Photo shoot with Dina in Halstead, Essex | www.gavinconlan.com

This is our third shoot together - we have such a laugh.  When we finished chatting and I remembered how to shoot we captured some really great imagery, in the short time we had we still managed to shoot in three locations and had three outfit changes.  Below are a selection of photographs from the shoot, if you want to see more then visit my facebook fan page where they'll be uploaded when I've finished the rest of the edit.

I've sampled some of my new post production techniques on these images and I'm really loving the look and feel I'm creating.  All images were lit with either a mixture of nikon speedlights, daylight balanced video light or just available daylight.

gavin conlan photography facebook fan page is NOW live | www.gavinconlan.com

FINALLY....... after many many debates I've finally been convinced to create my very own facebook fan page for gavin conlan photography, I've been using facebook personally for years now and I was always a firm believer of using my personal account for both day to day usage and my photography.  To be honest I've never really got into the habit of posting imagery on facebook so now this fan page has given me a fresh start and I really do plan on showcasing my work a lot more often on here.  It'll also contain links to my journal so you'll be able to access my latest blog postings through the page.

I'm really promising to keep the page up to date and I really hope you enjoy viewing the fan page over the coming months as it evolves......... and IF I'm really lucky then you might even consider liking the page as I need to get to 25 fans to be able to give it it's own personal web address ...lol...

The image below is from my fan page and you can click here to go directly to the page....

Portrait and Bridal shoot in the gorgeous City of Amsterdam, Netherlands | www.gavinconlan.com

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of spending a couple of days in the beautiful City of Amsterdam with some great friends.  Myself, Bandele and Evette had travelled from the UK (London and Birmingham respectively) and Tasha travelled in from the States with her friend and now our friend too, Alisha.

Special thanks go out to Tasha for organising Charlotte our amazing model and the fashion outfits and Evette for bringing the bridal wear and being our make up artist, she is an amazing beautician as well as a photographer and Bandele for booking us into a great boutique hotel with not only free wifi but also free drinks sadly for me no alcohol....

If you are thinking about having a break in Amsterdam then I recommend you check out this place its called the Hotel Hermitage (click here) it's really close to a metro station and is walking distance to all of what Amsterdam is famous for - a word of warning though keep your eyes on them bikes they seem to ride them everywhere.....

I had so many great laughs while I was there, learnt loads and generally just chilled out for two days.  Walking through the red light district was an eye opener I'd heard the stories but to see it in person was slightly surreal I've gotta give the girls credit though they were looking damn fine apart from one or two that I'm still trying to forget about...... On the last night we all took a canal boat ride all joking aside it was pretty good just a shame we chose a boat with no bar and a sexist driver, still can't believe he would only allow the girls to steer the boat. Seeing the narrowest house in Amsterdam and quite possibly the world with the width of one meter (3 1/2 ft) was my personal highlight of the canal tour.... 

Here are the links to my friends websites, please check them out they are all amazing photographers;

Bandele - www.bandelezuberi.com

Evette - www.evettechiverton.com

Tasha - www.tashawalkerphotography.com

I have selected a few of my personal favourites from the shoot with Charlotte, I hope you enjoy them and please feel free to post a comment.

Anyways enough of me, here is the imagery;

The Wedding of Jodi & Jon at Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Scotland

I had the absolute pleasure at the start of the year to photograph Jodi and Jon and their gorgeous little girl Tilly, their portrait session kicked started the new era of my journal (you can click here to view that amazing first post) and now my latest installment is from their perfect wedding day.

Their wedding took place at the amazing Cameron House on Loch Lomond, this was my first visit to Scotland and I don't think I was actually prepared for the natural beauty of this part of the world but you know as soon as my eyes grasp these amazing views I was in awe of the surroundings.  Sitting, relaxing and watching over the Loch was one of the most tranquil moments of my life..... 

The journey started for me with a flight to Glasgow from Stansted the day before the wedding, after overcoming the first hurdle (my clothes arriving on the same flight as me) I made my way to my hotel with two of Jodi's friends, girls you were great.

My photography began with capturing images from the meals in the evening, both Jodi and Jon separated with their families and friends and had their food, talking of food the steak that I had was amazing it makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  If anyone is interested I have a photograph.... :)

The Wedding day, oh my god the weather was perfect, great comfortable temperature, blue skies and the Loch looking as stunning as ever, needless to say I was a little warm, you know I think it's the concentration that makes me hot either that or it's due the fact I'm carry a few extra pounds... :)  The Wedding was such an amazing day and due to the intimacy of it the schedule allowed me as much time as I needed to capture their photography, I really couldn't have asked for more.  If I had to choose a highlight of the day for me then as difficult a question it is there are two, the first being the images I captured of Tilly sitting in the aisle as her mummy and daddy were declaring their love and commitment to each other and the second was the raw emotion felt during all the speeches.  Every word spoken was so heart felt, you know for me the whole satisfaction of being a wedding photographer is when you surround yourself with the most amazing couples, their family and friends and capture these memories that will live a lifetime with them.

Cameron House has this saying "The perfect place to create new memories with old friends" and you know what I couldn't agree more....

Please take time to view their sideshow and images and rejoice in their magical and emotional day, their reception at the Langdon Hills Golf and Country Club is to follow shortly...

The Wedding of Emma & Scott at the Haymarket Hotel, London

Finally their wedding day had arrived, I had been looking forward to this for what seemed an eternity.... The dinner suit had been hired the camera kit prepared and the wedding day was upon me, with hindsight I should of tried on the dinner suit before the wedding day to make sure it fitted well, to my disappointment I'd given the hire company the wrong neck measurements to say it was a little snug on the old adams apple was an understatement, once I got used to the feeling of being strangled I was all good to go....

Their wedding had to be one of the hottest days of the year and to say I was a little warm was an understatement haha, anyway my problems aside the day was truly amazing.... Every part of the hotel is a photo opportunity, if I ever win the lottery I will definitely be hiring the place for a future photoshoot :)

Weddings like Emma and Scott's makes me love this industry so much, it's a great honour to be given the responsibility to capture the imagery that will last for generations of their future families, pushing myself and working as hard as possible makes all worthwhile when you exceed your clients expectations.  Their slideshow is the biggest I've ever created for a wedding and I believe it captures their wedding perfectly, oozing the love, emotion and style that was in abundance on the day.....

The highlight for me was their first dance as they had some great rhythm on the dance floor I can't wait to see the video, it was like a movie scene, their first dance was to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" an absolute classic and it had all the smoothness of a Tarantino movie.... I had to keep reminding myself to shoot as I was enjoying it so much, it's definitely gave me ideas for my first dance if I ever get married haha...

I really hope you love viewing the images and slideshow below as much as I've loved creating them and If you haven't seen Emma and Scott's Pre-Wedding shoot then you can do so by clicking here.

I look forward to hearing all your thoughts....

Have a great day.....

(if you are reading this on facebook then you can view their amazing slideshow by going directly to http://www.gavinconlangallery.com/slideshow/halsey)