NCT Cheeky Monkeys Summer Party

I recently took some photos at the NCT Cheeky Monkeys Summer Party at the Westfield Children's Centre in Watford. The party was a great success with lots of families coming along to support the great work the NCT do. There were taster music sessions; outdoor games and the families brought along picnics too. Here are a few of my favourite images from the day.

Bubbles are always a winner at these events! Thanks to the organisers for a lovely party.

Different Styles of Finishing for Portraits

It's nice to have different sorts of effects on the final images you receive from a portrait session or for your wedding pictures. So i've been experimenting a little bit with a few different styles and finishes .... some softer colours; more washed out looking or brighter stronger colours and some different black & white effects. Here are a few that I quite liked...

Lifestyle Model Shoots

One of the lovely things about photography is that you never stop learning, improving and being inspired by others, so I undertake quite a lot of training courses over an average year. I've recently returned from a course up in the Lake District run by Contemporary Photographic Training (CPT). The course was really related to the Business side of photography but we did a bit of shooting too. Here are a few images that were shot during a really fun hands-on day with Bath/Bristol based Photographer Jo Hansford. The models were great to work with and it was a pleasure to meet Jo and learn more about her approach to Lifestyle Shoots.

We shot some family images with children in the morning - here are a few favourites:

Then in the afternoon - we did another shoot with a young couple - here are a few of those:

Thanks go in no particular order to all the models, to Jo, and to the CPT team - Catherine, Jane, Ali, Mel and David and to my fellow course buddies. A great few days with far too much lovely food!