February 2012
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jan
	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29

21st Birthday shoot

22/02/2012 by Anna.

A few weeks ago Alice and her mother came to me for a photo session on Alice’s 21st birthday.

At Alice’s request I found a local make-over artist and arranged for Hayley from EyeCandi (http://eyecandi-mobilebeautician.co.uk/) to come along to do her hair and makeup.

We all learnt a lot about the profession talking to Hayley and it was fascinating to watch her at work. After looking at the outfits that Alice had brought with her we decided on the order of them and the ‘mood’ that we would try to achieve using lighting, make-up and hair.

The first look was sophisticated with subtle make-up and a clean white backdrop:

The next dress was a lovely, flowery summer dress. It may have only been January but the sun was shining and Alice was game, so we went outside for some very natural, sunlit pictures.

A bit of pink eye make-up really complimented the dress colour and Alice looked gorgeous.

Next we went for a more smokey look. Hayley accentuated Alice’s eyes even more and I chose to use a black background and more hairlight for this sequence of images.

She also looked great against the white background.

We finished off with a lovely sexy wrapped up fur coat look:

It was a really fun couple of hours and I hope Alice is pleased with her images - a lovely reminder of this special birthday.

Posted in Portraits | No Comments »

Winter wedding in the snow

12/02/2012 by Anna.

Last weekend I photographed Martin and Jenny’s wedding at Wellington Barn, near Calne.The wedding ceremony was not until 4pm and the weather was just as forecast, with the snow starting to fall as we were all gathering

I was hoping for a beautiful sunset when taking some outdoor pictures and we intended to take the group pictures outdoors before the light faded, but by the time the ceremony was over the snow was blowing around everywhere. Jenny and Martin would not have had many friends left if we had dragged them outside! However, we HAD to take some bride and groom shots in the snow…

My golf umbrella came in useful just to keep the worst of the bitter wind away from the newly married couple.

These pictures were all taken in pretty quick succession; I had a lovely warm down jacket on and was fine but poor Jenny was starting to feel the cold!

We decided to take some more inside where it was lovely and warm.

This was the last natural light image we could take as the light was fading fast, but I had speedlights and a large soft box with me for the group photo’s.

The groom, best man and usher having fun!

It felt very cosy in Wellington Barn with the blizzard outside.

We left as the wedding breakfast started and managed to negotiate the slippery roads to get home safely. I’m so pleased that Martin and Jenny were game enough to make the most of the weather on their winter wedding day. Good luck with the baby!

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

Another portrait training session in Lacock

05/02/2012 by Anna.

Last Sunday I gave another training session at Lacock Photography using a new model for me - lovely Hannah. We explored all the elements that are needed to create a good portrait picture, with the main focus being on making the best use of natural light.

It was a bright day, if a little cold, but then it was end of January!

The morning was spent in the training room and then after lunch Hannah arrived and we started shooting. We began in the training room where it was lovely and warm and we experimented using window light with and without reflectors.

The direction of the light can be used to sculpt the face.

Hannah had a lovely fur coat with her which was perfect for a winter shoot. We also experimented with composition, backgrounds and lens settings.

The quality of the light was totally different at the back of the bus shelter than near the window. I used Photoshop effects to highten the mood of the shot.

This also has a Photoshop filter applied to give a cross processing effect.

Having the opportunity to spend a day thinking about a topic like this is such a luxury and a session with a model is invaluable for trying out new techniques.

For more training courses see www.lacockphotography.co.uk

Thanks to Hannah for braving the January cold with us!

Posted in Training, Portraits | No Comments »

Christening in London

23/01/2012 by Anna.

I love any excuse for a trip to London and so was very happy to be asked to photograph Isobel’s christening in Wimbledon in early January.

She was so happy and well behaved the whole day.

What a beautiful line up of shoes!

There is never much natural light in January but we were lucky with the weather and it was bright enough for me not to have to use flash for these first pictures.

Big brother, whose christening I did in 2010, was not keen to join in with this photo session.

Aaahh!

Here she is all ready dressed in her christening gown.

During the service I quietly took a few pictures without flash to be as unobtrusive as possible.

We finally managed to get one with Harry in! This time I set up my off camera flash to give me the flexibility to take pictures wherever I wanted. It is balanced with the ambient light.

It was lovely to see the growing family and to once again meet up with other family members and friends.

Posted in Christening | No Comments »

Boudoir session for two

02/01/2012 by Anna.

In November I had a fun boudoir shoot with two beautiful women; I think it was less scary for them to have a friend to share it with and I had an assistant to help with holding reflectors, when needed.

This shot works well on everyone and is always flattering.

The red satin sheets are brilliant for boudoir photography.

For this lovely last image I balanced the natural window light with a big softbox to give sandwich lighting which has highlighted Bethan’s beautiful shape.

I hope the prints you both got were favourably recieved by your men folk!

Posted in Boudoir | No Comments »

Winter Wedding at The Matara Centre

21/12/2011 by Anna.

At the beginning of this month I photographed Callum and Sue’s wedding at The Matara Centre in Gloucestershire. It’s a lovely, quirky place with so many places to take pictures whatever the weather.

For early December the weather was very kind to us and it was mild and dry enough for the service to be held outside.

However, once the ceremony had finished everyone was very happy to go inside for drinks and canape and to warm up a little!

After a little time inside warming up, during which time I could take candid shots of guests and the room decorated ready for the wedding breakfast, I persuaded everyone to go outside again for some group shots and confetti shots.

This covered cloister area has a lovely light for taking small groups.

And then we let the guests go inside again while I took some bride and groom shots.

Sue now donned her wellies for a walk outside to a tree dedication in the grounds.

Then we all made our way to a wishing tree where you tie on pieces of ribbon whilst making a wish - lovely!

The wedding breakfast was afternoon tea with a delicious mixture of savoury and sweet, all beautifully presented and the room was quite stunning.

Can you guess what one of Callum and Sue’s hobbies is?… a friend had made these beautiful cakes. It seemed such a shame to cut them… but it has to be done!

I love the curtain of lights along one wall of the room - a very welcome addition for such a dark month.

It was such a lovely, relaxed party to celebrate Callum and Sue’s union and we loved being a part of it.

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

A wedding in beautiful Lacock

28/11/2011 by Anna.

At the end of October I photographed the wedding of Victor and Anna in Lacock church followed by a reception at Stanton Manor Hotel.

The lovely autumn weather was continuing with plenty of sunshine.

I started off in Neston with the preparations and here the 3 bridesmaids are relaxing with a little champagne.

Mother and sister are helping Anna into her dress here with the usual pulling of straps and ribbons!

Proud father pops his head around the door to see how things are progressing.

This was made with a bit of tweaking in Lightroom and Photoshop.

As the house was an old cottage with low ceilings and fairly small windows I seated Anna to maximise the light in the room falling on her. I carry flash and diffusers around with me but will always try and use natural light first.

As the groom was preparing close to the church I managed to get to take a few pictures of him before he left for the church, again using what natural light I could find.

I stayed at the back of the church for much of the service but with both a wide angle and a longer focal length zoom lens I can vary the pictures I take.

For the more formal pictures it’s good to use flash. I use a very strange diffuser on the flashgun which looks a little like a clear yogurt pot!

A private moment for the newly married couple.

We took quite a few pictures outside the church as it is a lovely location.

While the guests travelled to Stanton Manor Hotel for the reception drinks we had a little walk around Lacock.

As I teach wedding photography at Lacock Photography (www.lacockphotography.com) just up the road from here, I know where to find the best light here, and luckily the sun stayed shining for this little session by the brook.

Lacock is a busy tourist village, so we had to work quickly to take these images inbetween the dog walkers and bemused tourists crossing the bridge!

Here we are in Stanton Manor Hotel in Stanton St. Quinton - a lovely old building near J17 of the M4.

The rooms were beautifully decorated with autumn colours and fresh foliage on the window sills.

The wind had picked up by this time, so poor Anna was starting to feel a little chilly! But at least we had the garden to ourselves as most of the guests were inside next to the roaring open fire.

This was the perfect time for outdoor photography with lovely late afternoon sun.

I like to vary the more formal wedding images with some impromtu moments.

Taking a dip?

A beautiful bride…

and a gorgeous groom!

We managed to drag a few guests away from the fire to throw the confetti. I like to get down low for these shots to get the waving hands in!

Look at that lovely colour sunshine!

My last picture just before everyone started the wedding breakfast and I headed for home with my stash of full memory cards.

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

A bridal boudoir session

12/11/2011 by Anna.

I’m not sure if it’s thanks to Gok Wan but bridal boudoir is becoming quite big over here in the UK. The idea is that I capture your sexuality and femininity in pictures which are then given to your husband as a surprise on your wedding night! Last week I photographed Claire who is getting married at the end of the month.

It’s not usual for the bride-to be’s mother to be present, but Claire’s mother was a very good assistant, holding the reflector and a little video light when needed!

I always start off with a head and shoulders portrait to help my client to settle in and feel confident when she can see how great she looks!

Claire’s new husband is going to love this one!

I have a full length cathedral veil which I also use for my wedding training sessions, and it’s great as an accessory.

This is always a beautiful, flattering pose.

A cheeky smile!

Thanks, Claire, for letting me use your images and I hope Tom loves them!

Posted in Boudoir | No Comments »

Holiday in France - October 2011

30/10/2011 by Anna.

This is the season for taking pictures at schools, pre-schools and toddler groups, which is something I love doing and is very rewarding. However, as I don’t have permission from parents I do not post any of the images on my blog - such a shame! So today I’m going to share some pictures with you that I took earlier this month when we went to stay with friends who have very recently moved from our village in Wiltshire to France.

As we didn’t check in any baggage I only had my little compact camera with me - easy to carry around, but not quite what I’m used to!

Our host, Bob and his dog - the day before he turned 60… shhh don’t tell him I told you!

The nearby town of Pons has a very dramatic donjon visible for miles around.

Down the hill in Pons is a river with some lovely riverside walks - this picture has had a little work done on it in Lightroom. Do you think it looks a bit like an impressionist painting?

Hmmm… trying to be creative here.

Here are Bob and Magali outside their home that Bob has been renovating for several years.

During one of our dog walks Bob led us to this old wreck in the woods and I had some fun photographing it.

This old tractor was also on the route.

A trip to the seaside - the Atlantic coast

And of course no French holiday would be complete without a visit to a vineyard and a chateau - this was the chateau.

The day we left was the rugby world cup semi finals with France v Wales and guess what… Magali is French and Bob is Welsh. He was not a happy man at the end of the match and so we left and came home!

Posted in Personal photography | No Comments »

Family session in the autumn sun

17/10/2011 by Anna.

Now that my blog is up and running again it’s time to put some new pictures on. Remember those lovely, hot days in early October? Luckily I had a photo shoot planned so we really made the most of it. Deb, Ben, Amelie and Ethan and Simon and I strolled around West Kington for a couple of hours, enjoying the sun.