http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/ en photography@davidmmcneil.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-06T18:08:52+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/ewan_and_kirsteen_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_edinburgh/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/ewan_and_kirsteen_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_edinburgh/#When:18:08:52Z It’s not every day I get the pleasure of going back to the city I grew up in and have a pre-wedding shoot there with an amazing couple.  Well this weekend was one of those times and I enjoyed the challenge of seeing if my pre-wedding shoot style worked well up in Scotland.  We started in Castle Terrace car park (getting told to leave the premises for the first time!) before exploring some of the grimy back alleys near the Grassmarket and the Cowgate.  We ended the shoot near the Royal Mile where I had found the most amazing heart shaped bush running up the side of a wall.  Ewan and Kirsteen really got into the spirit if the shoot and it was very easy making them look incredibly cool.  Their wedding is in beautiful Craigsanquar House in Fife and I am so looking forward to what will be my first Scottish wedding. This is the first of three pre-wedding shoots (and weddings) I have coming up in Edinburgh - I can’t wait to use the city again! 2010-03-06T18:08:52+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/adrienne_and_ricky_-_the_rest/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/adrienne_and_ricky_-_the_rest/#When:23:23:50Z ...Adrienne and Ricky are getting married at Sopwell House in May and I can’t wait to be let loose on that fantastic venue.  I suggested we head down to Richmond for the pre-wedding shoot as it’s somewhere I frequently visit but rarely shoot at.  There’s loads of character in the cobbled streets and little shops, and I feel that it matched Adrienne and Ricky’s personality really well.  One of my favourite shots is of Adrienne giving it some while music balred out a car stereo nearby!  I have to admit though I was a little scared during this shoot as both Adrienne and Ricky are police officers and I hoped they hadn’t heard of all the naughty things I’d been up to… 2010-03-05T23:23:50+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/new_books_nearly_here/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/new_books_nearly_here/#When:21:35:28Z I’m off to Edinburgh this weekend for another pre-wedding shoot. Don’t worry, I have a couple of weddings in March ahead - including Emma and Mattias wedding in beautiful Hurley, and a Sorrento wedding I really can’t wait for.  I’m enjoying this time to get some of the pre-wedding shoots done, and also focus a little on my business plans for the year ahead.  I’m delighted to be in the position of having 2011 bookings in the calendar, with July leading the way in popularity. I’m currently planning a whole new look for David McNeil Photography and have been working with Nubby Twiglet, a fantastic graphic designer from Oregon who is putting the finishing touches to my new logo (it’s going to be very different from what I have now!), and I have the bones of my new website ready for a little polish to be launched within the next few months.  I know I keep saying that, but it’s really imprtant for me to get everything just the way I want it! Part of the launch will be a new range of albums to offer you, including this one from Couture Book - a really innovative and new approach to wedding albums.  This is styled like an art book and, unlike other wedding albums that typically feature 20 - 30 “spreads” with thick pages, the “Greenland” art book has 100 or 200 beautiful photo pages with simple uncluttered album design.  I couldn’t believe the weight of this book, and if you want to have as many images as possible in your album then this is certainly the one to go for.  As this was the first time for me desiging such an album, I decided to use it as a pre-wedding portfolio - but I’m just about to order another sample featuring a full wedding. One of the best things about these albums is that they are made of 100% recycled material - so it truly is one of the “greenest” wedding albums you can buy. I’ll be taking some proper shots of the album soon, but in the meantime have a look at these I quickly shot in my kitchen! 2010-03-04T21:35:28+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/sneaky_peak/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/sneaky_peak/#When:17:55:34Z ...just time for the tiniest, sneakiest peak at today’s pre-wedding shoot with Adrienne and Ricky.  More to follow 2010-02-27T17:55:34+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/cosmopolitan_bride_-_april_may/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/cosmopolitan_bride_-_april_may/#When:07:25:42Z If you find yourself in the newsagents this month then you really need to pick yourself up a copy of the latest Cosmopolitan Bride magazine.  Not only is this probably my favourite wedding magazine, but this month they featured Callum and Carolines wedding in Shoreditch House in their “Real Weddings” section.  Towards the end of the magazine they also asked three of my brides from last year for their “beauty secrets”.  I can’t confirm, but I think next month they might be featuring another of my weddings… can’t wait for that as well! 2010-02-26T07:25:42+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/nicola_george_-_portrait_shoot/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/nicola_george_-_portrait_shoot/#When:19:06:22Z Nicola is a television presenter and singer based in London who had some headshots with me last year.  She booked in for a full day shoot for some new portfolio material and we had loads of fun today putting it together.  Make-up was by Claire McDonnell (who did yet another amazing job), and our locations were “The Snug Bar” upstairs at The Defectors Weld, and Richmond.  It’s always great having another shoot with somebody as I already know how they react to the camera. and it was good to get Nicola such a wide variety of shots for her portfolio. 2010-02-24T19:06:22+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/marie_greenwood_-_portrait_portfolio_shoot/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/marie_greenwood_-_portrait_portfolio_shoot/#When:19:26:07Z Marie Greenwood is a great tv presenter looking for some new publicity shots for her presenting and modelling work, so we combined a day of fashion shoot with an afternoon of presenter shots.  She looks great, and Claire McDonnell did a great job with the make-up again!  I haven’t done a proper portrait shoot for a while so it was a nice change to the routine to spend a whole day shooting Marie. 2010-02-20T19:26:07+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/paul_and_nancy_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_beautiful_rye/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/paul_and_nancy_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_beautiful_rye/#When:17:42:45Z Considering how terribly cold and snowy it’s been this winter, we were very lucky to have Sunshine, moderate un-freezing-ness, and lack of wind for today’s pre-wedding shoot with Paul and Nancy who are getting married in St Albans in May (in the same church Ricky and Bianca from Eastenders were married in don’t you know). Paul and Nancy decided to make a weekend of it and booked an apartment in Rye to stay over in - I’m very jealous, there are loads of nice pubs in Rye which meant we could get off to an early start and catch the best of the sunshine.  we started off in Rye Harbour at the abandoned house, then headed down to the beach, before going back to Rye itself. All in all, a very enjoyable morning indeed! 2010-02-20T17:42:45+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/emma_and_mattias_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_hackney_wick/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/emma_and_mattias_-_pre-wedding_shoot_in_hackney_wick/#When:19:35:44Z I’ve had a couple of restful months over the winter, but today saw the beginning of my year proper with my first pre-wedding shoot of 2010!  The lucky couple were Emma and Mattias who are getting wed in March at The Olde Bell in Hurley.  I always ask my couples what style of pre-wedding shoot they’d like, to which Emma and Mattias replied “gritty and urban”.  Well, you can’t get much more gritty and urban than Hackney Wick in the East End of London near Stratford where all the Olympic buildings are being constructed - being architects (and yes, it is true that architects only seem to go out with other architects!) I though that might interest them too. It was only a wee bit cold, and luckily there was no rain while we were out shooting so I was able to use all the interesting colours, textures and locations I’d sought out on the recce. Have a look through these and get inspired for your pre-wedding shoot!         2010-02-13T19:35:44+00:00 http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/designer_wedding_show/ http://www.davidmmcneil.com/blog/designer_wedding_show/#When:20:05:10Z ..just time for a quick pic from my visit to the Designer Wedding Show with Kat - AKA Rock N Roll Bride 2010-02-12T20:05:10+00:00