This Little Honey was a Doll to Work With

As I've always said, and sorry to harp on about it, variety is what I like. So I've really been enjoying working with awake babies as its made a nice change for me. They still aren't of an age where they can take direction but they aren't terribly mobile yet either so its not too difficult to get them and keep them in a position that works.

I'm quite a stickler for getting the lighting in my portraits just so, which means having my subjects in the right position is important. If they turn their head it could mean they are no longer in the right light. I generally start by sitting them where I need them and then either myself or with the help of parents we'll work at getting them looking in the right direction.

Here I had Mum's help to get her to look to the side and at Mum's face which was the right eye level for the light here and a pleasing position for the portrait.

When I want them to look into the camera I usually find that if I'm quiet throughout but call there name or squeak a toy occasionally they will look in my direction. If I do this too often they can end up ignoring me. So I save those moments for when it counts.

This little girl was a sweetheart. Her big blue eyes are just gorgeous and she smiled so often. The only difficult part with her was getting the pearls out of her mouth. But given that she is teething I could understand why.

The tutu in these portraits is one I made myself. I'm terrible at sewing but when I saw this and realised it requires no sewing (well just a little) I decided to give it a go. I love all the lace and had great fun collecting it from various places. This is just one more thing I'm now on the lookout for whenever I'm out. I plan on building my collection as a sort of hobby. It makes for something nice to do while watching tv at night.

So once again, if you've got a little one at home you wish to have portraits of please get in touch so we can discuss your interests. The number is 01455 611069 or email me at christina@christinalauderportraits.com. I always look forward to the next challenge.

Comments

Zoe returns, this time with baby!!!

This was a great opportunity for me to experiment in my new studio. Zoe let me do this with her baby bump a couple of months ago with great success so we took the time again, this time with her new baby. Some experiments were successful and some where not. But that comes with the territory. You can't find new and exciting ways to shoot without finding a few bad ways too. I'm just greatful that the only mess we needed to clean up in the end was a little wee. It could have been a whole lot worse.
As usual, Zoe photographs so well and I am again so pleased with the results. She is going to have some great images to show her daughter when she grows up. Zoe looks absolutely fantastic, and without any signs of having been pregnant just a few short weeks ago. Of course, apart from her bump she hardly showed any signs of even being pregnant. If only all women could be this lucky.

I had forgotten how easy it is to photograph newborns. They can't run or crawl away. Th…

Portraits of a Beautiful Young Woman and Her Guitar

You may remember a while back when I did a casting call looking for teenage boys and girls. Well this is the girl I chose. I had quite a specific look in mind, one which included really long hair. I have always had a thing for long hair. The choice also became quite simple when this young lady put herself forward as she is someone I've been photographing through school for several years and she is a past member of the Hinckley Athletics Club where she has been coached by my husband for nearly as many years. He's always had a soft spot for her, being one of his first members which helped my decision. When I have projects where I want to work with a model rather than a paying client I like to use friends or past clients whenever possible as it enables me to give something to those who have been loyal to me.

Wallis has been a pleasure to work with. She is a stunning, confident young woman. In addition, she could bring props with her that I love. I've been wanting to photogra…

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see.

I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception.

I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it now. I don…

Isabelle's Photography Experience

I'm Isabelle Stratford from Redmoor Academy and I've been doing my work experience here at Christina Lauder Photography with my friend Sophie. I'm very interested in photography and currently taking it at GCSE and working here throughout the week has helped me learn several different things about the profession.
Sophie and I testing out the set up and lighting for prom
Our first day consisted of mainly watching Christina edit some photos and her explain different elements of what she does which then prepared us for the rest of the week when we began doing our own things. She also showed us many of her favourite final edited images that she keeps as samples and told us where she'd got her inspiration from to shoot in the style that she loves. To help her Sophie and I also completed some small tasks that needed doing like filing and clearing up. On Tuesday a client came in for a trial shoot in preparation for a prom so we helped set up for that but then watched as Chris…

4 Merits, 3 Finalists, 2 Awards and a Masters!

This past week at the Societies of Photographers Convention in London was just about perfect in every way. As always I look forward to this event with mixed emotions. As a judge and speaker anxiety levels can be high. And I always know that through both working and socialising it can be an exhausting experience that is often hard to get through. However the high I finish on is simply incredible and worth all the sleepless nights and hard work, in large part due to the incredible people with whom I get to spend this week.

(Photo Credit: Mike McNamee - Sitting on a panel)
(Photo Credit: Mike McNamee - The entire judging team including print handlers)
Being amongst the judging team just gets better and better each year. It is very intimidating sitting on that panel and being resposible for assigning a score and then often providing a critique to substantiate it however the rewarding feeling when doing it well is immense. I know I am still a relatively new judge but hope I can improve each…

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog