Monday 26 April 2010

THE SUN HAS GOT HIS HAT ON




well folks no one can moan about last weeks weather, its been glorious, Ive had a busy week, with family, seminars, and photography.

To start the week I spent Tuesday with Jeff Turnbull learning more about the business side of photography . This week was all about websites, Jeff is a great Photographer you can visit his website "http://www.jeffturbull.com"

Later in the week I went to see the pig sheep, yes it is a real animal


Its a Mangalitza and you can visit three of them at the wonderful "http://www.tropicalwings.co.uk"

Saturday I had the chance to add more bridal images to my expanding portfolio
It was a beautiful day and the bride looked radiant, I am sure the sunshine made her very happy



Such a lovely day to be able to sit the bride down to ease some of the weight of her dress, Oh yes wedding dress,s are very heavy



I guess the sun bought out the romance in the day to, certainly seems they had a perfect day



Then I also had a great lifestyle session at the wonderful backdrop of Chapel Viaduct, such a nice little lad and his puppy what a sweet pair to work with



So I had a great week meeting lots of lovely people, doing some photo sessions with some wonderful people and of course such a sweet little puppy...

now back to working on the website and getting equipment ready for the weekends weddings

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Monday 19 April 2010

FAMILY PHOTO SESSION






Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a delightful family all in the comfort of their own home so no stress for Mum and Dad to get a 3 year old and 15 month old ready and off to a studio.

When I arrived the two children were happily at play in the garden, busy with sand and bouncing on the trampoline. The 15 month old wasnt so sure of me but the three year old was very relaxed and made me a sand ice cream!

Because the children were relaxed Mum and Dad were also very laid back, I started off by just playing with the children in the garden with a nice cool orange juice.

Had this family had an appointment with a studio they would have had about a 30 minute slot, Or had they decided to use a visiting high street photographer like the ones that visit stores then they would have been in a cue and had a 5 minute slot. It doesn't matter to me how long it takes to get the children relaxed as I only book one session a day so I am not on a timer.

The added beauty is having lots of different images done Mum is expecting their third child so some nice maternity shots were in order,
some nice relaxed family group shots, some lovey dovey shots of Mum and Dad and then some shots to capture their children doing what children do

It was all relaxed the kids were allowed to be kids and run about have fun, play with toys and even pull faces at the camera

The emphasis on my style of photography is fun, I dont want strictly posed session with a timer, I dont rush, I listen to what you as a family or individual want, and do my best to capture it for you

If you would like a photo session with me then please do visit my website and contact me, also look out for some very special offers in the coming months







Friday 9 April 2010

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR WEDDING


With the average price of weddings being around £20.000 how do you save money.

BE YOUR OWN WEDDING PLANNER: start early nothing worse then leaving it to the last minute, I highly recommend taking out wedding insurance cover.

USE YOUR FRIENDS: make huge savings by getting a friend or a small local business to make your wedding cake you could save up to £250.00

THE DRESS: yes that beautiful dress costing almost £1000 or more that you will wear for a few hours, and then hang in the wardrobe or may be list on Ebay,
I suggest shopping around for your dress, If you have a computer do look on Ebay new dress,s handmade from Thailand are available for around £50.00 including postage
Try Debenhams, M&S these all sell wedding dress,s . Even if you pay £150.00 you have saved £850.00

HAIR AND MAKE UP: If your planning your own wedding you can search places such as model mayhem for make up artist and hairdressers, If not then do try local shops rather then branded hairdressers, You will find a local shop will take much more time and your almost half your price and look just as good if not better.

FLOWERS: When I got married I bought a bouquet of silk flowers and 15 years on they still have pride of place in my lounge not one person guessed they were not real and I saved a fortune, for table decorations I roped in some friends and we used candles ribbon, and small silk flowers for the table decorations, again saving a fortune on fresh flowers. I gave each of my friends a table decoration to take home and its still a pleasure to see my wedding table decorations in my friends homes

THE VENUE: another huge expense the nearest venue to me charges £4,700 just to be there, That is a lot of money, I suggest really shopping around for venues, look midweek or even winter time. Find a couple of venues you like then haggle get them to bid for your business and play one off against the other, by saying oh so and so said they would include X,Y Z for that price. Venues want your business

FOOD AND DRINK: You choice of venue may tie you to a set price but again review the menu, will guest in July and August want to sit down to a hot meal at around £35.00 per head? why not opt for a barbecue or cold buffet at around £12.00 a head instead

Why not opt for a bar where guest pay for their own drinks, Instead of providing champagne go for a prosecco or cava most people wont notice the difference

PHOTOGRAPHY: I can tell you ways to save on a professional photographer, You could get a friend with a camera to take your pictures, you could ask guests that have digital cameras to allow you to see the pictures and then purchase a stick in album from WHSmith,s . This could save you around £800.00. I,m not going to tell you not to do that but remember your priorities. A guest is there to share your day and have a good time they are not going to take time to get THAT SPECIAL picture they are not fully insured wedding photographer with professional equipment with access to quality albums and master printers. A professional photographer is employed by you to just concentrate on taking your pictures, A few weeks after your wedding when everyone has forgotten about it you will have beautifully crafted images to last a lifetime.

To many times I read and get people come to me whom have had a friend photograph their wedding and the brides head is missing, or they missed the cake cutting as the angle was wrong,There are no images of the ceremony as they do not have a camera capable of taking images in low light,or the bride and groom have red eyes and highlighted skin from a tiny flash gun, Most images from small digital cameras can not be enlarged without compromising the image , and most people will have their images printed by a photo lab or high street store and these will not last more then 10 years.

As a photographer I often wonder why do people spend out on the most expensive dress they will wear for a few hours, the most expensive taxi of your lifetime, The most expensive flowers,all these will be gone, Yet they will skimp on a photographer the one person that can give them memories to last generation after generation.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

WHAT IS A LIFESTYLE PORTRAIT




This is a question I am asked frequently. How do I explain Lifestyle portraits or Lifestyle sessions as I like to call them.

Well for a start its a photo session, Its not in a cramped hot studio but at a location of your choice

Your choice could be your back garden, A local park, a meadow, a beach, a place you like to walk, or some where special to you, maybe the place you first met your loved one, maybe some where that just has sentimental value to you, any where you feel relaxed.

So ok we are now in the great outdoors the best studio in the world with wonderful natural light, Giving you or your children gentle light and tones to your skin rather then the forced flash in a studio

You have room to move around, maybe go for a walk or have a look at the lake, hold hands or play BOO around a tree, maybe you just want to sit for a while, or run and jump,

Lifestyle aims to capture the true you, your true family, the cheeky look your child may give you when he wants to play chase. The surprise on your partners face as you swing her round in your arms. The subtleness of a cuddle or a gentle kiss.

Where children are involved we can play at flying a kite or chasing bubbles, Its great to get dad involved as well, nothing beats an image of dad throwing his child up above his shoulders, or the tenderness of mums gentle cuddle.

Now the days are getting longer how about some nice early evening images taken walking hand in hand along the shore line, a romantic kiss as the sun goes down, lots of couples like to have these session.

So what does Lifestyle mean, well I would say capturing the true person, capturing the love shared not just by husband and wife, but by mother and child, father and child, the most important aspect of your family, the tenderness and love you share

My session aim to give you image your cherish time and time again, they wont be posed there certainly wont be any forced smiles, each image will give a true representation of the person at that moment in time

As Lifestyle session are relatively new to the UK Andrea;s photographer is offering a 10% discount on the session fee as well as a free 7"x5.5" paperback book of images from the session. All you need to do is book your lifestyle session before the end of May 2010, To find out how to book and to see a small sample of lifestyle images from babies to adults please visit my website




Monday 5 April 2010

TEEN LADS PHOTO SESSION




I had such a great time and brilliant fun when I turned up for my photo session with three 16 year old lads

I have a brand new option for style to appeal more to teenagers, offering a more vibrant dynamic up to date images

So far my Teens love it

I like to make sure my service to my clients reflects them so by offering these unique art works means I not only capture the moment but also the time

Looking back these lads will have vibrant dynamic images which reflect the exciting carefree teenaged years of their life of course we also do the routine photos for parents and Grandparents to keep

With the option of up to date trendy frames or canvas wraps these images are sure to last and take pride of place for many years

So how do you capture teens well you let them be, I allowed my teens to pick between four locations, all within a short distance from their homes, I felt it important to listen to them and allow them a choice of location,
Before I got the camera out I had a chat with them about what they wanted from their photo session, For example asking if they wanted me to go through some posing with them, what type of images did they want, They decided on moody and fun,
I then walked with them just pointing out locations in the area that would offer a good background and explained to them if i took the picture here we would have this and this in the background, where as take it here and we have this nice urban backdrop. I felt this again involved them and allowed them to pick what they wanted.

I explained to them what lenses I would use as one lad was very interested in the camera I allowed him to take some shots of his friends
The time spent talking to the lads is not time out of the session time . Its to involve them and to allow them to relax

Yes its hard work on the photographer, but there is no other way to capture the natural personality of someone unless you allow them to be themselves

All these lads had a great time the session was fun, demanding we had lots of laughter and all the lads decided how they wanted to pose so I took my direction from them. They loved it so much they want another session at Chappel Viaduct which is a great location