blog - Page 2 of 3 - johnslaytor photography

Is wedding photography overrated?

Marc-Louis’ christening at George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Redfern. The christening was late in the afternoon and when I arrived at the church it didn’t look promising. A 4pm start on a cloudy day in winter meant dull light. The church was less than beautiful – red brick and concrete, no soft sandstone as a background. Not even a carpark with a green hedge. No nearby leafy park, instead many housing commission flats, some vandelised with boarded up windows, surrounded the church. The church is locked, no guests have arrived, I wait and think hard about what backgrounds I can use. Two guests arrive,...

Le Sands Pavilion function centre father with christened son

Sydney christeningsBy johnsingleton

A Christening at Le Sands Function Centre

Many function centres have terrible light and cluttered backgrounds which means photos suffer. Le Sands’ function centre, at Brighton Le Sands is different. First, it has a balcony which overlooks the beach which makes it easy to go outside and photograph Justin having fun with his dad Buddy. And his Godfather…. I could also photograph friends and family all without a cluttered background. Inside the function centre, the clutter-free background really helped. Below is a photo of Maria that took about 10 seconds to pose. And a family photo at their table. ...

babiesBy johnsingleton

The Lyons Family

Six years ago I photographed Ben and Catherine’s wedding. Two years ago I photographed their first born, Harrison. Last week it was his sister’s turn, Miranda.

Weddings, WeddingsBy johnsingleton

How to photograph a bride who hates photographers?

Rebecca and Shaun’s wedding party at Quay Restaurant, Circular Quay How do you photograph a wedding party when the bride declined a wedding photographer? Most marriages involve compromises but usually there is a honeymoon period before the compromising starts….. Rebecca didn’t want a wedding photographer, Shaun did. The compromise was no photographer at the wedding but a photographer at the party the next day, but only for an hour. So, how do you photograph a bride who hates photographers? Firstly, I made the process as painless as possible – in under a minute I explained how to pose and I photographed the couple...

Sydney christeningsBy johnslaytor

How to improve christening photos, an example from St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, Kingsford

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_column_text] To get the best christening photos, you need a great location; this might not often happen as churches can be dark with dim lighting. However, last Saturday I photographed Michael’s christening at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, Kingsford. The church was a great venue for christening photos, the priests were kind and didn’t rush the ceremony as can often happen and the church itself was spacious. Even better, the christening was in the afternoon so the exterior light was good. The church was well lit and so allowed lots of candid portraiture, like the images below. The light is...

children, PortraitsBy johnslaytor

The ten minute mother and son portrait session or why being time poor makes for terrific portraits of mums and their sons

People often think they don’t have time for beautiful portraits of their children. They keep thinking this and all of a sudden their children have grown up and they are left with a few snaps. This lack of time is an asset when it comes to photographing young boys. Young boys won’t pose and they are definitely not into slow photography so why not play to their strengths which is running around at a million miles an hour? At this speed, a lot of great photos can be taken! The photos below from a mother and son portrait session were...

Portraits, womenBy johnslaytor

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A photographer’s response to the closure of an important community asset

Last year the State Government decided to close the West Street Centre in Wollongong. The Centre provides counselling for child sexual assault and organises self-help groups for survivors of child sexual assault. It’s interesting to speculate why the State Government targeted the Centre. One possibility is the Shooters and Fishers Party were uncomfortable with the Centre: The Shooters and Fishers Party website states it is about “Advocating for the politically incorrect” and given the stupidity of its philosophy combined with Barry O’Farrell’s obsequious attitude toward it… My response to the centre being closed was to volunteer my photographic services to the centre....

bride and bridesmaids at Paddington wedding

Ceremonies, Flash photography, Portraits, Weddings, womenBy johnslaytor

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A bride and her maids

I’m redoing my website (still) and my catchphrase is no forced poses. Realistically, some images at a wedding need to be posed, like those of the bridesmaids and bride as the chance of them being all together unposed is remote. But if the posing is quick, it will work. The image below was taken on the road outside the church. The light was drab due to the arcade of trees and it being cloudy and late afternoon so I had to use flash to give the image a kick and I needed to blur the background to avoid parked cars....

WeddingsBy johnslaytor

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High risk wedding shots

Recently a photographer was sued by a wedding couple for failing to take a photo of ‘the kiss’ at the wedding ceremony. Rest assured I captured the kiss at Emily and Ayrton’s wedding and I did it without using flash. Instead I shot at 5600 asa, an insanely high ISO which I used because I didn’t want to blind the couple and besides, capturing natural light is more authentic. A bit of a ramble but the image below, taken immediately after the kiss has an authentic quality and contre-jour lighting.

Weddings, WeddingsBy johnslaytor

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Ayrton’s wedding suit fitting at P Johnson Tailors, Liverpool Street, Paddington

After yesterday’s blog about my preference to focus on spiritual aspects of weddings, it may seem strange to now admit that I photographed the groom, Ayrton, before the wedding, at his tailor, P Johnson. I did this for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I had photographed the bride, Emily, at her fitting (more on that tomorrow). Secondly, I think it strange that the groom is often seen as an accessory at weddings and I thought if a wedding is going to be the most important day, then it should be of the couple’s life, not just of the bride, so...