Documentary Wedding Photographer and Commercial Photographer Stuart James Photography covering Staffordshire, Birmingham, Shropshire, Manchester and the UK | Blog

New blog is now live!!

Hello all, 
We have now got a brand-new blog up at http://blog.stuartjamesphoto.com - please update your rss feeds if they haven't already changed over and update your bookmarks as only the new site will be updated from now on!

Cheers
sj.p

Exciting new albums!! | Incredible new wedding album we're now offering for weddings!!

I've just taken delivery of a very exciting new product - a stunning new album from a brand new supplier!! The albums are coming from an incredible company across the pond in the good old USofA.

The albums come in different sizes including 10x10 and our display album format, the great 12x9. They also can come presented in this stunning printed album box - which will look absolutely amazing on a book shelf. Your album story really does start from the box with this company!

Printed on fine art archival papers with archive inks the album has a totally different look to anything we've offered before and we really are incredibly excited to hear what people think when they see it!

The design of the album is also something I'm really excited about as it's a totally different approach to anything we've presented before. Classy. Clean Lines. Lots of positive white space. And stunning, stunning, stunning looking images!!

I'll blog the design later in the week but for now here is the official unveiling: 

Incredibly well packaged!

 

There's a crease there somewhere but honestly I can't see any discolouration and it will only get better with time as is the quality of archive inks and paper:

And how AMAZING is that box - an exact copy of the album cover!! Stunning!!

It's been a very long time since I've been this excited about an album company - 2010 is going to be an amazing year to have your wedding photographed by us!!

sj.p

Rebecca and Richard | Moat House Wedding Slideshow

Bec and Rich had a lovely intimate wedding at the Moat House is Acton Trussell on the 20th December. I love Christmas weddings, especially when the weather is kind to us, as they always have such a lovely romantic feel about them.
Rich arrived in a gorgeous split-screen VW, which was a total surprise to him (bless Bec for surprising him like that!!) and it really set the tone for the day. 
Both Bec and Rich's families are absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed spending their day with them and can't wait to see them both tomorrow for them to choose the final photos for their album!
Hope you enjoy the slideshow:
 

 sj.p

Sian and David Slideshow | Moat House Wedding

Sian and David were married on the 27th December at The Moat House, Acton Trussell. 
It was a gorgeous day, especially considering the weather we're all suffering at the moment in the UK, and we all had a great time together.
I was only with Sian and David for a relatively short time as one thing was very clear - they wanted no "fuss or faff!!" and I think what we put together was absolutely perfect :o) 
Everything went great and I can't wait to show Sian and David there photos, and before I put together a complete blog post please enjoy the short slideshow below:

sj.p

Kate and Mike Slideshow | Custard Factory Wedding | Documentary Wedding Photos, Birmingham

Kate and Mike were married on the 18th December at the very funky and quirky Custard Factory, Birmingham. Kate and Mike found me after weeks of trying to find a photographer over the net from where they live in Kuwait and once they stumbled across my site they simply fell in love with the stunning black and whites and booked straight away!
I first met the stunning couple along with Kate's mom back in August when they were over for a couple of weeks trying to get all the wedding plan's together and I think it's safe to say we hit it off straight away.
Having a great rapport with a couple is essential in my eyes, as I truly want everyone to feel comfortable and inclusive on the day, and I think everything went perfectly last Friday - and the photos certainly came out stunningly!

Kate and Mike got ready at the devine Hotel du Vin  just a short taxi ride away from The Custard Factory. The old eye hospital is a regular celebrity haunt, with the likes of Lenny Henry staying at the hotel on the weekend of the wedding, and has such character instilled throughout it really is a great venue. However, as Kate and Mike were spending the majority of their day at The Custard Factory it was only a limited area we used on the day - primarily the bedrooms, and that stunning staircase...
Once we got to the Custard Factory the day was absolutely stunning. Everything was exactly the way Kate and Mike wanted it and it could not have been better!

I had a great time sharing their day with them and their family and friends, and the photos are now burning to disc ready for Kate and Mike to pick up today (yes I am still working Christmas Eve!!!) ready to show everyone before heading back to Kuwait on Boxing Day.

I hope you enjoy this slideshow, a more in depth blog post will follow soon.

[Music on show by the sensational Cinematic Orchestra and the beautiful voice of Michelle Featherstone.]

Merry Christmas to you all!

sj.p

Yiannaki Michael | Greek Orthodox Christening | Greek Photographer Birmingham

On Sunday whilst I was winning the Leamington Brass Band Association contest with Langley Band Les and Ste of Barry James Photography photographed a gorgeous, intimate Greek Christening in Birmingham for me.

The enquiry for the Christening at St Andrew's Church, Birmingham and Moxhull Hall Hotel came in just two weeks ago and it was great to be asked back by the Michael Family to photograph another of their families events after previously photographing two weddings and one Christening in the past 3 years.

The photos have come out absolutely fantastically, Les and Ste really did do an amazing job!

Here are a few of my favourites. Please enjoy:

sj.p

Michelle and Panayiotis | Greek Wedding Portrait Photos | Wedding Photography Birmingham

Michelle and Panayiotis were married on 30th August 2009, however, as it was a severely wet day we decided on doing a reshoot last week before we completed the album and it was a fantastic decision.

It was a gorgeous morning in Birmingham and we had a fantastic time in Brindley Place. Michelle wanted to go for a very traditional, classical feel to their shots, but I think I put my own wee twist on things!

The album is in design process this week and will be with Michelle and Panayiotis before Christmas - and it really is going to look amazing as the rest of the day back in August was fantastic and we had a great time, and I know the story we have really will look special in a stunning Bellissimo album.
 
More photos will follow here soon including the preview of the album. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos below:

sj.p

Charl and Farm | A Spectacular Halloween Wedding | New Hall, Sutton Coldfield

Charl and Farm booked me at the Sandon Hall Bridal Fayre last year. Fortunately Les of Barry James Photography wasn't there so when we got talking to Charl and her mom, along with Rebecca, whom Les and Ste photographed a few years ago, they booked me - and with how well we all hit it off on the day it was definitely the best thing that could have happened.
The wedding took place at the beautiful New Hall Hotel on 31st October. It was a lovely late wedding with a fantastic fun atmosphere. Everything felt very relaxed and everyone had a great time.
With how late the wedding was although we managed to get the few group photographs done in the last of the days light it was all down to flash light for the Bride and Groom portraits. We decided to have a bit of fun and the photos have come out amazingly. It's something a little different and definitely a lot of fun to do!

After the portraits we had a lot of time to just relax and get a great documentary coverage of the evening with the marquee looking stunning with the themed orange lighting. The whole day I think was summed-up by the choice of song for the first dance, Sex on Fire by the Kings of Leon. And why not?! :o)

Here are just a few of my favourites from the day although a much longer post will be coming in the next few days:

Charl looked gorgeous in a stunning gown from Rebecca Jayne's at Mix-n-Match, Rugeley

I love that they picked up on the Halloween theme:

New Hall looks amazing at night, don't you agree?

The magician that they'd booked for the evening did a fajtastic job - and the tricks he performed were amazing. In this one he cut a lemon in half to remove a £10 note which had just been signed by one of the guests of the wedding. It was really tempting to film him doing this on the 5dmarkII and then play it back but I resisted. The reactions that came were great though:

He also made some amazing balloon shapes too - and the creativity to create 'Ghostbuster backpacks' I thought was genius.

I couldn't resist taking Charl and Farm back outside to make us of the available light as the night changed and the 5DmarkII coped remarkably - and with an amazing colour quality when compared with the Nikon D3 files shot at the same time...

The choice of first dance was truly fantastic - and totally fitted Charl and Farm to a T!

I can't wait to hear from Charl and Farm and see what they think, and I know they're going to have an amazing album when we've planned it!

See you both soon. sj.p

Amy and David | a wonderful surprise in the post...

I opened the post this morning to be greated by a stunning and totally amazing thank you card from Amy and David Middleton, my stunning 19th September wedding which I'm sure you'll remember seeing here.
Amy and David are an absolutely lovely couple and it was such a pleasure to be part of their stunning wedding. Amy made all of the wedding stationery herself and did an amazing job, and to have my own personal memento of this is amazing.

Here are a couple of quick shots of the card which is now proudly on display in our viewing room.
If you wish to view the testimonial in a larger view please click here

There's nothing more I love about being a wedding photographer than making people happy. Personal relationships are so important and the relationships we build with clients is the cornerstone of how we work. I love people and I love documenting their special, personal moments. And I truly think to be a wedding photographer, I am one of the luckiest people in the world...

sj.p

Thomas Jeffrey O'Connor | Baby Portrait, Penn | Documentary Family Portraits

Georgina and Simon have become good friends of mine since I had the pleasure of photographing their wedding at Weston Park back in a very wet July 2007.
Georg and Si were blessed with a gorgeous new addition to the family earlier this year, Tommy O'Connor.

The 1st Novemeber was the first opportunity we'd managed to get together and I went over to their lovely cottage in Penn complete with the camera and got some great shots of the little man.
Here are a few of my favourites - hope you like them. Can't wait to hear what Georg and Si think of the photos, and can't wait to get feedback from their family when they receive the custom Christmas Cards :o)

Si really is a great dad - and as the top says, he loves wee Tommy even more than football:

Unfortunately being a model is hard, tiring work:

I love both Si and Tommy's expressions on this one:

Christmas cutie:

Definitely a contendor for the family Christmas card:

And not to forget the other, slightly hairier member of the family:

Hope you enjoyed. Please leave some blog love!

sj.p