Sue Kwiatkowska Photography

A Pre-Wedding Shoot Between the Piers (przed ślubne fotografie)

Apr 262012

I’ve known Tania since she was a teenager so was thrilled to hear that she’d got herself engaged to a nice young Polish man and that they were going to tie the knot this year! I met Tan and Pete on Brighton beach just before sunset at the end of last month for their pre -wedding photos. This is one of my absolute favourite times of day to shoot because of the golden quality to the light and as always it didn’t disappoint. The stretch of beach between the piers is a really popular spot to come for pre-wedding and wedding photos in Brighton and I don’t think I will ever tire of shooting here since it offers up so many opportunities for creative photos.

Tan and Pete were really good sports and were very agreeable to pose on several of my whims! I can tell already that Tan is going to fit perfectly into her new role as a young Polish wife (ladies and gents – I speak from experience when I tell you that this is most definitely not a role for the faint-hearted!) – and it was just lovely to see her and Pete so obviously in love! Really looking forward to photographing their wedding tomorrow

A London Wedding At St Pancras – Nicholas & Jody Got Married

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Apr 192012

Nicholas and Jody got married on a beautiful spring day in late February just a couple of weeks after our pre-wedding shoot when snow had fallen over much of the south east and the temperature was hovering near zero. Meeting them both at Camden Town Hall I couldn’t resist posing Jody on the sweeping marble staircase for a few pre-ceremony photos. I have to admit that when she first arrived I didn’t recognise her, so lovely did she look in her velvet cape and dress and fab little hat!

Nicholas and Jody wanted to walk in together and as the guests took their seats I managed to grab yet another lovely photo of the couple composing themselves just outside the doors of the ceremony suite before the all important vows were taken. An intimate service followed with close friends and family present, rings were exchanged (for one brief moment none of us were sure if Nicholas’ ring was actually going to fit!) and the register signed. Hats off to the registrar for ending the ceremony by presenting the couple with the certificate in front of their guests and encouraging a round of applause. I thought this was a really nice thing to do and we all moved on to the reception venue on a real high note.

The wedding party made their way across the road to St Pancras station and the Brasserie where the most delicious canapes were being served (seriously – they were probably the best canapes I have ever tasted!). Nicholas and Jody only had a short time with family and friends before travelling on the Eurostar to Paris for their honeymoon so made the absolute most of their time chatting and enjoying the food and champagne in the beautiful art deco surroundings – and who wouldn’t! A short while later we headed through the magnificence that is St Pancras International station and down to the departures barrier – having had a quick ride on the escalator crocodile style first – to wave Nicholas and Jody off on what sounded like a stylish and romantic Paris break, just perfect for newlyweds!

It is always a huge privilege to document the start of a couple’s married life together and to be present at such an important event in two people’s lives. For Jody and Nicholas in particular, I know that a long and happily married life awaits!

A Fairytale Wedding At Hever Castle – Dan & Lucy Got Married

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Apr 052012

My first wedding of 2012 was certainly one that I won’t forget in a hurry! Dan & Lucy’s big day was – to put it mildly -a big surprise! Having been horribly let down by a local supplier and their wedding plans cancelled as a result, the couple approached Channel 5′s Cowboy Traders with their story who then set about re-organising their whole wedding from scratch in just three weeks and I was more than happy to jump on board and take on the job of photographing their day.

I arrived at Lucy and Dan’s house on a cold and frosty but beautifully sunny morning in mid January to find the bridal preparations in full swing and then moved on to the beautiful St Mary’s Church in Great Chart to meet Dan (who roared up in a bright red Ferrari). The church soon started to fill with excited friends and family and I couldn’t resist popping down to to the back of the church to catch the choir pulling on their robes and warming up their voices for the service that was about to follow. When Lucy entered the church on the arm of one very proud father, she looked simply breathtaking.

After a beautiful ceremony, and with the sun streaming in through the church windows, we made our way back outside for photos and then on to Hever Castle for the reception. Neither the couple or their guests had a clue as to where they were heading and the surprise and genuine emotion that Lucy showed as she stepped out of the car and into the castle courtyard really brought home just how important this day was for a couple who had been through such a terrible time.

It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this wedding and just goes to show that there are a lot of us out there prepared to go that extra mile to help others out in difficult circumstances and to give Dan and Lucy the fairytale wedding that they had so looked forward to and thought might never happen.

As night fell and the temperature plummeted, I looked back through the doors as I was leaving to see the wedding party in full swing and genuine warmth and happiness filling every corner of that room. And as always it goes without saying that I wish Dan and Lucy all the very best for a long and happy married life together

I ♥ Instagram

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Mar 132012

The one thing I absolutely love about my iphone are the photo filter apps - particularly Instagram. I use the camera on my phone a lot to take pictures when I am out and about or just see something or someone that I like the look of and want to photograph instantly. Instagram is a fab little app that not only allows me to pretty up my pictures but also lets me keep up to date – or have a nosy through if i’m really honest! – my friends and contacts Instagram pictures too. It is great to look through others professional work but even nicer to gain a little bit of insight into their normal everyday lives

Looking back over the last 12 months and to have a visual record of what we did, who we saw, where we went and what just caught the eye, becomes all the more important when life is busy and time seems to roll by quicker and quicker each year. A photograph really can tell a lot of the stories of our lives and times (both good and bad), give root to what has already passed and at the same time anchor us firmly in the present moment too.

A Pre-Wedding Shoot At The British Library

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Feb 242012

A couple of weeks ago I headed up to London on the train through a landscape blanketed in snow, to meet Nicholas and Jody and to take some pre-wedding photos before their big day.

We met in the beautiful surroundings of the St Pancras Grand Brasserie for brunch (which is also where they will be holding their wedding reception) and talked happily through their wedding plans before taking a walk along to the British Library Piazza for photos. The weather was bitterly cold with a dusting of snow still on the ground but the sun was out and the light was perfect. Jody told me that this was where Nicholas had proposed which made the shoot all the more special. The relaxed way that this lovely couple interacted with one another whilst I snapped away made my job incredibly easy! Before parting ways we popped into the library to warm up a little and take some more photos. The space is light and bright and airy with some great angles and curves and I have to say that I was just a tiny bit in my element in there!

Jody and Nicholas are getting married tomorrow morning and I am very much looking forward to their wedding

Win Your Wedding Photography – A Valentines Day Competition ♥

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Jan 252012

What could be nicer than to win your wedding photography this coming Valentines Day? As well as offering a 20% discount on all weddings booked by 31st March 2012, I am offering one fabulous bride and groom-to-be the chance to win a wedding photography package worth £695 and two runners -up prizes of a 50% discount on my 2012 prices.

This offer is open to couples marrying in 2012 in Sussex/Surrey/London and Kent and includes:

-A complimentary pre-wedding shoot at a location of your choice. A disc of high resolution fully edited images from your shoot.

-Up to 8 hours coverage of your day typically beginning with you getting ready and ending with your first dance together as husband and wife

-A private password protected online gallery for you and your guests to include up to 200 fully edited images

- A disc of up to 200 high resolution fully edited images for you to keep and use

(This offer does not include wedding albums/photobooks – details are available upon request and is based on a full day’s coverage)

To enter simply email your details to contact@suekwiatkowska.com stating your name, wedding date, wedding location and venue by 5pm on 13/02/12. The winners will be drawn at random and you will be notified by return email at 12pm on Valentines Day

Please feel free to browse through my website, facebook page and blog to see examples of my work. I am really looking forward to hearing from you!

Thank you so much for your entries. This competition is now closed.

Here’s Looking At You 2011

Personal, Portraits, Pre-wedding, Wedding No Responses »

Jan 072012

Before I make a start on 2012, I thought I’d put together a slideshow mash up of my year in photos – both professional and personal. It has been a real privilege to work not only with some fantastic brides and grooms at some truly amazing weddings (and one bloody brilliant photographer) but also with lots of gorgeous families, both out and about and in the studio too. A huge salute goes out to my long suffering family and friends with some especially big high fives going out to my oldest and dearest friends Caroline and Claudine, to the wonderful Caroline and Felix, to the very lovely Annie Mendelow and to the fab Newsons, Alex and Chris.

2011 would not have been the year it was without your continued support and encouragement and I offer up a thousand thanks to each and every one of you, for all of your lovely comments on the photos I have taken over the past 12 months and for making it possible for me to get up and go to work every morning and continue to do a job I love xx.

From May to September – A Summer Internship with Joanna Brown

Personal, Wedding No Responses »

Dec 222011

For quite a while now I have wanted to devote more of my time to photographing weddings. As I am sure all wedding photographers out there will agree, once you start doing this you most definitely get bitten by the wedding bug and it was certainly no different for me. I love weddings! Committing to this however, on a regular basis with two young children at home and a husband working in London most days of the week, proved next to impossible until both girls were at school full time. Joanna’s advert for an Intern to assist as a second shooter over her busy summer season and to help out with the administration that goes on in the office behind the scenes (and in-between weddings) came along at the perfect moment – my enthusiasm was high, but my confidence and direction needed some fine tuning! I have been following Joanna’s work for quite some time and have long admired her alternative take on wedding photography (as well as everything else!) so it was with a mix of excitement and ‘now or never nerves’ that I bit the bullet and applied.

Joanna lives off the beaten track in rural Sussex so my intention to make a good first impression by arriving early for my interview went well and truly out of the window! Arriving late and then accidently parking up on her neighbour’s driveway left me thinking that I’d already scuppered my chances before we’d even talked but she immediately put me at my ease. We chatted happily about all matters photography related over tea and biscuits, I got to meet Percy the cat and the time whizzed by. When Joanna called the next morning to offer me the post I was hugely surprised then very excited and raring to go!

One of the first things I realised when I started working with Joanna was the importance of having a well organised system to cope with the inevitable paperwork that quickly builds up and the emails that come through. My ‘filing’ system I am ashamed to admit up to this point, had consisted of an-over flowing cupboard of paperwork and photography related paraphernalia, and a bulging inbox dating back at least two years. Joanna has a simple and effective way of categorising everything in the relevant paper or electronic folder or box and all expenses are recorded in an excel spreadsheet. Being so organised allowed us time to refine some of the lengthier administrative tasks. Amongst other things, an easy to follow checklist for brides that outlined all of the important things Joanna would need to know on the big day and so limit the volume of emails back and forth, proved very useful.

And so on to the blog. I had already set up a Facebook Page and a website but not thought to set up a photography blog. I immediately saw the benefits of using a blog to keep work right up to date and how useful a tool this can be for potential clients. It is always great to look through a photographer’s portfolio of best bits on his or her website but it is even better to have access to the complete wedding story in words and pictures. Given her busy schedule, keeping on top of the blog was high on the list of priorities and the one thing that caused us the most headaches! Putting together a blog post - no way around it – takes time! Over the summer months we racked our brains and tried out all kinds of different ways to speed this job up from using Blogstomp to WordPress plugins to Lightroom quick collections. I’m not sure if any of these tweaks worked particularly well but I hope in combination they have made blogging big weddings a little bit easier!

Presentation is of course everything and with near on thirty weddings to sign seal and deliver between May and September there were a lot of discs to get out in the post! It really does make a huge difference to send the final product out nicely wrapped and properly branded. With a card. And a gift!

As well as assisting Joanna in the office I also second shot with her at weddings, some local, some further afield. I really can’t stress enough how invaluable this was. It is one thing shooting a wedding but quite another shooting an entire season of back to back weddings! Stamina is essential here! The great thing about second shooting photographically is that you have the luxury of time that you don’t have as the primary shooter to seek out the finer details and goings on during the day. To look at the events unfolding from a different viewpoint. This pushes you to think much more creatively about your shots. It allows you to develop and enhance your skills without any attendant pressure, whilst at the same time putting you in the privileged position of recording one of the most important days in a couple’s life, a position that should be treated with the sensitivity and care it justly deserves.

As a second shooter it is also imperative that you aware of what the primary shooter needs in terms of support from you during the course of the day.Working with Joanna over a six month period meant that after not too long we were able to develop a good rapport and routine on the day and checked in with one another every half hour or so. In addition to supporting her photographically I also understood the importance of making sure that the little things were taken care of - a bottle of water or cold drink to hand, the schedule easily accessible, the camera bag available and at the ready as we moved between locations, a chair in position to stand on if needed, equipment packed up and put back in the car at the end of a long day.

Of course the Internship would not have been as enjoyable as it was if it hadn’t been for the time and patience that Joanna devoted to it. I will take away from this more than I think Joanna could possibly know. The benefit of her wisdom and experience will stand me in good stead for many, many years to come. Joanna gives freely of her knowledge and is a remarkable and unique teacher, someone who I not only respect as a colleague but also as a friend. We shared many great moments over the long summer months. Particular highlights include the fantastic weddings that we attended together and the great couples and their guests that we got to meet, the Pub du Vin dinner (with dessert!) the unsuspecting guest who got more than he bargained for when I took him for a whirl around the dance floor at Duncton! The chats we shared over lunch about all manner of things, both personal and professional on warm sunny days in between jobs and Percy’s ‘little presents’! There were days inevitably when things didn’t always go so smoothly - the Sat Nav that didn’t get us anywhere near where we wanted to be, motorway traffic jams, not least the pile up on the M25 that closed the motorway overnight and left a a tailback so long it took 4 hours to get form Brighton to Richmond, the times when I doubted my ability to even work the camera and the pressures that built both emotionally and physically for Joanna especially as the season really started to gather pace. We got through and supported one another through all of those highs and lows and a hell of a whole lot more this summer. I wish Joanna all the very, very best for a fantastic 2012 and if she advertises for an Intern next year – apply – I dare you

You can see more of Joanna’s glorious weddings on her blog, website and Facebook page. To finish, here are a selection of pictures taken by me at the weddings we shot at together and the links listed below to Joanna’s full blog posts

Lobster Pots, Paddling & Beach Huts – Abby & Julian Get married

Acres of Sky, Fields Of Corn & A Sunset To Die For – Simone & Marcus Get Married

A Pool, An Orchid House & Cups Of Tea – Laura & Graeme Get Married

The Beginning Anna & Rakesh Get Married

A Wedding In A Ticket Office & A Picnic (Part Two) – Anna & Rakesh Get Married

All Aboard The Train (Part Three) – Anna & Rakesh Get Married

Sticks Of Rock, A 50′s Diner & The Seaside – Shanna & Sam Get Married In Brighton

Sunflowers,Stacks Of Logs & Sunsets – Megan & Mike Get Married

Autumn Leaves, Fur Rugs & Antique Lace – Katie & Will Get Married

A Registry Office Wedding In Lewes – Jon and Larissa Got Married

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Nov 022011

A quick scout around the beautifully manicured gardens of Southover Grange saw me dodging a few brief showers as I waited for Larissa to arrive. Sure enough as the car pulled up the heavens opened once again and Larissa hurried into the Registry Office with her daughter and bridesmaid Jess under cover of an umbrella. Upstairs Jon was already waiting patiently (and a little nervously!) for Larissa to make her entrance and when she walked confidently into the room looking a picture of true elegance, I’m sure Jon’s nerves must have disappeared completely and this lovely couple, totally comfortable and at ease with one another, got down to the business of getting married. 10 minutes later, vows spoken and rings exchanged, Jon and Larissa signed the register and the new Mr and Mrs headed out into the gardens for photographs. Thankfully, the showers held off just long enough for us to get some pictures before heading back to their house for the reception.

Arriving back at the house the weather decided to take a real turn for the worse and heavy rain set in for much of the afternoon. This however did not dampen anyone’s spirits in the least. Plans to enjoy some early autumn sunshine on hay bales in the back garden were abandoned with a cheery roll of the eyes and friends and family tucked in to delicious canapes that circulated throughout the afternoon and drank champagne and Harvey’s Ale from the local brewery in fine house party spirit!

As the afternoon rolled on into evening and speeches were given and the cake cut I couldn’t help thinking what a lovely day Jon and Larissa had had and, as always, it goes without saying that I wish them all the very, very best for a long and happy life together

An Indian Summer Pre-Wedding Shoot at Sunset

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Oct 132011

Claudine (and her twin Caroline) have been my closest friends for near on thirty years and we have been through a good few of life’s inevitable ups and downs together during this time. When Claudine started dating the lovely James three years ago, (and with both Caroline and I already married) we couldn’t help but hope that wedding bells might one day be on the cards. When news came from South Africa, where they were holidaying last winter, that James had proposed and that the pair of them were off to pick out a nice big sparkler, we couldn’t have been more thrilled!

Claudine and James are getting married in Cardiff which is where James is from and Clauds had made it very clear from the start that both Caroline and I were to enjoy the day and take a day off from being ‘the photographers’ - can’t say fairer than that! However, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to coerce them into doing a little pre-wed shoot! A couple of weeks ago we had a glorious spell of unseasonably warm and sunny weather and given that they live pretty much right on the beach in Hove we met them there from work at sunset for photos. Brighton seafront is such a great place to take pictures and the bandstand and piers always make for a great backdrop especially during that golden time of the evening between sunset and dusk.

The wedding is this Saturday and I can’t wait! See more of Caroline’s fab pictures from this shoot here.