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Showing posts from August, 2008

Photographing Dee - She may be famous someday

I have recently had the pleasure of photographing Dee Short, a recent graduate of Phil Winston's Theatreworks College in Blackpool. Dee had already had portfolio photographs from another photographer with whom she was unhappy with so I asked her to bring them along to see what it was she didn't like. Having seen them I saw straight away what was missing. Dee did not look comfortable or relaxed. They were lacking a sense of naturalness that I feel is essential for a performers portfolio collection. So we set out to create a more natural selection of images. This will be done in 3 stages. For the first we decided to do a black background for a dramatic and classic look. Admittedly, it isn't always easy getting a subject to relax and be themselves. You ca n look at someone and see that they are beautiful but that doesn't automatically mean it will be easy to get a good photograph. A good photographer though should be able to get their subject to relax and become com

Lands End to John O'Groats with our Friends, the Hall McNairs ~ Part III

Now this is the final entry regarding this trip. I think I have taken up enough space on something that really isn't even that closely related to my photography business, even though it does contain a lot of photographs. So, where were we? Oh yes, the good weather had ended. It was Saturday August 9th and the Highland Games in Mey were due to start that afternoon. We managed to get the tent and everything packed away in the dry but it didn't take long for the rain to start. By the time we arrived at the Highland Games it was typical, horrid, Scottish weather. And of course, I forgot to pack proper rain gear for us all. But we weren't going to let that stop us, particularly since this was the closest we were ever going to get to royalty. I must admit that I knew very little about the Highland Games. I certainly didn't know that the public could enter on the day. Having seen that very few people were entered anyway my step son decided he'd like to enter. My husband an

Lands End to John O'Groats with our Friends, the Hall McNairs ~ Part II

As I said earlier, we were lucky enough to accompany our friends, th e Hall-McNairs at two points during their journey. The first was from Tewksbury to nearly Nantwich which I wrote about in an early blog entry. And the second point was from Wick to John O'Groats. It was never our intention to be there for the finish, although if my husband could have had his way he would have joined them for their entire journey. Luckily for me it wasn't possible due to other commitments (like paying the mortgage) . Not that I didn't want to be there with the Hall-McNairs. Its just that the weekend from Tewksbury to Nantwich was enough for me to see just how much work was actually involved. The 18 days from Land's End to John O'Groats was no holiday. Andy though, was determined to see the finish. We had discussed it on several occasions but it just didn't seem to make sense. There was too much on for us both and the drive to John O'Groats seemed too long, particularly wit

Lands End to John O'Groats with our Friends, the Hall McNairs ~ Part I

This summer my family has been fortunate enough to accompany the Hall-McNairs at two points through out their journey. They began their journey from Land's End on Monday July 21st. This put them close to home, well as close as they were ever going to be, by the weekend. So Friday afternoon we joined them in Tewsbury so we'd be ready for Andy, my husband, to run the following morning. As a photographer with a passion for photography in both my business and personal life I could do nothing less than document the occasion to the best of my ability. We really lucked out with the weather this weekend. If anything it was too hot. But the sun was shinning so spirits were high, at least for us non runners and Andy who was only scheduled to run one or two legs of the journey. Although the extreme heat did have him worried a little. Shortly after arriving at the campsite we headed out to the main road to greet the team which included Rob Hall-McNair (the runner) along

My Second Wedding

I am struggling to keep up with my blog, having been so busy and with the kids off on school holidays. So I am adding this entry a little late. I actually shot this wedding on July 5th, 2008. It is a policy of mine anyway to never use any photos from a wedding until the official viewing with my clients. I feel it is important that the first people to see the photos are the couple themselves and th ey should be seen in a formal setting where they can relive the experience of the day. This takes a little longer for me to prepare than perhaps some other photographers but so far I am 2 for 2 on producing tears. To me, that makes me a success. They were good tears by the way. Anyway, back to the subject. I did my second wedding. This one being very different from the last. There was no church, no traditional wedding gown and very little in the way of formal, posed portraits. It took place in a converted knitwear factory, both inside and on the roof top which made for extreme changes to lig