Jo and Cathal - Heythrop Park pre-wedding shoot

Jo and Cathal flew in from Qatar to have their pre-wedding photo shoot, so we took the opportunity to walk around the grounds of Heythrop Park in Enstone (the venue of their wedding) to have a chat about their day and capture some photographs.

I'm really excited for their wedding. They have friends and family flying in from all over the world, so it's going to be a real party for them.

Georgina and Andy - Milton Hill House pre-wedding photo shoot

Georgina and Andy are getting married later in the year at Milton Hill House, so we decided that this would be a great place for their pre-wedding photo shoot, so they could see where I would be photographing them and talk through the running of the day.

The couple are adorable, so I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding and I feel the pre-wedding photo shoot really helped them to relax, ready for the big day.

An engagement shoot for a gorgeous couple

I was recently contacted by a couple living in America, who were coming to Oxford for the summer to study and work. They'd recently become engaged and wanted to celebrate this in Oxford with an engagement photo shoot… It's sometimes difficult trying to organise a shoot (or wedding) with people living overseas, they maybe don't know their schedule, or their ideas of what might be possible in Oxford aren't actually a reality, but on this occasion our ideas were in sync and Shannon and I were able to send e-mails back and forth to get a brief together (which was essentially a traditional Oxford look; academic, old and stylish) and an idea of where would be best for their photo shoot.

They are an absolutely gorgeous couple, so easy to photograph too. It was a pleasure to work with them and I just wish I lived in America so I could photograph their wedding too!

A few Pre-wedding shoots

I can't stress enough how important I think pre-wedding photo shoots are!  They give me the opportunity to see where your comfort levels are, which poses will work best for you, which type of images you like or dislike and for me to get to know you better and find out more about your wedding - it basically means I'm ready for the day and it will speed along the bride and groom photographs… and for the couple, it's a chance to get used to being in front of the camera, which is invaluable for those who are not naturally comfortable, or used to being, in front of a camera. The amount of feedback I get saying how useful the couples found it and how they feel much more prepared and happy to be photographed!!!

September and October portraits

It was a pretty lousy September and October weather wise, so there was a lot of rescheduling of photo sessions and finding well covered locations. So the few sessions I managed to get outside, in dry weather, were amazing!

The month started with Anna and Alan, an adorable couple who were so cuddly and giggly with each other that I didn't have to direct them at all.  I captured some beautiful shots of them simply being themselves around Kirtlington Village.  

I then had several baby photography sessions, with Gethin turning 6 months old, Jake being born and Ketura turning one.  Gethin and Jake both had natural lifestyle portraits inside, which is perfect for babies their age as they have plenty of their own toys around to keep them entertained. However, we were able to get out to Cutteslowe Park for Ketura's lifestyle session and with the amazing autumn leaves dropping, the colours were beautiful and vivid.

I met with Santana and David early one Saturday morning at Christchurch meadows in Oxford. We met so early that the morning fog was still present!  This made an amazing, yet slightly eery, backdrop to their pre-wedding photography session.  This was the first time I met with the couple, and we got on like a house on fire... I'm now very much looking forward to meeting them in Australia, where they are soon to emigrate to.

I met with Clare and Mike at Claydon House, Buckinghamshire.  It's a place that the couple have visited many times before, so was perfect for their pre-wedding photo shoot.  I loved the venue, with their beautiful views and quirky barn doors!  Clare and Mike were wonderful too, so natural and at ease around me, they were a pleasure to photograph.

I photographed Luke and Viv's pre-wedding photo shoot in late October. They opted for a studio style session at their home... they were so much fun to photograph, happy to jump on each other and act silly! I knew they would be fun on their wedding day too!

Finally, I was lucky enough to be able to visit Radley College in Abingdon to photograph Anne and Duncan's pre-wedding shoot.  We visited on a weekend, when the college was quiet and student-free, so were able to make use of the beautiful grounds on offer.  Anne and Duncan showed me some of their favourite places for their pre-wedding shoot, like the beautiful lake and the pavilion… I loved it!  I had lots of fun photographing Anne and Duncan, they are both confident thespians, so very easy to photograph and be around and can't wait to photograph their wedding in early 2013.

July and August Portraits

I had another busy, but great, month of pre-wedding shoots in July and August...

July started with the photographing of the lovely Michelle and Chris at Heythrop Park, where they married later in August.  These two had me in stitches throughout the session! We had so much fun racing around the grounds on a golf buggy, looking for old doorways and arches for the couple to pose by. They were also complete naturals, which made me very excited for their wedding day.

Michelle and Chris' session was followed by an afternoon in the sun with my amazing nephew!  We went over to cotswold lavender fields, where they allowed me to take some photos of Noah in amongst the lavender.  He's not one for having his photograph taken, so I loved the natural ones I grabbed of him.

I then met with Kai and Tammy in central Oxford.  Kai and Tammy met at University here and recently got engaged, so they took the opportunity to have a photo shoot in Oxford on their graduation day, so they could display their engagement photographs at their wedding in Singapore later in the year.

In August I met with Steve and Fiona in Woodstock.  We just went for a short walk around the village to get to know one another better before their wedding.  These two are so lovely and I really enjoyed photographing them. They had great ideas for their wedding day too, so we practiced some of the shots that we wanted to re-create on the day.

I met with Bree and Jeff in Waddesdon.  We went for a walk around the grounds of the manor to grab a few shots before their wedding.  It was a worthwhile trip for these two, who were a little nervous about being in front of the camera. They soon relaxed though and began to look forward to the photography on their wedding day.

Lastly, I met with Gemma and Al at The Garth Park in Bicester, a local park for the three of us. The park was looking seasonally green, so made a beautiful backdrop for their photographs. I had a lot of fun with Gemma and Al, getting them to lark around with one another; the results were very natural and relaxed photographs.