The Happiest Baby I've Ever Photographed

And the tallest parents too. Dad is 6'10" and Mum is 6'8", making this little one seem even smaller.

Although she needed some coaxing at first, it didn't take long to see these huge smiles. Mum and Dad clearly knew how to bring out the best in her and thankfully weren't afraid to bring out the song and dance to make it happen.

This beautiful girl made me long for the time when my daughter was this age and I still find it hard to believe its been nearly 11 years since she was. And even harder to believe that at nearly 12 my little girl is no longer little, with the teenage years fast approaching and the attitude already firmly in place.

It was great being able to do what I do for these clients. Using my props and clothing and creating individual pieces that will stand proud in the homes of my clients. The image at the top in the suitcase being the Mum and Dad's favourite of the lot.

(Finally one where she isn't smiling - I often love these just as much, sometimes even more)

And I got to do an image I've not done in years, this one below with the blue fabric. I'd pretty much forgotten about this one and I must say it renewed my interest and am keen to do it again. The client chose blue here because it was a favourite colour. They didn't need or want the stereotypical pink for a girl.

We did some family portraits too. Some I've kept private as they are more intimate, creating some beautiful skin on skin portraits. I love the colouring and the closeness of these types of portraits. But so there are also family portraits to share we did some using soft neutral colour clothing, like the one below.

Its been lovely working with an older baby again and getting to see eyes wide open and such beautiful smiles. As I've said so many times before, its variety I love. From newborns to older babies, toddlers to teenagers and individuals to large groups, I am so lucky to be able to do something different almost every day.

As always, if you are interested in having some portraits created for you please visit our website to see more or get in touch. Or you can email us at christina@christinalauderportraits.com or phone on 01455 611069.

Comments

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m...

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com...

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me...

Teen Portraits - Prom Season is Just Around the Corner

If your child is heading to prom in the next couple of months I'd say there is probably no better time than now to have portraits created of your growing teen. With the purchase of a new (and probably expensive) outfit wouldn't it be nice to capture this milestone with a portrait created by a professional. Across the pond this is a hugely popular time to create portraits, and although I am not American (I'm Canadian) I wholeheartedly agree that this is a special moment to record. My prom was a key memory in my teen years and in fact I myself had professional portraits created also. I think I'll go dig them up if I can, though admittedly I think my mother has them back in Canada. I wonder if I can get her to scan one for me. My daughter is currently making plans for college and in the running is one that will move her away from home, as many others are probably experiencing for themselves, particularly those who are 18. This makes it all the more important to ...

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 ...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog