London sweet 16 photo shoot

Just a little snippet from our really super fun photo session in east London yesterday!! 

Happy Friday y'all x

look look!!!!! a photo of me!!! :-) lol

Sneakily taken by Elliot's dad on our session at the weekend. Elliot (3) + I were discussing poses and places to stand #priceless xx

Throw Back Thursday!!

So this is super fun, I'm just sitting at my desk catching up with things, (desperately needing a distraction) I see an image on line which takes me right back to a fun and super vibrant gorgeous wedding I captured in London at Finsbury Town Hall, Dawn, my beautiful bride wore the MOST spectacular gown and her groom wore a very dashing tux.......enjoy :-) xx

I get asked a lot about venues.....

so I have popped together a tiny snippet of the venues I've captured so far :-) 

town halls, stately homes, lido's, masonic lodges, barns, churches..........I love the variety!! x

Mr & Mrs Hewitt tied the knot!!!

Gavin & Jodie were married on May 30th 2015 at Glenmore House in Surbiton, London.

oh my goodness! So much laughter and fun at Jodie & Gavins wedding x So much love and cute detailing and personal touches too. It was my absolute pleasure to capture this beautiful day and here are a few of the fun images! We organised a fun Photo Booth and everyone got totally involved with this - as the photos above show lol Masks, hates, glasses...all working wonders lol

Jodie wore a stunning lace gown with an open back and exquisite detailing and with her hair slightly lifted from her face with a crystal hair band she looked just like a 1950's Hollywood movie star, so elegant and glamorous! Gavin and his groomsmen all looked very dashing in their morning suits with dart board cufflinks too! (They're all HUGE darts fans)

Glenmore House is a little gem, hidden away in Surbiton with  a late Georgian charm with beautiful stained glass windows and a cute park right opposite where we captured our group photos. xx 

RIBA Patrons Summer Party @ The Danish Embassy

I'm so excited!! Last night I had the pleasure of capturing the RIBA Summer Party at the Danish Embassy in London. Not only do I love working with RIBA because they're awesome, I always come away inspired and invigorated by the surroundings I capture or the nuggets of information I  pick up. This was also in a crazy way really delightful for me because many many years ago I headed up a telemarketing campaign for the Royal Danish Embassy through a company I worked for in Hampshire.

It really brought a smile to my face as I approached the building and just remembered that time - so from 16 - 19 years old I was completely whipped out with Glandular Fever. Many people recover quickly from this and bounce back, alas it attacked my system ferociously and after struggling through my first year of College I had no choice but to take a year out to get better. When I should have been hanging out with my boyfriend at the time, I was struggling to walk down stairs to the sitting room, I was on medication to retrain my stomach to digest food and my digestive system to work and if I ever needed to spend a penny + go  to the toilet I had to stop half way up our stairs (my parents don't have that many, their house is lovely but doesn't have a billowing staircase lol) rest, regain some strength and then move on, a literally 2 minute journey would take about half an hour. Taking a year out was heartbreaking because I loved the course I was doing and the friends I had made, however spending 9 weeks in bed one summer really put pay to any aspirations I had and so I made it my mission to get better. 

That December, after months of rest and recuperation I started calling companies in the yellow pages to ask if I could do work experience. Luckily for me a company in Basingstoke took me on and I started tele marketing. I was actually pretty good for an 18 year old with only previous experience of answering my dad's business phone and taking messages and after my work experience was up they offered my a minuscule wage to stay. So I did and I was tasked with the job of enticing companies to invest in Denmark. So when I rocked up yesterday it made me smile and feel incredibly grateful for each opportunity. Remembering back to when I thought I would never have the energy to see my friends, go back to college or do regular things made me realise why I value the small things in my life so preciously and why my smile was so wide last night :-) 

Danish Architect Arne Jacobsen designed the Embassy and after his death in 1971 it was completed by previous assistants of his in 1977. The spacious Ambassadors penthouse covers two floors and there is also staff quarters and a lovely outdoor courtyard too.

Fantastically during our visit, a danish design company had just finished presenting their work and so the soft pastel tones (above: pink table cloth with wine glasses) you see are a photo I captured from this. We also were given an escorted tour of some of the offices which showed the original interior (see light above). It was divine! Thank You RIBA, inspired again :-) xx

Beautywise Commercial Shoot

Print & Web based commercial photo shoot with Beautywise 

Mary Lobo of Beautywise and I worked closely together to create and capture images which truly represent her brand and can be used in both printed material and online. 

My Heart melted :-) x

Heartfelt Thanks!

So last week just before I had a few days away and a quick break to recharge my batteries and joie de vie, I met with several of my lovely clients and tied up loose ends before I set off to disconnect from technology and hang out with very special friends and do things I haven't done in a while (drawing, running, exploring).

The day before I set off on my adventure I received three amazing 'Thank You's' from my recent beautiful brides and I was and am still truly touched by their messages, beautiful thoughtful gifts and the time they took to say 'Thank You'. I'm struggling to really do justice to the enormous delight and pride I felt when reading their words and huge smile I wore for the rest of the week!

I'd like to share their kindness here, not to embarrass them but to continue the gratitude + blessings :-) xx Have a lovely afternoon everyone xx

Remembering Mary Ellen Mark

Yesterday power house photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away, she was hugely inspirational and I just want to share a few images from one of her books in case ure not familiar with her work :-)

I was lucky to take a workshop with her in Maine way back in 2001 after being introduced to her work whilst I was working on a feature film + the professional photographer I met told me it would "change my life". I researched Mary Ellen Mark diligently + was in awe - she'd won an award every year since I'd been born and her work blew my mind. 

The week spent in Maine was tough + challenging + one of the most amazing, it did change my life, had I not have taken the class I wouldn't have ended up in Maine changing my career path + becomming a photographer, I wouldn't have had any idea about what goes in to being a photographer or met such a force of nature in Mary Ellen Mark. 

Her spirit was strong, decisive, determined, her stature + dress - tall with jet black hair and black clothes slightly intimidating and the last night of our course we all had dinner together + went to the movies to watch a film she raved about ('Amores Perros' - 'Loves a Bitch' with Gael Garcia Bernal) it was the coolest film I'd ever seen at that time + the beers and wines we drank made our tutor sparkle. 

Mary Ellen Mark was and always will be a photo hero and a profound inspiration + it's a sad day she is no longer here to capture life in her immutable way, love + light go to her + her family xx

Cheeky Family Fun!!!

Samuel has stollen my heart <3 he is my best friends little boy, who has the best chuckle I have ever heard - it's a mix between woody wood pecker and road runner, it's super sonically infectious + we became great friends when I stayed recently and so it was my complete delight and pleasure to photograph him with mum & dad and by himself lol I think his smiles say it all!! + just to prod the memory this (below) was just last October :-) xx 

xx

Little Delilah came for a studio visit :-)

Delilah was just 13 days young when she came to the studio for a little visit and to be my little model extraordinaire!

Here are just a few snippets of the lovely images we captured with my new studio backgrounds and a few fun props and colour tones, it's always so great to experiment with new ways of photographing and new props to see how they look in real life and this was so much fun! Thank You Delilah & Juliet xx

A beautiful morning in the Bluebell Woods

One - 2 - One Photo Workshop

Have I mentioned HOW much I LOVE working outside?? Wearing a pair of wellies and exploring?? Well, it makes my heart sing when I get the chance to teach outside, especially first thing in the morning, with beautiful soft light, with students who have a passion for wild flowers :-) The images above are ones I captured whilst my student set about her photo challenges x

Brooklyn, NYC 1st Wedding Anniversary <3 xx

Heidi & Naoise 2015

I love love love these guys!!! + This was such a blast! Spending the whole weekend wandering around Brooklyn NYC is why I LOVE my profession :-) Hanging out with fabulous couples, sipping a cocktail to keep warm (really freezing this weekend, was totally medicinal) and getting the chance to explore new places and capture fun & love is my idea of heaven! 

We totally took in Brooklyn and Dumbo with bravely cuddling through a bitter wind as we looked across at Manhatten and almost skipped around Prospect Park - I was introduced to the ice skating rink and a really cute pond and verander area with beautiful old lights, super elegant and with the pond still frozen and snow on the ground it was wintery pretty - I'd love to see it in Spring or Summer too lol 

Happy Paper Anniversary H&N xx

STOP PRESS***********

Weeeehheeeeeee :-) 
Tres excited to share this beautiful feature - 'Your London Wedding Magazine' have featured Ben & Alice's gorgeous wedding at Brockwell Lido last year and NOT ONLY THAT, they used a fab photograph on the cover :-) xx

http://www.countyweddingmagazines.com//image_upload/flippingbook/YLW41/index.cfm#

Mr & Mrs Barry & Meaghan Gadbois

March in Massachusettes.....snow on the ground, a little nip in the air...bubbles flowing, laughter sprinkling about The Publik House and the gorgeously adorable Mr & Mrs Gadbois celebrating their wedding day x

It was my absolute pleasure to capture Barry & Meaghans special day x

What an adventure!!! Barry & Meaghan's wedding day was so much fun, it was chock full of love + laughter, beautiful colours and such sensitive personal touches, it was a complete joy to be part of their special occasion and create beautiful memories for them for years to come.

1. Vendors - Michelle Bernard, Flowers
2. Gorgeous Customised wedding dress, Brides Aunt
3. Reception venue - The Publik House in Sturbridge http://www.publickhouse.com

I just loved Barry & Meaghans colour scheme of cranberry and yellow. It was so unusual and super striking and worked beautifully against the snowy afternoon light and in pictures against the Publik House. The groom and his groomsmen all looked very daper in their brown suits which complemented the colour scheme perfectly with their orchid button holes whilst the bridesmaids, maid of honour and flower girl looked completely stunning in cranberry dresses with  nude shoes and gorgeous bouquets of yellow tones containing the most incredible orchids which really popped against the snowy March day.

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Gadbois xx

3 Super Gorgeous Weddings, 2 countries, 2 Flights, Family Sessions, Anniversary session....and ....

It's been a whirlwind few weeks with lots of laughter, many means of travel - plane, train, automobile......and bundles of love <3 <3 <3 Here is just a snippet of each session before I post longer lovely edits, photos and musings :-) xx Happy Friday everyone xx

Back Up & Running

Oh my goodness....the last couple weeks have been a bit of a techie jungle and my website and email system have been down, my apologies if you have been trying to contact me!!! We just had a few gremlins to iron out and I'm delighted (as you can imagine) that everything is back up and running x

Venue Visit with James & Sophie on a chilly Friday!! x

This weekend has been such fun, I've caught up with 3 of my bride & grooms 'to be'. I met James & Sophie at their venue Friday lunchtime to have our venue visit and chat through our image list and ideas for their big day. It was mighty chilly outside and they were such sports to enable us to capture these great shots!

I'm so excited to see their venue in Spring when we return to capture their wedding, hopefully it should be warmer!!! lol xx

New Samples (YAY)

Super thrilled that my new samples for this year have started arriving :-) Above is one of my proof books and a small signing book...delighted! x

Gorgeous, Adoraaable New Born Sessions xx

Planning Your New Born Session

Congratulations on your new arrival! :-) or your little bump, 'soon to be here' baby xx What an exciting time and I'm delighted you're checking out my work and thinking about capturing those precious moments with your newborn.

There is 14 days after your baby is born that is preferable for capturing those 'new born' images but please don't worry if you're slightly over this. This time period is recommended because our little bundles are instinctively wanting to curl up and those images are super cute, they are more likely to sleep peacefully and we are able to position them in lovely little poses without disturbing them too much :-)

I offer a range of 'looks' for my newborn sessions, from backgrounds with props to very natural and casual and I chat this through with all my clients ahead of our sessions. This is also where we plan our images and if there are props and certain things you'd like to include, (gifts from friends and family) then we note those down and ensure we capture them all on the day.

This post has just a little gathering of images and if you would like to chat things through and have questions, please call me on 07754 757716 xx