Life seems a little bit hecktic sometimes, and when I have lots on I try to prioritise. Blogging isn’t ever one of the high priorities. I did an engagement photoshoot for Lizzie and Yang back in March (hence the daffodils in the pic). Only now (June) have I found time to blog about the photo shoot.

I met Lizzie and Yang through doing Merton Ball in November. From there experience at the ball, they decided they would like an engagement photo shoot. Merton means a lot to them as a couple, and I was pleased to be able to go back there once again.

The gardens in Merton are always lovely and look particularly nice when the flowers are out in the spring. So we started the session in the garden, before taking a short tour of the college to capture photos with them in locations that mean something to them; the old library where they got engaged and the chapel where they are to get married. Despite being at Merton for 8 years, the occasion provided only my second ever visit to the old library.

Alas, with the time that has pasted since the photo shoot, I’ve mostly forgotten about it, so I’ll stop here.

I’ve got a feeling my blog posts are getting a bit like buses. I think that is because even if I have something to write about, finding time can be tough, and the blog is low on the priority list. But posting get bumped up the list a little when I have a back log like now.

A few weeks back, I did an engagement photoshoot for Paul and Serena. Paul is and old friend from undergraduate days, who like me still lives in Oxford. While they don’t want me to shoot their actual wedding…. in Thailand… I’ll be doing the photography for their wedding party back in the UK.  As part of my wedding package I offer a free engagement shoot when the wedding photography is booked.  I do this to give potential wedding couples a chance to decide whether they like my style and personality. Although Paul knows me already, he and Serena were happy to take me up on “free”.

The mutually convient time for the shoot ended up being in the middle of the afternoon on a very sunny day. That might seem like a good thing, but for portrait photos it isn’t. Despite seeking shade in Shotover woods it was still necessary to use flash to fill the shadows in their “panda eyes”. Serena also struggled with keeping her eyes open for photos, rather than squinting. Hopefully they enjoyed the shoot anyway.

I hope you’ll forgive me, but I’m spying on you! Well, sort of, in a very anonymous kind of way. It’s helpful for me to know what visitors are looking for when they come to my website, and how many visitors I’m getting. That kind of thing. So to help with that, I use Google Analytics. That tells me most of the things I’d want to know about visitors to this website.

The number of visitor is always  quite interesting. Peaks in the visitor rate, as shown above, can normally be correlated to events or Oxford college balls that I have photographed, and are people who have coming looking for their ball photos. These peaks often start building during the ball – people expect me to work fast to get the photos online!

The more amusing details that Google Analytics tells me are search terms used to find my website. As expected there are are lot of “acooldryplace” and variations on that them. My favourite of those was “the pretty cool place photography” – obviously I don’t come across as very cool. My site is also popular for those searching for “trash the dress” photography, “ball photography oxford” and even engagement and wedding photography in Oxford, but the rarer hits are the more interesting  – “screen printing wedding stationary”, “bean time lapse” & “tutors at Oxilp” have all been used and followed to my website. I know why I have come up for all of them, but I can’t imagine I rank that highly in any search engine for those terms.

If you’re looking for screen printing wedding stationery or bean time lapse I can help. I have no idea of the tutors at Oxilp, but I hope to see you at one of their balls.

Yesterday (Sunday 2nd March) I did an engagement photo session with Francois and Gosia. This was a gift to them from another couple who’s engagement photos I had also done. We went to Godstow lock on Port Meadow near Oxford, where there is a ruined nunery. They both seemed to enjoy the photo-shoot and the pictures are looking good. The results are in the client area.