Baby Alex

I just love the variety in my work. In fact, I love that although I call it work it rarely ever feels like work. Miley Cyrus once said in an interview that her dad told her (yes, I know that's Billy Ray Cyrus - I'm actually a fan of country music as well as a fan of Hannah Montana. Sad I know.) that if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life. Now I wouldn't go so far as to say I never work, but far more often than not I feel like I am doing my hobby for fun as opposed to being part of running a business.

I had a great session with Baby Alex and her parents. As with all my newborn and nearly newborn sessions we don't really have a time limit for the session. It is my policy not to book back to back sessions for babies as I never know how long the session will take and I don't want time pressures to affect and add stress to either myself or my clients. Babies don't perform at will. They have needs and usually if we take the time to meet those needs we will be able to get what we need from each session.

So this means if my clients are running behind, unable to get to their session on time its still okay because I know what its like to be a new parent. With all the best will in the world, sometimes you just can't get out the door when you planned to. It also means that we have a great opportunity to get to know our clients as we chat over coffee, tea and biscuits (which I'm actually trying to avoid at present) during feedings. Another reason it hardly feels like work as sometimes its more of a coffee morning.

Alex was a little older than ideal for this sort of session but we were lucky enough to get her to sleep for some of our poses which are always my favourite.

Mum and Dad came for their viewing not knowing what to expect with various options in mind depending on how many images they liked. I sat patiently waiting for their reaction after the slideshow waiting to see if my usual gauge to how well I did would be evident. I'm not 100% certain but I believe there were tears. Not many professions can mark their success by whether or not they can make their clients cry. As an indication of how many images they liked they purchased a single image in a frame, a multi image arrangement (below) and a portrait album so they can have most of the remaining images. I'd say that was a success.

I can't wait for the next baby. I'm currently waiting on 3 pregnant women to have theirs any day now.

Comments

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe ...

5 Reasons you Should Consider Getting a Professional Headshot

Headshots, or profile pictures are becoming a requirement of so many tools we regularly use or reference today. From Facebook to Linked In, Instagram to Twitter and often any website that represents a company for which you work or own will have a place to include a photograph that is meant to show your audience who you are. And how you present yourself there will tell your audience so much about you. 1. A profile picture is your first opportunity for your audience to see you. Its often the first impression you make and we all know you only have one chance at a first impression. A professional photographer has the skills to show you in the best, most suitable way to give a great first impression. (These headshots were created for recruitment firm Optima UK who asked to have their logo placed behind them. I think it makes these headshots quite eye catching and they should do their job well.) 2. Using a professional to create your headshot will ...

Limited Edition Storybook Portrait Sessions

Well in the end I didn't take this promotion as seriously as was required in so much as I didn't allocate any budget for advertising. I relied only on the few posts on Facebook and as such I only did 2 sessions, which to be perfectly honest, was all I could handle this year given that I'd not properly planned for these sessions in an already busy time of year. However, what I did do proved to me that this is something that deserves proper attention and a concerted effort to push this promotion forward. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it, from shopping for props, to the sessions and then the editing. I really love the fun that these sessions provide and the look of the finished images. Spring will see a second go at this special collection with plenty of advertising in the run up to our event. I will get another chance at shopping for additional props and tools to run this limited edition promotion and I can't w...

Wellies, Wellies and More Wellies

Over the past couple of years I've been photographing Jileon Ltd's wellies for their website. And over the last couple of months I have had quite a bit to do for them. Jileon is a great client of ours, giving us regular work that I can undertake in my own time and in my own way. It makes for such a relaxing change from having to make small children smile in a short span of time. Particularly since they can't get up and walk away just at the moment when all elements of the perfect image come together. The only real challenge in photographing wellies for me seems to be the dreaded reflection that is unavoidable when photographing shiny objects using flash. But without this challenge where would be the fun? Jileon Ltd is a Hinckley based distributor of mainly wellington boots. They do also distribute other things but typically it is just their wellies that I photograph. If you wish to order a pair please vi...

My Associate Panel

As I mentioned in my last blog, I achieved my Associateship in Portraiture with the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers). I just thought I would share with you the panel I submitted. Having sat through the assessment I see that there are a couple of images that I wish I hadn't chosen, more so due to not having enough variety rather than the lack of quality. but overall I am pleased with my submission. I always thought that once I achieved my Associateship I would be done with qualifications. Working towards a Fellowship just seems so unattainable. I don't think I can just sit here not striving towards a goal though. Besides, my husband has already set 5 year plan. So I guess I've not seen the end of qualifications just yet. But don't be expecting any news on this front for quite some time though. A fellowship is on an entirely new level and its going to take a lot of work.

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog