Baby Bump & Newborn Photoshoot

We were honoured to have photographed the lovely Hayley and Rich Phillips just over a week before little Austin arrived.  I was a little nervous before the shoot as it was our first ever baby bump shoot in our new studio, but my worries soon faded away as soon as we started to photograph the relaxed couple. It was really good fun, and we tried lots of different ideas.   Here's a couple of my faves ...

We were delighted to have received the news that little Austin had arrived just a week after the baby bump shoot! So we organised for the new-born shoot to take place only three days after he entered the world.  Once again nerves set in prior to the shoot because it was the first new-born we had ever photographed in the studio.  And once again I was silly to have got nervous and absolutely loved it!  The proud parents were an absolute pleasure to photograph, taking everything in their stride, total naturals!  Little Austin did brilliantly;  it’s really challenging to photograph such a tiny little baby as they wriggle a lot, but Austin was a pro and I managed to capture some lovely images for mum and dad to cherish forever.  I enjoyed this photo shoot  so much so, that it has now inspired me to invest in lots of fun props, hats and back drops to enable more creative new born options in the future.  Here are a couple of my favourite images from the photo shoot...

 

I'd like to thank Hayley, Rich and little Austin for being such awesome models and for allowing us to use the images on our blog and website :) x

Busy Busy Busy!

Hello folks.  Apologies for being quiet on the blog recently, it’s been a wonderfully busy time for me over the past couple of week with Hayley Phillips baby bump and the Phillips new born shoots, the Hanfords family shoot, the Christening of baby Ellis Appleby, the Langford’s family photo shoot, two girls rugby development days for the RFU, Chloe’s birthday party and receiving an email that one of my images has been selected for the final round again of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition!  I am buzzing! It's now the Easter holidays and I have two weeks to get up to date with all of the selecting and editing, so I will soon be posting about what I have been up to in more detail including a little taster of images over the next week. I can start with this though...

  50th Anniversary Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 Selection for Final Judging Round

I am super excited to have received this email informing me that one of my images has reached the final judging stages again! It's the 50th anniversary of the internationally renowned competition which makes it even more exciting! I am keeping the image a secret until I know how far it gets.  It would be a dream come true if it made it into the final gallery but I am over the moon that it has got this far too... fingers and toes crossed.

Baby Photography Fun :)

Have you ever heard of cake smashing!!?  ... I was introduced to the fun idea by my friend and cake designer extraordinaire Donna Hill. The theme involved a yummy cake, a baby and a shower curtain!! It was great! We made a make shift studio in the childrens playroom and Donna made one of her wonderful cakes which, as you can see by Joseph's face below, went down a treat! 

                                                                    Nom Nom Nom!

 Before the cake smashing, I took some cute portraits, again using the make shift home studio.  The background presented in the original RAW files came out too creased for my liking, but this wasn't a bad thing because it gave me the opportunity to play around with some post editing techniques using Photoshop. I was pleased with the results, especially managing to 'iron' out the background to give the images a more 'professional' look.  Here are a couple of our faves ...

                                                                 Teddy Bears Pic-Nic         

                                                           

                                                                 Like Father, Like Son!

The Wildlife Trust Regional Competition - 1st Runner Up

I am over the moon to have received an e-mail today saying that my image of 'Butterfly Close Up' came 1st runner up in the 'Life in Minature' category of the Glocestershire Wildlife Trust competition. I am also super excited to be informed that the results will be published in the winter edition of Wildlife Magazine.  Thank you so much to all that voted for my image; your support means so much to me ... and I am extremely flattered that the sender also quoted 'The judges really loved your image, so well done and congratulations!'  I am looking forward to receiving my prize and certificate soon :)

Here's the 1st Runner Up Image

   

Stratford-Upon-Avon Butterfly Farm

We visited the butterfly farm in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Sunday 3rd November and I put my macro lens to good use capturing some beautiful butterfly's.  Although their wings are stunning, I am more drawn to their faces and got up close to some right characters!

Here are some of my favorite images from my trip ...

I am also working on a little project turning my butterfly photos black and white and experiementing with different crops and I am excited with the images that are developing. I entered one of the images into a Wildlife Trust photo competition and it is currently in the finals! You can see my image (and please vote if you like it) at http://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/photocomp

Heres the photo thats in the finals ...

Roger Constant Lemaire Champagne / Ross Brawn Charity Evening - 27th September 2013

As a bit of a last minute affair, Chloe and I were asked to do a shoot for the amazing Champagne House that is Roger Constant Lemaire. Its a small Champagne house but they do some absolutely fantastic Bubbly! Roger Constant Lemaire were one of the sponsors of the charity evening that was held at BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) at Silverstone. They run a charity evening every year and invite someone famous in the motorsports industry to be the head guest. This year it was Ross Brawn - Boss of Mercedes Formula 1 Team.

It was an absolutely fantastic evening with lots of raffles and bids taking place on motorsport memorabilia! Lots of money was raised for charity and a good night was had by all! I got to meet some inspiring people in the industry and even shake Ross Brawn's hand! Such a fun night and we look forward to it next year.

http://www.rogerconstantlemaire.co.uk   /   http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com

Shirley And Craven's Big Day at Box End Park

We were fortunate enough to be asked to photograph for Shirley and Craven's Wedding. It was a fantastic day. The weather held out for everyone and the sun even came out for the group shots! They had their big day at Box End Park in Bedford. An amazing venue with great facilities and excellent food. We had a fantastic day and got some brilliant shots. A good day had by all.