Claudia Rose Carter Photography Blog

Hello world! It’s been another crazy week at G & C HQ. I was shooting Arkin and Simon’s civil partnership at a gorgeous East London hotel on Saturday and then Sunday was pretty much another day spent with the duvet and plenty films {on our brand new massive flatscreen – thanks family!} to relax as we didn’t get to bed until late on the Saturday. Hannah second shot for me and we ended up being awake until around 1am with wine and MG introducing her to the horrors and delights of TOWIE. The delight is in the horror, but you know.

So, here I am. I’d like to show you a teaser from Saturday. Here you go:

I love reflections.

This week I’m going to speak a little about story telling. The sign of a true dreamer. Not least the ‘artiste’ in me coming through.

I’ve always loved stories. I was a complete book worm when I was younger and my favourites were the ones that went in such depth into different worlds. Lyra Belacqua of His Dark Materials triology {Phillip Pullman} was my hero. The Never Ending Story was a favourite film. I had a pet sheep named Scruffy that lived in the field next door instead of human friends. I once nearly got stuck in quicksand due to a big exploration adventure around the farm I lived on. Etc… you get the idea.

When I first started taking photographs all those years ago, the world of photojournalism and war was that which sucked me in and intrigued me. I wanted to tell a story, show moments and memories through my photography. I wanted it to be a reflection of how I viewed the world.

Fast forward to present time and that’s exactly what I’m accomplishing. The way that I achieve what I do in my wedding photography is to take a back step on the day and look at what is going on around me. Try to look for moments and stories in the day. A few phrases that come to mind would be ‘natural wedding photography’, ‘documentary wedding photography’, ‘photojournalistic’ ‘reportage’ but I mix these with my love of portraits and a small element of creating the image as well as documenting it. You can view some of my portrait work on my pre-wedding shoots HERE.

I also blog to tell a story. There has been an ongoing discussion throughout the industry for the time I’ve watched it on whether to blog a small selection of your favourite images from a wedding or blog it as a narrative of the day. Both MG and I feel that your website is the appropriate place for your absolute favourites to be showcased and the blog is a place to tell a story. I also feel, from a potential bride’s perspective, that seeing an entire wedding inspires more trust than just a handful of images.

What do you think?

Love this gorgeous family and children photography by Meg Bitton. 

 

A random collection of inspiring images and some bizarre images too on RELIC.

 

MG and I have been watching the new Sherlock and loving it. Recommended.

 

Jamie Oliver always makes me happy for recipes and fun.

 

Good evening all! It’s Tuesday again. Come on… I did say right at the beginning that I may post a day or two later if I genuinely couldn’t post on the Sunday. And I really couldn’t this week as I was dancing and photographing my cotton socks off at the gorgeous Sab & Erkan’s wedding in North London. Here’s a teaser for you:

It was a great week all round including many gym trips and a rather wonderful relaxed boozy lunchtime at the King William IV in Chigwell. MG was shooting both Saturday and Sunday so on the Saturday I spent some time with the gorgeous Jeannie and her little ones Jack and Aiden. Here’s another teaser {!!}

This week I wanted to have a natter with you about PINTEREST. Now, I’ve mentioned it quite a lot over the past few Something Simply Special Sundays so I would imagine you may have checked it out already. If not, you’re in for a treat….

 

 

The above is a screenshot of my boards. You will notice there are some personal work boards, general photography inspiration boards but also boards with names above them. Those are my lovely brides and handsome grooms and many of them are included as contributors to their boards. It’s something I’ve been working on a lot this year and I really feel to be an integral part of my visual identity and brand ethos; working alongside my couples to really strive for the best. I want to be more present and integrated than just their photographer. I adore the whole experience and I endeavour to let them know I’m right there for anything they need advice or assistance with.

For an example, have a look at lauren & adam’s board here.

Utilising Pinterest in this way has really helped me a great deal with that. It gives me an insight into their imaginations and allows me to work with that. I always advise that I won’t try to recreate someone else’s work {if they pin from other photographers websites, or wedding blogs} but that it’s more the overall feel that I’ll really work with on the day.

I know many others in different industries that also use Pinterest and its versatility speaks for itself. Designer Melissa Love encourages her clients to ‘pin’ things that they love so that she can get a feel for who they are as a person when designing their websites and showcasing ‘THEM’ to the world. Wedding blogger Alexis Cuddyre from OMG I’m Getting Married {see an interview with her on this very blog HERE!} has a lot of gorgeous wedding related boards for her bridal readership – ideas for wedding dresses, colour schemes, cakes and also featuring ‘real weddings’ that are submitted to her.

I can imagine that it would be wonderful for interior designers as well as there are so many house related pins and boards. I can really get lost in it!

What are your own favourite boards? Share your links in the comments below, I’d love to see!

So much wonder to share with you this week! Go grab a cuppa and sit down to enjoy these luscious links.

 

 

I recently read a biography about Steve Jobs and have found a fascination in learning about the Apple and Jobs’ ethos. This article is pretty interesting.

 

10 ways to make your work day lovely – so cute!

 

I love the simplicity of Eefje De Coninck‘s work. Beautiful photography.

 

We’re currently running an INSPIRATIONS project in my Facebook group whereby each member has to pick a date in the next 38 dates and on that date, post to a blog or video that inspires them. THIS was one posted recently and wow oh wow I just adore it.

 

Isn’t this stationery by BerinMade just gorgeous?! Wonderful read as well. Look out on this blog for some new goodies relating to this

 

 

Have a great week guys! xo

 

I recently had the absolute pleasure of meeting Alexis from OMG I’m Getting Married blog for a coffee in the heart of London’s Spitalfields Market and I have to say, I just felt so at ease with her. Especially so that I had no problem in emailing her to ask if she would be interested in being interviewed on this blog. Amazingly she said yes.

As most of you regular readers will know, I try to also blog about things that others will find interesting or resourceful as well as promoting my own work. I really want to create a blog that people can trust and come back to.

Alexis, thank you for your little bit of help in making that dream come alive.

 

 

Hi Alexis, please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what you do.

Hello! My name is Alexis and I am the founder of OMG I’m Getting Married. I am a graphic / interactive designer by day and blogger by night with an appreciation for all things design related. I love a bit of data visualisation and technology as well.

 

When and why did you start your blog?

I started OMG just over two years ago as a way to keep in touch with my parents who live abroad while I planned my wedding. It became a bit of an obsession and grew into something much bigger!

 

How did you find having previous experience in design when thinking about how you wanted it to look?

Good and badMy experience in interactive and digital media gave me the basic building blocks that allowed me to set up my own wordpress site and get it to do roughly what I wanted to, however, when I set the blog up I had no idea what it would become and now think it needs a bit of a redesign. Being a designer, I notice the small things that stick out that should be fixed! Especially since weddings are all about the details, I know my blog design should reflect this.

 

How do you incorporate YOU into your blog?

I only post stuff I like and I hope the tone of voice comes across as the way I speak to people candidly.

 

What do you do when you aren’t blogging?

I work a full time job as a designer at London based Design & Technology agency Digit.

 

Do you have any major plans for the blog?

Always. But less time to implement them!

 

What is your favourite thing about a wedding {including the planning, actual day and life afterwards}?

Oh man that is a tough one! I loved planning my own wedding so I guess the design aspect is the best!

 

What do you look for when photographers submit their work?

A lot of things, and I am still learning new things about photography every day! My favourite photographers are able to capture the entire story of the day from the details to the big moments – the macro and micro if that makes sense.

 

What is the best way for people to be able to contact you with ideas related to the blog {submissions, features}?

EMAIL! I’m trying to get better at it but because I work during the day it takes me a bit more time to get back to people.

 

Do you run competitions for bride {for example, to win their wedding florist or photographer or musicians}?

I do, but only if I think there are super prizes.

 

Do you have any recommendations for inspiring places that you like to visit in London?

Recently I’ve been trying to go to more exhibitions which has influenced my work as a designer, however I would say if you’re talking weddings, find interior spaces in boutique hotels, shops like the Designers Guild and restaurants for decor/theme inspiration.

 

What is your favourite film to watch over and over again?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

 

Are there any other blogs that you read regularly? Weddings or other.

Weddings – Rock n Roll Bride, Love My Dress, Beyond Beyond and Reverie Magazine.

Design – Fast Company Design, It’s Nice That.

Technology – Creative Applications, Data Viz – Infosthetics, Information is Beautiful.

 

What are your 2012 life goals and work goals?

AAAAAH. I am actually just doing this with my husband since we have finally recovered from post wedding bliss / exhaustion / laziness.

I would like to make my blog awesome.

I would like to be amazing at my job.

I would like to spend as much time with my friends and family as humanly possible.

Thank you so much Alexis for agreeing to be featured! For the record, I think the blog looks and is awesome already