Monday 21 October 2013

Artistique Photography by Nicolette
 
TANYA and GARY are married
 
18.10.13
 
Tanya and Gary chose to have a beautiful beach ceremony set in the sand dunes at Soldiers Beach, Central Coast, NSW.  The previous day had been 38 degrees with wild winds and awful bushfires, but their wedding day was a pleasant 23degrees, with a smoky sky later in the day.  Here are some photos I took of beautiful Tanya and her new husband.
 
 
 
 

 
 










Thursday 19 September 2013

 
Artistique Photography by Nicolette
 
Planning your Outdoor Wedding
 
These days most of the weddings I photograph are either at the beach or in a garden / park setting.  An outdoor wedding offers more flexibility than church weddings as you can select your favourite beach, park or garden, and the Central Coast NSW, has many beautiful beaches to choose from.  I got married just 3 years ago on the beautiful Toowoon Bay Beach.  When considering a beach wedding there are a few things you need to consider:
 
  • You need to consult with your local Council for permission for your beach wedding to take place.  Often your marriage celebrant will do this for you.

  • Check the tide times and I always take a tide chart to a meeting with a bride and groom planning a beach wedding.  After all, you don't want a narrow beach and high tide to coincide with your ceremony and photographs.

  • Footwear:  High heel shoes are not practical on the beach and you will find my "Link" tab on my website (www.artistiquephotographybynicolette.com.au) has a link to "Fancy Free Feet",  which is for bare feet on the beach with a simple ribbon decoration (as per the photograph of me at my own wedding below).  Remember to remind your guests that high heels are not suitable  and consideration for prams and wheelchairs as well.

  • Weather: You also need to take into account that the weather may change, so always have a back up venue and a quick way of notifying guests at short notice.  Umbrellas are of course a good idea and I have a wide selection of colourful wedding umbrellas for the bridal party, but these are mostly used as props.

  • A garden or beach wedding is certainly worth considering and what I personally like about it is we can go back to our special spot on the sand whenever we want to!
 

Artistique Photography By Nicolette
 
 
Kylie's Benefit Night
 
 
14.9.13.
 
 
One of my brides, a friend of Kylie, asked me if I would be happy to donate an auction item for Kylie's Benefit Night and I was delighted that Melissa had asked me.  I donated an Outdoor Portrait Shoot and my services for photography on the night of the event.    Kylie is a courageous, beautiful young woman who is battling breast cancer and I have just finished processing all of the photos from the event where over 450 people attended.  Here are some photographs from the evening and I wish Kylie all the best for regaining her health again.
 
 
 








Tuesday 17 September 2013

Artistique Photography by Nicolette
 
 
Tracey's Family Photo Session
 
 
Recently I photographed this lovely family at the beach and it was a lot of fun, but we had to convince the little girls that a couple of photos before heading onto the actual beach would be fun but once down on the beach they were right into beach mode and happily playing in the sand.  Here are a few photos to share.
 
 



































Rebecca's Beach Photo Session - Artistique Photography by Nicolette

Artistique Photography by Nicolette
 
 
Rebecca's Beach Photo Session
 
 
15.9.13.
 
 
I have just finished processing the photos from Rebecca's Beach photo session with her two boys.  We had to take the photos under the trees before heading down to the beach to start with because of drizzle, then the drizzle became a heavy shower, so it was time for a walk back to the house for a cup of tea and before we knew it, the sun came out.  Here are a few photos to share with you.
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday 27 August 2013

 
Professional Achievement
(Artistique Photography by Nicolette)
 
27.8.13.
 
 
Accredited Professional Photographer
 
 
Today I became an Accredited Professional Photographer with AIPP (the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers).  I started my business (Artistique Photography by Nicolette) as a wedding and portrait photographer on the Central Coast, NSW in March 2011 and joined the AIPP as an Emerging Member after my formal training in photography.  After a period of two years, as an Emerging Member, you are then able to submit a portfolio of images which goes before a panel for critique, so I decided it was time I submitted my portfolio and had an attempt at becoming an Accredited Professional Photographer.  I really didn't think I would pass such a rigorous judging process of my wedding photos, but I did, and tonight I will celebrate!  Here are a few of my favourite wedding photos from over the last couple of years.
 

 
 














 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 









Wednesday 21 August 2013

Tanya and Gary's Pre Wedding Photo Session
 
(Artistique Photography by Nicolette)
 
16.8.13.
 
Tanya and Gary chose to have their pre wedding photo session in the late afternoon sun at Watkin's Jetty. I must say, I love the light at this time of the day and I would like to share a few of the photos from their photo session with you.  Tanya and Gary will be marrying in October this year.
 
 

 























 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 








Looking Your Best for Your Wedding
 
(Artistique Photography by Nicolette)
 
HAIR
 
 
Brides are choosing classic, soft feminine styles for their hair this season and it's popular to have the hair down in soft flowing waves, a style which goes well with feminine, simply wedding gowns.  Brides choosing a more traditional wedding gown are opting to have their hair up, but not with wispy pieces of hair hanging down.
 
 
















MAKE UP

I always advise my brides to seek out a professional make up artist who will use a foundation which is suitable for photography, like Napoleon Perdis "Camera Finish".  The trend these days is to look as though you have no make up on at all and to highlight either your eyes or your lips, so if you choose to highlight your eyes, then you would go easy on your lips and if you chose to highlight your lips with a bold red for example, then you would go easy on your eye make up keeping if soft and simple.
 


 
You will need to remember that you need to look your best on your wedding day and this goes beyond just wearing a good foundation, good eye make up and lipstick.  Planning your wedding can be a stressful time and the last thing you want is a break out of pimples on your wedding day.  However, if the worst happens and you get a pimple or two, don't stress about it because Artistique Photography by Nicolette will remove these from your photographs for you.  You need to relax and pamper yourself, go easy on the amount of coffee and alcohol and remember to drink lots of water.  It is also important to get into the habit of cleansing and moisturising daily and most importantly to arrange a make up trial in the weeks before your wedding.  I am so pleased that I arranged this before my own wedding because the eye make up and mascara caused my eyes to stream - not what you want to have happen on your wedding day!
 
Also a good idea is to pack a little Emergency Kit, which should contain concealer, lip colour/gloss, translucent powder, mascara, make up remover and moisturiser.  Also include eye drops, safety pins, breath mints and pain killers for headache etc.
 
I am always happy to talk make up and hair with my brides and offer some good contacts on the Links page of my website. www.artistiquephotographybynicolette.com.au

























Thursday 8 August 2013

The Wedding Bands, significance and selecting - Artistique Photography by Nicolette

The Wedding Bands
 
 
The wedding ring has symbolised love and devotion throughout the ages and has changed over the ages so that it looks more beautiful today.  The circle of the ring means “forever” and often a marriage celebrant will explain the significance of the wedding ring when it is being placed on the ring finger during the ceremony.  Many couples will have the inside of their wedding rings engraved with perhaps initials and a date, and my wedding ring has our initials and date engraved inside. 
 
You may wonder why the third finger of the left hand is the traditional finger for the wedding ring to be worn and it is because of a belief that the vein in the third finger of the left hand moves straight from the heart, so women would wear their rings close to their heart.
 
 You may decide as quickly as I did when I chose my wedding band on a trip to Hawaii three months before we were married.  I went into Na Hoku Jewellers in Maui (fabulous shop – Google it!), and my eyes immediate fixed on a beautiful gold wedding band engraved with the Maile vine leaf.  I asked the significance of the leaf and was told that it symbolises “respect and honour” and that the vines were often used to bind the hands of the bride and groom at the marriage ceremony symbolising their commitment to each other. 
 
There are a variety of choices when you decided to select your engagement and wedding rings, ranging from Gold, White Gold, Platinum, Titanium.
 
 
I have listed a few tips to consider when selecting your rings:
Gold
Gold in its pure state of 24 caret, is thought to be too soft for every day practical use and is often alloyed with other metals which increase its durability.  Gold rings when manufactured are coated with rhodium, another white metal and this is similar to platinum and also includes its white colour.
 
Titanium
Titanium is very strong and there are three colours available which are silver grey, blue moon and sunburst.  Often you will see titanium wedding rings with a striped inlay of either silver or gold and perhaps diamonds added.
 
Platinum
Platinum is very long wearing and is a white metal and is made in approximately 95% of its pure form, it does not need to be rhodium plated like Gold.
 
Finger types and what suits you best
Long fingers will suit a flowing design, not being too restricted and if you have short fingers then a slimmer straight wedding band would best suit you.  I have noticed that white and gold wedding rings are becoming more popular with men’s rings.   Yellow or white gold looks good on olive skin tone and white gold looks best on very fair skin.