Last April I got a call to do 80 business headshots in London for a group of barristers and needless to say I jumped at it. The only issue was that I would miss Kings Day in Amsterdam for the first shoot. All the way to London from Amsterdam for headshots? Well that wasnt good but the job turned out to be great fun. Over 6.5 days with the help of make up artist Oli Fowler of AOFM Make Up London we had a blast. Everyone worked well together from the clients, assistants, barristers and of course Oli. Here are a few samples from the many shots we made over the last few months.
When a wedding photographer from Amsterdam gets asked to go to Glastonbury in England to do the photography for the wedding of two creative and stylish architects how can he resist. Resist I did not.! The magical wedding of Cathrin and Michael took place on a farm near Glastonbury with 100+ guests, many of whom had helped create the fairy tale landscape that was the setting for the day. Guests camped in tents and brought the food the day from all over Europe and was only supplemented by the Pizza van that arrived in the evening to feed the party goers. The couple rally showed what it meant having all their friends and family there for the day. You can really see it in the photos and I am really happy that I have been able to show this back to them to keep the memories alive forever. Have a look below at some of my favourite images from the day. If you want to see the a bigger selection, and you SHOULD, then check them out HERE. Have a look at some more of my favourite images from this year HERE
Benazir contacted me a few weeks ago from Tanzania to say the she and her fiance were coming to Amsterdam and would like to do a loveshoot or pre wedding photography shoot in the city. I have to admit I have been so busy that I almost said that I couldnt do it. I am so glad I did do it in the end. They are a fantastic couple, such full of happiness. The told me that they wanted to find a quiet spot with less people as they didnt like the idea of everyone watching. I though "quiet place, Amsterdam?, not likely". However we settled on a first Location of the Vondelpark and I found a secluded pathway to make a start and get them to feel comfortable. We shot in the park for about an hour and they got more used to the people around and by the end of the shot we were in the midst of all the cyclists coming through the arches at the Rijksmuseum. Result! A great shoot and we made some awesome photos. Good luck with the wedding guys. If youre interested to see a selection of photos from this years wedding and loveshoot photography then click HERE. OR check out the full stories from all weddings HERE
Well my wedding photography season in Amsterdam is coming to a close, or at least getting quieter. As you may know I only do a limited number of weddings per year and so I am really able to concentrate my efforts on those amazing couples who invite me to be capture their special day. I have met so many amazing people along the way at weddings in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Amersfoort, Rotterdam, Den Haag, England, & Scotland. Everyone from the djs, the cake makers and flower arrangers, the wedding planners and of course the couples, families and friends. Its been so much fun and lot of long hours but absolutely worth it. So please check out a selection of images from the year below. If you want to see some more from each wedding you can check them out HERE.
Cathrin and Michael were amazing at their wedding in Glastonbury. More to come very soon.
A quick update from the last wedding in Glastonbury UK a couple of weeks ago.. A wonderful wedding on a magical farm. More to come soon.
Fantastic day for wedding Photography in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago at Slot Assumburg. When we arrived at the castle it was around noon. I always try to explain to couples before the wedding that the mid day sun isnt a great time for a portrait session but this always seems to be the time planned into the schedule for them (so listen up guys!). The sun was high in the sky and when we tried to do some portraits in the gardens of the castle Rowan immediately started to have tears in the eyes from the bright sun. So I suggested we find somewhere with some shade. I spotted a nice sheltered spot next to the new visitors centre with some lovely light coming through the end of the roof and some soft light from the side. Its was perfect! Here are a few of my favourite shots from the day. To see the full set of images click HERE
When Rowan & Gideon asked me to do the wedding photography for their big day it was good news. Then a few weeks later they let me know that a baby was on the way so the news only got better. By the time the wedding came the bump was clearly showing but it didnt stop Rowan looking stunning on the day. Here is a portrait from the day. Full set to come soon.
One of my favourite shots from a recent headshots shoot at Alison Brooks Architects in London. Alison is such an elegant subject. I have to be honest, I was excited to shoot her. She is indeed a powerful force in British Architecutre today and that really comes across in the portrait I think. If you like it and think you want to have some headshots for your company then have a look HERE at a selection from the last year.
When I got an email asking to do 80 headshots for barristers in London I actually wondered if I had the time do it. Its LOT of work. When the design agency commissioning the work explained their vision of the "heroic leader" for the shoot I knew I had to make it work. It was a step up from the standard architects business headshots I have been doing in London and Amsterdam with the addition of a make up artist. The make up artist Oli Fowler was absolutely amazing. We worked well together from the start and the clients loved us, saying we really made it easy for them. Thats saying something.! These are busy lawyers at the heart of huge cases in london. There is still one more shoot to go but here is a selection as a taster. If you need some headshots and you want to see more then look HERE at a selection and book now.
When I was invited to Scotland to do the wedding photography for Lynne & Steve's big day at Thainstone House in Aberdeen I was very happy. My mum was too as she only lives about 15 minutes from the venue. But that's another story. The day was to be filled with lots of Scottish traditions: drinking, dancing, partying and generally just socialising and causing havoc. I knew that this was what Lynne wanted to capture. She wasnt interested in portrait photos or couple shots as she had already done a shoot with another photographer in Texas, where they live, and she felt really awkward doing it. She also said that the end result wasnt as she had hoped. I suggested that my style was maybe a bit different and that if we can make space for some portraits of them in the day she wouldn't be disappointed. I always feel that if you don't do them that the final photo selection is really missing something. I do love doing the romantic photos and portraits and it would be a shame for her not to have some. They really show off the bride and groom in in the best light on what is the biggest day in their lives. I love to capture the intimate and emotional moments that show the connection between couples. And also sometimes a sense of stillness in what can otherwise be a very busy and energetic day. So here are a few of my favourite shoots from the day. You can see a bigger selection from the whole shoot including all the crazy kilts and ceilidh ( pronounced kay-ley) dancing HERE. There is some amazing face pulling going on so do take a look.
Wedding photography! Amsterdam! Utrecht! Three statements that fill me with joy when I think about this story. Just where do I start? My favourite wedding of the year so far, although its so hard to choose between your children if you know what I mean haha. When I look at these photos it really sums up the year so far for wedding photography in Amsterdam and around: Beautiful, fresh, moody, fun, full of romance and wonderful connections. If you know anyhting about me you will know that I love to capture connections. All of these things that come out in the photos are because of al the wonderful couples and not least Dado & Dalila. The wonderful energy exuding from this couple shows straight away and from the moment I arrived to the moment I left the wedding it was a roller-coaster ride. You can see that Dalila has a great style. The dress is beautiful and the way she played in front of the camera made my job easy. Dado never stops smiling. Together they made some amazing images and so here they are for you to see. Enjoy, and if you want to see some more amazing love stories click HERE. Dont forget to CHECK YOUR DATE
A look at my change from Fuji to Sony for wedding photography in the Netherlands
With the wedding photography season in full swing it can be difficult to fit in a loveshoot but with a chance to shoot again at the amazing Soesterduinen came along I jumped at the chance. I just love this location. Sandy dunes, forest landscape and a super photogenic couple made for some amazing photographs on the day. Bo and Morris were so easy to shoot. Both of them had done some modelling in the past and so they didnt need much instruction at all. I just asked them to be themselves, and be romantic, then positioned them in the landscape. It was a great day with great weather and the late afternoon sun lit them up beautifully. See the full shoot HERE
Business as usual in 2016 with lots of headshots as well as wedding and architecture work. Next week I am off to London to meet with Alison Brooks Architects and do some headshots for them. For now check out some of the latest portraits for businesses, architects, and personal clients in London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag below.
You might not have seen this site yet but if you come here then now you can. I was asked by Marieke, the owner of the site, if I would like to be part of it. She explained to me that she wanted to do something a little different from other wedding blogs and sites in the Netherlands. I was excited to see someone making a new effort to promote more down to earth weddings and their suppliers and really like the philosophy of the site. There are other wedding sites that show many vendors here in the Netherlands from photography to wedding dresses, flowers and more. However, they all promote the same style. This is great but there needs to be a voice for the independents and Marieke has made a great start with this fantastic new wedding site. If you are a thoughtful, or adventurous, couple or if you like bohemian or hip venues and suppliers then head over and have a look. Be different, think different, and have yourselves a great wedding. Here is the link: http://www.amsterdamstrouwen.nl/
I love great architecture and I have a passions wedding photography and capturing the story of the people I am so lucky to shoot. So what better place to do a loveshoot, bridal shoot or any kind of wedding photography indeed. So a couple of weeks ago in sunny Amsterdam at the Eye Film Institute in Amsterdam Noord I met Wijdie and Laurens there for their loveshoot. The contemporary architecture of the building stands proud over the mouth of the Ij with strong clean lines and was a powerful backdrop for the quiet interactions of the couple . Wijdie and Laurens were a willing couple and they shared some lovely romantic moments on the day. All images shot with the Sony A7Rii.
Shooting loveshoots has kept me very busy of the last few weeks in the run up to wedding season, not to mention my other work in the architecture sector. Wedding photography is becoming more and more of a passion as time goes by and all the loveshoots really have made my experience as a wedding photographer in Amsterdam richer. This one in particular was just fantastic. Jennifer and Hannan are such a lovely couple and it was such a great afternoon photographing them in Bloemendaal, just a short train ride from Amsterdam. This is a little of what Jennifer had to say after the shoot. "From the first moment we met Mark he gave us a really easy-going and relaxed vibe, that definitely helped with the nerves. Mark was awesome, he helped us when we needed help but made himself invisible at the same time. When I look at the photo reportage I see emotions, I see certain moments that I recognize from our private lives. Even people who don’t know us in person will ‘see us and our love for each other"
I cant tell you how good it feels to bring the happiness to people like this. Heart warming indeed.
See the whole shoot here:
I started using VSCO about a year ago for my wedding photography in Amsterdam and to be honest I struggled with them a lot. It took me a long time to learn how to use them effectively for my work. I was expecting a straight out of the box beautiful image kind of thing and couldn't explain why my images didn't look like others I had seen. Finally i saw a video of someone else's workflow and I had been on the right track all along with my experimentation. Its all in the contrast, blacks and colour sliders. Take the two images below for example from a loveshoot I did last week. Both images are using VSCO Kodak Ektar 100 Vibrant. The second image is horrible and dark and is what happened when i pressed the magic preset button. All I did to make it into the lovely moody first image was to increase the blacks and shadows, reduce the contrast and orange saturation. So that is a little insight into my workflow. I hope its of interest. Click the second image to see the full gallery. All images shot on the Sony A7rii
Kodak Ektar 100 Vibrant (tweaked)
VSCO Kodak Ektar 100 Vibrant