Royal Society of Arts Wedding Photography

The Royal Society of Arts just off the Strand in London is remarkable. The building itself has only very recently been fully refurbished, in fact, I believe this may have been the first wedding at the RSA since the makeover.

The finish is exceptional, every room exudes class and the attention to detail is astonishing. Each space offers a unique environment and subsequently atmosphere for events; from the cool and simplistic Tavern where Ross and Louise's wedding reception was held to the breathtaking and classic Great Room for the ceremony which exhibits 'The Progress of Human Knowledge' by artist James Barry, aiding beautiful and creative wedding photography in London.

The later stages of the day took place in equally impressive spaces - the Benjamin Franklin room, with views of the Strand hosted the wedding breakfast and the candid and intimate nature of the Vaults was the ideal setting for the evening reception.

I first met Ross and Louise for their engagement photoshoot which took place in the beautiful Savernake Forest close to where we're based in Wiltshire. It's such a relaxed and neutral environment to meet couples, the images are simply a bi-product of a 40-minute walk and talk, so always have that effortless feel.

This brief encounter really helped me understand what Ross and Louise hoped to achieve through their wedding photography and, from what I understand, they are thrilled with the results:

Allister!!! They're AMAZING!!!!! I love love love love them! You've captured the day just so perfectly. Thank you soooooo much. I can't concentrate on work now!!!

Louise and Ross

Take a look at my London wedding photography below...

Next steps:

Canon 5D 3 v Nikon D700 for Wedding Photography

Without being too technical and from a genuinely unbiased perspective, here's a little article on the Canon 5D Mark 3 and why we produce all of our reportage wedding photography on it. This article will go over the heads of the majority of our customers, so please feel free to click to the next post. However, we document quite a few weddings each year where the bride or groom are themselves photographers and some even specialising in wedding photography, as scary as that sounds!

We also train and mentor other wedding photographers, so we know it's important to give this side of the business a brief mention.

Just over two years ago I made the decision to completely switch from the Canon 5D Mark 2 to the Nikon D700. At the time it was a big deal as I had been using Canon EOS since my first wedding in the very early noughties, so I was not only very familiar with the system but also felt I had some kind of allegiance with the brand.

Having made the switch, I realised how stupid a thought process this was and a trap that many of us fall into. I shot just shy of one hundred thousand frames with the Nikon D700 system, together with a couple of prime lenses. It was the next step for me in terms of low light performance and a more intuitive system.

The D700 is a small, discrete system with the ability of the revered Nikon D3 and yet with the discretion of a modest, prosumer sized body. It allowed me to evolve my style further and work in some particularly intimate and close environments. It came with incredible advances in terms of high ISO performance and auto focus over my old Canon system which would produce banding surprisingly easily in certain lighting conditions.

The 5D Mark 2 auto focus system was shockingly poor and its well known for it's inability to lock focus in low contrast environments - not ideal for a documentary wedding photographer who avoids using flash.

Prompted by the days getting noticeably shorter and my Nikons being pushed to their very limits and beyond, I took the decision to return to Canon. This time, for the 5D Mark 3.

Many wedding photographers who have nailed their flag on Nikon's pole are obviously going to be reluctant to admit to the obvious benefits of Canons latest 5D, often upgrading instead to the Nikon D4 or D800. At the time of writing this article though, Nikon do not have an answer to the 5D Mark 3. There simply isn't another camera like it on the market.

Allow me to explain...

The Canon 5D Mark 3 is the only small bodied DSLR offering the three key points that I personally feel aid a particular style and approach to documentary wedding photography, both in terms of shooting and post:

1. Prosumer sized body for discretion yet with the durability of the 1 series for clumsy people like me

2. Exceptional high ISO image quality, workable 12,800 ISO files

3. Small to medium sized RAW files - realistically suiting social photography requirements

For me it was a no brainer. The D800, which we trialled, was not a serious contender because the file sizes are unnecessarily large for a social photographer. I completely understand an advertising photographer buying into the system but when would a wedding photographer ever need files this big and detailed? It's extreme and excessive. Ask yourself, how many weddings do you shoot a year and how many RAW files do you typically produce during the average wedding? Does the additional cost in time and money required to back up, edit, process, upload and archive this additional data justify the extra detail you can achieve in the file?

Next is the Nikon D4 with a £5000 price tag, arguably it's simply not enough of an improvement over the D3s to justify the cost. I always work with two cameras and prefer them to be small, so this system was never really a consideration. Unfortunately, and possibly because the D700 damaged D3 sales so much, Nikon no longer cater for my needs, as well as many others social photographers seeking the three key points.

During the switch, and I remember it well from my initial Canon to Nikon changeover, there was significant criticism from other photographers perplexed at how I could just migrate systems. In fact, some of the more 'fanboy' responses were a little on the psychotic side!

Thanks DP Review.

It always amazes me how personally insulted some people are when a flaw is highlighted with their camera model. It shouldn't need to be emphasised but these are tools, just as a paint brush is to an artist or a spanner to a mechanic - choose the most appropriate type for you. The Canon 5D Mark 3 was the only system that meant I didn't need to change my process.

It's that simple.

The camera works for me, I don't have to compensate for its flaws.

Key Pros

- Very useable high ISO (25,600 ISO images happily sit alongside 3200 ISO ones) - Superb auto focus, this is a different camera to the 5D Mark 2 which was a poor performer in this field - Lightweight, ideal for lengthy commissions - Great ergonomics and an intuitive layout - Quiet shutter which is a welcome break from our noisy Nikons! - Build quality is again far superior to the 5D Mark 2, this is made like a 1 series

Key Cons

- Wheels and buttons are easy to knock, shutter is VERY sensitive - The grid lines and focus points are impossible to see in some conditions and you have to just guess!

In an age where technology is significantly more advanced with every update, to stick with a brand purely because of an emotional tie, brand loyalty or a so called 'investment', as I heard it called the other day, is just plain dumb. For me, Canon has opened up another set of opportunities. I can now work in environments that I simply couldn't with Nikon, a similar leap that the D700 gave me all those weddings ago.

One of the other reasons people recoil at a complete brand switch is financial. So, to look at things in a more straightforward format and completely disregard any brand or preference for just a second…

A busy wedding photographer should be updating their kit every two seasons, three at a stretch. A social photographers cameras have a rough life. They're dropped and kicked and rained on and like any other electronic instrument, won't last forever. Camera technology is now at a level where it is not completely written off during this two year period, it has a healthy resale value.

I always look to spend around £5000 every two years on camera kit, coincidently the price of just one Nikon D4 body. My latest Nikon to Canon switch cost £7500 for two bodies, three lenses and two speedlights.

I part exchanged my identical Nikon kit for £3700, bringing my two yearly update cost to £3800.

It's more achievable than you think.

The next switch...

When we review our system again in two years time, it will be very interesting to see how manufacturers have evolved. Presently, we're all witnessing the likes of Canon, Nikon and Fuji pushing each other forward and the initial signs are very promising, especially with the likes of the Fuji X Pro 1 which Andy already uses alongside his 5D cameras.

Whatever the move and whatever the technology, our system will always be carefully chosen to aid our style, not orchestrate it.

Reportage Wedding Photography at Aynhoe Park | Chris & Kate

Aynhoe Park has to be one of my all time favourite venues, right up there with places like Babington House and The Soho Hotel - venues that ooze a very classy boutique style, and effortlessly so. Places like this provide the ideal setting for wedding photography and ultimately play a significant role in the atmosphere of a day.

I last documented a wedding at Aynhoe Park in late 2010 when we had some of the worst snow in recent years. The snow fall was so heavy that no daylight came into the building whatsoever (despite the massive windows!), visibility was down to just a few meters at the worst stage of the day and of course that meant that we couldn't get outside at all.

Take a look at that Narnia themed wedding at Anyhoe Park.

Thankfully, this wasn't the case with Chris and Kate's wedding.  In fact it was probably one of the sunnier days of the year so far. We got to see the stunning exterior, the grounds and sculptures of Aynhoe park - all set in Oxfordshire's stunning countryside. The large rooms really come alive when the natural light floods in too.

Aynhoe's windows are so huge and there are so many of them that there is a consistently good quality of light throughout the day and into the early evening.

Chris and Kate are an incredibly interesting couple and their attention to detail was exquisite. They invited only their closest family and friends to the day which had an 'alternative' feel - breaking many of the standard wedding norms to create a wedding truly unique.

Shortly after their civil ceremony they had friends read poems and play the violin, this was swiftly followed by a very relaxed drinks reception on the lawn. I documented this intriguing day alongside Alexis and together we were really spoilt. I have to thank Kate and Chris for keeping us incredibly well fed and treating us like special guests, we felt privileged. What a great day to document.

Speeches followed the three course meal and afterwards we began documenting the evening reception, this stage in the day had more of a sedate dinner party atmosphere which proved delicate to work in but everyone had become very used to us by then, so we slowed our rate down a little and documented this small chapter of the day, often just feet from our subjects.

I knew their first dance would be a little quirky and I remember Chris being slightly nervous that he couldn't keep up with Kate but they pulled it off perfectly, the 1920's style band were absolutely amazing and really finished off this exceptionally well planned day.

P.S.

Kate & Chris were also kind enough to send me this amazing testimonial in the comments below:

Dear Allister,

We want to send you our very biggest thanks!

Since yesterday we've been poring over your photos, marvelling at everything you captured — especially the sentiments and personalities of our family and friends that show up so beautifully with the quality of every image.

We're also incredibly grateful for the memories of our wedding that you triggered for us…

Some people say that on the day after you're married, you're sure to wake up and feel something has changed and that you've 'become married'. That sounded exciting — and we were certainly all up for it — but things actually remained fairly dream-like and surreal for us until now (in a good way, of course!).

Maybe it was the wild beauty of Aynhoe Park or the Anatolian deserts that followed, but we couldn't fully conjure our wedding to mind… until we saw your photos and the emotions, experiences and feelings of the day gradually started flooding back.

Your photos helped concretise our day and that is something precious beyond measure.

We should say too that everyone at the wedding complimented you and Alexis on the very helpful, friendly and low-profile ways you wove through the scenery, gently gathering images that we know will mean the world to us (and them!) for many years to come.

So many thanks again for your exquisite work!

All very best,

Katie and Chris

Here are just a few of my favourite wedding photographs from this amazing day.

See some more of my Oxfordshire wedding photographer work or go to my Aynhoe Park weddings page.