“… Then just when the guests think it can't get any better, people are directed to wander around to the Great Conservatory, which for me is the real jaw-dropper…”
Read moreNicola & Antony, Wedding photography at Andaz, London
Andaz is one of those hotels which gives a photographer more and more, depending on how much you search. Prior to this shoot, I'd eaten there once, met Nicola and Antony there once, but never really had a chance to recce because it's such a busy, public location.
Located right next to London's Liverpool Street Station, the hotel is what I'd call an 'inside/outside space'. The drinks reception was in a very spacious area, lit by natural light, but all inside - therefore weather-proof. This alone makes it a very popular venue with couples and I really enjoyed the commission as I could also use significant elevation and record the feeling of space in several shots.
Nicola and Antony were fabulously laid-back and just rolled with the day. I was given my usual 'do your own thing' brief and a nice set emerged as a result. I won't overplay the fact that the location was literally 2 mins walk from my train home, but...
So, a stylish couple and a venue at which you don't care about the weather. But what did the weather actually do on the day? It was warm and sunny. Oh, the irony...
As usual here is a small selection from the day. Click on any thumbnail to enlarge...
From the archive... #3
It always intrigues me why people like certain pictures within a set. This little sequence is one on which clients always linger in my portfolio. Here's a little background...
The commission was a Christmas wedding last year with the drinks reception in a private residence. I had worked the room a little in search of off-beat and candid portraits, but kept noticing the little flower girl nipping away into one of the downstairs rooms.
didn't really pay much attention to this until I heard the piano certainly not making a great sound. After putting two and two together it was suddenly obvious that the little rascal was making her own entertainment...
Adopting my very best stealth approach, I let her just play around nd tried to shoot frames as she hit the keys, so as not to disturb the scene. It wasn't until she'd finished that my presence had been sensed, and she immediately scurried from the room. It's the last image and the look on her face which absolutely makes the set.
(Canon 5DMK2 body, 85mm lens, 1600asa, 60th @F2)
