Wedding Photography and Portrait Studio Blog by Paul Davis Coleraine NI

Wedding Photography Northern Ireland Blog by Davis Photography bio picture

Welcome to my blog!

Davis Photography, the family studio that has been operating in Waterside high street since 1975. Qualified professionals specialising in exquisite wedding and luxurious portrait photography, along with varied commercial assignments, we have been able to offer traditional values with a modern edge sustaining us as one of the provinces most successful and in demand studios.

Qualified member and Past President (2005-07) of the PPANI (Professional Photographers Association of Northern Ireland) Paul Davis LPPANI has gained numerous accolades in the photography world, voted for by both industry professionals and the buying public, his achievements have maintained the Coleraine studios position at the fore of professional photography.

Mar 25 2012

Northern Ireland Wedding & Portrait Photographer Awards

Posted in Awards, Photography, Portraits, Weddings

The tension was building all day Sunday as members of The Pro Photographers Association of N Ireland ( PPANI ) gathered in abundance at the luxurious Cullloden Hotel in Belfast to witness who had won Wedding & Portrait Photographer of the year awards.

At this year awards I had three photographs that made the final by gaining top 5 in their category – Classical Wedding, Contemporary Wedding and Family Portrait. A nice mix that I am really pleased with especially when you consider over 300 photographs were entered by NI’s top full time pro photographers and that anything entered into these categories MUST have been commissioned and taken on the day of the shoot, not something that has been set up afterwards.

It was the beautiful Katie Lamour who was hosting and she started with the Family Portrait category. The photograph must contain more than one generation of a family and the shot I entered was a beautiful baby boy being held in his proud Dads arms using the skin on skin technique which babies love and shot on our low key background using dramatic lighting and printed in black and white to give it that timeless feel.

And, second place for Family Portrait Photographer – Paul Davis from Coleraine! Hey, that’s me…… delighted with second place we were off to a good start.

Moving onto the wedding categories I had two photographs that had reached the final – Classical Wedding and Contemporary Wedding. Both photographs were taken at the same wedding and showed my typical style of wedding photography, a mixture of traditional classical photography using natural light to highlight the subject and the more contemporary style shot using a little imagination with some subtle direction.

And, second place for Contemporary Wedding Photographer – Paul Davis from Coleraine. Again….. delighted, this photograph was taken at the end of a long day and showed the couple in an intimate surrounding where, for the first time that day, they could express passion and love in private without any interference.

Finally the third image that I entered was in the Classical Wedding Category, one of the most coveted awards amongst pro wedding photographers. Shot on the same wedding as the previous winner it was a taken in a room I stumbled across when looking for alternatives at the reception on what turned out to be a very wet day.

And, the runner up for Classical Wedding Photographer – Paul Davis from Coleraine. Hey, great news, a merit award for reaching the final, I always knew that competition would be fierce in this category but was over the moon by getting this far. The fact this shot and the last were taken on the same wedding day was a bonus and made all the effort worthwhile.

A big thanks to my gorgeous wife Suzanne, my Mum and her friend Joan for coming along and giving their support. A great night topped of with some great feedback from my piers and what better way to start this years season knowing that next years awards are back for the taking!

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Feb 22 2012

Mixing business with pleasure….Vegas Baby!

Posted in Personal, Photography

I’ve just returned from one of the most amazing trips abroad. WPPI, the worlds biggest wedding and portrait photography convention attracts over 16,000 people each year and this time, it was my turn to join the masses. Stretching over a one week period packed full of hands on workshops, in depth seminars, quick fire presentations, globally recognised competitions and trade shows that are bursting with exciting product launches are what makes the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International a convention like no other. Oh, and the location could also be a contributing factor – Las Vegas USA a mecca for social gatherings of all professions.

Stepping off the plane and cruising to the MGM Grand Hotel in a stretch limo didn’t seem that out of place in Americas sin city. Driving along the main strip at night surrounded by flashing Casino lights, towering hotels and gigantic peculiar shaped shopping malls with amusement rides on the roof and plunging out the side of them really does make this city the United States playground.

Highlights included the open print judging, watched in silence as entries from the worlds best photographers were scored and critiqued by a mix of highly qualified industry icons. Some so passionate that one very powerful image, given a score of ninety eight by two judges, actually brought one of them to tears as she discussed why this image was just two points from the highest score possible, something very rarely seen in WPPI’s 34 year history!

The trade show displayed many new products that we could look forward to seeing hit the market over the next few months. All the big industry names had put a huge amount into making them stand out – one company in particular told us how they are able to install a video screen into the back page of a wedding album catering for the new breed of photographers, who like ourselves, have embraced the latest technology allowing us to shoot video as well as photographs on the wedding day, giving clients not just movement in their album but audio as well, a real game changer!

Seminars took place in some of the largest conference rooms I’ve seen with audiences of over 2500 people in each of the four rooms. Speakers that stood out included two of my favourite photographers – Jerry Ghionis from Australia and Jasmine Star from Orange County, both speaking to sell out crowds giving inspiration and sharing ideas, everyone was full of praise for two of the worlds top 10 photographers.

Its back down to earth now and time to carry all the ideas and motivation into my own business and get pumped for this years shoots. The whole experience was on an epic scale, mixing business with pleasure really made me sit back and realise just how lucky we are as photographers to have the best job in the world!

A huge thanks to ‘Team O’Neill’ @ Ciaran O’Neill Photography for making the first move and putting this trip in the diary, if it hadn’t been for you guys I might not even have been there. Already talking about a return trip next year having the company of Ciaran, Bernie, Majella, Craig and Simon made the whole experience one that I’ll never forget, cheers guys, breakfast before bed showed the Americans the Irish way to do things, §ide by §ide ..§ide by §ide.

ps Thanks to my Mum as well for keeping the studio going in my ‘unavoidable’ absence x

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Feb 06 2012

Award Winning Wedding and Portrait Photography

Posted in Awards, Personal, Photography, Portraits, Weddings

….the 2011 PPANI finalists are : Paul Davis in the ‘Family’ Portrait Category, Paul Davis in the ‘Classical Wedding’ Category and Paul Davis in the ‘Contemporary’ Wedding Category!!!
That’s right, the finalists for this year prestigious Professional Photographers Association of NI awards were announced last night and for the third year in a row, I’ve made the final!
This years judging panel finally made their decision after a gruelling all day session that seen nearly 300 entries scrutinised and criticised until they found the finalists to go forward into next months final.
The cream of N.I.’s top photographers turned out in abundance in Newcastle Co Down eagerly waiting to hear the result. I was delighted when the three prints were announced in the most popular categories of all: Contemporary Wedding, Classical Wedding & Family Portrait.
Its an anxious 6 week wait until the glittering awards ceremony were the winners are presented with their trophies in the luxurious Culloden Hotel by host Miss Katie Lamour.
Until then, I’d like to wish all the finalists the best of luck and say a huge thank you to all of my clients, without whom none of this would have been possible. We strive hard to give each client something unique that they will cherish and just reaching the final has made this challenge even more rewarding.

As usual, please feel free to ‘add a comment‘ below or ‘like’ and add a comment for Facebook.

The light hanging across the top of this shot was a huge talking point with judge Glenn Norwood ‘British Institute of Professional Photography President’ saying how brave it was of the photographer to keep it in frame as it could equally have been a great shot if it wasn’t.

An elevator at the reception of this wedding provided something different to create that perfect ‘contemporary wedding’ image.

Father and baby are pictured in this intimate black and white family low key portrait.

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Sep 23 2011

Galgorm Manor Wedding Photography : Helen & Matthew

Posted in Weddings

It was an early start as I made my way to Newtownards to find the brides families farm house tucked away amongst acres of beautiful ripe farmland. What I thought was an early start, could have been seen as a lye in to these guys standards. As I arrived, Helen’s dad was just back from sorting through the next couples of days produce, making sure the fruit and vegetable supply was ready to be delivered to the wholesalers so he could put his mind at rest and start to think about getting organised for the wedding.

As the bride and her three sisters continued to get prepared it was time for me leave the excitement and meet up with Matthew and the men at Newtownard’s First Presbyterian Church. Having also made the journey from Coleraine, Matthew and the men were in good time and dressed for the occasion with their sharp grey suits complete with tails.

A great ceremony with family participation and it was time to make our way to The Galgorm Manor for the wedding reception in The Great Hall. The photo shoot got off to an unusual start whereby the bride and her sisters adorned footwear alternatives in the shape of wellington boots, a sight that brought smiles from onlookers and one that the girls are familiar with when they help out around the farm.

The farming theme continued as we arrived into the function room with each table named after different fruit and vegetables while the cake was decorated with amazing looking replicas of different farm produce. A fantastic fun filled day enjoyed by everyone and another gathering of two families from the farming community – farmers have fun!

As usual, please feel free to ‘add a comment‘ below or ‘like’ and add a comment for Facebook.

Wedding Photography at Galgorm Manor Ballymena Function Room at Galgorm Manor in the Great Hall

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Sep 16 2011

The Lodge Hotel Coleraine Wedding : Wendy & Gareth

Posted in Weddings

During the pre-wedding chat I discuss all of the days arrangements, confirm timings and find out more about the couples families. When the bride to be is the first in her family to get married, you can be sure of lots of excitement, especially when she has three sisters!

It would take more than heavy rain to dampen the spirits at Wendys house, as Dad cooked breakfast, the pampering had begun and the girls were starting to look like they could get used to this hair and make up treatment every weekend! Custom made photo albums containing memories of Wendys youth and a hand knitted jumper for little page boy Jack’s teddy bear, you could tell today had been long in the planning and that everyone was excited to be taking part.

Things were much the same when meeting Gareth at 1st Magherafelt Presbyterian Church, only difference was that along with family, Gareth was surrounded by friends, most of whom were on the wedding. That’s what got me thinking about the similarity’s between Gareth and myself.

We both grew up as the only child in the family and straight after leaving school we both joined the family business. The closeness between parent and child both at work and home is maybe what develops larger relationships outside of the family. It was great seeing all eight men keep each other in check with a bit of banter as guests starting arriving, these guys were ready to join in on the wedding action!

After the ceremony as we headed back up to the North Coast thankfully the rain gradually disappeared allowing for some beach shots at The White Rocks in Portrush followed by a fantastic reception in The Lodge Hotel in Coleraine.

As usual, please feel free to ‘add a comment‘ below or ‘like’ and add a comment for Facebook.