes perfectly. Time and again our clients have thanked us for the way we watched after all the little details. We also like to think of ourselves as guests at a wedding who are entrusted with photographing it – not some great, bossy choreographer who needs to herd the cattle into behaving properly. We take a ‘light hand’ with guests and try to use humour to get people to do what we need them to do.
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What can a couple who book you expect on the day?
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They can expect to have a good time!
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What is included in your "package"?
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We offer collections that start at 4 hours and go up to 12 hours and include a disc of high resolution, individually retouched photographs. We also offer a range of modern and traditional print options from world class printing companies.
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Can you give us an idea on price?
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Our collections begin at £600.
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Can you do a discount for Brides Up North readers?
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Brides who contact us and tell us that they found us through Brides Up North will receive £100 off their wedding collection if they book before the 30th of November, 2011.
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We take bookings up to 2 years in advance and as prime dates go quickly, we always encourage brides to book us early!
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How can Brides Up North get in touch with you/ see more examples of your work?
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They can visit us at our website: www.tuxandtalesphoto.co.uk and on facebook or twitter (@TuxandTales).
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © Tux & Tales Photography
Tux & Tales Photography is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
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