Aggie and Brian came over from Canada to spend a few days in London last month, we met up at Somerset House to begin our Day In The Life shoot.

The entire commission was just a very simple 'walk and talk', thankfully the weather was stunning and provided us with some beautiful and direct April light to work in. We started the shoot late in the day when this light peaks and really epitomises this time of the year.

A phrase I hear time and time again is "what is your favourite kind of light" to which the person asking the question will also say "It's overcast isn't it". Contrary to popular belief (and I have no idea where this belief originated from) overcast light is not the best light to work in, it might be the most consistent form of light but frankly, it's boring! Days like Aggie and Brian's where the light has so much character always helps to produce significantly more interesting results. There are just so many more options on days like these, there's so much more life and depth to the photographs.

I do a handful of these Day In The Life style shoots each Spring and Autumn. Each shoot is designed according to taste.

To book a shoot, simply get in touch.

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Venue: The Manor House Hotel

Siobhan and Mark's small and intimate wedding took place at the delightful Manor House Hotel in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Castle Combe. The wedding party comprised of Siobhan and Mark's very closest friends and family with Siobhan's coming over from France. It had an endearingly quiet and gentle atmosphere.

I documented this subtle and modest little wedding alongside my long term student and soon to be associate photographer Isabel, who can thankfully speak French!

Here are just a few of my favourites from the collective coverage.

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Venue: Gate Street Barn

I documented James and Kathryn's charming little wedding day alongside my colleague Ian Martindale who joined our company earlier this year. Ian is booking up fast and if you haven't already seen his work then I urge you to take a good look through his portfolio.

We hadn't worked at Gate Street Barn before this wedding and are so glad that we finally had the chance to, Kathryn and James were incredible to work worth, really embracing the documentary approach that we specialise in.

We also got to meet the Kalm Catering team who regularly work at Gate Street Barn, their food is unbelievably good and we were spoilt rotten!

Here are just a few of my very favourites from this fun little wedding day.

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Venue: Orchardleigh Estate

At the start of the year I documented Lizzie and Nick's charming little wedding at Orchardleigh Estate in the quiet Somerset town of Frome.

This wedding is typical of those I photograph at Orchardleigh in that it had an incredibly warm and intimate atmosphere. Obviously this has a great deal to do with the people involved but I like to think that the venue is the perfect setting for this atmosphere to develop.

Orchardleigh is dark, in fact very dark in certain areas and often the lighter areas are still only candlelit. This ambience helps me to work discretely and moreover very close to my subjects. Shooting close allows me a unique and privilaeaged insight into the true essence of a day and is crucial as I aim to create a very personal selection of images for couples.

Nick and Lizzie had their wedding ceremony at All Saints Church just on the outskirts of the estate, thankfully it was held by a photographer-friendly vicar I've got to know and grow fond of over the years.

Here are just a very few of my favourites from this delightful wedding in Somerset.

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Venue: Cripps Barn

I documented Alice and Odin's cozy little wedding alongside my long term student and soon to be associate photographer, Isabel Maria.

Apart from Alice and Odin getting ready at nearby Cats Abbey, the wedding day took place at Cripps Barn in Bibury, a particularly stunning village in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds.

Cripps Barn is a venue I've had the pleasure of working at over quite a few years and I'm proud to be a recommended supplier there. The venue, which is certainly one of the finest of this particular style in the area, boasts an expansive and original stone barn which is often used for ceremonies and a recently built, light and airy 'Oak Room' regularly used for receptions. In addition to this, ceremonies can take place in the grounds of the venue. I'm really looking forward to photographing several commissions I have booked there this year.

Here are just a few of my very favourites from this fantastic little wedding day in the the Cotswolds.

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Church: St Mary's Fetcham

Reception: Hartsfield Manor

I documented Andy and Sarah's snowy Surrey wedding in January alongside my relatively new associate photographer Ian Martindale.

I'd been looking forward to this wedding for a while as I'd worked alongside the groom a lot last year. Andy is a talented photographer in his own right, so it was an utter privilege to photograph his wedding. Not only that but Sarah's mum is a florist so has a great deal of wedding industry experience. No pressure then!

I couldn't be more pleased with the resulting photography. The weather was really against us on the day, as it had been through the winter but this day, at least in Betchworth, saw some of the heaviest snow of recent months. That said, the interesting weather really made Sarah and Andy's day quite unique and not just because of my chilblains!

As always, here are just a few of my very favourites from our reportage wedding photography in Surrey.

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We are very happy to announce the latest associates to join the Allister Freeman Photography team. Some exceptionally strong applicants were interviewed - a group of highly talented individuals, great photographers, and thoroughly decent people made for some very tough decisions.

As well as their existing photographic knowledge, they all bring additional skills, abilities and ideas to the team in support of our expansion plans over the next few years.

The next few months will be intense for the new associates as they follow a cycle of learning, shooting, editing and image review to build strong portfolios and a confident, professional approach. They'll all be trained throughout the year at slightly different stages, so please watch this space to follow their progress.

We would like to congratulate them all and welcome them to the team. We would also like to thank everyone that applied for the positions and especially to those that were invited to be interviewed. We know there was some disappointment and we were blown away to have so many fantastic photographers to choose from, it made our decision making incredibly difficult! We wish every one of you all the very best for the future.

Meet the team.

Venue: Orchardleigh House

I first met Michelle and Chris in late Autumn last year for their pre wedding photo shoot in Savernake Forest on the outskirts of Marlborough. I took my 8 year old son Ross for a little work experience that day, something that I know I couldn't do with some couples however I knew Chris and Michelle would be more than happy to have the extra company, they are so incredibly laid back!

The wedding was a fantastic event, as anticipated. All family and friends on both sides were of a similar, relaxed and fun nature. Orchardeigh House is a beautiful venue and backdrop for any wedding.

Despite the wedding being in the middle of January the drinks reception took place outside. In fact, it was strangely warm and sunny that day, the low and bright winter sun really gave some of the photography produced outside a distinctive haze.

I documented this wedding alongside my key associate photographer Andy Rapkins, if you haven't already seen Andy's work I urge you to peruse his 2013 wedding portfolio.

Congratulations Michelle and Chris, from Andy, Allister and Ross!

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Venue: Little Dudley House

I've always had a bit of a love affair with black and white photography.

Without the distraction of colour, mono images are often more straightforward for the mind to make sense of at a glance; lines and structures appear clearer, subject matter more dramatic and engaging.

Removing this 'layer' means that colour is not the first thing to catch the eye. This unmasking makes subject matter much more prominent, in addition to the enhanced structure, tone and composition.

Typically 60% of my final product is black and white, some commissions more, some less. I shoot everything in colour and it's only during the final stages of editing, even after I've processed everything in colour, that I then make the decision of whether a photograph should be black and white. I need to know that images have reached their potential during my colour processing. Only then, and if the black and white conversion is a significant improvement over the colour, will the decision be made.

There's a beautiful honesty to black and white, something frequently masked by colour. It's a raw, personal and thought provoking way of looking at the world.

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Venue: Orchardleigh House

Darren and Emily's wedding at Orchardleigh House in the beautiful Somerset town of Frome was possibly the wettest and darkest that we documented in the whole of 2012!

I photographed this intimate little wedding day alongside my latest Long term student Isabel and despite the hideous weather, it was an incredibly warm and rewarding commission to work on.

Fortunately for all involved, Orchardleigh House is the ideal wet-weather venue. It has so much indoor space and furthermore the layout of this dimly-lit space really lends itself to discreet reportage wedding photography. We work extensively at Orchardleigh and it's certainly one of our favourite Somerset wedding venues.

I met up with Emily and Darren last Autumn in the stunning Savernake Forest near Marlborough in Wiltshire for a small pre wedding shoot. A few of my very favourites from this little shoot and their memorable wedding day are below.

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Savernake Forest Pre Wedding Shoot...

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