Author: vickyjanephoto

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SWPP Gold Awards Gained by Vicky Hubbard of Victoria Jane Photography

The SWPP is a worldwide association for professional photographers. As an SWPP member I am entitled to enter my photographs into their monthly competitions. It isn’t something that I do very often but during October and November 2010 I decided to have a go. I was awarded two gold standard awards and umpteen silver awards in all the categories that I entered. Gold standard images are judged by the SWPP to be of the ‘highest standard’ and are the only ones published in their ‘Professional Imagemaker’ magazine. Silver awards are judged to be ‘above standard’ with the potential to be upgraded on further assessment. Here’s a sneaky look at my two Gold Award winning entries …….

…… You’ll see that I don’t just photograph weddings!

I took the above photo when on safari in the Samburu region of Kenya. It won gold in November 2010. I spotted these elephants in the distance (about 500 yards away!) against the sunset and thought that it would make a wonderful silhouette, especially with the acacia tree to add some dimension. The sunset really was bright orange but I had to be quick because within only 5 minutes it was totally dark!

Regular blog readers might recognise this interior photograph that I took at Ragley hall as part of Kate and Adam’s wedding. It won gold in it’s category in December 2010. Anyone who has visited Ragley hall near to Alcester will know that it has some magnificent interior decor and furnishings, not least the murals in this hallway and landing leading up to the private quarters just outside the grand hall. Photographers will know how dark it is in there with light and shadow caused by exterior light from only one direction so I had to use my 5DMkii (one of my back-up wedding cameras) on top of a tripod and some wide open apertures with long exposures to get this image (not one for a digital compact!).

If you’d like to see some more award winning images please keep an eye open on this blog over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, you’ll now know that I take photographs in all sorts of situations and at all kinds of events. Obviously, I do plenty of weddings but I also cover parties, celebrations of all kinds and corporate work such as product or personnel shots for web sites and brochures. I only use the best Canon equipment and I’m totally professional in my approach.

If you have any need for an ‘award-winning’ 🙂 professional photographer for your wedding, celebration or corporate needs please do call me on 07739096632.

Vicky

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Sarah & Darren’s Wedding | Photography at the Forest hotel in Dorridge, West Midlands

After a busy Christmas most people like to chill out … Not Sarah 🙂 … as well as her tireless fund raising for Macmillan Cancer Support in Coventry & Warkwickshire, being a full-time mum & preparing for Christmas, Sarah was also organising her wedding … which included making all her guests individual cup cakes (yum) – Mad, I know!

So I guess it was quite fitting that she used equally mad photographers to capture her & Darren’s special day

– Stuart (Will the mad fool make it?) Kettell & myself !!

We’ve both known Sarah for a number of years & as well as all being good friends, Stuart & I (more recently) also help raise money for Macmillan.

The Weather can always be an interesting challenge for the photographer & today was no exception! The ground still had a light covering of snow, in patches, & as we approached The Forest Hotel in Dorridge we also had a thick fog to contend with.

Below are a selection of images from Sarah & Darren’s Wedding day

As Sarah & the girls get ready …

… We meet the two most important young men of the day!

Also in the above picture we have the Groom, Darren (bottom rhs) & best man (bottom lhs).

Apparently they are always this angelic!

Sarah’s bridesmaids looking stunning.

Sarah’s Dad proudly walks his daughter down the aisle.

The exchange of rings followed by the reading “the Lovely other Dinosaur” by Sarah’s sister.  Proudly helping out, Sarah & Darren’s boys hold up drawings they’ve made to illustrate the poem – ahh 🙂

The Kiss!

It’s official.

The lengths we’ll go to as photographers to get the shot …

Darren serenades his beautiful bride

(while I stand in 4″ of water on the flat roof of the hotel just to capture the moment)

Sarah had thought of everything ……… 🙂

For the observant among you, even the photographers ended up being photographed!!

And as the evening drew to an end …

… We had time for one final image ♥

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Kate and Adam | Wedding Photography at Ragley Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire by Victoria Jane Photography

Here’s proof that people read this blog and visit my website: Kate and Adam live in London but decided to get married at the fabulous Ragley Hall at Alcester near to Stratford Upon Avon in Warwickshire. They did an internet search of Wedding Photographers in Warwickshire, found my blog site, looked at my images, arranged a meeting with me and then booked me to photograph their special day.

They decided to hold the whole of their wedding day at Ragley hall, including the ceremony and a blessing afterwards by a local minister. Luckily, it was on a day that Ragley hall itself wasn’t open to the general public. It gave us plenty of opportunity to photograph the architecture of the building and gardens (specifically requested by Adam who is an architect) and to capture the story of their day from arrival of the groom until the start of the celebratory meal.

Two of us attended the wedding. We knew that there would be some photographic challenges, especially due to the light available in the grand hall and the VERY bright sunlight in the afternoon outside …. but after many hours of carefully choosing and editing images I’ve been able to present Kate and Adam with a fantastic selection of images from which they can choose for their album. I know that they are delighted with their image choice … AND … after entering some of their images for assessment by the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) I’ve picked up more awards including a Gold and a Bronze from this wedding alone! (More on this to follow in a later blog post!) Here’s a taster of the wedding photographs from their special day ……

The venue! Ragley Hall, Alcester, near to Stratford Upon Avon – dating back to around 1860

Adam, looking very dashing and outwardly quite calm, while they waited for Kate to arrive ….

Another touch of class – brand new Jaguar XJ cars – fantastic! …. And a favourite modern choice of ours

A fitting chariot for Kate who looked absolutely fantastic ….

The very grand ‘Red room’ leads into the Grand Hall. Just time for Kate and her dad to settle their nerves before entering for the ceremony.

Adam gets his first glimpse of his beautiful bride ….

Photography Plug!  – notice we got an image of Kate from behind just before entering the hall and one from the front as she walked up the aisle. Once again, an advantage of having two photographers present!

Exchange of the rings …. (again, from the back of the hall and from the front)

Just married, a little time to breathe …. and then it was outside to the front of the house for a whole group photo on the front steps ….

There were certain group shots that Kate and Adam wanted us to get for them but we were mindful that they wanted to spend time with their guests.

Confetti on the back terrace (colour-popped image)

You may have noticed that it was a great day for a few silhouettes!

Kate was so natural and vivacious that you could be led to believe that she is used to being in-front of the camera!

It was nearly time for their sit-down meal and time for us to go …. but we just had to take advantage of sun setting over those fantastic grounds ….

And finally, a last look at the Hall, guests inside about to start their dinner and an evening of entertainment!

We thoroughly enjoyed taking the photographs at Ragley Hall and you can see more images of the building from a earlier blog post. The wedding coordinator was particularly helpful when we went along on a couple of occasions before Kate and Adam’s wedding day to plan our photography. We think we managed to capture the story of kate and Adam’s special day, along with the grandeur of the venue and we hope to be back there very soon for another wedding.

If you need a photographer or you know of anybody who needs an inventive and professional wedding photography service at Ragley hall or other similar Warwickshire venue please give me a call (07739096632). I’ll be glad to discuss your requirements with you and show you many more images and album samples from weddings such as Kate and Adam’s.

Vicky

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Tara and David | Wedding Photography at Coventry Register Office and Hatton Village Hall

I met Tara and David to discuss their wedding photography much earlier in the year and was delighted when they came back to me to say that they had chosen me to do their wedding photography for them. They had planned their special day to be in two locations, Coventry Register Office and celebrations afterwards at the Hatton Village hall in Warwickshire. When the big day arrived everyone had a great time, despite one or two mishaps caused by an administrative error by their coach company (coach didn’t turn up to transport 80 ish guests over to Hatton!)

Still, it didn’t spoil the day and aided by some beautiful autumn colours under the trees at Coventry register office and at Hatton Locks, I’m really pleased with the way the photos turned out ……

An important family member who wanted to be involved but unfortunately couldn’t attend the wedding itself!

First glimpse of Tara on her special day …..

Coventry Register Office ……

David and his grooms-men waiting patiently for Tara to arrive …..

One of the very important little bridesmaids (and is that a really magic wand I see?)… Couldn’t resist adding a bit of sparkle … Don’t you just love CS5!

It can be a real challenge to get the shots in the service at Coventry register office. It’s very dark and opportunities are restricted by the rules set by the registrars

Some ‘fun’ time for the kids of all ages with the autumn leaves while the best man chased the coach company to find out where they were!

Time for some newly-wed photos of Tara and David before setting off for Hatton

Whenever we attend a wedding we have always planned the photography thoroughly. Sometimes we need to be flexible when plans get changed at the last minute. Whilst the absent coach company was being sorted out we left earlier with Tara and David to go to Hatton locks to take advantage of the lovely sunshine and the autumn colours for some more ‘couple shots’ ….

We weren’t the only ones with cameras at the wedding ……

Evening entertainment went down really well ….

And we injected a little unexpected extra fun for ourselves ….. Just a minute … Who is the groom getting intimate with on his wedding night?

After around 12 hours of photography by both of us this was one of our parting shots …..

This was a wedding that we both attended for the whole day from bridal preparations at Tara’s home in the morning to the first dance and way beyond. The photos shown in this blog post are only a small sample of the ones that I’ve now prepared and provided for Tara and David to look at ready for their album choice after Christmas.

I’m booking up weddings for 2011 and 2012. Many of the more popular dates, especially in August 2011, are already taken, but if you need a Coventry and/or Warwickshire based photographer for your special day please do give me a call on 07739096632. I’ll be glad to discuss your wishes with you.

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General Blog Update

Ok, so you’ve not heard from me for a while ……Sorry about that!

Is it because I’ve been doing nothing and had nothing to say? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Far from it, in-fact. I’ve been SO BUSY that I simply haven’t had the time to tell you what I’ve been doing. Anyway, I’m now taking a break from the photography for a few days and I’m going to be adding a few more images from some of the events and weddings I’ve been doing in the last two months. I’ve been photographing weddings, Christmas parties, doing family photo shoots and doing some corporate photography in Warwickshire and Coventry …. and winning several awards for photos that I’ve been entering into international competitions for the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) experts to judge!  More blog posts with more images to look at will follow VERY soon …..

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Terry’s Surprise 65th Birthday Party at Sketchley Grange | photographed by Victoria Jane Photography

I’ve been lucky enough over the past year to be booked for a number of fantastic surprise birthday or anniversary parties.

I first met Shireen & Terry when I had been asked to photograph the President’s Golfing dinner at Nuneaton Golf course earlier in the year.

Shireen called me to say that she was organising a surprise party for her husband & wanted me to come along, for around 2 hours, to photograph the evening.  As she went on to explain what she was organising I was astounded by how much she was planning & I have to admit, a little excited to hear about the entertainment act she had chosen.

I’ve always been a fan of Monty Python & John Cleese, so imagine my delight when Shireen said that she had booked a Basil Fawlty & Manuel double-act from  “John Parkin as Cleese” (www.cleese.co.uk).  I’ve got to say, I was not disappointed :).  They were brilliant! – The pair went from table to table in the classic Basil & Manuel style buffoonery, entertaining guests while we waited for Terry to arrive.  Not stopping there, during the buffet they went on to insult (in a humorous way of course), irritate &  make people laugh … Manuel even attempted to serve the buffet to the crowd, before perfectly executing a well thought out plot to pretend to drop a box with a set of very expensive crystal cut glasses in.  Even though Shireen had known the plan, both she, Terry & all 80+ guests were crying with hysterics when Manuel went flying, smashing the contents of the box to smithereens 🙂

Once the evening was well underway & Terry had started to recover from the fantastic Surprise his wife had organised it soon became clear that 2 hours photography wasn’t going to be long enough.  I was really pleased when Shireen asked me to stay 2 more hours to continue photographing the evening.  This also included some great entertainment provided by the musical tribute band Barry Walker’s Smackee.

Below is a small selection of the photographs taken on the evening.

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Linda and Ian at Coombe Park Hotel | Warwickshire Wedding Photography by Victoria Jane Photography

This was one of my more unusual weddings of the year and one of the most intimate and enjoyable!  I was asked to photograph Linda and Ian’s wedding at the lovely Coombe Park Hotel just outside Coventry a couple of weeks ago. The lovely couple had so many guests to invite that in the end they decided to keep the day entirely to themselves! I feel very honoured that they chose me to be with them throughout and to photograph their special day so that they could share their memories with family and friends afterwards.

Coombe Park hotel is a lovely venue on the outskirts of Coventry on the road towards the village of Brinklow. The hotel was once an abbey and the grounds are magnificent. Over the years there have been many stories of ghosts and paranormal activities – so much so that they actually run a ghost tour! ….. And the ghost tour was one of the highlights of Linda and Ian’s wedding day.

I must admit that I was worried that my presence might be a little intrusive, but Linda and Ian were so relaxed and welcoming that it worked out just fine and I’m really pleased with the number and variety of photographs that I managed to get. Here’s a taster ……

Attention to detail …. the shoes were stunning with their intricate detail

Linda and Ian met up before the ceremony to have a stroll in the beautiful grounds and to make the best of the Autumn sunshine for some photographs …..

Time for a quick drink with their witnesses before seeing off on their ghost tour ….

….the start of the ghost tour with Coombe park’s master of ceremonies, Jonathan

Back inside for the ceremony itself ….

Just married … and time for some more photographs and to explore the grounds and historical building a little more

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing in Linda and Ian’s wedding day and I’m sure that they’ll love the photographs. I stayed for several hours and took loads of images which I have posted on the password protected gallery on my main site. The gallery can be viewed by clicking here and entering the password (which is only available from Linda and Ian). Photo prints are available to purchase on my main website.

If you are getting married at Coombe park hotel and you would like a wedding photographer then please contact me. I’m taking bookings for 2011 and 2012 with some dates proving very popular already. As you can see, I’m happy to photograph small or large weddings at lovely venues throughout Warwickshire and the West midlands. It wasn’t appropriate at Linda and Ian’s wedding, but most of my weddings are covered  by two of us: I am always the principal photographer and I almost always have either my husband or another assistant with me to ensure that we get more shots from different angles.

My contact number for enquiries and information is 07739096632. Alternatively, you can email me by clicking here

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The Faulkner Family | Freezing Photoshoot! …. By Victoria Jane Photography

Paul and his cousin, Tracey, booked me a couple of weeks ago to do a very quick photo shoot for around 30 members of their family. Little did we all know that it would be the first weekend of snow this November! Still, we went ahead as planned and met at the Rugby Town FC ground with family members travelling from all around the country. We worked quickly so that nobody froze to death but I have to say that I couldn’t really feel my fingers very well for a while afterwards. Here’s a taster image from the ones I took this afternoon and more will be appearing on my main website.

For family members who want to view the images properly please click here and enter the password (grandma’s first name – all lower case letters).

If you are looking to order any prints in time for Christmas please make sure I’ve got the order by Friday 10th December at the very latest. Thank you.

If you want a family photo shoot in and around Warwickshire, or if you have any kind of family celebration coming up, please don’t hesitate to contact me. My number is 07739096632.

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Sam and Andy | Wedding Photography at the Ardencote Manor Hotel in Warwickshire

This has to rate up there as one of the most enjoyable weddings of the year! Sam and Andy are such a fun loving fantastic couple that we couldn’t help but smile most of the day. Sometimes we had to remind ourselves that we were there to do the photography and not as guests! The wedding ceremony and celebrations took place at the beautiful Ardencote Manor hotel and Golf Club in Claverdon, Warwickshire. We were there from about 90 minutes before the ceremony started to late into the evening celebrations. It’s probably true to say that we both (Gary and I) took more photographs on this wedding day than just about any other wedding we’ve done this year. I’ll let the photos do the talking – Here we go! ……..

Ardencote Manor Hotel – Front Entrance with turning circle …..

Andy on the far left with groomsmen. What a great bunch!

A few practice swings, just to warm up for the events ahead ….

And a few more exercises to get the legs working too!

Just after the arrival of Sam with her lovely brides maids ….

Sam showing her true feelings for her brother! …..

And then we went inside for the ceremony itself …..

Having the two of us there helps to get photographs from more than one angle without us having to move around and distract the registrars

Signing of the register …..

Then it was time to go outside into the bright sunshine for some group photographs beside the lovely lake ….

Something told me that Andy was in his element – Swept off his feet with a pint in his hand!

A few newlywed ‘alone’ shots ….

And then it was inside to start the celebrations …..

Hilarious speceches. It was difficult to keep the camera still at times! Good job we use stabilised lenses!

On to the first dance and what seemed like hundreds of guests for the evening entertainment …..

Andy treated us all to an impromptu solo performance too! Soooo funny! Sorry Andy, but it was!

As night fell we had the opportunity to try a few slightly more unusual shots ….

We had a great time photographing Andy and Sam’s wedding day. They are a great couple, each with a fantastic sense of humour. It was also great to meet so many guests who’ve been at other weddings we’ve done this year too. Referrals are great for our business and this is how we met Sam and Andy. If you are getting married at the Ardencote Manor hotel in Claverdon in Warwickshire and you need a photographer please do contact me on 07739096632. I’ll be glad to talk to you about your special day.

Meanwhile, if you were one of Sam and Andy’s guests and you want to see more photos from the day (and there are loads!) I’ve put there full gallery of images on my main website. You can view the images by clicking here and entering the password. Only Sam and Andy have been issued with the password so that they have control over who can view the images.

If you’d like to comment on our photography or any of the images here we’d love to hear from you. Please click on the ‘leave a comment’ link below.

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Sue and Jo – Civil Partnership Ceremony at the Golden Lion, Easenhall | Photographed by Victoria Jane Photography

This was a first for me …..and a first for the happy couple too! None of us had ever attended a civil partnership ceremony before so it was an opportunity to learn and photograph something a little different! Jo and Sue asked me to attend and photograph their civil partnership ceremony which was held at the Golden Lion at Easenhall just beyond Brinklow outside Coventry in Warwickshire. Gary, my husband, came along too as a second shooter (which he regularly does). Together, we took hundreds of photographs of the guests before and after the ceremony, the ceremony itself and the celebrations afterwards as well as many ‘family/friends group shots’ and shots of Jo and Sue on their own. A great time was had by all and a very nervous Jo and Sue had a great time on their special day. Here’s a taster of some of my images …….

 

If you were at Jo and Sue’s civil partnership ceremony you may wish to view more images. They are on Jo and Sue’s private gallery on my main website and they can be viewed by clicking here and entering the password which you can only get from Jo or Sue. Photos can be bought from there if you wish.

Meanwhile, if you have a wedding or a civil partnership ceremony coming up in Warwickshire or perhaps a celebration at the Golden Lion in Easenhall and you would like some lovely photographs to record your special day please give me a call and I’ll be glad to talk to you about your requirements. My number is 07739096632.