Andreas Photography

WE HAVE MOVED

2011-10-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

We have moved our blog in the hope of being able to have a portfolio and price list all in one place

please come on over and vist and follow us here http://andreaabbottphotography.wordpress.com/

WEDDING

2011-09-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Date: 26th August 2011

Venue: Braintree registry office

Reception: Little Easton

Weather: Rain

LITTLE RAYS OF SUNSHINE

2011-08-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Nothing is so precious , or brings home so much love, as brand new baby sent from above

A baby changes things;
They’ll never be the same;
Your life is filled with wonder,
Since your little miracle came.

There’s lots of things to do now,
But with the new tasks you face,
Your family gains more love,
And bonds time will never erase.

Congratulations to you all on your new additions
With love from Andrea of Andrea's Photography

A HOLI-HOLIDAY

2011-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well we took a holiday we staycation. This year it was Cornwall my sons choice as it was his 18th birthday.
For me a holiday with my kids is just about chilling out and relaxing just go with the flow. I never have a plan for a holiday we just do what ever we feel. This works really well for us as time together is not forced it just gentle comes along.

Its also amazing to see how much the children have changed gone are buckets and spades and sand castles decorated with flags and shells. Now comes the suntan lotion and Ipod and magazines.

Gone are night time stories of a spooky theme . Now it barbecues and a bottle of wine.

Trips to the beach ice cream and donkey rides are replaced with lounging by the pool or having a late evening meal, or sitting on the dunes watching the sun go down.

I cherish each holiday I have had with my children, I cherish the time I have had with them and watched them grow from wiggle pink things into adults making their own choices in life From shy little wall flowers to now stepping out with confidence.

I watched my son one evening walking along the shore and it reminded me of the Footprints in the sand as a Mother we always carry our children in our hearts and minds how ever old they are.

Yes we had fun we went to lots of places marvelled at the sunsets and scenery, we laughed together and swore when none of the lanterns would stay alight and take off, best of all we were doing all this together..
Hope you enjoy a few of my holiday snaps..

CAPTURING SOME FAMILY FUN

2011-08-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

I had a great time photographing Marks family and a few of their friends , What better way to have fun then going outside and allowing people to run around play with their kids and generally have a really great time. This session took approx 2 hours . The 2 hours time is photo time , I allow for changes in clothing settling the children etc this is not taken off family photo time.

The aim is to capture not just a family portrait but a range of images for everyone.

To book a session do contact me session fee is £75.00 and I,m available most days of the week including most weekends as I am a full time professional photographer.

small print is 50% booking fee must be paid to secure your booking.

I hope you enjoy a small selection from Marks family photo session of course there are many many more pictures from this session. That everyone is thrilled with

Thank you to Mark for allowing me permission to share these images

We are family

Best friends

LOVE

Friends

The Boys

The Kids

Father and Son

Mother and Son

Beautiful bumps

2011-07-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

I so wish this type of photography had been available when I was expecting my children, It would be so great to add to a baby book or just to look back on , or even share at a later date when I,m due to be a grandma.

I love the idea of bump photography and try to treat each lady differently getting unique images she can share and cherish.

As I come to you all I ask for is a little clear space to do those subtle bump pictures, If its a nice day we can go outside and include your partner or other children. I will only ever take pictures your comfortable with, some ladies like to be nude thats fine some ladies really dont want to take their clothing right off thats also fine. The aim is to show off your bump in away you feel comfortable with. To book a session just contact me on facebook or via my website.....

Lights Camera Action

2011-07-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

I,m an outdoor photographer in fact I love the outside there is just so much to choose from. Yet time and time again I am asked do you have a studio?. Simple answer is NO but I do have one I can use , Although this does require some notice and extra expense as well as travel.

The studio I use is Photovogue in Frinton so a fair distance from Braintree. I guess you all think using a studio is a breeze well it certainly is not. Photographing outside means I have learnt to deal with diverse lighting conditions I am used to telling my camera what to do . I occasionally use fill flash or off camera flash, but havent really had to deal with softbox,s and beauty dish,s and snoots.

So I took my family to the studio to have a practise with studio lighting.

Even with the use of a few props and a fan I found the environment cramped and rather then capturing fun natural images most images had to be posed.

It was difficult to fit everyone into the scene and to negotiate around wires and light stands to get a good angle on the people.

We tried to opt for some more fun images using high key and low key lighting

Again I struggled with space and fitting all 3 children in.

I gave my son the camera because he moaned they had been posing now it was my turn ..

We did get some nice portraits but everyone said they prefer the pictures I take of them outside. They liked the freedom of running around and being themselves, They liked the fact that you can have great backdrops outside to.

So you see I do have use of a studio if you prefer more formal posed portraits but if you want fun family photos that capture the true essence of your family then the great outdoors is by far the best

POSING TIPS FOR COUPLES.

2011-06-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

I,m often asked how do you get such relaxed looking pictures of people. There is so much to think about when taking pictures like camera settings and do I need fill flash, Or will I need the reflector for this picture. Then of course there is the background to think about, no one wants a lamp post coming out the center of the head, So I thought I would put together this small posing sample.

I used my son and his girlfriend they are not models and in fact like most males my son is very reluctant to have pictures taken. The location a small open space near my home. The lens used was a standard 50mm F1.8 .

Here they are just standing holding hands

Let try relaxing them by asking them to step apart a little

Lets getting them facing each other and looking towards me

Now ask them to look at each other and hug.

Now lets move in close and get Sarah to look at me.

Make use of your location to add interest to the pictures...

My sons arm would have been far better wrapped round Sarah yet he felt comfortable with this pose so its best not to push and make a person feel uncomfortable...

Lets come in close so the picture feels a little more romantic...

Lets move them slightly to make them look more comfortable..

Take a few images as we move down the field a little ,capture them unaware..

Having a little informal chat can mean you get a great capture..

Just observing your clients for a second or two can mean capturing their real personalities

No couples photo session would be complete if you didnt get that kiss....

Thank you for viewing my blog do please leave a comment you can find me on facebook or contact me via my website. The couple I used here to show how to take better images of your loved ones or friends are not models, They are just regular every day teens. I decided to use these two to demonstrate posing for the simple reason they dont know how to pose. Being a photographer is not just about clicking the shutter button but relaxing your clients and being able to make them feel comfortable so they come away with great pictures

Frinton Essex seaside fun

2011-06-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Jaquelyn Gladden last week, Location choice was Frinton This Essex sunshine coastal town makes a great backdrop for my vintage style sessions. I was assited by my friend Amanda Hayler.


Poppins

Lets Rock The Prom Frock

2011-06-10T04:55:00.000-07:00

The year of 2011 and all those school leavers stepping out into the world, saying goodbye to old friends and hello to new ones. Leaving school can hold a mixture of emotions suddenly the people your saw everyday are embarking on a new direction in life. You may even miss the lessons you hated. Its also a great time in your life a time to have fun and decide on what path to take in life.

Then of course there is your school leaving prom a chance to dress up and say goodbye.

Sarah opted not just to wear her dress for her prom but to have a photo-session with her boyfriend. This will give Sarah some lovely pictures to look back on when she is older and maybe her daughter is getting ready to leave school. Sarah will have the memory of being sweet 16 forever.

We had a wonderful time taking Sarahs pictures and she loves them all. Many of the image you will see on here were Sarahs own idea of how she wanted the photo session to be..

Photographing the photographer

2011-06-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Now thats a challenge, no one is more critical than a photographer . I was up for the challenge and along with my friend and fellow photographer Simon Rich we braved a rather windy Southend on sea.
We opted for the beach area although I must admit the wind did course some problems with Joanna's hair .

I am pleased to say that Dean and Joanna love their pictures. They were a great couple to work with and Joanna was a natural in front of the camera .

Baby T,s newborn session

2011-05-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

I really must get more up to date with this blogging. I have had the great pleasure of being asked to photograph a fair few tiny newborns. There is just something so special about babies, We do tend to take them for granted but every baby is a unique little miracle and to be asked to capture babies first portrait is an honour.

I differ from other photographers in my area as I come to you. I am a mum myself and know how hard it is to even get dressed in the morning when you have a new little person in your life.

All I ask from you is you have a clear space for newborns a table is actually best my time with you is not per hour I just go with how long it takes. I want my clients to feel relaxed I allow time for feeding, changing and include family and siblings where possible .

The best time to take pictures of baby is around 5 to 6 days old. I normally arrange to come as baby is having his/her lunch time/afternoon feed. This allows me to set up while your still seeing to baby.

Baby is normally sleepy which allows to get the cute little picture you see here.

I bring with me an assortments of hats and nappy covers in fact all you might liked to provide is a nice warm cup of tea.

I also do a first year book which can include maternity bump pictures right through to babies big first birthday I will return every three months to capture your new little person growing. For parents that dont mind the mess the last images can be a smash the cake session. Baby loves this part and I provide the cake and backdrop so no mess on your furniture or carpets.

Baby T was a joy to photograph he is just six days old in these pictures, such a darling little snuggly boy

My baby session are on special offer right now at just £15.00 for me to come out to you, images are at extra cost starting from just £8.00

Family Time

2011-01-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

December is a family time for me, my very last photo session was a babies first Christmas on December the 21st. Then I was free from work to spend quality time with my family or so I thought.

The bug hit them first of all my wee daughter , then my husband had man flu, Then my 14 year old who insisted while whining on the couch that he was brave and wouldn't give in, finally on Christmas eve my 17 year old . As for me on Christmas eve I whizzed off down to Brighton to collect my eldest son and whizzed back again to Essex getting back early hours of Christmas morning.

Christmas eve Brighton

I set out the present that had taken 5 days to wrap with a fair amount of Sellotape stress under the tree and retired to bed for an hour or two.

My little girl woke me at a sensible time of 08.30 to declare Father Christmas had been she duly then woke all her brothers who then came downstairs and demolished my hours if not days of delicate wrapped presents with ribbons and tags , the room was a mass of screwed up paper in less than 10 minutes.

At this point I did silently wonder why I didn't just leave all the gifts in carrier bags.

Then it was off to the kitchen for me to tackle the turkey and the stuffing the pigs in jackets and roast potato,s oh and the starters. The dinning room table needed dressing with all these ill men it was left to me.

Being family time it meant collecting my less abled mother from her home to bring her to ours for the day this was made 10x worse because of the ice.

The master piece was ready to serve and my family just kind of sat there just staring with ohh we dont feel like dinner GRRRRRR. Half a ton of washing up later it was time to escort mother back across the frozen ice this took two people and more than an hour.

I finally sit down at 20.00 thinking oh yes some me time when 3 boys appear at the living room door and declare they are hungry.

I some how pictured myself in cosy clothing with a fluffy blanket a box of chocolates and the Christmas tree lights gentle twinkling around the quiet room. How wrong my dream was by now i was fit to scream.

I have come up with a plan for Christmas 2011 its called go on strike. I wont be cooking dinner they can have a buffet and help themselves . I will ask for some good books and retreat to the bedroom with a bottle of wine and box of chocolates .

Heres to Bliss

Christmas Cheer.

Those tangled lights

Not amused

THE JOY OF A NEW LIFE

2010-11-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Baby Alistar 7 days old

For awhile now I have been trying to specialize in the areas of maternity and new born baby picture, I now aim to take this further offering maternity sessions right through to babies first or second year, returning to take pictures of baby and family every three months. The early years to me as a mother are some of the most precious years, The joy of watching your child turn into a little person, Those wonderful little mile stones from first smile to branching out into the world with first steps.

Of course these session could be booked after the second year for a session on the same day each year until the child reach,s 18 I feel this would make an amazing family history book, To capture the way the family change and grow from maternity through to adulthood. Just contact me if you would like to arrange a wonderful pictorial family history.

So how and what is involved with taking images of a wee little one. For a start for me as a photographer there is nothing so special about taking babies first portrait. It is an honour when parents ring me and ask me to take these pictures. My youngest little one this year was just 4 hours old. There is something amazing about a new born a miracle we take for granted, but babies soon lose that little newborn look within 7 to 8 days its gone forever.

To photograph babies means I have to be flexible. Its best to schedule the session for just after a feed although of course new borns have no idea when lunch time is let alone night time . I know how difficult being a new parent is this is why I come to you, There is no time limit on the session as your little baby hasnt a clue on time. While I am with you its fine to take a break for feeding in fact sometimes this is a great time to get some beautiful images of the closeness of mother and baby. Just recently two of my new mothers have asked me to take images of them breast feeding and believe me that are wonderful close moments capture forever.

I ask that the room is warm enough for baby to be comfy with no clothing on, and special outfits put out as plenty of time for clothing changes, I need a little space but not much. I try not to use flash but do use a modeling light. I bring soft white clean blankets with me and its really helpful if dad is present just to hold these up a little. The session is relaxed with plenty of input from mum and dad as to what type of images they would like.

Unfortunately it can be pot luck to get a picture of a newborn whom has their eyes open after all the first 10 days or so are spent doing what babies do best feeding and sleeping.

As a mum myself I understand completely that your baby is the best baby in the world, I also understand how important and precious the first few weeks are.

To arrange a baby session to fit around your needs please do feel free to contact me for a chat

Below are some beautiful little bundles of joy I have photographed in the last 6 months as you can see each one is a unique little miracle and a pleasure to photograph

Baby Josh aged 4 days

Baby Hector 10 days old

Baby Sienna 4 hours old

Baby Ethan 10 days old

A WET AND DISMAL SEPTEMBER

2010-10-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well what an end to summer a rather abrupt one wasnt it. The nights are now pulling in at 3 minutes per day and I must admit to switching on my central heating on a fair few chilly evenings and mornings.

The wet weather has meant a few rescheduled lifestyle sessions , and a few indoor sessions
One of my favourite sessions this month was a family and bump session we did actually manage a few outdoor pictures in the harsh low sunlight until the dark clouds decided to water the grass yet again.

Now i am looking forward to shooting a new little person.

September sees me going out for some street photography both locally and in London and Brighton, capturing people unaware complete strangers I will never know. I love this kind of photography and capturing different moods of people, Its like a little snap shot on British life. I recommend going with a friend if this is not practical then use a zoom lens so your intended subject is not aware your near them.

Isnt it against the law ?I hear you cry, well no not if your in a public place, This excludes railway stations and underground, Most public places your fine in but you must not course a nuisance, Basically do not follow people around and dont be to intrusive with your camera distance is better then close up. There are plenty of websites offerring guide lines for candid/street photography.

Street shot Witham

Witham

Candid London

I have also been adding a little more art to my own images now I have CS5, This can be time consuming but great fun,

An image of a street entertainer in London

mixture of 5 images

A view of London and hand drawn window .

Also this month as you may have seen on my facebook profile. I had my picture taken with my daughter . Its not often I get my picture taken so Thanks to Robbo and the GNPC studio

My girl and I

So rolling in to October when mother natures studio is at her best, So why not put on your wellies hats n scarfs and book a fun outdoor photo session with the backdrop of golden Autumn hues. A few dates are booked on the mornings of the 24th and 25th as I am doing lifestyle session at Westonbirt The national Arboretum, supposedly the most spectacular Autumn colour in the UK. If your in the area and would like an afternoon session at the Arboretum then please do contact me ASAP

Well bye bye September remembered for her rain and roll on October

A photo session with a VIP

2010-09-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday September the 3rd I had a very important rendezvous with a VIP named Aidan. Aidan is 14 and since the age of 8 has been having on going treatment for his illness, The treatment now is not working and Aidan is fully aware he will be saying goodbye to this world.

I first met Aidan a few months ago at Barts hospital , His parents had approached me as Aidan wanted a photo session,. On meeting Aidan I was in awe of this bright cheeky young man who told me "your not the only photographer I am meeting I have got to find the right one".

Well I got a call last week from Aidan's parents to ask if I would do Aidan's photo session and where he wanted it done which was Dungeness in Kent.

I arrived at Dungeness at 10:30am the weather was fine the sky was blue, Aidan loves this place its special to him. we had a wonderful photo session. Aidan wore a variety of hats , we had a super model session and a family lifestyle session.

I didn't charge a fee just petrol and picture prices Aidan's family treated me to a meal in the pilot Inn.
At Aidan's request his images will not be hosted for public viewing until after he has gone. He has given me a letter which contains what he wants written on my blog and is picking what image he wants blogged.

For me as a photographer it was a very strange feeling knowing that no doubt this would be the last time Aidan would be photographed. Aidan himself directed most of the session it involved mirrors and feather boa,s and posh frocks for his mum and sister.

I call Aidan a VIP not because he is famous or well known but because he is so brave and light hearted and fun.

Addie I know your read this I want to tell you that you really touched my heart that your wisdom is beyond your years and that you are the bravest nicest person I have ever ever had the pleasure of coming across.

That we sat on the walk way you hugged me and told me not to be sad you had a great life and now you had never got to worry about who to marry or what job to have or credit card bills.

Thank you for your email and I am so glad your thrilled by your pictures

I dedicate this image to you Addie where we sat on the walk way with my broken filter which I wont be replacing. Like you said somethings happen because they need to happen and sometimes bad things happen yet they can be beautiful things we just dont know it at the time

For Aidan

All image remain copyrighted to Andrea Abbott

Lifestyle photo session in the country park

2010-08-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

This morning I had the great Pleasure of working with family R. A local family whom had been rather disappointed with the images received from a studio session with another photographer.

The image were not bad the family just didnt feel they captured true feelings and emotions. The studio images were also very posed making the family feel stiff and not at all relaxed.

Mrs R approached me a week ago asking if I could photograph her family, Of course I could,
All though the sky this morning was slightly overcast we didnt have rain and the sun did keep breaking through.
The family decided the best location for them would be the country park as this would allow the children to play and run around. I was assisted today by Jeff Schwingen. Jeff is a great photographer but lacks confidence so I hope working with me this year will make Jeff see just how great he is.

We started the photo session with some must have images that are wanted by the family.

The Boys

Boys having fun

The family soon all relaxed Granddad was a great sport and Little R kept me busy. Uncle C was just a gem with the children and great and getting them to runaround and have fun. It certainly was a fun session and the R family were just excellent and a pleasure to photograph.

Together

The idea of a lifestyle photo session is to use the great outside as the studio,.Allowing people to feel more relaxed and letting children behave in a natural way , In to days case running around and having fun, Which is how children should be. I never say cheese which is why I capture the natural person.

Todays session for me was fun the R family are such a lovely family and the children just adorable, full of beans running here there and everywhere.

She did smile everytime she ran away from the camera

The youngest little one laughed her head off every time she ran in the opposite direction to the camera. As you can see though some nice natural shots were still managed.

Last but not least is the little man that kept me on my toes, such a fun great little one to work with. Even if did shot everyone with the bubble gun.

Little live wire

Thank you to Mr and Mrs R it was a pleasure to photograph you ,your children and your lovely Grandchildren. I hope you enjoy this sneak preview

All images are copyrighted to Andrea's photography and are low res for web hosting

Final images are high res and printed by a master printer

Finding new places

2010-08-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well I felt like doing some landscape photography and having really exhausted flat Essex, I decided to venture into the Chilterns. First stop was Pitstone and the little 13 century church . which is open on Sundays and Bank holidays from May until September.

Next port of call was the windmill with a nice walk across the countryside , taking in a pleasant view, We then made our way to Ivinghoe beacon, a good hill climb.

Stopping off at Whipsnade and The Chiltern gateway to fly a kite. Certainly different from Essex. It was also wonderful to watch the Red tailed Kites flying freely across the downs.

I normally take a holiday in July but this year has been fairly busy especially weekends and it looks as if 2011 and 2012 are going to be busier. I already have bookings for both years 12 bookings for 2011 and 5 already for 2012.

The good thing is my new passport arrived today so now to plan a trip I have promised myself for a long time which will be to Norway around March 2011. I have been working out the places I want to go which include Finnmark for the Northern lights, Lofoten for whale watching Svalbard island for Polar bears, the Fjord and oh so much more

The best thing is I could not have achieve my dream without the support from friends . One of my biggest supporters and the guy who made me believe in myself is my friend and fellow photographer Jeff Turnbull, whom did tell me "Andrea this year is going to be great for you", did I believe Jeff at the time,no I didnt. Oh how wrong I was Thanks to his encouragement I have gone forward not just with photo sessions and sales but also with the sales of my ICM images which people in the USA cant seem to get enough off just recently .I decided to do a limit addition of an ICM print limited to just 10 canvas wraps including a certificate with the number of the print on so far I have sold 5 prints at just over five hundred pound each. This is just amazing and each person whom purchased them has written back to me saying how thrilled they are with them. In fact 2 people put in further orders for different ICM prints .

Without the encourage meant from Jeff and the others on the mentoring workshop I would never have achieved this so my Thanks goes to Sam Carter, David Tyrer, Ross Dean ,Gary Wilson and not forgetting James Neale . Great photographer, great friends and a huge support

In Between The Rain

2010-08-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

What a miserable few days we have had here in Essex grey skies rain,thunder,hail,wind and more rain. On the plus side my grass now looks a nice shade of green instead of burnt brown and my flowers certainly look a little perky.

Wednesday I took and afternoon trip out with my friend Amanda (click to see her images). We went to the lovely Mersea Island off the coast of Essex, Mersea is connected to the mainland via a causeway that can flood at high tide. Mersea is nestle between the Blackwater and Colne estuaries about 9 miles south east of Colchester . A wonderful little place to visit both East and West Mersea are different, with sandy beach,s as well as salt flats and marsh land. The weather was kind to us although we had cloud we didnt get any rain.

Thursday started off looking as if it may have been a fine day. I took a drive out through the Rodings and into Chelmsford by following the A1060 just before Chelmsford at the Writtle roundabout we found a field of wildflowers and sunflowers, Just had time to stop pick some flowers and get a few quick shots before the heavens decided to open and the rain came down and down and down.

Thursday night cleared allowing me to go out to do some long exposures of the meteor showers and an extra added bonus of having the Northern lights intruded on my images. This we didnt know at the time as appeared to the naked eye as just intermittent random flashing across the night sky .

30 minute exposure capturing meteors.

8 minute exposure capturing the Northern lights Aurora Borealis.

To end my week Friday bought Thunder storms and more rain through out most of the day, A very cloudy night. Saturday looks much the same as well

Hitchin Lavender Cadwell Farm

2010-08-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

I held out some hope yesterday that the Met Office may have been right with the weather, With rain ceasing at 13.00 and not starting again until 18.00.

I say held out hope because actually it lashed down all day. Anyway when we departed from Braintree for the drive to Hitchin things did looking promising, The rain had stopped, But after Bishop Stortford the rain just got heavier and heavier. I did debate on turning round but I was 3/4 of the way to Hitchin and still held on to the small hope that the Met Office may well have got it right for once.

My destination was Cadwell Farm The home of Hitchin lavender Just over an hour from my home, I would say far better then a trip to Provence although the weather in Provence was no doubt sunny and fair compared to huge misty grey skies chucking the rain down .

After over shooting the entrance to Cadwell farm and having to turn in the farmers drive way on a blind bend we arrived, Turning off the wipers on the car and desperately searching for an umbrella, we made our way into the barn tea room and shop, Where we had a lovely cuppa with carrot cake , My husband opted for a cream tea while little Missy opted for fresh apple juice and a huge chocolate brownie.

We paid our £3.00 and was given a bag each and a pair of scissors to cut our own lavender or sunflowers to take home at no extra cost. You are left to wander the fields at your leisure no pressure or guides.
On a better day the photo opportunities would be fab . Brides have wedding pictures taken among the lavender fields and they even do wedding teepees , what a fab place as a backdrop for your wedding.

I found out about Cadwell Farm via a friend the lavender season is short July to about the 15 September, But I really hope to return on a day when the sky is blue and I can put my daughter in a white dress. It will sum up summer for me in one image

The Lavender field

Feeling droopy from the rain

The Umbrella came to

Looking down towards the farm

Sunshine on a rainy day

WEDDING-THEY ARE MORE ABOUT EGO THAN LOVE

2010-08-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend friends of mine will be jetting off to an exotic island in the South Pacific. The cheapest flight they could find will include multiple changes and long waits at airports.

Despite this their stay on the sun-kissed idyllic island will last just 24 hours before they turn round and make the trip back to the UK.
Why the odd behavior why put your self through hours of travel and jet lag? Because they have been invited to a friend's wedding and felt unable to refuse and the funny thing is I'm pretty sure the bride and groom think they are doing their friends a huge favor by inviting them to their wedding.
No doubt they believe that all their guest are delighted to be part of their wonderful international extravaganza.
The truth is modern weddings have lost there way.The fact the average wedding now cost more than £20,000 is ridiculous and wrong, especially when you think of how many people on this planet struggle to survive on less then 50p a day.

The excessive cost is also a symptom of a deeper problem.For what all the taffeta in the world can not cover up is that the modern wedding has become far to much about the egos of the bride and groom.
These days its almost as if the happy couple are not just getting married- they are also directing some over the top Hollywood epic which they have cast themselves in the starring roles. Look at the couple who insist that everyone attended their wedding dressed in white from head to toe. Those that didnt have white suits and shoes handy would have had to pay out to get them. The couple then sashayed down the aisle in matching scarlet. Talk about look at me. It would be easy to laugh at this overblown vanity if it wasnt all such a huge waste of money.
Of course, its absolutely right that the bride and groom ought to feel special. After all this is the day when they look into each others eyes and promise to LOVE and CARE for each other for the rest of their lives, FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE, FOR RICHER,FOR POORER, IN SICKNESS and IN HEALTH

The appeal of my special day has now become an excuse to demand the best of everything from flowers to clothing to hairdressers to napkin rings.

To many couples want to sit in their Posh and Becks style thrones and be admired by the invited audience, is this what make the best wedding?
Or is it the simplest weddings that are the best, The wedding in a church all country flowers put together by a friend trestle tables laid out with food cooked by family and friends. A heartfelt exchange of vows in the local register office then a table in a crowded restaurant for dinner. What makes these wedding so special is the love the couples had for each other a love that spilled out to family a friends.
The essence of that love whether expressed in a sacred or secular way is the promise to put the interests of another before those of your own. Love is a movement away from the idea that everything in life is about you.

Which is why modern weddings are a travesty. For in becoming a great celebration of the ego,they are a threat to the very thing they are supposed to be about.
Just look for instance at the excruciating self obsessed tantrums shown on livings TV's Four wedding series where four brides get to compete with each rating the others weddings.
Some of the problem is the widespread influence of celebrity magazines, where the whole experience charade of show biz marriage is posed for cameras. Of course these staged set up make everything seem fake and unreal, even worse is they treat their guests like props. For ordinary couples wanting to recreate that feeling of being a celebrity for a day is not the right template for a celebration of true love.

There is hope however as I feel people are tiring of the modern obsession with ostentatious weddings, we,ve had enough of this triumph over style.
Marriage is at the heart of a stable society It provides a secure environment for bringing up children and its conducive to our long term happiness.
Yes we need to celebrate and why not have a fantastic party to mark the beginning of your married life?

The images makers in the wedding business and thats to often what it has become want to persuade you that a simple wedding is cut price second class bargain bucker affair. In truth they don't like simple weddings because they don't ring up the cash registers
So they ramp up expectations with ever more glamorous proposals, investing the wedding with false hope and envious fantasies. These expectations can so impossibly high its no wonder so many weddings are desperately tense affairs in which superficial smiles mask blazing rows erupting off stage.

The happiest weddings are the ones where who give more weight to the promises being made to each other than they do to the table decorations or gift list.
Simple wedding are by far the most beautiful . For when we do away with the expensive and distracting rubbish, we are better able to see the love two people have for one another.

This LOVE is the most beautiful thing in the world.

taken from an article by Giles Fraser St Pauls London

Spooky Places

2010-08-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

My teenaged sons have suddenly developed an interesting in spooky places. Essex has a lot of so called haunted places ,so as a start they decided to camp in the ruins of St Peters church Alresford.

Tales of black magic, witchcraft ,white witch,s and ghost sighting surround this church. Interestingly a team from am American Tv station did a show from this location and were to scared to ever come back.
Books have been written about it although I cant find any but apparently the author who is deemed a ghost hunter was so frightened he has written he will never return to St peters.

It was about 4 years ago I first discovered this little gem tucked away not visible from the country lane its off. In 2008 and visited the church at night to do some spooky strobist photography, At the time I had a fair amount of different colour strobe lights set up. Obviously the lights could be seen and the police turned up.

Heres the funny bit the police came as far as the entrance and gave us a call of "hey excuse me would you like to come out" Of course I duly did, after I explained what I was doing they were fine but proceeded to tell me that once it was dark they would not enter the church!

A few weeks later I decided to take along a friend and do some extreme light painting in the ruined church, While we were doing this a group of ghost hunters with loads of techie things turned up they had driven all the way from Northumberland to spend the night on a vigil, They were convinced I was a ghost hunter errr no! you can see images here .

Any way I dropped the boys off let them set up camp and came home. Only once I got home I set about gathering some items together to go back and give the boys a scare and Oh what fun that was.

Some roman candles placed inside the church away from the tent with a voice changer to yell "EXPELLIARMUS" some strobe lights. a recording of chants. All made for some very loud noise coming from the tent. We kept this up for about 30 mins. Then ran at the tent . The climax was 4 rather white shivering 17 year olds coming out of the tent .The fear on their faces was priceless. Obviously at this point we let them know who we were. which made even more fun as none of them could believe they were so frightened by a friends mum.

At least all the lads then saw the funny side. I collect the boys in the morning they had heard knocking during the night which I had heard when i was there but apart from that and feeling really brave when 4 locals said no way will anyone from the village go in there at night, They had a great time now in search of the next most haunted place in Essex

These are really images taken on the D300 with the Sigma 10-20mm lens, the spooky ghost like look is achieved by slowing the shutter speeds right down. If you slow the shutter speed giving the camera a longer exposure time any people will merge into the background of the image or in some cases disappear all together . Give it a try you need a DSLR and one you can put in M mode a tripod dull or dark conditions. For dull conditions use F22 and an exposure of around 2 seconds. Have fun with making some ghosty images.

I've Been Thinking

2010-08-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Something we all do from time to time, Only with the recent crash of my computer and its data, including backed up data,. I have had to ask myself many questions. One of those questions is am I enjoying what I'm doing?

In truth the answer is no!, Why you may ask is the answer no,
So I begin by telling you about a simple wedding, Right now times are hard, people dont have x amount of money for luxuries, Unfortunately people seem to see wedding photography as a luxury. So let me tell you what is involved for me. I take time to come and visit you and show you some pictures and albums and chat to you about what style you would like. These pictures and albums were not given to me free I had to work on them make them up and pay for them. We then have a quick pre wedding photo session, Ok you might say I get the easy job here just taking a picture, well no I dont its a skill, You see to get nice images I have learnt how to use my camera , Its not just about pointing and snapping, Its about reading light and distance, its about posing, and looking at the background and other distractions.

I then come home and work individually on each picture I have taken. Yes each single image gets my personal attention, blemish are removed, skin softening can be done, each image tone is adjusted to give my clients the best.

Come your wedding day I will work flat out all day, and the next day in fact every day for at least 14 days on your images, Once your happy they are then either placed in design software to make your album or uploaded to a master printer for printing.

From start to finish I work personally on them They are not farmed out for some one else to do. You see I create something that is everlasting and I wont compromise by doing the £150.00 or £200.00 wedding. I have insurance and have had training, I have a professional camera and lenses that cost twice as much as the camera. I have access to top of the range products .

You see I wont and cant turn up on your special day with a camera set on a pre-set mode of portrait and then get your images printed by either some high street store or basic on-line photo store and charge you £150.00 for that service.

The shame is this is what many of you want, your willing to fork out thousands on venues, dress,s food,wine but when it comes to your wedding photography you only want to pay a few hundred quid,
fine if you want images with people missing, horrid lamp post or road signs in the back ground, out of focus shots, fine if you only want your pictures to last for between 10 and 15 years.

So my first thought is to drop weddings as obviously a quality service is not really what people want. Then I thought again no I wont drop them but I will place a new limit . The limit I have decided is 5 weddings a year. The price is as it is no cheaper.

Areas in photography I will be concentrating on are families,children and babies, Why because unlike a harsh studio set up I offer something much more relaxing and personal . Also unlike a studio if baby is unhappy or extra tired then the session can be rescheduled for another time .

My first venture is Children's birthday party shoots and having completed two of these I found them great fun Lots of children running around having a great time meant some wonderful images for parents to keep. It also meant I got jelly and ice-cream to eat.

Secondly I am going back to photographing for myself, yes just random images I personally like to take, Maybe challenge myself to just taking one lens and using it for the whole week, Getting back to some arty type photographs

Time spent with a camera and lens is not time wasted, It allows me to stretch myself, it allows me to push my limits.

In future my blog will no doubt be more about me, whats been happening, what I have been doing.

Taking time out for myself and doing what I please

The Day My MAC went wrong

2010-07-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

We are all told and told again to back up our files, well I use two different back up options one is Time machine, the other is just an external hard drive where every image I have ever taken is stored in its raw state.

My external hard drive is spilt into years so 2008,2009 and 2010
next it contains folders in months for example JAN 2010, some folders have clients names on,
so you see I'm all backed up

Ok so here is what happened, I switched on my MAC in the morning to work on some images stored on my external hard drive, every thing was fine and in tact working well, I also had some CF cards with clients RAW images on so backed those up twice, Got a phone call from an old friend so shut down the computer unplugged every thing and went out.

That evening I decided to continue working on some clients images. Duly plugged in the computer and switched it on. Oh what's happening it seemed to take a really long time to load, and when my screen loaded it was a completely different background from the one I had in the morning?, The little rainbow wheel kept spinning and spinning, 30 minutes later it stopped but all my desk top icons were missing?

I clicked on my files folder and rainbow disc kept spinning? Very odd, Then random files kept popping up on the desktop like 3d png more and more files kept appearing in random places, EEK

when my picture folders appeared they were all empty??!!!!

yes every single image had gone, I restarted the MAC guess what? it started fine this time, but not an image to be found, checked my back up all the folders were in tact but empty!

Decided to check my external hard drive on my other computer, At first I was like PHEW, every folder was there . BUT oh no when I clicked on any folder made in 2010, even if it just had a clients name it was empty.

Sensibly I had purchased the APPLE care plan, so called them, they told me to insert the diagnostic care plan utility disc. This checks the MAC for faults well 30 minutes later every thing had passed nothing wrong.

The man talks me through a reinstall while preserving data , err this didn't work either

I then get an appointment at Thurrock only a 100 mile round trip to take my heavy MAC into the APPLE store (have you tried carrying a 21 inch MAC through Lakeside?)

Eventually I get seen 20 minutes after my appointment time, Little guy looks up my case number and says oh its over heating then?? err no I say, he does a trash and burn without any attempt to find lost data, then tells me its fine nothing wrong,

I refuse to take the MAC home 3 days later Apple call me to tell me they have cleaned the MAC as it was dusty so this may have made it over heat, they have install snow leopard for me and Iworks, when can i come and get the computer?

Now my dilemma is what do I do next? Obviously the external hard drive is going off to try and have the data retrieved, Yet talking to companies that do this there seems little hope as MAC is LINUX based and has its own way of saving data.. Lost of earning for me is extremely high. So where do I go from here what do I do next

Answers please

10 THINGS THEY DONT TELL YOU ABOUT NEW BABIES

2010-07-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

There is no moment that compares to the moment you hold your newborn baby, After 9 months of waiting and feeling uncomfortable and hours of labor your bundle of joy is here

1) Being a mum myself I know this wonderful feeling to you your wrinkle scrunched up little baby will be the best looking baby in the world. Many babies are born with odd shaped heads they may look pointed or look flat, this is normal.

2) Not long after baby arrives it poo,s yes and its like thick black tar, The idea of having some sort of paint scraper comes to mind as this first black stinky poo takes ages to clean off. Not to worry after a couple of these nasty nappy fillers babies poo turns yellow like mustard and even seems to look if it has seeds in it.

3) Babies skin goes through lots of changes and most new borns do not have nice peachy looking skin, Its normal for the skin to be a reddish colour with lots of marks and blotches. I highly recommend scratch mitts as for some reason new babies always seem to scratch their little faces. In the first 4 weeks baby's skin will appear very dry especially in all those little creases .

4) Babies suffer from sticky eyes as they have blocked tear ducts a baby cant cry any tears until around 3 weeks old. Just gentle clean babies eyes with some cool boiled water and cotton wool use a fresh cotton wool ball for each eye.

5) The umbilical cord in UK hospitals a clip is applied to the cord like a huge peg, it will fall off after about 7 days, as the umbilical cord turns yellow then black and falls off.

6) Breast or bottle well to be honest mum the choice is yours. I have done both feeding methods. OK so breast is best or is it? Breast fed babies tend to be more unsettled and want feeding more frequently and seem to be much harder to get into a feeding routine. In the first few days you breast feed you will suffer after pains worse then labor pains. Will your breast get sore? Yes they will, you will also have to watch your diet and wont be able to take any strong pain killers.

If you opt to bottle feed you will know just how much feed your baby has taken, your partner will be able to help, you can eat what you like and take pain killers.

On a personal note I breast fed two of my children and bottle fed two .It has made no difference to their health or growth as they have grown up, nor has it made any difference to their teeth or eye sight, it has not made them more or less intelligent. It has not made them fatter. It’s totally down to choice how you decide to feed your infant.

7) Sleep. Yes babies do sleep a lot in fact they can’t tell the difference between night and day. If this is your first baby seriously take this advice and when baby sleeps you go to sleep. Stuff the housework. Live on ready meals for a few weeks it wont hurt. Sleep deprivation will now become the norm, Says she who lays awake waiting for the 18 year old to come home. If you have a toddler see if grandma or aunt can help and maybe take the toddler off your hands for a few hours in the first weeks. Don’t try and carry on as normal and be super mum do take any offers of help. Even if it’s a friend offering to do your laundry for a few days .

8) Babies breathe really fast about twice as fast as adults they take very shallow breaths, like every parent you will spend hours staring at them to make sure they are breathing. This is perfectly normal all parents do it.

9) Babies can’t figure out how to breath through their mouths if their nose is blocked up, hence all the snorting and sneezing

10) Babies are wonderful and precious, Babies are an everyday miracle, here you are holding this new little life you have created. Make the most of it lots of cuddles you cant spoil a baby by loving it. The more you hold baby the better, you are not going to turn it into some clingy little spoilt monster, After all do you remember being a baby?

From Mum to Mum babies grow up they are not forever, they soon turn into cheeky toddlers, then into small children where they start to question the world around them and form their own ideas, next comes the tweenie stage at about 8 years where you will be told “I HATE YOU”, then the teenage stage in boys this stage lasts forever, sulking moaning, the URGH response when asked something.

Cherish each moment with your baby, as babies don’t keep.

Lastly if you would like some beautiful pictures of your new baby taken in the comfort of your own home, with plenty of time for feeding and clothing change

All for the special price of £25.00 sitting fee with a free print and a baby proof photographer. Then do please contact me. Guaranteed to handle each new little person with care and to provide you with a wonderful keepsake of the new little person in your life.

What Happens when it rains???

2010-07-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I visited a lovely family in Diss for the first time in March 2010, unfortunately about 30 minutes after my arrival in March the heavens opened in true British style, The rain just started and went on until dusk fell. Although I got a few good pictures I certainly wasn’t happy. So arranged a free revisit once the weather turned nicer.

So on Sunday 4 July I made the trip back to Diss, the weather was glorious . This meant little A was free to run around her rather large cottage garden while I took her pictures, We even persuaded mum and dad to join in.

Many a time people ask what happens when it rains, well if it rains on your wedding day we have to compromise and take images inside or use props such as umbrellas.

If it rains on the day your lifestyle session is booked as long as the session fee has been paid in full it can be rebooked at no extra charge. In some cases I leave the booking open and once the weather picks up I ring you to schedule a day your available.

Of course many people prefer lifestyle session during the summer months when clothing is lighter and children can be on the beach, Yet don’t dismiss Autumn and winter. I have completed a few wonderful sessions on autumn days with the wonderful tones of golds and reds. Winter has its own beauty dress up warm add a bright scarf and get out in the chilly frost or if your really lucky the snow.

Lifestyle means just that it captures your family style, how you interact together, how you laugh and have fun.

School summer holidays are fast approaching and to give people the chance of sampling a lifestyle session I have lowed my family session price to just £30, this offer will include a free print of your choice as well as the many options to purchase prints,canvas,other wall hanging options and photo-books.

Remember a Lifestyle photo session can take place where you like, maybe your garden, a park or beach, Maybe some where special to you. No upright studio poses no say cheese. What better way to capture the true spirit of your family and memories of your children that will last forever

Visit my website Andrea's photography or give me a call

I believe a photo session should be about what you want not what the photographer wants

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

2010-06-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

When you first purchase your DSLR and walk out of the shop with it. You do not purchase the skills or knowledge to make you a professional photographer. Your camera is just a tool.

These days you can hardly turn around without someone offering you training. You can go and find out about some new aspect of photography or simply brush up on your skills. There is so much choice

How do you decide whether you need training, what the right course might be for you and whether the course comes up to scratch or is a complete waste of money..

You need to be honest with yourself about where you are on a personal level, and what areas of your skills or business may need bolstering. It’s worth pointing out straight away that training is in no way an admission of weakness. The best photographers even those that have been big names for years take on training.

Be honest with yourself and take on the type of training you need. It maybe to further your business skills, or marketing skills

You may have just bought your first DSLR and want to get the most out of it Nikon

Training courses start from the very basic right through to one to one training

Speak to any photographer and almost all have had some aspect of training

So where do you start? That really depends on your skills.

You could start off taking an introduction course to digital photography

You could do an on line course with the Open university T189

You could join in photo answers free digital SLR skills

I highly recommend joining a camera/photographic club as these offer members many free workshops. Also most camera clubs have a few experts in different genres such as portrait, Landscape

If your seriously considering making your hobby a business.

Then a course in business and marketing is a crucial fist step. Many people do not realise that actually photography is about 10% of a pros work.

Marketing skills is one of the most important aspects of running a photography business.

Next would be understanding photo shop and creating a workflow. Understanding how to design albums and source products, How to create slideshows and on line galleries maybe build your own website.

Next would come hands on experience courses mainly done in small groups.

These can involve one day workshops working on lighting, wedding poses,portraits and many many more.

Training isn’t just for the professional you may just want to take better images of your family or have been asked to capture a friends wedding. Maybe you would like to produce better landscapes to hang on your wall or give to friends or abstract arty images to sell locally.

Some training course are run as photographic holidays

I have undertaken a fair amount of training myself in Lifestyle portraits, Wedding photography, business and marketing as well as training in photoshop and other digital media. This helps me give my clients the very best up to date products

USING FLASH ON A SUNNY DAY

2010-06-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

The sun is out the sky is blue and you have your camera ready to take pictures, maybe you want to get some pictures of your children having fun on the beach.

What a wonderful bright sunny day for you to be out on. What a nightmare for your camera.

Lots of friends ask me why when the sun is shinning do their photos come out so bad why are my children all dark?

Simple answer is your camera does not see the child or object you’re taking it reads the light and there is nothing much brighter then sunlight.

To expose people correctly in your pictures you need to use a flashgun, yes a flashgun on a sunny day

The term used is FILL FLASH you set your camera exposure for the light reading it takes then place your flashgun at 2/3 of its power and take your picture. Wow no harsh shadows on your subject.

You can also purchase a small 3 in 1 reflector to add a warming tone to a person skin or to deflect light from a flower.

If your on the beach remember sand and water to reflect light making the work for your camera even harder, At all times keep your camera free of sand and avoid salt water.

You may be down the beach when the sunsets how ever tempted you are DO NOT point your camera directly at the sun not only can it harm your eyes it also harms your lens. Focus your pictures slightly away from the sun to prevent lens damage. The digital camera lens is just like and eye and too much direct light will damage the lens.

If you have been asked to take a friends wedding pictures on a sunny day. Be warned sunshine is great for the bride, but not great for taking photos if you lack understanding of how your camera reads light.

If you do not understand fully your camera and lens you will end up with images that have over highlighted and lost detail in the dress, harsh shadows on the skin, over highlighted skin tones on the foreheads of people, unfortunately even with the best Photoshop equipment burnt out highlights can not be bought back.

It’s a one off day that you can’t retake if you get it wrong. This is why people pay the extra money for a professional

The Month of May A Time To Celebrate

2010-05-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

The month of May is named after the Greek Goddess Maia. This month is a time for celebration as after the long cold winter, flowers emerge and new grass and leafs start to grow.

In Britain May day marks the end of winter and the start of summer its a time to look forward to warmer brighter weather . Traditional May day celebrations include dancing around the maypole. Greenery was traditionally collected by children who then paraded around the village.

May day is the first Monday in May this year I spent my May day capturing the wedding celebrations of George and Caralyn at the beautiful Fennes Estate in Braintree. It was rather a breezy chilly day so this meant we had to make use of the beautiful interior of the Fennes, which is not a problem as the Fennes offers many a stunning backdrop.

Creative work: The weather has been great during May and allowed me some breathing space to get out and pursue a more creative side to my photography, "yes" I checked my journal and we have had more bright sunny weather than we have rain. To start with the late arrival of blue bells has meant a stunning prolonged display this year with forest floors awash with colour. Then of course the warmer days and shorter night have meant fields of vivid yellow oilseed covering the landscape. Along with this I noted almost every grass verge aglow with nodding dandelions. All the different shades of green and reds in the tress lead to a stunning spring. Not so great for any one flying but the volcanic ash produced some amazing sunsets and clear night skies.

MODEL SHOOT: I was also lucky to work this month with another great bunch of photographers and take part in a model shoot, I got to work with the lovely Layla and opted for a slight vintage effect on the photos

FAMILY TIME: The nice weather has meant a few day trips to the beach, Our favorite place for this is Walton on the Naze , We even had a picnic in the sunshine surrounded by buttercups and bird song.

A beautiful month

Oak Apple day Is another celebration that takes place on the 29th May . The reason for wearing oak apples or oak leafs was to celebrate the Kings narrow escape from capture by Cromwells soldiers .
Until well into the twentieth century anyone caught not wearing an oak apple or oak leaf on the 29th May could be pinched kicked or whipped with stinging nettles , Hence in some villages the day is known as nettle day, "OUCH"

Being A Photographer

2010-05-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me why I want to be a photographer an area of work already over subscribed. What did I first do to become a photographer?

well it isnt as easy as just picking up a camera and firing off a few shots.
or buying a pro level camera and walking out the shop saying well now I will take better pictures.
No photography doesn't work like that.

I originally trained and shot on film, then took a break to have my family.
Along then comes the wonderful world of digital, putting control back in to the photographers hands, No more relying on film labs to decided how and what colour your image should be.

Then comes the hard part of course anyone can take a picture its not hard now a days with camera and portrait modes but take those pre set modes away could any one still take a good picture?

So firstly I set out to understand how my digital camera sees the world its grey did you know that? cameras dont see a colour image every thing is grey, cameras cant separate white from black. dont believe me try it yourself with three bits of paper, white,grey and black. set your camera into M yes thats manual set metering mode to spot ,aperture at F16 and make sure the exposure is 00 now take each piece of paper without changing the settings,

Do you get white, grey and black,? NO you just get three shots of grey paper

so learning how your camera perceives light is the first lesson.

Rules of thirds is another lesson everything some how some way follows this rule even a human face
Composition where do you place the subject in the frame in the middle? NO
POV and angle all this is important do you always fire off shots from the same position ?

All that is the easy bit, then we come to posing people yes even the best shots are posed a good photographer can pose people without them even knowing its been done.
This way you get wonderful naturally looking shots with no shadows or highlights the skin tone remains even and smooth.

After you have mastered your tool or paint brush then you can start on mastering photo-shop . I see to many amateur over cooked images, where saturation is far to high, what looks good on your monitor may well look awful when its printed

so before you even start in photo shop I recommend a colour monkey, to set your monitors colour correctly for photo production.

So now we have spent a good 12 months mastering photo-shop,
what about printing? do you print your own? if so on what?
If you purchase a printer for photos that your taking for clients then dont look at any printer priced under £600.00.
On the other hand you could upload your prints to on line labs, shame these image will only last between 10 and 25 years.

If your a serious photographer offering your clients the very best then you need to find yourself a master printer.

So after two years we feel yes I can take a great image and use photo-shop with easy and quickly and have found a great printer what next?

Start your own business , its simple not as easy as building a website and thinking everyone will be flocking to it, or uploading images to websites for all to view.

How are you going to market your business? What type of client are you aiming for?
what can you offer your clients that stands out from 100,s of other photographers in the area?
Do you know where to source the top range albums from, quality modern frames?
Do you know how to create a smooth work flow? Guess its another 12 months of more training then.

Eventually your ready and you get asked by a friend to shoot a friends wedding, great your away, Oh dear its raining, you cant take images inside your not allowed,
Oh no Aunt Lilly tripped over your camera bag and cant stand up an ambulance has to be called, Every one charges in front of the bride blocks your view just as you are about to fire off that confetti shot .

A friend of a friend has had a baby can you do the shots of the new born and his toddler brother?
Yes you say of course I can, baby screams and screams, toddler keeps pulling on your camera strap, you give up with the baby to try and get some shots of the toddler, you try and make him laugh just as he promptly picks up his cup of orange juice and the liquid spills all over you and your camera, you slip on the wet floor breaking a prize vase

I have spent about 5 years training learning working with top photographers, I have passed exams and had work printed in photography magazines. I know and understand all my equipment. I only purchase the best professional cameras and lenses .

I have a whole support network of back up photographers if I,m ill and cant make a wedding
I have attended training and course on running a small business.
I,m also fully insured

This is one simple reason I wont and I cant shoot a wedding for £150.00, I dont do any other job during the week apart from spending time editing my clients images.
I,m not a plumber Monday to Friday and a cheap wedding photographer on Saturdays.

I am a photographer an artist dedicated to producing the finest quality image possible

So please dont think that anybody with a camera is going to give you images like you see in magazines or billboards, or even be able to offer you top quality albums or coffee table books

Think hard about your photographer meet them , talk to them look at their work, Are they artists or sales person??

THE SUN HAS GOT HIS HAT ON

2010-04-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

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

FAMILY PHOTO SESSION

2010-04-19T03:25:00.000-07:00

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

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR WEDDING

2010-04-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

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.

WHAT IS A LIFESTYLE PORTRAIT

2010-04-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

TEEN LADS PHOTO SESSION

2010-04-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

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

TRASH THE DRESS SESSION

2010-03-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

I traveled all the way to the boarders of Norfolk/suffolk to do a trash the dress session with Mrs P,
We had great fun and got some very different type of wedding dress poses, some fun shots and some more serious cherish the dress shots

The idea of Trash the dress is not really to trash the dress unless of course you want to, what its aimed at is to give you a chance to wear your wedding dress again for an informal fun photo session

some ladies just love to have nice gentle romantic poses done some like to have fun and do things they wouldnt do in their wedding dress, some ladies really do like to Trash the dress and will wear it as they wade into the sea

This is my first trash the dress session and is a service I will be offering clients

again the location is your choice what you do in your dress is your choice you can be as wild or reserved as you like

You can have princess pictures or you can wear wellies and jump in muddy puddles what ever you want to do, The main aim is a fun informal photographic session

Do contact me if you would like a trash/cherish the dress session

PRE-WEDDING SESSION

2010-03-21T15:51:00.001-07:00

What a glorious afternoon we had for the pre wedding session with Caralyn and George, soon to be married at the Fennes estate in Bocking

It was such great fun working with them today, and we introduced lots of new dynamic stuff into the photo session

Caralyn and George have been together 16 years and both are very excited about their forth coming wedding at the Fennes estate in Bocking.

The pre wedding session is relaxing and fun, we run through a few poses that I will use on the wedding day. My main aim from these sessions is to get my couples to relax and have fun, It also lets them see how i conduct myself and the style of images that I produce.

We had such a fun time the camera just loved Caralyn. It was great working with such a relaxed fun couple who are so very much in love.

Thank you for choosing Andrea;s photography to be there with you on your very special day

THE EYES ARE A WINDOW TO THE SOUL

2010-03-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me how I get the eyes in my images so clear, well I could tell you about some expensive software that can add brightness and sharpness, I could describe a long way round it in Photoshop or I could tell you the simple way that I get such lovely eyes.

How do I get such stunning eyes in my images, well of course it requires top professional equipment so firstly is a pro body camera, Next of course is a pro lens. A pro lens is not your £500.00 pound lens or your £900.00 pound lens, Great glass comes at a great price and yes you do get what you pay for.

My second tip is to turn off all in camera sharpening. Thats right turn it off you see the sharpness that you induce either in camera or in photoshop actually reduces the detail rather then increase it.

It does not help either that digital images are always much softer then film, so this is where those expensive lenses come in, The better quality the glass in the lens the sharper the image will be.

An understanding of ISO, and white balance are important, I dont tend to rely on my cameras pre-sets but use the Kelvin scale, the lower end of the Kelvin scale gives a warm redder tone and the higher end gives a cool bluish tone

File format is important to JPEG and TIFF are compression file formats so the images are processed in the camera and then squashed down into a smaller size to save space on the memory card. With JPEG the cameras computer removes self similar pixels, for example a large area of blue in a landscape,s sky thereby reducing the final size of the the file saved.

TIFF files are also compressed but they use a different compression method allowing files to be reduced by around 50%

I shoot in RAW which isnt a format at all but the RAW unprocessed image data from the camera its advantage is no compression or control of how the image looks put simply a RAW file is a digital negative

Focus and DOF are also very important to keep eyes bright and sharp always focus on the eyes dont rely on auto focus and turn any VR controls to off

I class myself as an artists, my camera body being my brush handle, my lens being the finest brush for without the finest brush I would create a harsh image

LETS MOVE TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS

2010-03-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful photo session with a small toddler yesterday, Her parents wanted natural non posed images to cherish, Capturing their daughter just being herself,

This would not have been possible in the confined space of a studio with its harsh lighting

The outside world is the best studio on offer one huge advantage is photographic sessions can be arranged anywhere, from your garden, to a park or beach, or any where that you desire

To many photographers are stuck in the Victorian style of stiff posed photo shoots,
while this may be what some people want more and more clients are wanting images that capture the essence of their family

What better way to capture true images that represent the real you,than to be some where you love and are relaxed and whats more some where you can have fun

Of course photos like this take effort from the photographer but from the family you can just get on with being natural no forced posing no forced smiles

The emphasis on my session is about having fun.
To me its important that the person being photographed is totally at ease and this can not be achieved in a hot studio.

FREE SESSION VOUCHERS

2010-03-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

My free session vouchers are now available in many stores in Braintree, Join the baby club at Little Tinkers in George yard and you will receive your free session vouchers.
Image prices start from £15.00 lots of other options are available to keep those precious baby memories for ever including small photo books, or framed prints

Planning your wedding how about a free pre wedding session , when you book your wedding with me once you have paid your booking deposit you will get a free pre wedding session worth £75.00 . Also newly available this year is the wedding signature board your favorite engagement or pre wedding picture mounted in either a white board with a black pen or a black board with a silver pen, This makes a great option to the normal wedding guest books, Once signed the wedding signature board can be framed and mounted on the wall, prices start at £35.00

There will be some great new products and services added to our website soon

Mothers Job

2010-03-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

POSITION: Mother

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long-term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24-hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends, away sports matches and occasional visits to casualty. Travel expenses not reimbursed.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Must provide on-the-site training in basic life skills, such as nose-blowing and shoe-tying.

Must have strong skills in negotiating, conflict resolution and crisis management. Ability to treat flesh wounds a plus.

Must be able to think outside of the box but not lose track of the box, because you most likely will need it for a school project. Must reconcile petty cash disbursements and be proficient in managing budgets and resources fairly, unless you want to hear, 'He got more than me' for the rest of your life.

Also, must be able to drive motor vehicles safely under loud and adverse conditions while simultaneously practicing above-mentioned skills in conflict resolution. Must be able to withstand criticism, such as 'You don't know anything.'

Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs extra pocket money for the cinema.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the garden are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zips. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and co-ordinate production of multiple homework projects.

Must have ability to plan and organise social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name.

Must have diverse general knowledge, so as to answer questions such as `What makes the wind move?? spontaneously.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left.

The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, the job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

To Mothers every where old and young may God bless you for the work you do 365 days of the year 24 hours day

FREE BABY PHOTO SESSION

2010-02-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

To support and help promote new small business,s in Braintree, I am offering a voucher to customers of Little Tinkers ,This voucher will entitle you to a photo session worth £75.00.

Once you have your voucher call me, and i will arrange a time and date that is convenient to you. As all photographs are taken in your home so baby is in familiar calm surroundings, No need to rush or bring baby out in the cold,

The session allows for a number of pictures and clothing changes,

All I ask from you is that the room is warm and you have an area where there is plenty of natural light. For babies comfort I recommend warming any hard surface that you may want to lay baby on and make sure blankets and white towels are clean and warm.

I will take you details and once your proof images are ready will call you back to arrange a convenient time to come to your home so you can view your images

Picture prices start from £15.00

There are arrange of choices from canvas prints through to bespoke framed images

Charity Disco

2010-02-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

I had such a wonderful time on Friday the 12 Feb, I was asked to photograph a charity disco for young disabled people age range 12-16. I can honestly say I have never seen such a collection of smiles.

Everyone had a really good time and the dance floor was never empty. In fact all the young people danced very well and boy there was some complicated dancing going on.

I love this part of photography to be able to share and give something back, All the people were a delight to work with and enjoyed having their pictures taken posed and reportage candid style

A big Thank you to a special young man whom helped with my equipment and fetched me endless drinks

Of course my daughter had a great time and danced the evening away

Thank you for the opportunity and it was an honor to photograph so many happy wonderful young people

WEDDING ART

2010-02-10T01:52:00.000-08:00

After some consideration and looking at what is on offer in the USA I have decided to offer my clients the option of wedding art. This could be either for an image in an album or an image framed to hang on the wall

As wedding art takes a considerable amount of time This will be at extra cost to your wedding collection

Wedding art from Andreas Photography is a new concept and each image will be a unique one off art work

Wedding art can be added to your collection please do contact me for further information

The lovely Hannah and her dad

2010-02-04T02:23:00.000-08:00

I did a studio session with Hannah and her Dad Dave, Hannah is such a lovely young lady to work with and very relaxed in front of the camera, Dad on the other hand was not so sure about having his picture taken

Once we got dad to relax a bit I got some wonderful images capturing the love shared between father and daughter

I shed a little tear or two when I looked at the images and wished I had some done with my dear dad Unfortunately I wont ever get that chance

I have titled the image "Dad your guiding hand upon my shoulder will remain forever"

It was great being able to do portraits of grown up children as you can see a special bond between father and daughter
I would like to say Thank you to Hannah and Dave for letting me work with them to capture these beautiful memories of the special bond shared between father and daughter

All New For 2010

2010-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to be invited by Jeff Turnbull whom is Essex,s premier wedding photographer to spend 6 months under his wing on a mentoring program.

This will enable me to move my business forward, Along with helping me with marketing and a client data base and pricing details

2010 sees many great advantages to my clients, not only have I upgraded my camera body to a top of the range high quality professional camera I have also added many prime professional lenses

To offer even high quality products I now supply Graphistudio wedding books and Ultimat framing service

All images in the top wedding collection and portrait collection will now be printed by hand on superb high quality paper by a master printer

I am looking so forward to moving my business on and being able to offer my clients some of the best photographic products in the world

FINDING WHAT RIGHT FOR 2010

2009-12-30T03:13:00.000-08:00

This time of year is just as busy for me, with 2010 approaching fast i need to come up to date
Finding new suppliers, giving my web site a revamp, checking pricing,with the new VAT increase, sorting out advertising , the list goes on

Problem is all these little things take a lot of time

I have learnt one lesson this week from a visit to a prospective client that just having a web based portfolio isnt enough, I now need to get a printed version

Deciding on which wedding album to supply there are so many out there in price ranges from £50 to over £2000

Updating my processing software is another minefield, Having tried the free trials and found the software does not deliver what is promised

Purchasing of new lenses yes lenses wear out, To get the best shots i use professional glass , that does not come cheap around the £2000 mark for a good quality lens

going over ever aspect to make sure i always deliver what clients want

Did i hear Christmas is a time to relax??? Maybe next year

CHOOSING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

2009-12-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

This is a question that i hear many times, How do i choose the right Photography?
Some photographers spend a small fortune on advertising, some dont, some photographers only shoot weddings but a lot of photographers all so do portraits and other types of photography.

How do I choose my photographer?

Ok so now a lot of people can afford to go and buy a good camera, but if my Gran bought a trowel I wouldn't trust her to build a house.
so owning a camera doesn't make you a photographer, just like owning a trowel doesn't make you a builder.
WEDDINGS
Once you have decided on a firm date for your wedding you can begin approaching your choice of photographers to see if they are available. It is worth starting your search for a photographer early, as the better photographers will become booked up quickly. It is important that you view photographer's work before you book them for your wedding. Never book over the phone.

Have a clear idea of what you require:

Would you like traditional or more journalistic style of photographs or a mixture of both?

Do you want exclusively formal shots or would some relaxed photographs of friends and family help you to remember the whole day?

Would you like some portraits of special people taken at home on the morning of the wedding, where you can ensure everything looks perfect (the photographer could visit you both separately)?

Are there some people you would like your photograph taken with apart from the traditional selection? For example are some of your guests traveling from another country who you see rarely?

Are you inviting an old friend that you had a photograph with when you were very young that you could update on your wedding day?

Would you like all colour shots, black and white or shots using other effects such as sepia toning?

Questions To Ask:
Remember, it is important to discuss all of your requirements with your photographer. They can do a much better job of your wedding photographs if they are totally aware of your hopes for the final outcome. Consider taking examples of photographs from friends' weddings or sketches so you are clearly understood. Leave as little to chance as possible.

Here are some important questions to ask the photographer.

Ask if the person you are meeting will be the person there on your wedding day. If not, ask to met the actual photographer and see some examples of their work. If this is resisted, be a little concerned.

If you meet an alternative photographer from the same company, ask the same questions. Don't assume the same standards or experience as their partner or employer.

Ask if the photographer has professional indemnity insurance to cover the cost of retaking your photographs if something goes horribly wrong. If the photographer does not have insurance, you should take out your own wedding insurance policy to cover such an eventuality.

Find out how long the photographer spends taking their shots after the ceremony and/or at the reception. There isn't really a standard time for this, you should decide before you visit the photographer how long you think it is acceptable to keep your guests waiting, and see how close the photographer's estimate comes to yours.

Ask how the photographer copes if the weather is not as beautiful as you hope. Here it will help if the photographer has worked at your wedding and reception venues previously and knows the local area.

- Consider having a pre-wedding photo shoot. This gives you and your photographer a chance to get to know each other a bit better and you will feel more prepared for the big day!

Above all remember your wedding is unique so viewing a photographers work is only an idea of the images the photographer offers, A good caring photographer will work around your needs, making your images special and unique to you

PORTRAITS A QUESTION OF PRICE

2009-11-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Q) Why do I as a photographer charge more for my portraits then, photographers that do portraits in high street shops?

A)Because I dont beg for business, I dont have offer saying portraits NOW £25.00 was £125.00, sounds to good to miss that type of offer, but sit and think for a minute
you will take your child to a high street shop, the image will be taken on a camera previously set up and connected to a PC , After 3 to 4 shots your session is finished,

You will pay your £25.00 and be given a card to come back in a fortnight,

On return you will be given one 7x5 image, now comes the shocker , on a large screen or even in the sales persons hands will be the other images of your child starting at £65.00 each, They will be destroyed if you dont purchase them . so thats 4 images at £65.00, so you duly hand your card over to the sales person and pay another £260.00, so your 5 minute portrait session and 5 images have cost you £285.00.

Did the photographer spend time getting to know you? Did they spend time amusing your child? was there time for a change of clothing? did the photographer discuss your needs what you wanted from this session?

I can answer that NO
These people are not photographers they have to be skilled in sales

Portraits should be an investment, a true portrait should capture the spirit of the person, a portrait is something to treasure when your little baby leaves home, you should still have portraits to cherish

I take time i meet with my clients i talk to them about what they want, They smile in my images because they are happy not because i asked them to smile, I am a photographer an artists I create beautiful images to cherish

Will i fool you? no,. will i charge the earth? NO, will you have options of how your prints are displayed? YES

You see i am a photographer not a sales rep
Next time you want a portrait done just think for a minute and ask yourself what do i really want from my portrait session, Do you want to que for a 5 minute session?

or do you want a relaxed session to fit around you and your family in a place of your choice, with images to cherish
With a session starting at £65.00 and print prices from £15.00, I am actually cheaper and offer more

Studio shoot

2009-11-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

wow another week flown by, I am not a lover of dark morning short days and dark evening
means now some work has to be studio based,
I am debating on getting a green screen this seems to be the all new photographers studio tool,

A nice pop up background would be much easier then assembling the backdrop support when I visit clients, But then would a pop up background leave space to pose ? oh so hard making my mind up

I like my studio sessions to be fun, heres one i did earlier this week with a young girl, she was quick to relax and enjoy her session and we got some great fun expressive shots, and all done in the warm,

Dad enjoyed the session as well I aim more towards contemporary portraits to capture the natural personality of my clients , The aim is to have fun,

Maria And Andy

2009-11-05T03:14:00.000-08:00

Maria and Andy picked me to to be their wedding photographer , We had a a lovely day not weather wise as the heavens decided to open, Maria was very nervous

It gave me a chance to put all my camera skills into practice and I captured some wonderful moments for them to cherish their special day for years to come

Took a break

2009-11-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

We have been away to Devon, taking in the beautiful Autumn colours , spending time on the dramatic coast and having walks on Dartmoor, as well as the odd Devon cream tea

Had a nice relaxing time, all apart from the caravan we stayed in, which was rather disgusting with mold growing up the walls and curtains. I certainly recommend you do NOT stay at Devon Cliffs resort,
they had run out of food and the camp shop was empty just a few pricey goods on the shelves

As for the staff whom one told me was very experienced as she had worked for Haven since May 2009, she among the others were the most unhelpful group of people i have ever encounter, very rude and with attitude like Vicky Pollard,

Its a shame as I always opt to stay on Haven sites great base and good evening entertainment, but not at this site

In fact unless Haven sort out the mess and the fact it cost me twice as much for a short break then it cost me for 10 days in July , i shall never use them again

E-session

2009-10-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

Oh what a day, I mean a bad day weather wise rain rain and more rain,
today i had an E-session which i normal do outside, Unfortunately the groom to be had pneumonia so had to be kept in the warm, and the lovely bride to be had recently had a stroke

This meant studio lighting a small room, The couple still wanted images done though they were not feeling 100%, I just did a small session with them.

This is where as a photographer I have to be prepared, On days like this when everything is against you and your clients

They still want me to do their wedding which is great as they are a lovely couple and i am looking so forward to this as i am sure it will be an amazing day and we will get some images to treasure

Checking out wedding venues

2009-10-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Its all ways so important to check out venues prior to a wedding,

I have photographed wedding here in the summer but the Autumn light makes the area look so different

Places where the sun streamed in during the summer months are now void of much light, so a few test shots tell me what i will need to take with me on the day

A good photographer knows how the tools work, they dont fiddle around with settings they know by the light what settings to use.

its no good making mistakes on someone's special day it has to be right

I rely on myself and my camera to get it right not on photo-shop to correct mistakes

so test shots done ISO settings indoors and out doors are as i expected them to be, meaning i can capture my couple in a relaxed way without having to worry about the light

What a week!! Swine flu saga

2009-10-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

Oh dear oh dear, I havent had time this week to update my blog, my little girl has had the dreaded swine flu, well so the doctor said who would not come out and see her.
He just told me to ring the national flu hotline, where you have to answer some questions put to you by a Doctor err no a uni student studying English. If you answer yes to any of the below four questions then you have swine flu
1) does the patient have a temperature ? A) YES
2) does the patient have a sore throat? A) YES
3) Is the patient more tired then normal? A) YES
4) Does the patient have a headache? A) YES

so according to uni student my daughter has Swine flu, he then goes on to issue me with a top secret number to obtain Tami flu

er so my daughter has now been prescribed a drug which has all sorts of side effects and a doctor hasnt seen her!!!!

I duly phone my GP on Monday as she is still ill but chirpy in between calpol . "sorry I cant come out keep her on the Tami-flu" says the GP but i havent even gone and got the tami-flu stuff

Wednesday comes daughters sore throat is getting worse oh my her tonsils are covered in white yucky stuff, it does not take a doctor to see this child has tonsillitis well to cut the story short it wasnt until Friday a GP would bravely venture out to see her after my constant phone calls, yes he arrived wearing a mask and rubber gloves, I felt like painting a red warning cross on my door

here is what he said " Oh she does not have Swine flu she has Tonsillitis " shock horror guess mum was right all along then

moral to GP,s a parent knows its child better then anyone else, we also know when our kids are ill
I wouldnt advice anyone to take an immune destroying drug such as Tami-flu without making sure you do have Swine flu

A good test is get a friend to wave a million pound outside your window if you really can not lift a finger towards it then you are ill with flu, If every joint hurts so much and your head is so bad breathing hurts and you really cant move then you have flu
if you just feel chitty and have a sore throat runny nose but can get up for the loo and drink a cup of tea then its a cold
Men get man flu this is totally different to what women and children suffer from, its a form of attention seeking and feeling sorry for themselves and is usually nothing more then a slight cold, If a man can complain and make moaning grunting noises then he has Man flu, nothing more.

treatment for this is 24 hours of being sympathetic to him there after just kick his butt and he will be cured

Hardest photographic subject of them all yourself

2009-10-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

To be a good photographer you need to portray people and objects well, Self portraits seem to be an in thing at the moment, so I thought why not give it ago,
GEE its hard
armed with tripod and remote shutter fire i have set out this week to try and capture the inner me

The moods, emotions, the real person that makes me
I am a mum cuddly, wrinkly middle aged
Inside i am 16 fun outgoing impulsive and a little eccentric
its very hard to capture that
My image of self today was moody, I was feeling down as had tons of washing and house work to do
A beautiful day wasted apart from a trip to the park with my younger two kids this afternoon

putting myself in front of the camera is giving me a new insight into how people behave on a shoot, made me think about what is the best capture, Is putting my camera skills to the test creating lighting and moods, Its fun but also very embarrassing
I recommend this for any photographer to try as its very challenging

Lifestyle portraits

2009-10-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

A session yesterday in the beautiful village of Finchingfield in Essex, This was for an older client a group of people that seem to shy away from having their picture taken, I personally would encourage them to have a photo session done, It relaxing and fun and you get a nice cup of tea depending on your location choice

This session was done so mum ,wife and grown up family have some images to treasure

Heres a sneak preview of an image from the session

Camera Club and portrait session

2009-10-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

well busy busy busy still. Had a portrait session which is the last by one for babies first year book, I must say its been a pleasure being apart of this little girls first year, I have built up a great relationship with the family, The mum even asked me if she can pre book me for a wedding in about 25 years time :)

I told her she will have to opt for my son whom will follow in my footsteps

I attend the Great Notley Camera club this week, Its a club that started with a handful of strangers and has now grown in strength its members produce some excellent images

Its always interesting to meet up with other photographers, as each one has different skills and likes and dislikes

I guess today I best fill out my TAX return form dreaded paper work

Lost Blog and busy

2009-10-06T03:36:00.000-07:00

Sounds good really yes i lost my original blog, Get a new password i hear you say, i would do but have lost my long time email pass word, Yes my windows PC decided its life was over its little light went out and that was in,

repair cost did not warrant the expense and I had typically saved everything on the computer
what i have learn t windows is so unstable hence now i work on MAC, computers are not reliable so now have a little pass word book

I am now a convert to MAC its so much faster for my processing needs and does not crash or ask me to wait while windows does this or that, easy to move files just drag and drop simple.

Unfortunately now it means my daily blog has been lost hence the mighty three postings on this one

well whats new
I have my own make up and hair stylists fully qualified six years experience with cosmetic companies, working on make up for films and TV,

she also does bridal make up as well as extreme make overs

so a new service will be offered to clients for a make over portrait session and I will also be able to offer my brides to be a full make up and hair service as well as being their wedding photographer

In the new year i plan to offer wedding stationary as well which will save couples even more money giving them an all in one package price

I also think i will be the first photographer in Braintree to offer this service

so its a busy time of year with winter approaching and Autumn almost in full swing, making some lovely light and backdrops for outside portrait sessions

Smash The Cake Session

2009-09-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today i had the most fun ever and this is why I love photographing children,
I did a smash the cake session for Sophie's, 1st Birthday, Its more an idea that started in America but is taking on fast over here

Sophie,s images are private for clients only, but if you want to do this a huge bright cake is a must and washable backdrops, so much fun and oh so much mess

New Actions Installed

2009-09-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Busy day today fixing my computer and installing some new actions

Tillys Photo session

2009-09-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Photographing children can be a challenge on its own, photographing disabled children even more of a challenge, But hey we had fun, here s a sneak at Tillys photos, she was a great little model and really good