Archive February 2021

Stunning Wedding Photography,

Posted on in Wedding photography

Stunning Wedding Photography

It’s not hard to provide stunning wedding photography when you are blessed with a beautiful bride.   Even easier when she is dressed in one of the most incredible wedding dresses I’ve ever seen.   Bearing in mind I’ve been a leading wedding photographer in the UK for nearly 20 years, I’ve seen quite a few!   The dress was made by the insanely talented Fiona Clare Couture.

Whilst I take a mixture of colour and black & white photos of the whole day, I generally prefer black and white for the ‘classic’ portraits such as this.  I find colour too distracting.  You end up studying the colours of the flowers, or wallpaper etc.  Black and white wedding portrait photography is timeless, classic and captures the mood of the day so much more effectively.   Where possible, I also love to work with natural light which I find much softer.  It also enables me to work really fast, which is one of the key skills for a wedding photographer.

I took this portrait just before leaving for Sherborne Abbey.  We only had a few minutes to spare.  But long enough to lay out her lace coat in a perfect circle.  I love how the tiara mirrors this circle.

Please do visit my wedding gallery to see more examples of my wedding photography.  And please email me if you are interested in finding out more about the packages I offer as a wedding photographer.  Please include your date, location of the ceremony & reception, timings, and approximate number of guests so I can send you a bespoke quote.  Alternatively, you can call me on 07815 750 141 to discuss your day in more details.

 

 

 

Stunning Teenage Portrait photography Berkshire

Posted on in Children photography, Portrait photography

Teenage Portrait Photography shoot in Berkshire

This image from a teenage portrait photography shoot in Berkshire is one of my favourites from last summer. Children portraiture isn’t always about capturing a smile. Indeed many of my favourite portraits are the more serious shots. They eyes are the windows to our souls.  It is a portrait photographer’s role to capture the essence of their models. And no better way to do this than a striking portrait where there is a real connection visible in their expression. This portrait stops me in my tracks every time I look at it.

As with all my children and family photoshoots, I provide a variety of images: striking portraits or them individually and together with their siblings, as well as a range of more candid, fun and spontaneous images which are more story telling images.   Many photographers struggle with teenage portrait photography, providing rather static staged and soulless images.  But as my children have grown up into teenagers themselves, I have found I enjoy photographing older children and teenagers as much as I do young children.  They may not be as spontaneous and unpredictable as the latter, but I have found my connection with them, they are so rewarding to photograph.

Please do explore my website to see more examples of my children, teenage and family photography.  If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but travel all over the country.   And I’m also regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

young girl on swing

Posted on in Children photography, Family photography, Portrait photography

Outdoor Children Photography

Although many of my photoshoots involve activities indoors and outdoors, there are times when my clients have a specific location in mind.  Somewhere that encapsulates an era in their children’s life.  On this occasion, the family were moving house and school.  So it seemed fitting to have an outdoor children photography shoot in the grounds of Cheam Prep school, Newbury, Berkshire, where the girls had both been at school.

We started the shoot by playing lots of games in the main grounds, using the beautiful avenue and stunning gardens as backdrops.   And then headed to the fabulous outdoor play area, which offers an abundance of entertainment.   We had so much fun.    Playgrounds are perfect locations for outdoor children photography.   I love to capture the children’s adventurous spirit whilst they explore, climb, slide and swing.  Indeed we explored every nook and cranny, climbed every ladder, slid down every slide, and swung high into the skies.   I find static swing shots can look as void of emotion as motion and prefer to capture them moving.  This is obviously more challenging photographically but nothing beats that feeling of wind through your hair as you swing high and low.

This shot was one of my favourites. I absolutely love it.  There is so much joy, energy and movement.   You can feel her excitement at reaching high into the sky.  It’s an image that is full of emotion and spirit.   It can’t help but make you smile when you look at and remind you of those exhilarating feelings of ‘flying high’ when you were little.   This is what I strive to provide in my children photography sessions.

For more examples of my children photography, please do visit my children, teenage and family galleries.   Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss the possibility of me coming to your home and photographing your children and family.

Editorial photoshoot of David Morgan-Hewitt for Country Life Magazine

Posted on in Commercial Headshots, Corporate photography, Editorial photography, Portrait photography

Editorial photoshoot of David Morgan-Hewitt

This editorial photoshoot of David Morgan-Hewitt, Managing Director of the Goring Hotel, was commissioned by Country Life Magazine to accompany a feature on ‘Desert Island Wines’.   I met David almost a decade ago, at the Goring, when I was photographing the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding!   A very memorable experience for us both so we had lots to talk about.    I love to chat to my models, and hear about their interests and passions.  This enables me to capture ‘real’ portraits, which ooze personality, spirit and genuine emotion.   I am hoping this portrait portrays his charm, wit and kindness.

The shoot took place at his home in Wells, Somerset, with his cellar providing the perfect backdrop.  It also provided another talking point!   I LOVE wine and was in my element learning about all his favourite wines.

We chose a sitting pose to keep it informal and show off his red socks!  I then placed my camera on a tripod to avoid distorting horizontal and vertical lines, and to enable me to engage more freely in conversation.   The room was quite a squish, with barely any room for a light.   So I removed the soft box and bounced the light off the top corner.   This lit the room and his face perfectly.

For more examples of my portrait and editorial photoshoots, please do have a look at my adult, commercial and editorial pages on my website.    Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you be interested in booking a portrait shoot with me.

Children photoshoot near Newbury, Berkshire

Posted on in Animal photography, Children photography, Family photography, Portrait photography

Children photoshoot near Newbury, Berkshire

The saying never work with animals or children would put me almost instantly out of a job!   As a children photographer, I find myself working with both all the time, and thankfully I love it!   In fact I find the spontaneity that comes with pets often results in my favourite photographs from the day.   This portrait from a children photoshoot near Newbury, Berkshire, is a classic example.   The way the girl is rolling her head back exudes pure joy, love and happiness.  I also love the dog’s crossed paws and patient expression.   No doubt this is a result of  years of being smothered with love, poked and prodded.

I often start a shoot with a ‘lightly’ staged group shot of you all together.  I find it best to do this first thing when the children are fresh and most co-operative.   It also provides a fall back if we don’t succeed in capturing a spontaneous family portrait.   But I like to spend the majority of the shoot photographing your children at play, inside and outside.   This might include cuddling their pets, climbing a tree, riding a bike, a game of cards, cooking etc.  Whatever takes their fancy.  These provide wonderful opportunities to capture informal and spontaneous images which best reflect your children’s personalities.   They are also wonderful ‘story telling’ images which will remind you of their childhood.

Many of my clients opt for a photo album which includes all the images from the shoot.    These are lifetime heirlooms which you will treasure forever.   They can be any size, but I usually offer 12″ x 12″ as I find square the best format to display photographs.   They can be embossed on the front and spine, and handbound in either pellaq or leather.   My printer has the royal warrant, so it goes without saying that the paper is lovely and thick and the end result is top notch.

Please do get  in touch if you are are thinking of booking a family or children photoshoot.   I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.   Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of children and portrait photography.

Wedding photography in Hertfordshire

Posted on in Wedding photography

Wedding photography in Hertfordshire

Wedding photography can be really stressful but it is also immensely rewarding.  It is a huge honour to be involved in such an important and intimate day.  As a consequence, I think I get as nervous and excited as the bride.   But nerves are a good thing for photographers.  They make us alert and quick so we don’t miss a thing.

One of my favourite moments of the day, is just before the bride leaves for the church.  This quiet before the storm is the perfect time to take a beautiful portrait of the bride.    I took this portrait of Rose, in a Stuart Parvin wedding dress, holding a Tattie Rose bouquet, in a north facing drawing room.   I find north facing light softer and leaves lovely dark backdrops.   The result is a timeless stunning portrait of a bride, bursting with anticipation and excitement of the day ahead.   The epitome of beauty.

Whilst I photograph the whole day in colour, I invariably convert all my favourite portraits of the bride and groom into black and white.    I feel this captures the romance and mood of the day so much more effectively.

Please do visit my wedding gallery to see more examples of my wedding photography.  If you are interested in me photographing your wedding, please do email me with your date, location of the ceremony & reception, timings, and approximate number of guests so I can send you a bespoke quote.  Or, if easier, you can call me on 07815 750 141 to discuss your day in more details.   I’m based in Dorset but travel throughout the country, photographing weddings regularly in Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and further afield too.

Dorset family photoshoot - siblings in a landrover

Posted on in Children photography, Family photography, Portrait photography, Sibling photography

Children and family photoshoot in Dorset

This portrait is from a children and family photoshoot I did last summer (2020) in Motcombe, Dorset.    I can’t wait to get back out and do more children and family shoots again, I really miss them.   I’m all the more excited as to try out my new and utterly amazing Canon Mirrorless camera system and lenses.

Every parent loves a portrait of their children together.    Whilst many of my favourite images result from spontaneity, a more ‘staged’ approach is sometimes the best way to capture four children and their dogs.   I found the father’s landrover to be the perfect rural backdrop for this portrait.   I love its informality and the way the door frames the siblings.  It also will remind them of their childhood trips.  There is something so special about a landrover.  Rather like a VW campervan epitomises festivals and young travellers, landrovers are about family country life.   I love to incorporate animals in my children and family photoshoots.  They not only keep everyone more relaxed, they often also add spontaneity to the portrait.

Children and family bookings are flowing in for this summer so if you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch.  I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country.  I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.   Do also look at some more examples of my children, teen and family photography to give you a  more extensive feel of my style of children and family photography.

Candid children photo shoot Gloucestershire

Posted on in Children photography, Family photography, Portrait photography

Candid portrait from a children photoshoot

This is a candid portrait from a children photoshoot near Burford in Gloucestershire.  It also reminds me of the fun we had that day.   We bounced on beds, played hide & seek in the laundry basket and cupboards, choo chooed trains along their train track etc.  And we did all this before we went outside for more games and a lovely walk.  I took this photo during a game of ‘I spy with my little binoculars’.  It makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it.  Perhaps because of the way the younger brother is holding his binoculars in a closed position.  No idea what he saw through them.  But that didn’t matter as he was pretending to be as grown up as his big brother!

I also take beautiful and timeless portraits of the children together and apart during the shoot.   But these candid portraits capture the essence of their personalities.  They also create lasting timeless memories of what they loved to do in the home they grew up in.  And they are often the ones I love the most as they are so rich in nostalgia.

Our childhood memories are often the most mundane – lying on a favourite sofa with the dog, playing lego, hiding behind our parents’ bedroom curtains, reading a book with mummy, helping Daddy in the garden.   So when I’m taking photos at your home, I love to photograph your children both indoors and outside.  I often prefer inside light for portraiture, especially on a sunny day.  So don’t worry if it’s raining.   We can still capture so many wonderful memories inside and there is almost always a dry spell when we can get outside and splash in puddles!

If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch.  I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.   Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.

stunning wedding photographs hertfordshire

Posted on in Wedding photography

Stunning wedding photographs in Hertfordshire

Whilst I’m a Dorset based portrait and wedding photographer, I still get to travel all round the UK to capture stunning wedding photographs.    This images is from a family with four daughters near Peterborough in Hertfordshire.    Sadly I didn’t know them when the eldest was married, but I went on to photograph the next three daughters.  Each of whom were as stunning and lovely as each other.   It’s a true privilege to photograph to photograph such an intimate and important day in someone’s life.  And even more special to return to the same wonderful family three times.  I look forward to photographing all their delightful children in due course!

This image is of their 3rd daughter’s wedding.  It is is one of my favourite angles to capture at a wedding.  I love the way light streams through the flowers on the arch providing a paradisiacal garden to frame the bride and groom.  Whilst this photo worked well in colour too, I prefer black and white portraits of the bride and groom.  They capture the mood, intimacy and romance of the day so much better than colour.  I hope you like this as much as I do.

Please do visit my wedding gallery to see more examples of my wedding photography.   If you are interested in me photographing your wedding day, please email me with your date, location of the ceremony & reception, timings, and approximate number of guests so I can send you a bespoke quote.  Or, if easier, you can call me on 07815 750 141 to discuss your day in more details.

Wedding speeches

Posted on in Wedding photography

Speeches at a Dorset Wedding

I took this photo during one the speeches at a Dorset wedding.  It’s one of my favourite parts of the wedding day.  They are charged with so much emotion.  From pride, nostalgia, excitement and love, to sadness for those that could not be there, & the the inevitable highly entertaining stories which has everyone in stitches.    They make for wonderful photos that capture the spirit of the day. They are also the perfect time to take lovely portraits of family and guests, too busy listening to the speeches to notice the camera.   This bestman’s speech was one of the funniest I’ve ever heard.  And I have heard a lot!   The reactions of the bride & groom and the father of the bride say it all.

It was the wedding closest to home, near Sherborne in Dorset, I have ever photographed.   If our little rowing boat had less holes in it, still had an oar, and the river more water, I could have rowed up stream to their house in 5 minutes.   Instead it was a 2 minute drive and I arrived at both destinations dry!   The wedding service took place in Sherborne Abbey. with a reception in a lovely country house with stunning gardens.    You might find one or two other photographs from their wedding in my wedding gallery.

If you’re getting married and would like to consider booking me for as your wedding photographer, please do email me with your date, location of the ceremony & reception, timings, and approximate number of guests so I can send you a bespoke quote.   Alternatively, do call me on 07815 750 141 to discuss your day in more details.   Whilst based in Dorset, I travel throughout the South, photographing weddings regularly in Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and further afield too.