In March we photographed Lionel and Natalie’s wedding at Northbrook Park, Hampshire. We loved it so much it’s gone straight into the Portfolio. Click to see some of the highlights.
Receiving a thank you card from a bride and groom always gives us a warm fuzzy feeling. We received one this week from a couple we photographed towards the end of last year. I had to share some of their words. “A massive thank you for all the work you put into our wedding photos. You guys were so great on the day, we hardly knew you were taking our photo at times! And the photos are PERFECT. Seriously, they were exactly what we were hoping for & we’re dead chuffed with them!”
When you’re asked to photograph a wedding at a venue like Waddesdon Manor it’s always a pleasure to travel and go the extra distance. Kirsten and Dave were married at The Diary at Waddesdon Manor. A rainy February day didn’t spoil it’s beauty. Huge congratulations to the couple and sincere gratitude for choosing us to photograph your special day. Here’s one of my favourites from the day. This one was captured by Josh.
Our 2016 is off to a good start. We photographed our first wedding of the year on the 16 January. Sarah and Scott had their wedding reception at the Montague Arms in Beaulieu, Hampshire. After their honeymoon they sent us the nicest email. Nothing speaks louder than praise from a bride and groom who’ve worked with us. “Thank you and Josh SO much for photographing our wedding day. We had an absolutely fantastic time and we’ve had so many comments from people, no one seems to have even noticed you being there! We’re hugely grateful because you made us feel really relaxed. It just felt like having a friend with us all day, which was lovely and the locations we picked for the photos ended up being ideal for the weather, if a little muddy..! With our heartfelt thanks again and best wishes.” Praise indeed!
Howdy blog fans, and to those who may be visiting for the first time – welcome! 2015 was a great year for us here at Ben Goode Photography. It was a year of real progression and one of a number of ‘firsts’. We have somewhat neglected the blog (again). I really wanted to share our last wedding of the year with you all. Dani and Harry celebrated their wedding at the Master Builders hotel in Beaulieu, Hampshire on the 19 December. They were a great couple to work with and photograph. We’ll add the wedding to our portfolio shortly, which by the way has two new weddings in. Be sure to check them out. Below is a small selection of the final 400 images the couple chose. Enjoy!
We’ve had such a great summer this year. What’s really stood out of for us is the feedback we’ve had. So many thank yous and positive words about our work. Josh and I have been wondering why such an increase? We think it’s because our work has reached a new level and we’re truer more than ever to our unobtrusive approach. Have a read of some of the comments below from couples this year and decide for yourselves. The first one from Harriet and Shaun is great. It’s in three parts. The first is their response after we had photographed their wedding day. The second is after seeing the first cut of photos in the online gallery and the third response is their reaction after receiving the finished product. Harriet and Shaun 15 August 2015 Part 1 We cannot thank you enough for being part of our special day. You and Josh were like guests and so discreet. We really didn’t notice you taking any photographs but you were always there when we needed you. Lots of our guests commented on how you blended in so well and everyone felt so relaxed because we didn’t have any staged photographs. We are so glad that we went with reportage. We cannot wait to see our day in photographs. Part 2 Oh my goodness Ben!!!!!!! The photos are AMAZING! I have spent the entire day looking at them and showing my students!!! I even cried when I first looked at them! It’s such an amazing gift to be able to look at our day through your someone else’s eyes. It has reminded me of so many things. I can’t wait to get choosing our favourites. Thank you so much!!! Part 3 The pictures are amazing, we’re blown away! Thank you so much!! We love the box and USB design. Luke and Kit 8 August 2015 Firstly thank you so much for taking such wonderful photos. The photos do truly tell the story of the day capturing so many special moments from start to finish. Each photo reminds us of little parts of the day, from laughing with the vicar, the look of despair with the car, giggling with our friends, family getting together, people reactions to the speeches and then finally the dreaded first dance. You have captured peoples emotions so well and the feel of the day, relaxed, happy and a lot of love. We love the photos in the field, they are amazing. Both sets of parents love the photos too! Sam and Becky 25 July 2015 Just want to say thanks for shooting the wedding. You and your brother were so professional, discreet, and polite. You were ninja like. Thanks for adapting to things like the tea ceremony even though it wasn’t in our original plan. It was a real pleasure having you shoot our wedding. I am pleased I made the right choice with you. The way you organised the group shots was absolutely amazing. Jason and Hannah 11 July 2015 Just wanted to send a quick e-mail to say thank you very much for the way you and Josh worked during our wedding, our guests all said how they didn’t notice you (in a good way!!!!) taking the photos which hopefully means we’ll have some very natural shots of everyone enjoying themselves! I don’t think we could have chosen two better photographers if we had tried you really helped make our day that much more special and a good time. We would definitely not hesitate to use you both again or to recommend you to anyone that is in need of photographers!
We had back-to-back weddings this weekend. We were at Froyle Park on Friday and then Hambledon Vineyard on Saturday. Here’s a quick first look at one from Andrew and Lisa’s wedding yesterday. It was the Vineyard’s first ever wedding. They put on such a good reception! We look forward to working there again. Check back soon for a look at our first wedding of the year!
This time last week I attended a friends wedding in Anglesey, north Wales. It was unusual to be at a wedding and not be behind the lens (officially). I really enjoyed the experience, being able to sit back and enjoy the day. Of course I couldn’t NOT bring a camera and get any pictures. I was able to get some great shots as one of the guests. It was also interesting observing their photographer and seeing how he worked on the day. Here’s on of my favourites – the newlyweds releasing a pair of white doves at Beaumaris Castle. Huge congratulations to them both! Officially our 2015 wedding season starts tomorrow with our first shoot of the year at Froyle Park. It’s going to be quite special!
In all the years I’ve been running this photography blog I’ve never showcased one of our wedding album designs. I thought today it’s about time we changed that! Last summer we photographed a gorgeous wedding at Dean Court in Dorset. Danni and Toby had such an eye for detail. There was an abundance for Josh and I to capture on the day. I’m delighted with the album design. I think I’ll have to order a copy for us! Browse through the different spreads and soak in the atmosphere and story of their day.
Back in the summer we purchased a quadcopter drone. It carries a GoPro camera and can take photos or record 4K video at vantage points we could never ordinarily get to. It’s fully insured and is currently being registered with the CAA (UK Civil Aviation Authority). There has been some bad press recently about drones. Unfortunately enthusiasts with little or no common sense or regard for safety have given them a bad name. We have been practising with the drone a lot to get as much experience with the flight controls as possible. We’ve yet to use it commercially. Above is a very short clip from a woodland wedding photographed earlier this year. We shot the footage as a favour. Let us know if you’d like us to fly the drone at your wedding.