Photographers from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia attend

I was invited by Nikon in Estonia to give a talk on professional wedding photography to photographers from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.  I gave a background on my photography business and explained how wedding photography works for me in Cambridge where I am based.  The seminar was sponsored by Nikon as well as some other local businesses.  The talk went down really well and 1 hour wasn't really enough!  Had it have been up to the delegates, I think they would have let me talk all afternoon.... but I was also there to judge their "Wedding Photographer of the Year" award.


Mark talks about wedding and portrait photography




Wedding and portrait photographer, Mark, talks to photographers from Baltic countries

This prestigious competition is run by Jana Sarglep and celebrates its 10th year anniversary this year, and attracts professional wedding photographers from all of these three countries.  Even though they have fairly small populations, they do their fair share of wedding photography and I was delighted to have been asked to be one of the UK judges.  I was accompanied by two other UK photographers, Steve Tarling and Denis Orchard, both who specialise in wedding photography, and also three other more local professional photographers with a range of disciplines, from fashion to PR and commercial.


An intense day of judging over 300 professional wedding images


Judges from the UK, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

With the top prize from Nikon being the amazing Nikon D3S professional digital camera, there were around 300 images to judge, which appeared in various categories.  Reportage Wedding Photography, Bride and Groom Wedding Photography, Bride or Groom only photography, and Detail Wedding Photography.  Whilst we had a great system for judging, unfortunately we were let down by technology and ended up having to turn to a manual voting system.  With 6 independent judges, there were often different views and opinions and the whole process took a lot longer than we anticipated.  We ran through non stop and after much deliberation came to a decision and picked a winner.  More information on the competition, including the winners, can be found here ...


Picking a winner

Tags: Tallinn, Estonia

Well I have just returned from an amazing trip to Las Vegas in the USA for the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) convention. It is the biggest of its type in the world that offers training, support and inspiration to wedding and portrait photographers. Photographers and speakers from across the US and the rest of the world meet and share ideas, techniques, and business acumen across the industry. The trade show is just enormous with so many companies exhibiting some really exciting products for the social photography market.

I was also lucky enough to get a couple of days to myself and visited Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. Thanks to all those who shared their time away with me on the road trip - Steve, Jana, Mark and Dennis. I also met up with more fellow photographers for the convention, David DLM, Mark, Shane, David M, Charlie and Simon. Thank you all for helping me to have the best time....roll on next year!

Please enjoy this slideshow of some images taken whilst I was away....

I am so very pleased to officially announce the 2009 winner of our very popular competition - The Face of Cambridge. Arianna Liddle, from St Neots in Cambridgeshire was selected to win this very exciting and exclusive competition. I visited Louise Cummings, Editor of Cambridge Style magazine earlier in January for her to select her favourite image, and choose the Face of Cambridge. “I was blown away with the selection of photographs Mark had to show.” said Louise “There were so many lovely faces, but there was something very special about Arianna’s photograph”

Arianna win’s a beautiful piece of wall art of her favourite image worth £500, as well has gracing the front cover of the Feburary issue of Style magazine and a feature article inside. Style magazine is Cambridge’s leading high quality fashion orientated monthly publication is available FREE in many outlets across Cambridge.

We are now looking for the Face of Cambridge 2010. For just £30 you will have a professional make up session and hair-styling, followed by a fashion shoot. £15 of this fee is donated to Breast Cancer.

Please register you interest or call to book NOW - 01638 601571

Click on the cover to download the full article.

Tags: Makeover

I am thrilled!

I have just come back from the Master Photographers Association (MPA) National Awards Ceremony in Newcastle, and not only come away with 6 awards of merit, which are given for images considered to be of a superior standard, but also Winner of the Mario Acerboni 3 from 1 wedding category.

Entries came from all over the country and my images taken of Natalie and Jason’s Wedding at Audley End in Essex were selected as the winning images for the East Anglian region. I am delighted with the win and was presented with my trophy on Sunday night by Steve Walton, International Judge and Fellow of the MPA.

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Steve Walton (Left) presented me with my award.

Industry trade association Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) feature an article I wrote on wedding and portrait photography this month. The association is the biggest in the country with many members both here in the UK and internationally. I often speak at their huge convention in every January and next year is no exception. This year my talks will be about Family portraiture and Weddings. If you are a photographer and will be at the convention - make sure you come along to my seminars!

Click below to download the full article

I am popular in Essex at the moment! This months cover shot was taken of my sister at her wedding back in April, and both she and I was delighted that Lisa, the Editor of the magazine, chose it for the cover. The July issue also features a wedding I shot at Spains Hall last year - Colin and Carla on 13th September.

Below is the cover, and the full real life wedding article can be downloaded from our resources page.

Probably the industry's leading professional photography magazine, Photo Pro, contacted me some weeks back and asked me to write an article on social portrait photography. Having been in the business of wedding and portrait photography for some 15 years, I certainly have the experience to pass on! I really enjoyed writing the article which covered things like how I got started, what gear I use, and how to photograph people of different ages. My work is very diverse, and so I was able to give a real insight into the different aspects of portrait photography, both on location and in the studio.

Below is a snapshot of the article, just click to download the full article.

I am delighted! Yesterday I attended a day seminar delivered by multi award winning photographer and chairman of international judging - Kevin Wilson FMPA, FBIPP, FRPS. He gave a great talk about wedding and portrait photography and judged the print competition in the afternoon. The entries came from all over London and Essex and there was lots of strong images. Kevin picked two of my images as winners and awarded another a merit.

MPA.le Portrait Photographer of the Year 2009 - winning image

MPA.le Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 - winning image

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with the team at Photography Monthly Magazine to discuss wedding photography amongst other things on their monthly podcast. Check out the podcast by following this link to itunes, or direct from their website at Photography Monthly.

Enjoy listening!

I love photographing weddings and I am always thrilled when a magazine editor wants to feature one of my happy couple’s wedding photography in their magazines. This month An Essex Wedding featured Cathy and Daniels wedding from October last year, and even put one of Cathy’s photos on the front cover. She was delighted to be featured and have the chance to tell everyone about their special day.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL ARTICLE

Hi everyone. Well I have not posted for a while because I am been on an amazing holiday with Kirsty, my brother and his wife and my dear mother! The reason for going together was that my sister got married on 5th April in Australia to a great guy called Lewis. My sister now lives in the beautiful city of Perth, Western Australia.

I will be posting a preview of wedding photographs (as the official photographer!) and also some great images of our travels!

Watch this space....

I have not posted for a while as we have been really busy with a new Face of 2009 competition, taking family and childrens portraits in the studio and testing some new equipment. I have also been busy telling lots more people about our services. We have been featured in lots of publications lately and felt that it would be great to share them with those who may not have seen them yet...

Article written for Professional Photographer - the new Hasselblad H3DII-31 camera


Face of Cambridge promotion - as featured in Cambridge Evening News


Cambridge Agenda magazine - wedding feature


NKTBE magazine for Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds - wedding feature

This week is officially Family Portrait Week, and we are proud to be associated with this brand new initiative that is dedicated to bringing families together and capture a moment you can keep forever.

The scheme launched in London last Friday and amongst many others was supported by HRH Princess Michael of Kent David Cameron MP. Simply by making a minimum donation to the Variety Club, one of the largest charities that supports disadvantaged children, you will be entitled to a family portrait session including a 7” x 5” print of your choice. Your voucher can be purchased at any time and is valid for six months from date of issue
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As one of the leading family portrait photographers in the country, we are delighted to be part of such a fantastic opportunity that encourages you to get your family together for a fabulous photograph and help those less fortunate than us at the same time.

Simply go to the official site, make your donation and redeem you special e-voucher with us!

Congratulations once again to of Face of Cambridge 2008 winner - Susie Diver. Her fabulous photos featured in February’s Style magazine, and also the FRONT COVER!

Hi Everyone

I have just come back from an amazing four days at the SWPP convention in London - the largest of its kind in Europe. I gave two talks to many photographers across the UK, Europe and the US. I was sharing 15 years of my experience in the industry of wedding and portrait photography. We were packed out with people standing and sitting on the floor - we even had to turn people away!

Our talks were all about how we ensure the best customer service, offer consistent high quality photography, and receive testimonials from most of our clients. Thanks to all those who attended, and thanks to those who have already sent us positive feedback.

I hope to be doing some more talks this year - please let me know if you are interested...

Our many congratulations go to Susie Diver, our winner of the Face of Cambridge competition 2008. Launched in the Style magazine, the competition has been very popular bringing us many faces to photograph over the last year. I visited Debbie Tweedie, the editor of Style, last week for her to pick a winner for us. “All the pictures were fantastic, so much variety. Our magazine follows fashion carefully and it really shows that our readers are style conscious. Together with Mark’s great fashion photography, I found it very difficult to select a winner.”

With the help of some of the other girls on Debbie’s team, we settled on Susie’s picture. “Her eyes in this image are just amazing, and such a natural expression, we just kept coming back to this photograph”, says Debbie.

Susie has won £500 worth of photography from us and is delighted to win. Check out the Style magazine in February for a full article and story.

In the mean time, we are now looking for the Face of Cambridge 2009. For just £30 you will have a professional make up session and hair-styling, followed by a fashion shoot. £15 of this fee is donated to Breast Cancer.

Please register you interest or call to book NOW - 01638 601571

This week I have been really busy preparing a couple of talks to give at one of the biggest photographic conventions in Europe. Set to take place next week, the conference runs for 6 days in the heart of the London. I will be passing on my knowledge and experience to fellow photographers in the industry both new and established. I will talk about what we offer our clients and how we ensure that they are delighted with our photography.

I will post some more info and pictures after the event...watch this space!

I am delighted to have one of my weddings feature in the real life wedding section of leading UK wedding magazine, You and Your Wedding. Rachel and Andrew were married about a year ago, but as it is approaching that time of year it was important for the magazine to feature a fabulous winter wedding. Their reception took place at the beautiful Woburn Abbey after their wedding ceremony in nearby village of Barton le Clay.

Download the full article

Hi everyone - Watch me at a wedding.

This footage was from a wedding at St Johns College Cambridge with a reception at Wimpole Hall. It shows me having fun with the photography on a very hot summers day! Video footage kindly prepared by Headspin - a fantastic video production company. Enjoy watching - and remember to turn up the volume...















You will need a broadband connection and the latest Flash Player for Mac or PC to watch this - download from here. If you are using Internet Explorer 7 on a PC and experience problems - please try this. Go to Tools Menu>Internet Options. Click Advanced Tab, select "Restore Advanced Settings" click OK and restart your browser. Please be patient during busier times - the progress bar at the bottom of the movie will indicate the load speed. If necessary, pause the movie and wait until the download reaches 100%.

A few weeks ago I was delighted to win a very prestigious competition. You and Your Wedding magazine (the UK's leading wedding magazine) and the Master Photographers Association ran a competition with all their qualified photographers across the country. Out of the thousands of images submitted the editorial team at You and Your Wedding picked one of mine to feature on this months edition!

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We are proud to announce the official opening of our new studio. It has a spacious and airy feel with a relaxed and contemporary feel with its natural wood flooring and modern furnishings. With the right music to set the mood, we are sure you will enjoy every minute of your portrait shoot with us....
We are offering a complimentary session (worth £50!) for everyone who sees this offer....
CALL | 01638 601571