A few weeks back I was the beautiful old city of York for a pre-wed…

…to join Hayley & Steve for their catchup and practice shoot!

York is a brilliant city for portraits because there are fab details everywhere.

All the better when you’ve a fun couple to photograph!

These guys will soon be getting married at the The Hospitium in the fab York Museum Gardens.

On the day we visited it warm and sunny and packed with revellers!So we found a few less public side streets to get started

and had a snuggle in a few of the wonderful ancient arches of the gardensAww.I love this one.  The colours, the composition, the blurry elements and the foot – it’s all lovely.

Hayley has long worked in theatre and it really didn’t take them long to snap into it!

On the steps of the Hospitium itself

MANY moons ago, when I was saving up to travel, I used to work with Hayley at Pizza Hut…

…which is where I also met Clare!
I truly think that my waiting experience has helped shape the way I photograph people.

As a cheerful waiter (who’s generally working for tips!), you quickly learn to read a ‘table’ and have to change your style accordingly.  Some quiet tables need space to be romantic, some large parties need a strong but buoyant personality to keep things in control.

I still find it interesting that the very same applies when photographing a couple or rowdy handling groupshots!
Either way, pre-wedding shoots are not only useful to find fun locations to reuse on the wedding day and familiarise myself with the venue, but also to show a couple that being photographed can and should be fun!  

Furthermore, knowing what I’m looking for makes the portrait shoot quicker on the wedding day!

Which means more time to drink champagne!

Just outside the Museum Gardens is the River Ouse to stroll down

While Hayley & Steve sat on the banks…

…over came a friendly goose!

But, he got a tad over familiar with me so we set off on our way!

A fine door frame for a portrait, if ever I saw one.

We wandered into central York to wrap up our shoot in one of the most famous areas of York, Shambles

(Apparently it’s not “The Shambles”, just Shambles!)

It’s in warren of ancient narrow streets with overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century!

The streets have such a distinctive look to them…

…and if a couple has the bottle to be photographed in such a busy tourist area…

…the results look ace!

I can’t wait to join these guys in a few weeks!  Stay tuned in early October for their wedding highlights!

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