It’s a question we get asked from time-to-time. And browsing through our website portfolio and Instagram feed I can see why – we don’t ever post them. In short, the answer is yes. They just aren’t the sort of images we showcase. This is for a number of reasons. They are very personal to the bride and groom and their families, and unless you happen to be in the photograph or know them well they aren’t particularly dynamic, which in terms of a showcase puts them in the ‘boring pile’. Having said that we understand the value they have to the newly-wed couple and their families. Particularly the parents and grandparents. Later in life they serve as historic family records. I personally treasure a ‘formal’ group photograph of four generations in my own family – my son, me, my father and grandfather. I typically set aside some time during the wedding drinks reception to capture the group photographs. Using a list provided by the bride and groom prior to the big day, we work with the ushers/bridesmaids or a best man (in fact anyone who knows the family and wedding party well) to help gather the family together in an unobtrusive manor rather than me barking orders at the guests, which no one appreciates. These photographs take time and can be a little disruptive to the drinks reception. We also feel we capture our best shots when capturing the day in the background, enabling us to tell the story of the day. For these reasons we recommend keeping the number of different group photographs to a maximum number of ten. Personally I think about six works well. Here’s a recommended list: Bride and groom, brides parents. Bride and groom, grooms parents. Bride and groom, combined parents. Bride and groom, combined immediate families. Bride and groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen. Everyone. The photographs above highlight a few recent examples. They were taken at weddings at the Larmer Tree Gardens and the Tithe Barn in Petersfield.
If you’d like to keep a little more up-to-date with our work, head over to Instagram and follow our wedding photography feed at: instagram.com/bengoodephotography. Every (almost every) Wednesday we upload a wedding photograph for #weddingwednesday and on the occasional Thursday we’ll upload an image from the 10 years worth of archives for #throwbackthursday. Keep an eye out for the behind-the-scenes ‘Stories’ as well.
*This will be a long post that I’ll keep adding to over the coming weeks. — You may have seen from our Instagram feed we recently posted a wedding picture for a #throwbackthursday taken… ten years ago! Yep, Ben Goode Photography is ten years old. I can’t believe how quickly that time has passed. The caption from our Instagram post read in part “My sister entrusted me and our Dad to capture her big day. Happy anniversary @e.s.s.y_d!! Three years later I left employment and became a full-time photographer. I’m still loving what I do and 2018 has been one of the best yet. I’ll save the ‘oscar speech’ for a blog post.” I wanted to use the blog to mention and thank a few people who have been instrumental along the way, hence the ‘oscar speech’. No pressure!
Head over to the Portfolio to see Josh and Hannah’s wedding in full, well in 65 images – apparently there’s a limit to these things within the gallery… It’s a lot better than just one sneaky peek we had up there! Click the link to start looking.
In summer this year we photographed Laura and Guy’s wedding at Wick Farm, near Bath. They hired a band for their evening reception – The Radio Kings. The band are part of an entertainment agency Warble who just ran a feature on their blog all about Laura and Guy’s big day. It’s a good little read and great to see some of our pictures alongside the article. Read it here.
I’m so pleased to share this image – a first look at Josh and Hannah’s wedding in Italy. We were in the stunning setting on the border of Tuscany and Umbria at the Agriturismo Villa Baroncino. Head over to our Portfolio to read a little more. So far 2017 has been an amazing year for us. We’ve just had our busiest September ever. It’s been tiring but also very rewarding and encouraging to see the business is still growing strong, even after 9 years in the job. Every few years we are fortunate to get the opportunity to photograph a destination wedding and they are always a highlight for us.
We’re photographing a destination wedding in Florence, Italy in September this year. It’ll be my fourth destination wedding to-date. I’m just a tad excited! Keep an eye out on the blog and our Instagram account for the highlights.
Here’s one of the last shots from our final wedding of 2016. What a year it’s been! See you all in the new year.
We’ve been fans of Instagram for a number of years and have just setup an account for Ben Goode Photography. We’d love you to follow us.
A recent bit of night-time fun with sparklers at Trafalgar Park. We love to capture a wedding day in a way which tells the story as it happened, but we also love to get creative and have fun where we can.