Christina Lauder Portraits

This is an area of photography I've been wanting to do for years.  While we worked out of our home it just wasn't feasible.  Since we built the studio, however, it has become a very promising aspiration of mine.  And this week I managed to get the nerve to have a go with two willing and very helpful and beautiful women.  Actually I think it took a bit of nerve from us all as neither of these women are models, nor had they done this sort of thing before.  I couldn't be happier with the results.   In some ways it was much easier than I had anticipated and in others it was much more difficult.  Dealing with semi-nudity wasn't uncomfortable at all but thinking up poses and understanding how to position the lights took a little more work.  Its certainly not as simple as 'just look at someone elses photo and duplicate it'.  Not to mention that I want to be original.  Originality isn't easy when the number of ...

Over the Easter holidays we had the chance to do our first Clique Party in the new studio.  We had the lovely Rosie celebrating a late birthday with 6 of her friends. This was also the first time that I tried a dark background as opposed to the usual white.  Not sure which I prefer but I do really like having a change from the usual.  The grey background is very much my favourite at the moment and it makes such a nice alternative to the usual white background.  I really lucked out with this group too.  Although I had suggested bright colours and preferably plain clothes, it was really nice to see that planning had gone into the group photo.  The girls had agreed to all wear different coloured vests and I think it makes quite a difference to the finished article.  This co-ordinated effort definitely makes this my favourite group shot so far. Hopefully it will set an example for future parties to consider as well.  Having the party in ...

I am pleased to announce the introduction of 2 of our new products.  The first is one I've already been selling, however it now has a twist.  We now frame our canvases which I find give them a much more luxurious and eye catching finish.  In fact, it makes them look more like a finished article.    We use a very chunky frame moulding, 6cm square, which fits around our chunky canvases perfectly.  I'm looking forward to getting one for my own home myself.  Just waiting for that perfect image of my children first.  Unfortunately photographer's children are the worst to photograph.  Ask any photographer who they least enjoy photographing and they will likely tell you its their own children.  The other new product is our Accordian Keepsakes.  I came across them at a convention earlier in the year.  I knew as soon as I saw them that I wanted to offer them to my clients.  I've finally got around to c...

This week I photographed a young girl named Hannah.  I keep having to remind myself that she is only 12.  She always seems so much older than the others her age.  What makes it even harder to believe is that she is the same age as my stepson.  To me they seem years apart, rather than just a few short months.  But thats boys for you.  This is the second of hopefully many times I will get to photograph Hannah.  She attended one of our Clique Parties a year or so ago (If you want to know more about our Clique Parties visit our website at http://www.christinalauderportraits.com/ ).  I knew then that she was easy to photograph which is why I was so looking forward to the chance to do it again.  Hannah has such a lovely face and she is so tall and slim.  The hardest part about the shoot was doing her justice.  Here is a selection of my four favorites. 

As I said in my last post, a dog just wasn't for us.  But we've been having the kids nag us for months for a pet.  Not that they haven't had pets before.  We've had baby chicks (which became egg laying chickens) and we've had rabbits.  Neither of which ever sparked much companionship as far as the kids were concerned, although my little one did love her chickens.  That reminds me, I must include one of my favourite photos of her from when she was a baby, the first time we had chicks with her.  Anyway, we finally caved and decided to give them one more pet, one which we figured we could handle.  I must say that she has turned out to be a lovely kitten.  I never imagined a cat could  be so affectionate and loving as this one is turning out to be. She constantly wants attention and cuddles and someone to play with.  She is perfect for us.  And after just 3 short weeks she is clearly a valued and appreicated member of our...

A couple of weeks ago we had our first booking via our new Facebook page.  So it turns out that this Facebook thing can be a lot more useful than originally anticipated.  And a great excuse for spending time on it each day.  Its now no longer a distraction from work instead it is actually work.  I love it! Anyway, here are a few of the photos from the booking.  It made a nice change from the usual.  Although, it can be tricky getting a dog to smile.  Luckily this Springer is a little older and therefore a lot less hyper than Springers can be.  We dog sat a Springer for a week once and it was enough to put us off dogs for a lifetime.  Hence the reason we now have a kitten.  More on this in my next blog entry. Lucy was a pleasure to photograph.  It turned out to be a very low stress session.  I'm looking forward to doing more of the same in future.