Christina Lauder Portraits

For the past few years my husband and I have been attending the Burbage Carnival and remarking to ourselves at how much better it could be. The carnival seemed to be declining in recent years. Earlier this year I met someone (Harvey) who mentioned that he joined the committe. When I asked him why he said he had been remarking that the carnival could do with some improvements. The response he received was rather than complain why don't you join the committee and do something about it. Its hard to argue with that. The following week I found myself, along with my husband, at the Burbage Carnival meeting. And we've been attending (most meetings) ever since. With this being our first year we didn't want to dive in head first. We contributed where we felt we could but it was great to see that what little we were able to offer still made a difference on the day. We're now very much looking forward to seeing just how much of a difference we can make next year. I just hope it ...

A little while a go I had the pleasure of photographing 4 week old Marcus. He was the perfect subject, being only 4 weeks old and unable to walk away. And his little pj's were simply gorgeous. I even had the pleasure of a cuddle at the end while his mother and I had a chat. I'm looking forward to seeing him again at our next visit. We're in the process of developing a new product range which will include a series of portrait sessions to take place within the first year of a baby's life. So we will be seeing plenty more of Marcus in the coming months.

This week I had a great time photographing Charlotte. I choose to make it a relaxing session taking very much a consultative approach. Together we worked through the session as a team and not just a photographer and subject. And the results, I feel, are spectacular. For me it is my best work to date and I can't wait to see how some of these images fair in the SWPP's monthly competition. The image above is by far my favorite. And I can't wait to get the sample for the studio. I am pleased with all aspects from composition to lighting and expression. In fact I absolutely love most of the images with the hoody. I must remember to try this again. Our aim was to create a portfolio for Charlotte as she is coming to the end of her 3 year course with the Phil Winston Theatreworks College in Blackpool. She required head shots as well as commercial shots so we spent the morning playing around with various outfits, backgrounds and lighting set ups. It was a great chance for me to...

Well I had intended on keeping up with my blog a little better than I have been lately but time has just moved too quickly this spring. There just isn't enough hours in the day to keep up with everything. So what have I been up to? Well, we've done more Clique parties, baby shoots (which I will have photos to add soon), a ruby anniversary portrait, and much more. We've been to the Mayor's ball, been helping out with the Burbage Carnival and working on a number of events for the near future. We have a couple of things we are working on that I can't wait to reveal but until I am a little further along in the process I don't want to spill the beans. But I am really excited about the possibilities for the future and will share it here as soon as possible. I should have a number of things to post in the next few weeks. So please keep coming back. This is a very exciting time for us.

This week I had the pleasure of photographing the staff at the Vicky-Anne Academy of Dance and Drama. The Vicky-Anne Academy is based in Burbage (above the co-op) and runs classes for children aged two and a half right up to adulthood. In fact, I too attend a class there and have done for the past 3 years. If you wish to contact the Academy here is a link to their website http://www.vickyanneacademy.co.uk/ where you can read about all the classes, times, events and contact details. This is a group I work with quite regularly, doing such things as class photos, show photos and costume photos. I love taking the show photos as it gives me a chance to do something completely different to my usual. There is no posing of any kind and no setting up of lights and as such no need to worry about whether or not I have the light spot on. I just get to float around shooting what I can, trying to capture a special moment. These photos were taken for Vicky-Anne's website. She'd asked for a ...

'The Beast', a brand new, very out of the ordinary cross country race which should be here for years to come. Now although it is the last thing I would ever sign up to take part in myself, having been up close and personal taking the photos I can see why so many would find this a great race. If getting dirty and wet while having a real work out is your thing then you would love the Beast. For more details on this race and to keep posted of future similar events check out http://www.purepersonaltraining.co.uk/index.php?page=pure_corporate . The Beast is just the first of many to come. When I was asked to photograph this race jumped at the chance to photograph something different from the usual and to get out of the studio for change. This opportunity presented me with the challenge of capturing a great moment while making the most of the backdrop available to me, which at this location was beautiful. I woke up that morning at first thinking, great its not sunny so we will ha...

Last year I had the honour of photographing Rosemarie and Tony's wedding. This year I had the honour of photographing them yet again for their website. We spent a morning taking various images, bouncing ideas off each other to arrive at something we were all happy with. As is the case with most adults we had a barrier to break through in order to get shots that worked. I think most people come to a shoot with the belief that they don't photograph well or they don't know how to smile. Being in front of a camera is difficult. I don't pretend that it is anything less than that. I myself do not like to be photographed which is why I am quite happy being the one who is almost always behind the camera. But in time, if we take our time, we can get even the most camera shy person to relax. And I believe that it is relaxing that will eventually get the images that look natural and flattering. Rosemarie and Tony are the owners of Heterarchy, an interior architecture and...