Michael's blog

My photographic style certainly isn't about formal group photos, or even the quirky posed group photos that feature a diffuse glow to complete the look! However, all weddings have group photos of some sort, and it's important to organise them effectively.

I've started doing a little work in the highly interesting fashion industry. My first gallery of photos is now up, from the runway show put on by the Winchester School of Art. Head over the the fashion gallery to check it out.

The wedding gallery was starting to bloat out, with over 300 photos in a monolithic gallery I suspect most people made it to about page two before throwing their hands in the air. So, I spent time tidying up that section by splitting the gallery into indiviual weddings. This allowed me to add even more photos from two recent weddings while enhancing the overall experience. You can now see more photos with less effort, and enjoy yourself a bit more as a result. Hopefully I pick up some karma points for making everyone else's life easier this week.

I have been using Facebook for personal use for a while now, and recently picked up twitter which as it swiftly grows in popularity and usefulness. If you'd like to follow me on Facebook please join the group 'Michael Bel Photography' ( http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47787194982 ) where I will post links to new work, special offers, and other exciting information! Read on...

Over the last few days I have been at the National Wedding Show in London Olympia. It was a great weekend with beautiful sunny weather and plenty of smiling couples exploring the vendors around the hall. It was lovely to meet and speak with so many people that are getting married this year.

I recently spent some time in Canada visiting friends, snowboarding, and photographing a wedding atop Whistler mountain in beautiful British Columbia. It was a risky strategy to plan a winter wedding in such an exposed location but everything worked out perfectly on the day. I was also lucky enough to get a few portrait sessions done before flying back to London in early February.

A friend of mine is producing a BBC1 show and is looking for couples getting married around February or March 2009. I spoke with her about this to try and get a picture in my head of what the show is about. It sounds exciting and fun, and certainly worth looking into if you want to do something extra-special for someone on the day. Here's the wording from the flyer:

"Long to transform your wedding dance into a sizzling spectacle with the help of world class professionals?

Want to serenade your loved one on your special day with the help experts?

As the year comes to a close (am I calling it early?) and 2009 approaches I have decided to revise the structure and content of my packages and adjust the prices accordingly for the new year. This doesn't mean prices will be going up, just that options are being shuffled around. I have always emphasised to couples that my services are bespoke, and everyones different requirements are catered to. This approach has meant that every couple receives a unique and personal service from me that results in a very high level of satisfaction with the finished product.