CH-PHOTO was formed in 2008 to meet the growing need for a photography service tailored to the gay and lesbian community. We're open and flexible in our approach to your special day, and can provide high quality experienced photographers to deliver great results and memories. CH-PHOTO operates with a primary photographer, Chris, who has many years photographic experience through a number of photographic disciplines (and who happens to be gay, and in a Civil Partnership, so has been through everything you're going through already!).
We utilise some of the latest professional digital equipment to record your special event through a modern, relaxed approach, capturing your occasion in the mood and style of your choice.
Every shoot we complete is unique, and we endeavour to create a package that is suitable for your needs. You want the best quality photography, just like we do. We take every project as if it were our own.
We offer a number of packages to suit all budgets and tastes. If there's something particular you're looking for, please feel free to ask. No assignment is too small, or too large for us.
CH-PHOTO is a limited company, and has full public liability insurance, and we carry backup equipment - so whatever happens to us, you know you're covered. Some people like to know what we kit we use - it's 100% Canon. We always carry 2 camera bodies, a selection of lenses, two flashguns, a number of batteries and of course lots and lots of memory cards.
For any techno geeks amongst you (I'm one so don't worry!) we utilise a Canon EOS 5dmk2 as our primary camera body, along with a series of Canon 'L' range lenses, including the 16-35mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 50mm f1.2 and a non-L 70-300mm DO IS (which we prefer due to its compact size and discrete black finish - Civil Partnerships aren't Football matches - we don't really want to use lenses that are 12 inches long and light cream in colour!) .
The 5dmk2 being a full frame camera gives us the opportunity to ensure every image has great detail. We also use a Canon EOS 50d as our backup camera, always in the bag, and always on standby, and have two Canon 580EX2 flashguns, again in case one decides to throw a wobbly halfway through your day. (It did happen to me once, and I was glad to have a backup!)
If of course the last two paragraphs make no sense to you whatsover, don't worry, the important thing to remember is that we use high quality cameras and lenses that will ensure you get great photographs and above all great memories. It's not just about the camera of course, but the photographer as well.
Although we primarily provide one photographer for your Partnership day, if you'd like two, this can easily be arranged. We have a number of approved photographers that we work with that can also attend if you'd like an alternative perspective, or just more photographs! If you'd like to discuss this option, we'll happily provide a quote accordingly.
Where can we photograph for you?
We're based on the East London and Essex borders, and can easily cover Kent, Surrey, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Sussex including Brighton as well as London, and can attend your Partnership pretty much anywhere else across the UK subject to negotiation.
We're happy to travel to any location outside of the South East of England, and indeed enjoy providing hassle-free photography anywhere across the UK. We normally add a small supplement for fuel if you are not in the area we'd normally cover (at cost price) and where necessary basic accommodation should our travel time be in excess of two and a half hours each way. If we do require accommodation, we don't expect it to be 5 star! Standard budget hotels such as Travel Inn, Innkeepers lodge and Premier Inn are more than suitable.
We are also able to cover overseas assignments, with distance being no object. We have experience of many Far East countries, and have access to Chinese speaking interpreters if required.
