Playing Dress-ups and Creating Fine Art Portraits with These Lovely Young Ladies

Now this is exactly what I like to do. This was not only a fun and creative session but it was also quite relaxed and low stress as each of these girls were old enough to both be patient with me and follow instructions. This allowed me to use my skills to pose and direct as needed, rather than what can happen with very young children who either don't understand the instructions or who really just want to do their own thing.

Although the very young bring their own magic to a shoot, like a cuteness factor that can't be beat, being able to take my time and direct my subjects means I can create the vision that is in my head. Probably what is most frustrating about the very young is that I can often see exactly what I want to create but without a little help from the child its not always possible. In this case all four girls worked very well and I think they all enjoyed themselves too, even the youngest performed beautifully and I couldn't be happier with all their portraits.

I've begun building a selection of clothing for all ages now. For some time I've had articles of clothing for the very young. I now have right up to adult (unfortunately still in very slim sizes but hope to grow this as I go). I even converted our summerhouse into a dressing room complete with wardrobe to house the new clothes. The girls made good use of the clothes, each picking the dresses they liked most. I only wish we had more time to use more of the wardrobe available.

In addition to creating beautiful pieces of each of these girls on their own we also created a group portrait of all together which made the perfect gift for grandma this Christmas. This session and these girls really were a joy to work with. I even received hugs at the end which made me feel very special. I like to know that we build a relationship as we work together and I hope its one that will carry on as the girls grow older. Its wonderful when clients return, allowing me to capture the next stage in their lives. I consider it a real honour.

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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...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

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 ...

I Got Me a Gold

Nearly every month I enter an online competition with the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers). Each month nearly 2000 images are entered in various categories from photographers all over the world. They are judged by a highly qualified professional and given a score of either Bronze, Silver or Gold. All Gold winners are put forward into the annual competition where they have the chance to win Photographer of the Year for its category. Well this month I was awarded a Gold in the Pet Category with the image below. This isn't the first gold I have been awarded, just the first since I started my blog. If you wish to see my other gold images please visit my website and check out our awards section. Click here to see my awards page Hopefully I will have many more of these to show you in the future.

Christina Lauder Portraits

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