Parent & Child Relationship - Absolutely Priceless!

Photography as I see it is all about capturing a moment, an emotion and a feeling and if there's one subject that can encompass all these it's the relationship between a parent and child. Every time I get the opportunity to photograph a family I think it's so important to create images that show that special bond because let's face it, in years to come without wishing to be depressing in any way, there will be a time when that 'someone' wont be around. Every time I look at photos I've taken of parents with their children I just think to myself how special it will be in years to come when that 'child' looks at that photo and I wonder what they'll feel.


Maybe I feel like this because I for one don't have photos like that, that I'll be able to look back on in later life but hey I could bore you to sleep talking about that ;o)

The 'Getting To Know You' Photo Shoot...

This year has seen a few major changes in direction with regards to my photography; the main one being that I'm focusing on my Portrait & Editorial Work and pulling away from photographing weddings. That doesn't mean to say that I flat out 'will not' be photographing weddings, cos I will...it just means that I will limit myself as to how many. I'm a big believer that when it comes to photography you really can't be a 'Jack of all Trades'. In fact saying that you do 'everything' can have an adverse affect, because no-one can, so defining who and what you are is really important.


This year I've limited myself to 3 weddings and each has their own qualities as to why I've chosen to do them. They are all in fabulous locations as you'd expect but one in particular is at the gorgeous 'Matara' - a tranquil and beautiful venue set in 28 acres of woodland and parkland in the Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire - a real gift for a photographer.


Another of the weddings I'm photographing is a Civil Partnership at the Frimley Hall Hotel & Spa for Brian Whyte & Chris Rivett. Being asked to photograph their big day means alot and I'm totally thrilled that they asked me to do so.

As with any wedding I think it's vitally important to do a photo shoot with the couple way before their big day for a host of reasons such as: giving an insight into how I work so there are no surprises on the day which also helps build trust; enables the client to get some great photos, again building trust and confidence and most importantly to help build a relationship so that everyone is that much more relaxed on the wedding day.



I've attached a few of the photos from Brian & Chris' photo shoot this week which was a blast. Brian aptly named it the 'Getting to know you' shoot, which I'm sure he wont mind me 'stealing'.

Enjoy ;o)

Family Portrait Shoot - Zaf Mughal

Had a great time last Sunday on a family portrait shoot around Windsor and the WIndsor Great Park. Zaf Mughal, his wife Shabeen and daughter Zayna were great fun to work with and just went with the flow; just as well really as the first place we started taking photos wasn't the most picturesque location to look at (an industrial area at the back of some shops) but from a photography point of view was a gift. Here we were able to 'get into the groove' away from prying eyes and take some close-in / headshots before we ventured out into the 'public domain' but by then everyone was more relaxed anyway.



Before finishing off we set up a few flashes for a photo with their car and then headed over to the beautiful Windsor Great Park.



We were so lucky with the weather - bright sun & blue skies, so we picked out a prime location and started shooting. Just as well really as before we knew it, men in black overalls and balaclavas parachuted in and at gun point asked if we had a permit; ok, I'm exaggerating a little, but the warden in his Land Rover did have a stern expression on his face.

A few portions of humble pie later and we made tracks, but to be honest we'd finished anyway ... thankfully ;o)

"Exposed" - Episode 1

"Exposed" aka "Behind the Scenes" is the name I've given to the series of videos we're going to be putting together from now on that give a quick peek at what goes into making some of the photos I post up here on the blog. This video is "episode 1" and as the first crack at this is just over 1 minute long. (Thanks to Big Dave, Lord McCutcheon and Johnny, or more appropriately, The Stig :o)

Can't wait to get more put together cos making it was great fun which I hope you see comes out in the video.

Enjoy ;o)

ps> Clicking on the HQ button in the video player below, shows the High Quality version.

Just a quickie ...

Just a quickie ... Thought I'd post up this 'headshot' taken during the week of a guy by the name of Stuart Craggs, and also give you the 'heads up' that I'll be posting a short (and I mean short ... like 1 minute short) video of an equally brief photo shoot v.soon.

Geez, how many times am I gonna write the word 'head' in one post??? :o)

A Little Update ...

The past week or so has been real busy 'topping' and 'tailing' a few things so I thought I'd just add this little post to give you a breakdown of what's been going on:

* Several meetings with the Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service, Police and British Airports Authority re the forthcoming 'Local Heroes' project ironing out such things as copyright issues, auditing of funds and so on. Looks like the project will start in early May which I can't wait for, so watch this space.

* This past week I've been out on a couple of recce's for upcoming photo shoots, one of which is this coming Saturday and should see the return of my smoke bombs.

* The new website although delayed, is well and truly on the way and I'm expecting (hoping) it will be ready to launch imminently with a few videos included.

* I'll soon be starting a 'Strobist' style group where photographers of all skill levels are welcome to come along to meets throughout the year to all sorts of venues for a day of photographing models. I'll be posting these details up on my Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages.

So, plenty going on and no time to waste so I'll catch up with you soon,

Enjoy ;o)


> Here's another piccie from the shoot with Powerlifter Gareth Davies who is competing this coming weekend; go for it big fella ;o)

Sunset - Anytime, anywhere ...

I get a real kick out of experimenting with flash photography; changing the light in a scene to give the final picture a completely different feel. (The photo attached is an example of what I mean). Yesterday morning I was out on a portrait shoot taking head & shoulders shots and when we were all finished, I couldn't resist trying out one more.

Despite it being a fabulously (is that a word???) sunny day with bright blue skies, I thought it would interesting to make a photo that gave the feel of an evening sunset, so ... make some adjustments in the camera, take one Nikon SB800 flash, some coloured gels and put it outside firing back into the house through a window with blinds in; add to that, a pressed, I mean willing client and voila :o)


Enjoy.

NB> Here's what the room looked like with the bright sun coming in through the window before I 'tweeked' it a little :o)

Gareth Davies - Powerlifter

Friday of last week I spent some time photographing a guy by the name of Gareth Davies, who despite being an incredibly good powerlifter destined for BIG things, is incredibly modest and humble - and not forgetting very patient as we went from one area to the next around the gym.


This was more of a 'test' before we get together in the near future for a bigger 'on location' photo shoot where I'll be using a 24' England Flag amongst other things ... so watch this space :o)

Enjoy.

The Debonaires-Slideshow & Soundtrack

I promised the guys from 'The Debonaires' that I'd add a slideshow on the blog for you all to see with photos from the album photo shoot we did a few weeks back ... but only if they gave me a sample from the album recording they did recently. Well, the guys came up trumps yet again so here it is. Enjoy :


Credit to the Sound Engineer Simon, from Hillside Studios for doing a wonderful job; can't wait to get a copy of the album :o)

Vettese Family Photo Shoot

Yesterday morning I headed down the motorway for a photo shoot in Loxwood - a beautiful village in West Sussex and the home of Marco & Diana Vettese who three months ago were blessed with the birth of the son, Sam. I'd been contacted by Marco a few weeks ago but due to the freaky weather we've had lately, we had to postpone the 'shoot' until yesterday. So, with the sun shining I made my way down to them listening to some relaxing music by Slipknot, Linkin Park and others known for their calming, therapeutic tunes and arrived a little over one hour later.


I've said before in this blog that my work introduces me to some wonderful people and yesterday was no exception. Marco & Diana were incredibly welcoming and despite initially feeling a little self conscious having their photos taken, soon got into the swing of things. Baby Sam was an angel although he definitely let us know who was boss by deciding that enough was enough and went for a sleep half way through the shoot :o)

I've now starting adding some finishing touches to the shots but I thought I'd post a few of the results here for you to see in the mean time.


All in all another great day spent with great people ... thanks guys, oh and thanks so much for the food - you certainly didn't have to but my was I glad you did ... delicious :o)


*NB - This photo of Marco playing his guitar was taken during some 'time out'.