The Sam and Steve Podcast: A photography and wedding show

In this, their first episode of 2021, Sam and Steve reflect on the current lockdown in the UK, and the likely impact on weddings in 2021.  

This leads them on to discussing live streaming of weddings over Zoom or social media, something that would have been hardly heard of only a year ago.  Having now streamed 12 "micro weddings" in the 2nd half of 2020, Sam and Steve have developed several solutions to live broadcasting weddings. 

Sam asks Steve:

• Why would a couple want their wedding to be broadcasted live over Zoom, Facebook Live, or YouTube
• The Pro's and Con's of the various hosting platforms
• Internet requirements and solutions
• One way and two way streams - do the couple want to be able to talk to their guests on Zoom at the end of the ceremony?
• Single and multicamera stream options
• The importance of audio for inclusive live broadcasts

Steve also discusses his new project for 2021,  walking 1000 miles in the year, and his new podcasts about walking Steve's Walks and Talks.  Sam gets to talk about her gardening allotment. Again. 

In this episode, Sam talks to Emma Clarke who owns and runs Signature Flowers Bucks and Oxon.  Signature Flowers is a high quality wedding, sympathy, corporate and high street florists, and we often work with Emma and her team at weddings. 

Emma tells Sam about:

• A typical week of a busy top class florists with both a Bicester shop and a wedding and funeral business
• How she used the locked down period to plan a major remodelling of her shop 
• How growing up with parents owning a local garden centre inspired to study at an agricultural college and then start her own business
• Her use of high quality suppliers from the Netherlands who supply her up to two or three times per week
• Some unusual customer requests including a bridal handbag covered in minature roses, and whole staircase covered in flowers in London

Sam and Steve also discuss their two week trial of Olympus cameras and lenses, the current situation with weddings going ahead in the UK and Sam talks allotments......again. 

Links to the show:

In this episode Sam and Steve's guest is Mark Neal, a West London based photographer and deputy manager of a London Pub. He tells Steve about how he manages to combine the two things, and also find time to travel.  Steve and Mark also discuss their joint plans for a Route 66 Photography road trip in March 2021. Mark is a Fujifilm user, currently shooting with an X-T2 and X-H1. 

Also discussed in this episode:

• Theatre and band photography;
• Product photography;
• Travel photography.

Sam and Steve also recall the year they spend running a pub, the Abingdon Arms, in Beckley, Oxfordshire. And Sam talks gardening. Again. 

Links from the show:

In this episode, Steve interviews Barbara Asboth, a portrait and wedding photographer based in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Barbara combines her skills in producing beautiful portraits with a documentary eye in her wedding photography. Like us, she works with Fujifilm cameras and lenses:

She tells Steve:

• How living in Tokyo for 1 year inspired her to take up photography
• Why she considers herself to be a flexible photographer
• How studying renaissance art  gave her the inspiration behind her "painterly" style of portraiture
• Why she works with Fujifilm cameras in lenses
• Her approach to street portraiture and her Instagram hashtags #facesofbanbury #facesofshoreditch

Also in the show: Steve on why he had a Covid-19 test this week, Sam talks gardening AGAIN, and also Steve on his first impressions of the Olympus EM-1 MK3. 

In this episode Sam speaks to UK based documentary photographer Emily Renier about her work photographing weddings, families and, especially births. This is of particular interest to Sam who is in the process of becoming a registered birth Doula. 

Emily tells Sam:

• How her background as a teacher helps her bond with families and understand parenting
• Why she sleeps with her phone under her pillow when a client is due to give birth
• How she takes into account the requirements of medical professionals
• Why birth photography is not all about the actual birth process but instead is story telling of priceless moments for mothers and fathers to be
• How she copes with tricky hospital lighting when photographing births

Emily's work is beautiful and displays real empathy with her clients. 

Sam and Steve also talk about Sam's Allotment (AGAIN), why our listeners love it when Sam tells Steve off, and why Steve is trying out Olympus camera equipment and lenses for two weeks. 

Links from the show:

In this episode, our guests are Kevin Mullins and Neale James. Fellow Fujifilm wedding photographers with over 1000 weddings between them, Kevin and Neale also host the Fujicast, a photography podcast that started in January 2019 and now regularly has over 4000 listeners per episode. Originally a weekly show, the changed that to a DAILY podcast at the start of lock down in the UK, due to Covid-19. They have since recorded over 65 daily episodes, without missing a day. They talk about:

• Why they started a podcast;
• Why is it called the Fuicast, when it is in fact for camera users of all makes;
• Why they started making a daily show at the start of Lockdown;
• Plans for the future, both together on the Fujicast, but also individual projects. 

Sam and Steve also catch up on the weeks news, goings on in their on line Pub, "The Locked Inn", and plans for a dedicated Sam and Steve Podcast website.

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This episode is for the photographers! All about the equipment Sam and Steve use at weddings. 

Why they switched from Canon "Full Frame" equipment to Fujifilm Mirrorless cameras

Why Sam prefer one camera, one lens, and Steve has lots!

And why they nearly switched to Sony cameras at the start of 2020. 

The Sam and Steve Podcast is back! With a new sound and music, follow a short hiatus due to the Covid-19 outbreak. 

In this episode Sam and Steve talk about how they have been working with all of their 2020 summer wedding couples to reschedule their big day due to the virus. Also they talk about what they have been doing over lockdown; decorating, walking, gardening and lots of Zoom video calls!

Steve's guest is Terry Chylton from Smooth Moves Events, one of Oxfordshire leading wedding and event DJ and entertainment service. Terry tells Steve:

• Why you should book an experienced professional DJ for your wedding if you want a great party!
• Why your DIY disco streaming Spotify might be a disappointment and even illegal!
• What his rustic DJ set is ideal for a country barn wedding. 

Links to topics in the show:

This weeks episode has a different format. Sam and Steve chat to Gemma and Joe Rouse, whose wedding we photographed back in November 2019. The were married at St Edburg's Church, Bicester, and The Dairy at Waddesdon. In a live recording Gemma and Joe talk about how they planned their wedding, what decisions they made and why, and why they chose their suppliers. 

Blog post on our website of their wedding : 

In this episode Steve's meets Steph Jones, Wedding and Event's Manager at Magnolia Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club. Steph tells Steve about weddings at Magnolia Park, and their up coming wedding fair on February 23rd from 11am to 3pm. 

Links from the show:

In this episode Sam and Steve interview Ray Sawyer, Durham based photographer and fellow Loxley Colour/Photography News Award winning photographer. He taks about:

• How he has gone from starting in 2018 to photographing over 60 weddings per year;
• His approach to his beautiful images
• Why he moved from Canon DSLR's to Sony mirrorless cameras
• Why he believes elopements are the next big thing.

Sam and Steve also talk about recent visits to Scotland and London, and to the Fujifilm House of Photography. And their wedding fair schedule for the year. And curry. Lots of it. 

In this episode, Sam and Steve discuss all things wedding planning. If you are newly engaged, this episode is for you! Based on their experiences of photographing over 200 weddings, Sam and Steve talk about:

• Why you need to effectively budget for your wedding and stick to it!
• Choosing your wedding theme
• How long before the big day you need to order your dress
• Different types of wedding venues; hotels, barns, marquees, and their pro's and cons
• Why having a videographer is a really good idea
• Different types of wedding photography and why some images you may see on websites are not from real weddings
• Are photo booths still a thing?
• Why wedding insurance is a must.

Links to topics discussed:

In this New Year's Day Episode, Sam and Steve's guest in Vikki Heath. Vikki runs the lovely Oxfordshire barn wedding Venue Manor Farm Barn. She also grew up there, and got married there herself. She tells Steve:

• How her venue has become one of the top Oxfordshire Wedding Venues over a few short years
• What makes weddings at Manor Farm Barn special and why she has so many great reviews
• How a wedding at Manor Farm Barn runs from start to finish
• How dealing with a poorly puppy was all in a days work for her and her great team!

Sam and Steve talk about their upcoming trip to Loxley Colour, near Glasgow,  canals, a recent Buckinghamshire village wedding and how Steve broke a golf club!

Links mentioned in the show:

In this episode, Sam and Steve get in the Christmas Spirit, with the Sam and Steve 12 days of Christmas.  

Amongst the topics they discuss:

• Why they ran a pub for a year!
• Steve's camera and lens choices on a wedding day
• Their 5 grown up children
• 7 new (to them) venues they photographed at in 2019
• The 11 lenses they can use at a wedding
• 3 awards they have won in 2019

Steve also discovers sound effects, much to Sam's amusement. 

Links from the show:

In this episode Sam and Steve have Danny Reeve of Affordable Wedding Videos of Bicester. Danny tells us:

• How he got started as a videographer, having studied film making at University
• His approach and why he works hard to be unobtrusive
• Why he uses Panasonic Lumix cameras
• Why he always wears a suit at a wedding
• How he works with photographers like us on the day!

Sam and Steve also discuss the new Fujfilm House of Photography in London, and their plans for a Christmas Special episode!

Links to topics discussed this week: 

In this episode, we talk to Robert Peckham, the owner of a brand new photography and print store in Bicester, Oxfordshire, called Imagex.

He tells us:

• Why he is opening a new store despite the decline in the high street, and why camera manufacturers want you to buy from traditional camera shops
• His experience of working in London camera stores and famous photographers that were his customers
• Why printing photos in the digital age is more important than ever
• Plans for the future including event photography and videography

Sam and Steve feel sorry for themselves on the back of both having heavy colds..... we also talk about perhaps our last wedding at Eynsham Hall and why Christmas has come early to their street. 

Sam and Steve Photography

In Episode 3 Sam and Steve's guest is Jay Farrell.  

 Jay is a Nashville, Tennessee based documentary wedding photographer and fine art photographer. He loves street photography and documenting the natural energy and mood of people. More recently, Jay has taken up photographing abandoned buildings in various regions of the United States. This creative release unexpectedly turned into him into a  published book author in that genre. Like Sam and Steve, Jay is a committed user of Fujifilm X Series cameras and lenses

Sam and Steve also talk about:

Wedding venues they have photographed at, including the lovely Primrose Hill Farm, Near Banbury;

X Weddings Conference 2019, attended by 60 plus wedding photographers using Fujifilm Cameras;

Steve's visit to Loxley Colour, Scotland for the Photography News/Loxley Colour/Fujifilm Wedding Photographer of the Year competition dinner

Links to items mentioned in the show:

In this episode, Karen Thomas of Cakes by Kit is the guest interviewee. 

Karen talks about:

• How she has built a business that provides over 80 wedding cakes a year across the Thames Valley and Northamptonshire
• Why her business is called Cakes by Kit
• How she makes and designs her cakes
• Foods Safety requirements for a professional cake maker
• Her most unusual wedding cake
• Mentoring and training

Sam and Steve also (kind of ) celebrate their wedding anniversary, talk about attending this year X wedding conference in Bath, and Sam tells Steve off for being too negative!

The first episode of the Sam and Steve Podcast. Meet Sam and Steve Vaughan, owners of Sam and Steve Photography, as they discuss all things weddings and photography. In this episode:

• Who are Sam and Steve
• Scope of the show and future episodes
• What is documentary wedding photography
• Why some vicars seem anti photography
• Why they use Fujifilm mirrorless cameras