Its been a hectic couple of months but we have at last been given the green light to announce that we are officially moving next week.
After 5 years in beautiful Stone Cross, we have decided to relocate just 3-4 miles west to Polegate, East Sussex. We are moving from a lovely modern house to a newly renovated, beautiful 1930s house full of character and with space for our clients to relax away from the chaos that comes with running a business from home.
Set closer to the A27 and A22 main roads and within 500 yards of Polegate's mainline railway station it should be perfect for our client and family needs.
Moving a family is stressful enough, but also having to sort out a business move is tough!
As is the way, we are packing in the middle of one our busiest times of the year. I have four major shoots in 9 days before we move and hopefully the office will be up and running on time to ensure i don't have too many delays.
So from Wednesday 4th May until Monday 9th May the office will be closed. All being well new phone lines and internet will be in by then as BT have promised they won't let us down.
Once we are back open for business our business number will remain 0844 4142474 and we should be able to confirm our local number then as well.
In the meantime, if you need to get in touch please email info@peterprior.com or call my mobile.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Friday, 22 April 2011
Sussex Equestrian Photography
We were invited along to an equestrian event in Burwash, Sussex today by our good friends Brea and Kay to watch Brea's stunning horse, Troy compete in the cross country.
I photographed troy at the back end of last year for Brea's 21st birthday present and was really excited to see Troy again!
It was a fabulous afternoon; warm and sunny and this made for spectacular viewing as countless horse and riders thundered through the course.
Elliott riding Troy won the event with a time almost quarter of a minute quicker than the next pairing of Sarah and the beautiful Patch.
Here are a few images captured today on my trusty Nikon D300 c/w 18-200 VR lens.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
Patch
Troy and Elliott in action
I photographed troy at the back end of last year for Brea's 21st birthday present and was really excited to see Troy again!
It was a fabulous afternoon; warm and sunny and this made for spectacular viewing as countless horse and riders thundered through the course.
Elliott riding Troy won the event with a time almost quarter of a minute quicker than the next pairing of Sarah and the beautiful Patch.
Here are a few images captured today on my trusty Nikon D300 c/w 18-200 VR lens.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
Patch
Troy and Elliott in action
Wedding Photography Seminar in Hertfordshire in May
Just finished speaking with Lee from SIM200 about my seminar at their place on May 11th. There are still a couple of places left and it runs from 10am to 4.30pm at their Hatfield premises. The price is just £50+vat including lunch.
I will be talking about wedding photography, marketing, as well as sharing my thoughts behind my images, a complete wedding, and offering tips and advice for shooting weddings in less than ideal conditions. Delegates will also be able to see SIM200's product range close up and personal in a relaxed environment.
For further details and to make a booking please click here or call SIM2000 on 01707 273747.
I will be talking about wedding photography, marketing, as well as sharing my thoughts behind my images, a complete wedding, and offering tips and advice for shooting weddings in less than ideal conditions. Delegates will also be able to see SIM200's product range close up and personal in a relaxed environment.
For further details and to make a booking please click here or call SIM2000 on 01707 273747.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Ashdown Park Hotel Wedding Photographer: Sussex Weddings: Claire and Andrew's Wedding at Ashdown Park Hotel
Claire and Andrew's wedding saw the start of the fabulous weather we have been experiencing the past couple of weeks. It was a fabulous Spring morning as i drove up through Ashdown Forest to Alexander House, where Claire was getting ready with her bridesmaids and parents.
Once she was ready, i shot across to the stunning Ashdown Park Hotel to catch up with Andrew and be ready for the bride's arrival. I was greeted on arrival by my good friend and Toastmaster, Stephen Hall .
The ceremony took place at Ashdown below the chapel and then we all ventured out to enjoy drinks on the back lawn over looking the lake and fountain.
I love this timeless classical-style shot and lighting.
After allowing everyone to relax and soak up the sun, i took Claire and Andrew away for 15 minutes to capture some special images of them together in a magical setting.
As ever, i travelled light and avoided carrying loads of equipment and went with the flow using the lighting set up at the venue on a small stage for this image.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
Once she was ready, i shot across to the stunning Ashdown Park Hotel to catch up with Andrew and be ready for the bride's arrival. I was greeted on arrival by my good friend and Toastmaster, Stephen Hall .
The ceremony took place at Ashdown below the chapel and then we all ventured out to enjoy drinks on the back lawn over looking the lake and fountain.
I love this timeless classical-style shot and lighting.
After allowing everyone to relax and soak up the sun, i took Claire and Andrew away for 15 minutes to capture some special images of them together in a magical setting.
As ever, i travelled light and avoided carrying loads of equipment and went with the flow using the lighting set up at the venue on a small stage for this image.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Customer Experience: An Observation
In these days of a vastly over saturated Wedding Photography market place, the stories i hear of poor customer experiences when dealing with wedding photographers, both full and part time, is quite eye opening.
It goes without saying that a client will remember you for your attitude and approach as much as the quality of the photography produced for them. Over the years i have heard so many comments from clients both good and bad. Some are just unbelievable and are so far fetched that its almost hard to believe that they are true!
Of late this has got me thinking about my experiences when searching out a service or product outside of the world of wedding photography.
We have recently changed cars. The quality of and attitude of various car show rooms and salesmen was quite startling!
After some research we decided we wanted to change our super charged C-Class Mercedes for something a little more economical. So we decided to go for a diesel and cut the list down to 3 cars from different marques; all considered to have good badges.
The first dealership we walked into was quiet but basically completely ignored us as we took a look at their offerings. After 20 minutes, we decided that if we weren't important enough to them we would take our money elsewhere.
At the second dealership, Karen had printed off a page showing the actual car she wanted to try and buy. How easy is that for the salesman i ask myself? The guy was interested but suggested we tried his demonstrators first. We went along with him and after driving both diesel and petrol versions we said we wanted to look at the one we had uncovered from their website as it seemed to fit the bill on spec, colour etc.
He then ignored us and went on to produce quotes for cars that were £10k more than we wanted to spend. So once he had finished hIs sales pitch, we asked if we could just go with the car we fancied. At this he just said "go home and i will get back to you". UNBELIEVABLE!!
So off to the third dealership (my personal first choice). This was our local Mercedes dealership.
We were approached by Scott (who had sold us the C Class) who asked how he could help? We explained what sort of model and price we were considering, he gave us the keys to the demonstrator "for as long as we needed".
On our return an hour later, we were shown over a series of vehicles, chose the one that fitted the bill (not the most expensive one he showed) and were made to feel the most important clients he had that day. He made the whole buying experience easy and a pleasure.
His manager came out of his office to thank us for deciding to go with them again and the MD even greeted us as she walked though the showroom.
Once the car was ready for collection we were invited to come over, treated like gold dust and even had a couple of courtesy calls as well as the standard questionnaires of customer satisfaction from Mercedes, since to ensure everything was ok.
MEANWHILE.....
Dealer no2 who had told us to "go home" called a fortnight later to see if we had given anymore thought to the cars he wanted to sell us and never mentioend the car we had told him we wanted to buy......
Dealer no1 never saw us again.
So the lessons i have learned from our recent car purchase are:
1: Treat every client as if they are the most important client you have ever had, THEY ARE!
2: Ask and listen to what your client's requirements are.
3: Don't try to hard and over sell.
4: Make the whole buying/selling experience as easy and enjoyable as possible for your clients.
5: No matter how much or little your clients are spending always treat them well and the same.
6: Remember that good customer service and experience doesn't end once they'v paid their money and walked out the door.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
It goes without saying that a client will remember you for your attitude and approach as much as the quality of the photography produced for them. Over the years i have heard so many comments from clients both good and bad. Some are just unbelievable and are so far fetched that its almost hard to believe that they are true!
Of late this has got me thinking about my experiences when searching out a service or product outside of the world of wedding photography.
We have recently changed cars. The quality of and attitude of various car show rooms and salesmen was quite startling!
After some research we decided we wanted to change our super charged C-Class Mercedes for something a little more economical. So we decided to go for a diesel and cut the list down to 3 cars from different marques; all considered to have good badges.
The first dealership we walked into was quiet but basically completely ignored us as we took a look at their offerings. After 20 minutes, we decided that if we weren't important enough to them we would take our money elsewhere.
At the second dealership, Karen had printed off a page showing the actual car she wanted to try and buy. How easy is that for the salesman i ask myself? The guy was interested but suggested we tried his demonstrators first. We went along with him and after driving both diesel and petrol versions we said we wanted to look at the one we had uncovered from their website as it seemed to fit the bill on spec, colour etc.
He then ignored us and went on to produce quotes for cars that were £10k more than we wanted to spend. So once he had finished hIs sales pitch, we asked if we could just go with the car we fancied. At this he just said "go home and i will get back to you". UNBELIEVABLE!!
So off to the third dealership (my personal first choice). This was our local Mercedes dealership.
We were approached by Scott (who had sold us the C Class) who asked how he could help? We explained what sort of model and price we were considering, he gave us the keys to the demonstrator "for as long as we needed".
On our return an hour later, we were shown over a series of vehicles, chose the one that fitted the bill (not the most expensive one he showed) and were made to feel the most important clients he had that day. He made the whole buying experience easy and a pleasure.
His manager came out of his office to thank us for deciding to go with them again and the MD even greeted us as she walked though the showroom.
Once the car was ready for collection we were invited to come over, treated like gold dust and even had a couple of courtesy calls as well as the standard questionnaires of customer satisfaction from Mercedes, since to ensure everything was ok.
MEANWHILE.....
Dealer no2 who had told us to "go home" called a fortnight later to see if we had given anymore thought to the cars he wanted to sell us and never mentioend the car we had told him we wanted to buy......
Dealer no1 never saw us again.
So the lessons i have learned from our recent car purchase are:
1: Treat every client as if they are the most important client you have ever had, THEY ARE!
2: Ask and listen to what your client's requirements are.
3: Don't try to hard and over sell.
4: Make the whole buying/selling experience as easy and enjoyable as possible for your clients.
5: No matter how much or little your clients are spending always treat them well and the same.
6: Remember that good customer service and experience doesn't end once they'v paid their money and walked out the door.
You can view my wedding galleries here.
Monday, 11 April 2011
Sussex Weddings: More Kind Words
James and Aishling came to collect their wedding album on Friday. They were married on the 5th February on a cold wet day. You can see my post about their wedding here.
They were very excited about seeing the album and were over the moon with the result giving me a beautiful card and chocolates. Here is what was written in the card.
Dear Peter,
we would just like to say a big thank you for our lovely wedding pictures. They are unique to our day and something which we will treasure forever.
We would also like to say an additional thank you for all your help on the day and understanding our wishes with the minimum of fuss!
James and Aishling
They were very excited about seeing the album and were over the moon with the result giving me a beautiful card and chocolates. Here is what was written in the card.
Dear Peter,
we would just like to say a big thank you for our lovely wedding pictures. They are unique to our day and something which we will treasure forever.
We would also like to say an additional thank you for all your help on the day and understanding our wishes with the minimum of fuss!
James and Aishling
Friday, 8 April 2011
Sussex Portraits: Baby Isabelle
I am always very excited to be asked to photograph the new arrivals to past clients' families and when i was commissioned to come and meet the lovely Isabelle it was no different.
As ever the shoot took place at the family home using the available light to create real life images as far removed from the sterile high key studio look that seems to be everywhere these days.
Using my experience to find the best light, i was able to produce a stunning set of relaxed true to life images of Isabelle and her parents at a very special time in their lives.
Here are a few favourites. all were shot on my stunning Nikon D3s and 24-70 2.8 lens.
To view my portrait portfolio please click here and select "Portraits".
As ever the shoot took place at the family home using the available light to create real life images as far removed from the sterile high key studio look that seems to be everywhere these days.
Using my experience to find the best light, i was able to produce a stunning set of relaxed true to life images of Isabelle and her parents at a very special time in their lives.
Here are a few favourites. all were shot on my stunning Nikon D3s and 24-70 2.8 lens.
To view my portrait portfolio please click here and select "Portraits".
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