Children's Portraits - Experiments with New Camera

Have just been to the SWPP annual convention where, aside from catching up with some photographer friends, seeing some fantastic lectures and attending inspiring seminars, I also found time to upgrade to a new toy. Here are some initial pictures from a Sunday morning spent playing about with the camera and a long-suffering but very patient model who does a excellent job while I mess about figuring out menus and settings !

The model starts to get pretty fed up .....

The model adamantly refuses to cooperate further - end of session!

Wedding Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park

There will no doubt be lots of couples who got engaged over the Christmas break and are now thinking about wedding planning. Don't discount winter weddings just because of the weather - after all with our record for Summer weather there are no guarantees anyway! I have just completed a couple of Winter Weddings and really enjoyed them. Very different in feel to Summer weddings and lovely to have the Christmas Trees and Christmas Decorations at the Venues and Christmas Carols being sung during the ceremony. Here are a few pictures from a recent wedding at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. This is a beautiful venue - fantastic staff and a really fabulous location in the park itself. Not to mention a gorgeous couple - congratulations to you both. Here are a few favourites from the day to give you a taster of a Winter Wedding.

Portraits of Couples - Hertfordshire

I am sometimes asked to take photos of couples so that they have some nice images for themselves - this could be to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, a pre-wedding/engagement shoot or just because they would like some pictures. These sessions are very informal resulting in relaxed, natural images. Here are a few from a recent "just because" session.

Pictures for the Grandparents

Obviously at this time of year I'm asked to take lots of pictures of family groups and groups of cousins as presents for grandparents. These sessions are always pretty lively and a good chance to get a range of pictures of groups; pairs and individual portraits. Here are a few from a recent family session - it was a dreadful rainy day so all the pictures are taken inside the house.

Children's Portraits outdoors in Winter

Many parents are worried about having portraits done outside at this time of year because "it's cold" and "the children will be wearing outdoor clothing" or "they won't look smart". True they probably won't look smart but they can look really, really cute in their woolly hats and scarves and they still have a really good time, get some fresh air, jump in a few puddles and get muddy .. which all makes for lovely happy natural fun family photos. Here are a few recent examples.

Family Photos with Mum, Dad, Toddler, Eeyore, The Teddies, The Cat....

Now that its getting colder (and of course raining alot) most sessions will feature a mixture of indoor and outdoor shots depending upon how the day turns out. Actually its nice to have a bit of both so you have a few more images to choose from. At this recent shoot we made good use of the "hallway studio" and the garden and all the members of the family featured - including the stuffed animals - special mention goes to the Cat for being a great sport ! Here are a few of my personal favourites - pictures of the Cat actually being sat on do not feature as they may upset some Blog readers...