Should we get a Photo Booth for our wedding?

It's totally up to you! You don't have to! You might love Photo Booths. You might hate them. Guests usually have a ball and it can be fun to include a 4x6 print of the picture in their thank you cards. If you're looking for one of the old-timey photobooth that seats two people and prints out strips then I recommend these guys - Boston Photobooth Rental.

The photobooth I offer my wedding clients is open frame - there's a backdrop and then the camera sits in front in an enclosed box. Guests can push a big red button that counts down 5,4,3,2,1 and then the picture is taken but usually Audrey mans the booth to encourage people to take a "nice" picture and then get silly. Not to mention if the booth is left unattended the props have a mysterious way of showing up on the dancefloor....

The photo booth needs a decent size space with a flat floor, 10ft x 10ft is ideal so talk to your venue coordinator. You'll also need a table and linens for the props. I don't recommend having the booth in the area where dancing is happening - the flash can be a little distracting and the noise levels are high. Often the booth will be just outside the main room - if people have to pass it on the way to the bar or the restroom this encourages use. I don't offer on-site printing as I want people to get in the booth and then get straight back out and back to dancing. The couple receive a 4x6 print of each picture taken plus the digital images for sharing. The booth usually closes 90 minutes after dinner.

There are three different backdrops to choose from. Mint chevron is new and was just used at Laura & Mike's rehearsal dinner. The photobooth images are going up on my facebook page as we speak so head on over to Leah Haydock Photography and hit "LIKE" and then have fun tagging yourself and friends if you were at the wedding!

There's a gold spangled backdrop which I love (from Drop It Modern). Here it is at Emily & Mike's wedding at the Boston Harbor Hotel last month:

A big shout out to Jim from Boston Wedding Films who asked me if he could put a video camera in the booth and then came up with this fabulous little clip of behind the scenes mixed with my pictures:

And then there's the black on black backdrop as seen at Jo-Ann & Ben's wedding last weekend. One of their guests happened to have a bear suit in the car (as you do).  Jo-Ann said this one should be called "Surf & Turf". These pictures from the Photo Booth will be up next week!

And that's it for today! Who knows what'll be up tomorrow... :)

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday :: Amazing Print Sale

I'm going Black Friday crazy!!!

I was thinking that a Black Friday sale might be in order to help you with your holiday shopping and then I got to thinking that the number FIVE should feature in my Black Friday sale because:
1) Leah Haydock Photography is five years old!!! In a time where approximately 50% of small businesses fail within the first two years I think that's something to celebrate


2) It's our five year wedding anniversary on Monday. 5 years ago this weekend we were in Las Vegas with our families getting married - good times indeed.

So my Black Friday sale has a FIVE theme. Here's the important information:

• This sale is valid for FIVE days only - it ends at midnight on November 28th 2012
• These are crazy good prices for beautiful professional prints
  Wallets, 4x6, 5x7 ann even 8x10 prints are just $5 - yes, you ready that correctly
  Larger prints are also on sale at $25 for 11x14 and just $50 for 16x24!!!
• It's not just for prints. Showcase your favorite images with gallery canvas wraps, modern acrylic or metal fine art wall pieces (email me if you'd like information about these options or if I can help you pick out the perfect image to blow up)
• There are even cool postage stamp options featuring a favorite engagement or wedding picture ranging from $30-50 - awesome for save the dates or thank you cards
• Prints will arrive in time for the holidays (7-10 days with ground shipping or you can choose faster overnight options)
• If your order comes to more than $20 you can also use the discount code FIVE at checkout to get free ground shipping

Every gallery has been reopened (if you can't remember the link to your gallery just email me and I'll shoot it over)!!!

Of course you can make your own prints from your discs so why bother printing through me?

Professional prints are made on professional calibrated printers on archival professional print paper (see below for more information)
AND remember that any print larger than an 8x12 (i.e. 11x14 and above) will be perfectly airbrushed, retouched, sized and sharpened for your order so it looks amazing on your wall!

For the technically minded here's the information about the papers used for your prints:

E-Surface Color Paper
Kodak Professional Supra Endura VC Digital Paper is the most popular paper used by professional photographers. This paper boasts accurate color, realistic saturation, excellent neutral flesh reproduction, and great intensity and offers brighter blues, cyans, purples, and reds. Standard Archival Value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage.

Metallic Paper (pearlescent finish)
Kodak Endura Metallic Paper features a unique pearlescent surface with ultra-bright backgrounds. This paper uses a patented combination of film and laminate layers resulting in striking three-dimensional images. It offers sharp details, and beautifully-saturated colors. Resistant to tearing and curling without any additional lamination. Standard Archival Value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage.
Leah's comment: I LOVE metallic paper for large prints, I don't recommend it for close up shots (i.e. a picture mostly of your faces as it makes the skin look a little shiny) but it's AMAZING for a large panoramic print or a night time picture.

True B&W Paper (matte finish)
Ilford True B&W paper is designed to make rich black, continuous-tone prints, while avoiding color tints. Panchromatic, resin-coated paper provides excellent tone reproduction. This paper uses a silver-based emulsion rather than dye-based, offering the same imaging performance and characteristics as traditional B&W continuous-tone prints. Specially coated on the back, it accepts ink for crop lines or writing notes. Display and 100-year archival quality.

Remember - this sale will finish! For my (two) couples patiently awaiting their full wedding galleries and (three) couples looking out for their engagement galleries - not to worry! I will send you a special code to enable you to get these prices as soon as I release your galleries! Just a week or so to go now :) You won't miss out!!!

Why not order 8x10 prints for all your friends and family? Christmas shopping - check! Have you moved house and have blank walls? A 20x24 print or metal print would look spectacular! Are your images sitting on the disc years after your wedding? Print your favorite 4x6 and 5x7 images!

And as every post is better with a picture, here's a metal wall art print I did for Neeta and Rich of one of their engagement pictures. You can see how it comes ready to hang. The colors just pop!

Yay! Award Winning Wedding Photographer :: Leah Haydock Photography

I like to set myself objectives at the beginning of each year - and one of this year's objectives was to win an award for my photography. I know - aim high right? :) Ideally I was looking for an International Award which led me to ISPWP.

In case you're not familiar with ISPWP here's the info from their site:
The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) is a rarity among wedding photography organizations. Photographers cannot simply buy an ISPWP membership, they have to earn it.

Our requirements are experience, talent, and professionalism. To be accepted, a photographer must have shot at least 50 weddings, submit their portfolio for review, agree to operate under the ISPWP Code of Conduct, and have an ISPWP Sponsor or four references. And THEN they have to be voted in by current members.

In short, when you hire an ISPWP Photographer, you are hiring a talented veteran with a track record, peer recognition, and a passion for creating heirloom images of your wedding.

I've been a member of ISPWP for a while now but haven't taken part on the various photography contests that they run. Namely because everytime I'd look at the winners I was literally blown away. However I figured to meet my objective I had to at least enter the contest and so back in January I a few of my favorite images in the ISPWP Winter Contest.

This morning I was completely shocked to have two of my wedding photographs actually be placed!

Autumn trying on her Mommy's wedding shoes at Kristin & Zach's wedding:


And a wedding dress image from Lauren & Dave's beautiful Maine wedding:


I guess I need to set some other objectives now! Happy Tuesday. This week I am mostly in Switzerland, more on that on Thursday :)

Fairmont Battery Wharf :: Boston, MA :: Wedding Photographer :: Malinda + Danny

BOO! Did you miss me? I've been a busy bee with a lot of interesting projects not to mention two winter weddings, a lakeside engagement shoot, two vendor interviews and a 3 week visit from my parents :) But I'm back. With a vengeance. And this little 'ol blog won't know what's hit it in the next few weeks. So let's get started.

On New Year's Day most people are waking up late, perhaps with a little headache after staying up and celebrating the new year. And then some people are getting married! Malinda & Danny had the most beautiful intimate winter wedding in Boston's North End on the first day of 2012 and I was there to photograph it for them.

I was going to post this in one mammoth blog post but no! It's Valentine's Day, a day for romance so let's revel in the loveliness with multiple blog posts and wedding photographs! We started at the Fairmont Battery Wharf in the North End, awesome staff, beautiful rooms and the most amazing ballroom with skylight over the dancefloor....

Hello sparkly ballet flats:


Malinda's beautiful gown is Amsale by Kleinfeld Bridal


Pretty earrings:


Danny surprised Malinda with a matching necklace from Long's Jewelers:


Check out the eyelashes on Malinda!


Loving Malinda's little birdcage veil which I believe was from etsy:


Over in Danny's room, clothes were laid out:



Ties were being tied:


And Danny took time out to read a note from Malinda addressed to "my husband to be":


The gown is on...the veil is in place....


It's time for the first look....or maybe the relaxed family pictures...or maybe we'll go straight to the ceremony...decisions, decisions. What would you like to see?

Published :: The Knot Magazine Boston, Spring/Summer 2012

Around this time of year all of the new wedding magazines are published to be snapped up by newly engaged couples. I remember being newly engaged and being so excited to buy a bunch of these magazines. Actually I bought them all in Logan airport before a 6 hour plane ride to LA for a conference. Paul had offered to drive me to the airport and had proposed on the way :)

Depending on the magazine there can be the occasional rogue article (you do NOT need a list of 500 pictures to give your photographer, - well, unless you have an inexperienced photographer who doesn't have a clue and you want them to miss all of the real moments) but for the most part there are usually lots of helpful hints and tips, good suggestions about planning and my favorite - the real weddings - I always loved reading about how couples met and seeing how they came up with the inspiration for their wedding.

So it was a lovely surprise to be contacted by The Knot Magazine to ask if I'd submit Arianne & Roger's beautiful wedding at Hamilton Hall in Salem, MA. Umm - OK :) This wedding was planned amazingly by Christina of CMD Event Design and was visually stunning!

The Knot Magazine team were kind enough to send over PDFs of the pages - you can check them out here but why not pick up a copy of the magazine youself? Fun fact - more of my images appear in an ad for a venue on P178 (yes Kristin & Zach, that's your wedding at the Essex Room!)





If you want to see more of Arianne & Roger's wedding you can check out my full blog post **here**

Tower Hill Botanic Garden :: Wedding Photographer :: Liz + Tim (Part II)

Liz and Tim have been waiting patiently for part II of their wedding on the blog (we had Thanksgiving and a couple of engagement shoots in between!) if you want to recap you can click **here** for part I.

So we're at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. I photographed a wedding here in 2010 outdoors so I was very curious about how an indoor ceremony in the great room would look. If you're considering a fall wedding it's very important to think about the light when planning your timeline. Liz & Tim's wedding ceremony took place at 6pm and if we'd had to do pictures afterwards it would have been completely dark - luckily they were smart and we did all the pictures before :)


I have to give a shout out to Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, the wedding celebrant. Kezia was super organized (I was stoked to get a copy of the wedding ceremony in advance so I knew exactly what would be happening) and she also stood to the side of Liz and Tim for much of the ceremony which meant that not only did they face their friends and family but also that I got some clean pictures of the kiss. Thank you Kezia!


Kieran read e.e. cummings "i carry your heart with me" beautifully:


You don't need me to tell you that this was an emotional wedding ceremony - the pictures literally speak volumes:


Sarah read Autumn by Garrison Keillor. This was the first time I've heard this reading and I don't think you could find a better poem for an October wedding.


To continue the incredibly personal ceremony, Liz's cousins sang Songbird which if you're not familiar with you should be :) The incredible Ben from Avenna Studios was shooting with me for the day and the awesome image on the bottom right is his:


Couples that have already done their engagement pictures with me will know of my personal dislike of spare hands. You know what I mean - you see a beautiful picture of a couple but their hands are hanging limply by their sides. So I like the way Tim kissed Liz - like he meant it :)


Umm, happy much?


Regular blog readers will know I'm a sucker for grandparents. I have one amazing Grandmother (who I skyped with yesterday - my nan is down with the kids with her use of the interwebs) and I cannot WAIT to see her in a few weeks when we go back to the UK for Christmas! So I love these pictures of Liz and Tim with her grandmother:


Immediately after the ceremony Liz and Tim wanted to have a little alone time so they headed into the Orangerie. I didn't want to intrude but I figured a picture through the door with me hiding behind a large pot plant with my 70-200mm lens wouldn't be breaking the rules....


Ack, where to start on the food. I can't tell you how amazing the food was - from the tuna tartare cones and mini grilled cheese appetizers to the gazillion course tasting menu for dinner - wow.

I blogged a while ago about my deadly pistachio allergy and whenever couples contact me about vendor meal options I usually just mention that I'm super flexible (chicken, beef, veg - after 6-8 hours of working with the rest of the reception to go any hot meal is welcome!) but if there are any pistachio nuts on the menu I'll bring my own food. Liz not only nixed the pistachios in the salad (I protested vehemently against this until she insisted she wasn't a huge pistachio fan) but insisted that Ben and I eat the WHOLE 9 course tasting menu. Oh those short ribs....and the risotto...mmm the pumpkin ravioli....


Loved the escort card tree:


Love Liz's reaction more. And adore Tim looking at Liz:


Possibly the most fierce bridesmaids entering cocktail hour:


The great room looked beautiful. Flowers by Michele Bernard who is always awesome:


Lots of cozy and happy moments during the toasts:




Let them eat cake!


We then headed into the lobby/reception area of Tower Hill for the dancing part of the evening. I was a little unsure of how this would work but it was a perfect space for partying! Incadence rocked it out with everything from the Black Eyed Peas to slow dances to "Don't Stop Believin'". Liz & Tim's dance lessons payed off:


I'll be completely honest. The next picture was a flash mis-fire. My off-camera flash (for backlight) fired but the on-camera flash didn't (totally normal occurrence when you're shooting a ton of images during the first dance!) but I like this image....


Parent dances. Ben caught the fabulous picture of Liz's Mom watching her dance with her Dad:


Just a few seconds after I took this picture Liz lifted up and flew across the room :)


Good times on the dance floor:


Guests were sent home with delicious cookies (and a thoughtful donation in their names to Heifer International) :


One last picture of the newlyweds:


Liz & Tim - your wedding was all kinds of awesome! It was so great to hear how you met in French class at school on your engagement shoot and then get to document your wedding day!!! Wishing you health, wealth, love and laughter!!!!

Newburyport Engagement Pictures in the Fall :: Beth + Frank

Meet Beth and Frank:


Beth and Frank went to the same school and the same church. Frank remembers exactly what Beth was wearing the first time he saw her. I asked him if he made some big move and he confessed that he may have sat a little closer to her ;)


Their wedding is next August in Rockport and we'll be doing a full engagement session in the spring but Beth and Frank needed a few pictures for save the dates so we added a mini session which basically consisted of wandering around Newburyport looking for some nice light:


Frank missed our initial meeting due to work so this was the first time I'd met him. It was an absolute pleasure to see him and Beth together, talking about their relationship over the years including time in Hawaii, the occasional break up and how one day Frank had a (very smart) epiphany that Beth was the one. Good job Frank :)


Giggling in the grass. Why not?


We timed it just right to take advantage of the twinkly lights galore in Newburyport:


It's OK, they're almost married ;)


Beth and Frank - I had so much fun chatting with you both and you were so easy to photograph! I hope you enjoyed the preview pictures and I'm looking forward to the spring shoot!