This photograph was taken at Elizabeth and Austin’s wedding at Liverpool Town Hall in August 2008. I really enjoyed this wedding and took quite a few photographs which I was particularly proud of, but this one is definitely my favourite.

It was taken in Liverpool Town Hall’s large ballroom during the couple’s first dance.  It is one of those unposed emotional moments that would be almost impossible to set up. Elizabeth and Austin look so happy and everything in the shot, from the emotion of the bride and groom’s faces to the candles in the background, just fell right at that moment.

As well as myself, Elizabeth & Austin also hired a videographer to capture their wedding and whilst I was talking photographs the videographer was also on the dance floor filming.  The videographer was using a video light on his video camera and it is this light which is lighting up Elizabeth’s veil and giving the rim of light around the couple’s faces.  I think this really makes the image and it is an effort I have recreated at many weddings since by using off-camera flash.

To get an unposed photograph as strong as this also requires quite a bit of luck.  For example I wasn’t consciously trying to position myself so that the candles in the background were just in the frame – but I’m thankful they were as they give the image depth and warmth.

This photograph was awarded a Gold Award in the wedding traditional category in the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) monthly competition and was also featured in the SWPP’s ‘Annual Collection 2008′ publication which contained the top 3 images per category submitted to the SWPP’s monthly competition in 2008.  To have one of my wedding photographs included in the collection was a real honour.

In my opinion, this is certainly the best first dance shot I have ever taken but I will being doing my very best to beat it in the future!

I was delighted to find out that I had been awarded a Gold Award in the SWPP monthly competition in the Wedding Traditional category for May.

Each month members of the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) are invited to submit one image per category (there are four wedding categories) with each photograph then being award either a U, Bronze, Silver or Gold. Since the turn of the year marking in the competition has become stricter and higher awards have been made much harder to achieve – which my award this month all the more pleasing.

For example, in May’s Wedding Traditional category there were 97 entries and mine was the only photograph to achieve Gold.

And here is the image which was awarded Gold, taken at a wedding I covered at Rowton Hall in Chester in May 2009.  To view more photographs from this wedding please click here

As a Manchester wedding photographer, I was pleased to learn today that I have been awarded a Gold award in the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) monthly competition.

The wedding photograph which received the award was a reworked version of a photograph I took at a Liverpool Town Hall wedding earlier in the year.

This is the second gold award I have received since I started entering the competition in April this year but it is my first in a wedding photography category so I’m very pleased.

My aim for 2009 will be to get more golds within the wedding photography categories, it won’t be easier but I will be covering weddings at some lovely venues next year so I’m confident I can do it!