Dorset Wedding Photographers Blog

Ironically given that I'm on a diet I was asked to photograph some food for inclusion in a book recently. So despite being offered to taste some of the delicous looking food I stayed strong and only salivated internally :)

The smell of everything being prepared and cooked was amazing - and I'll give a few "taster" :) shots of things below!

I was offered the chance to do a fashion photography shoot up in Somerset - with some friends, a hall had been hired and models and MUA's arranged. The final piece of the puzzle was some local designers coming on board.

Expect to see something organised by yours truly but in Dorset! So if you read this blog and want to be involved in the next big Photography Fashion shoot (or know someone who would be interested) then get in touch! I'm thinking of designers of wedding dresses, designers of high fashion and make up artists, lots of different models and lots of photographers. Should be an awesome day!

Anyway here are some shots from the day - untouched - editing will come later :)

Introduction

Welcome to my review of the canon 550D - first a little about the bodies I have used before. I've used a *lot* of canon bodies and currently use a canon 1ds mark 3 - I've had a 300D, 20d, 40d, 5d, 5d mark 2, 1d mark ii, 1ds mark ii, 1d mark iii, 1ds mark iii, 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D and now a 550D - so i'm very familiar with what canon's rebel series is like (I've handled a 1000D but not really used it much). It's interesting that the price has started to go up again and that the Rebel series is now no longer canons entry level body. This is a good thing in my book as it now means that the rebel is actually a pretty solid choice for those not wanting to spend the extra to get a XXD or now the new 7D.

First some basic specifications the 550D has 18MP, Digic 4, has Full HD Video, 3.7fps and allows up to ISO6400 +12800 as boost. How does this compare to the previous 500D (which is still available) - this is 15MP, Digic 4, ISO 3200(+6400,12800 as boosts)

This is how it compares in table form.

AF system and general feel

The 550D uses a 9 point AF system, with the centre point being a high precision f/2.8 cross type. In fact the 550D has the ex-pro AF system that the 20D used to use and it's not that far off the 50D. I used to have a Canon 20D too so i can say it feels similar to that (though it's been a loooong time since I actually used a 20D). That's to say it's not a poor AF system. One thing missing is the AF-adjust you get on the next class of cameras. I'd like to see this included as it doesn't cost anything and saves canon the hassle of having to do AF-adjusts under warrant - so i'm surprised it's not in anyway. Maybe this will be added? or maybe it's a "feature" made to make you choose the next model up?

There are a couple of areas where you can tell that canon have saved money - one is the viewfinder - this is no 1-series camera - but then the price tag is substantially different. That being said it feels even more solid than the 500D this camera replaces - and way better than the 300D of yore! Well done canon - it feels solid in the hand. Canon don't rate the shutter on this model (they rate the shutters on the 50D upwards to 100k+). I've never worn out a shutter yet though, and even if it does fail it's not that expensive to replace.

Did I mention the screen? it's the best on and dSLR to date and a real joy. For some reason this is the first camera that has a screen the same aspect ratio as the sensor so you don't get black bars on your photos on the back when viewing. Why didn't others think of this first? Genius! The screen is usable outdoors in direct sunlight, though it lacks the sensor of the 5d2 that auto-adjusts brightness - and is annoying)

The new buttons being bigger and much easier to press are great and I wish all my other canons had these buttons.

Ergonomics and new IFCL metering

Canon have improved the ergonomics on this camera by making the buttons wider and easier to press with gloves on - much appreciated in this weather Canon! I expect to see this on new models as they come out too.

On my walkaround with the camera the metering seemed pretty spot on - i've not really had much issues with canons' 35 zone metering - this new 63 zone metering seems just as accurate (not as high as nikons 1005 zone - but seems to work just as well). I can't say if the new metering is better or not, but, it certainly doesn't seem any worse!

I think if you shoot on full auto then you'll like this metering as much as any other before it - and giving you +- 5 stops of EV compensation i'm sure must please someone ( I don't know who thought it was suddenly a good idea ) - 5 stops is a LOT of compensation to be dialling in - this now has the most compensation of any EOS camera - even more than 1-series cameras.

Image Quality

So we've covered the basics - now down to the interesting bit - well for a lot of people anyway! What's the image quality like? The sensor is very similar to the 7D - but it's not exactly the same. I haven't got a 7D to compare it with but the 550D produces very nice files indeed, plenty of detail and very usable at all ISO's. In fact if you wanted a 7D for the resolution you now have a great alternative with better video options and a better screen to boot.

As usual the image quality from this canon is great and you get the now standard picture styles which you can customise as much as you want (or download some special ones from the canon picture style website). Take a look at some of the sample images to judge for yourself!

Video Mode

For me this was one of the main reasons to upgrade to the new body - full HD and not the 20fps version. This gives full PAL support (ie 25fps) but also lets me record 30fps (well 29.97) for NTSC - so you get the choice now - well done canon - this is now the best specc'd video dSLR. You even get a 640 crop mode that enlarges the centre portion of the sensor for extreme closeups!

You get full manual control should you want it - quick AF/ live AF and of course the face AF which is meant to identify faces :)

Initial impressions look good and it's nice to be able to have the options. I'll be glad when this is added to my 5d mark 2. I can even share my stereo microphone with my 5d2 - filmmakers on a budget might love this bad boy!

Here are the options you get and also the film speeds you can choose:

Here are some video samples at various resolutions....excuse the not massively interesting video.

1080p 24fps

720p 50fps

640 50fps

1080p 25fps before crop

640 cropped

Wireless options - EyeFi

The Canon 550D is also the first camera to give you the option to see your images are being transmitted successfully and what the settings you've put on your eyefi card are.

The cards look like this:

And here are the new screens on the 550D so you can keep an eye :) on what's happening.

This is what you're shown when your image has been uploaded - note the little extra symbol by the image details.

Does it work? Simply yes! It's nice that canon have added this feature in - now if you could setup the cards in camera that would be great! alas you cannot do this. Still if you want to use wireless in your 550D - this is the easiest way to do it. Look out for more reviews of the newer eye-fi cards in the future.

Conclusion and Samples

My main use of this camera is for everyday use and to take on holiday with a 18-55/55-250/50mm lens kit to cover any eventuality. For this it must be light, work quickly and have great image quality. All the above fits inside a Nice lowepro toploader zoom (TLZ2). I think as a general use camera it will be great.

As I said earlier this review I've had every rebel since they came out and this 550D is going to stay in my bag as the best rebel so far! The image quality is top notch - the ISO range is good. The ability to set the highest ISO auto-ISO goes to is useful thought too. The buffer althought smaller is adequate for a camera of this class - if you're shooting sports then 34 JPGs is enough @ 3.7fps. The JPGs and nice and punchy out of camera.

Well I have to say so far I'm pretty happy - it's a nice solid camera - IQ seems spot on (but then the internet hasn't ramped up to bash it yet) and I'm looking forward to updating this article as I get chance to use it more and more.

Here are some sample images:

ISO6400 - FULL 18MPX

I've just had my first wedding at Burley Manor Wedding Photography published on the English Wedding Website - well worth a look for anyone looking for inspiration!

and here's the original burley manor blog article that inspired it!

As a wedding photographer based in Blandford forum it's great as there are so many picturesque locations nearby. Recently I was at the Hotel du Vin in Poole, I also shot recently at Canford school. I like to try and keep my skills up to date and one great way to practice wedding photography skills to organise location shoots. So I setup a location shoot near Blandford Forum and Witchamptom which was very well attended.

Here I showed some new photographers the basics of shooting with off camera flash. There were a good 14 photographers and 7 models so we teamed up into groups of 2 and proceeded to make some interesting photographs, I love being able to try new things out knowing then on a wedding day that the photographs will come out awesomely!

Here are a selection from the day!

If you've ever seen Canford School you'll know it's an amazing venue for the wedding photographer, with it's great architecture, impressive ceremony room and awesome wedding breakfast room. So if you're getting married at Canford school and like stylish wedding photography then give me a shout and I'll be only too happy to discuss wedding photography with you.

I went to the Hasselblad H4D launch day at Robert whites in poole, looking to see what the Hasselblad system and the new H4D could do for me as a wedding photographer.

As it turns out after speaking to 2 great chaps Warren and Chris (Managing Director of Hasselblad UK) it seems a lot - I was amazing by the ease of use and can really see this being key part of my wedding photography kit sometime soon. The opportunities afforded by such high resolution and the depth of the files is quite breathtaking.

So without further ado here are a few sample H4D shots processed in lightroom 2.6 with the last one in the sequence being a full size crop of the models eye. Look at that detail!!!!

I was lucky enough to be invited to share the celebration of Lauren and Barry's wedding by being the wedding photographer at Burley manor in the New Forest.

It's a lovely venue and we'd done an wedding engagement photography shoot nearby only a few months before, so it was great to meet up again and share in their wedding day. Lauren and Barry are both great people and I have to say i'm a little bit jealous of them going away on honeymoon without the kids for a well deserved honeymoon!

Anyway enough of me going on - here's some wedding photographs from the day.

I'm sat at home here looking out of the window and wondering where the sun has gone... so i suddenly remembered a photo i'd taken for a local website ( complete with strategic butterflies ).

So if you're thinking of some product photos you can always give me a call :)

Here's the photo on the great CharlieMoos website, a great place to go for Party bags, gifts and toys. Run by the great Joanne you get great service and also support a fabulous dorset business!

Kingston Maurward is a great venue near me ( near Dorchester ). I always recommend it to people looking getting married as the grounds are amazing - and offer such great vista's for wedding photography.

I've photographed there before too and have some more weddings there this year and am very much looking forward to photographing some more weddings there in the future. As far as wedding photography is concerned on a sunny day Kingston Maurward is fabulous.

Here is a selection from my most recent wedding at Kingston Maurward including my favourite so far where I ran across the lake to get a photography for the couple.

I met up with Lauren and Barry just before we had any snow in December for a pre wedding (engagement photoshoot) - complete with family!

At the secret location we went for a fun walk in the woods (it was nice and wet - hence the wellies) and had a great laugh, even finding a rope swing to play on!

I'm really looking forward to photographing Lauren and Barry's wedding at Burley Manor hotel in February!

Here's a few samples from the day.

I love taking photos of wedding dresses - put that with a beautiful model and a great ubran location and you've got all the ingredients of a great Trash the Dress shoot - urban stylee.

Despite the cold we got some great shots and made excellent use of the location. These are the sort of shots that if on your wedding day you plan for enough time to do some portraits you can acheive.

I'm looking forward to photographing my weddings in 2010 and beyond and to getting more great images!

Although I'm a Dorset based wedding photography I do of course travel further - I often travel to Hampshire, Southampton in particular. Wiltshire is another favourite as is Somerset, though i covered my First Devon and Cornwall wedding earlier this year. True to form the weather was windy and raining - but this didn't stop us getting some awesome images and having a fabulous time!

So without further ado - here are some images from the day:

Well here's a big thanks to all my clients and friends for the past year and also the coming year! I couldn't do it all without you!

Had a great relaxing day yesterday with the family - here's a few shots to set the mood!

See you next year!