Occasionally, the a wedding I photograph are given the honor of a Sunday Mail wedding feature – the Sunday Mail is a publication circulated around South Australia affiliated with the Advertiser. It’s a really neat occurrence when one of my weddings are covered by the largest newspaper publication in South Australia, especially when they dedicate 3/4 of a page in their weddings section! The wedding they chose to cover was Sheree and Shane’s wedding at the Glen Ewin Gatehouse which was highlighted by their use of wonderfully white horse and carriage!
Sunday Mail Wedding Feature Excerpt
You never know when a seemingly minor decision will change the course of your life forever. Just ask Sheree and Shane, who met at a 40th birthday party they both nearly didn’t attend. That fateful event was at the Riverland in March 2014, and the couple have been together ever since. They got engaged during a holiday in Hawaii.
We hired a convertible for the day, a Mustang, and it was the only day it rained,” the bride said, with a laugh. “We went to Turtle Bay and Shane proposed in front of the beach while the sun was setting.”
The couple held both ceremony and reception for 60 guests at Glen Ewin Estate in Houghton.
“We liked that it was very intimate and the staff were just wonderful,” Sheree said of the popular venue. “We also really liked that everything was there at the one place – and it wasn’t too far from the city – you feel like you’re far away but you’re not really.”
At the ceremony, the bride made a grand entrance with her father on a horse-drawn carriage. “It was such a highlight of the day,” the bride said, adding that the whole event was very family focused.
“Shane’s daughter, Abbie, and my niece, Ava, were my two junior bridesmaids and they did a special dance for us at our reception – that was really special. “They (the kids) just had a ball. By the end of the night their hair was everywhere … it was the cutest thing ever.”
The newlyweds cut a three-tiered cake by Lou-Lou Belle Cakes. Bridesmaid was Sofia Milojkovic and the groom’s daugher Abbie Coles was junior bridesmaid with the bride’s niece, Ava Field. Flower girls were Tori Barr and Asha Armet. Best man was Rebel McCloy, while groomsmen were the bride’s son, Blake Field-Bond, and the groom’s son, Lachlan Coles. Sheree is the daughter of Jim and Maxine Field, of Fullarton. Shane is the son of Gary and Sue Coles, of Redwood Park.
Being a Landscape photographer helps me with wedding photography
As many of you may know, I was crowned as South Australian Professional Landscape Photographer of the year through the annual state-based AIPP awards in 2016. I also happened to win the national title of Science photographer of the year at the national awards. One might think that this is a bit of a disconnect with being a better wedding photographer, and may be asking why I’m not winning the title of ‘Wedding Photographer of the year’. But I’d argue that due to my professional-level prowess in these other genres of photography, I’m able to approach wedding photography in a unique, laid-back and genuine way.
It’s like having an professional chef come in and cook you dinner, it’s not as if that chef would only be capable of cooking a single meal would they? So how does being a successful Landscape photographer help at all with being a better wedding photographer?
How being Landscape Photographer of the year helps with Wedding Photography
Having done both landscape and wedding work professionally for over 5 years now, I’d just like to point out the type of adaptability required to move from one work situation to another. In the landscape field, people appreciate a huge amount of technical ability, and the ability to create works of art from the mundane. This skill set is easily transferred over to wedding photography as my work is always of a high calibre technically and I love to incorporate an ‘epic vibe’ to much of my work.
Having worked in a variety of different situations I have the experience to quickly adapt to whatever is thrown at me in regards to scenery, lighting and weather. It’s through my ability as a landscape and scientific photographer that I can quite quickly and easily adapt to anything a wedding throws at me, while also drawing on my 5 years experience of shooting weddings. Neither skillset is mutually exclusive of one another and it’s one thing that I feel sets me apart from other photographers, that and my additional services I provide for free.
The general knowledge of photography needed to be successful in these fields also comes into play in a huge way. I am intimately familiar in how a camera works and frequently utilise home-made cameras to create some of my award winning work. While I’m no gear snob, and couldn’t care less how much your camera costs, I understand what equipment is needed to capture the shot the way I would like. It’s for this reason my work looks the way it does, it’s the root of my artistry.
Say I want to use a sun flare or sunset happening behind my bride and groom, the same knowledge is used when thinking about shooting a landscape.
Being so successful in other genres of photography also allows me to see things in ways others don’t. I hate being a cookie cutter at my weddings, I cringe at how many photographers approach weddings by taking all the same shots at every single wedding they do. Of course there are some shots that just work and look amazing, but every single one? I think it’s important to personalise each wedding based on the personality of the bride and groom, and I shoot accordingly using my knowledge in all genres of photography.
Due to my work in a variety of different genres, I’ve also become quite proficient in photoshop. This would also be due to my several degrees in Multimedia and associated subjects, but it’s truly doing the work that gives me the practice. It’s a lot of fun too 🙂 The below photo may not be suited to every wedding, but I think it demonstrates the technical ability in photoshop I have garnered through my prowess in other genres of photography, and not just weddings.
For a bit of a taste of my Landscape work if you’re interested, I have a separate website built to showcase my work at https://stevenduncanart.com
As a dedicated member of the AIPP (Australian Institute for Professional Photography) I am a recognised accredited photographer by trade within Australia and as such run my business in the utmost of ethical manner. This includes consistent professional development and networking with other professional photographers around Australia. Last night the South Australian Professional Photography Awards dinner was held, which is an event I’m proud to say I have attended each year since 2009, consistently winning awards for my work in a number of different genres, including wedding, landscape, science and illustrative. In 2014 I came close to becoming the SA contemporary art photographer of the year by coming second in the category.
This year I’m proud to say that I had my most successful year yet by winning the title of photographer of the year 2016 in the landscape category, while being a finalist in the science category. I managed to win a gold and 7 silver awards across my entries, which included entries into the wedding category. This shows the dedication to my craft as a photographer amounts to being consistently award winning no matter what genre of photography I partake in and it’s the level of dedication I take to each of my shoots, be they weddings, or landscape work.
Landscape photographer of the year 2016
So what does this mean when it comes to wedding photography? While yes I did not win photographer of the year in the wedding category, the portfolio of images entered in the category were all deemed to be of high professional standard. Winning landscape photographer of the year means that I have an award winning eye for the scenery surrounding your wedding. I am able to paint a picture with my camera by really putting your emotion and personal story into any backdrop you’re holding your wedding at. Utilising the skills I have as the landscape photographer of the year 2016 at your wedding means I’m producing pieces of fine art at all times while shooting your wedding. Your images will have the quality of the fine art photographs you would see in any of the best galleries as they would have been taken by one of the SA photographers of the year.
I have a separate website at https://stevenduncanart.com to showcase my work in the genres of landscape and science, so if you’d like to view my work in those genres, please feel free to have a look! 🙂
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