Christina Lauder Portraits

Another great aspect of what I do for a living is being involved with new businesses and getting to see the enthusiasm of others as they develop and live their dreams.  This week I was able to provide both product photography and PR shots for the owner and designer of Juben Handbags as she continues her pursuit following the recent launch of her unique handbags.  Juliette Ryley began this dream several years ago as a design project while still a student, only recently taking the time to develop the project further.  Even going as far as securing exclusive rights to her unique design. One of Juben's missions is  "To aid the recovery of British manufacturing by designing and hand making (their) entire range of innovative signature design handbags in the UK", which is a sentiment dear to my heart as well.  Too many jobs have been taken out of this country, a factor that I feel plays a strong part in the econ...

When I first arrived at Christina's studio I found it to be very  Professional and clean. On the the first day, we had a meeting in Coventry with One Vision Imaging to discuss different types of frames and glass. Also Christina suggested they tried something different by taking certain elements of one frame and glass and changing it, creating a new product they could sell. When it came to Wednesday, we had a group of 4 men from a very high end business company. Whilst Christina was photographing the men, I was watching and looking at all the positioning of the lights and where Christina was stood. Overall I think this day was good for me because it showed me how an ordinary day was for Christina. After the photo shoot Christina showed me, on the computer how to edit the photos and make them so that the photos were pleasing to the customer. Later on that day, Christina took some photos of me and then I got to choose...

Had a phone call last Thursday morning for urgent photographs at the Daventry Court Hotel .  Luckily it was half term and a day I had nothing on so was able to make it.  Just had a daughter I needed taking care of but that was easy enough to resolve.  As it turns out I really enjoy photographing hotel rooms.  And as I've said before, sometimes its great not having to worry about posing or expressions or even making conversation.  I was left to it and just enjoyed the job at hand.  I didn't even require lighting equipment.  Just my camera with a wide angle lense, tripod and cable release.  The bulk of the work took place back on the computer, merging images, using HDR and making sure the rooms appear as the eye would perceive them.  The following image was taking of the large meeting room which was actually set up to show two different ways the room can use used.  I was quite surprised to see the staging but thought it w...

I'm relatively new to corporate head shots but having been asked for a few recently I've taken the time to investigate what I like and don't like about what's currently on offer.  To be honest, as a professional portrait photographer, not many have the quality that an executive deserves.  So I set out to create a style that I think is not only current, but also depicts a strong and confident individual which would serve well, many executive teams.  Together myself and another local photographer, Lee Glasgow, worked to create my vision of a corporate head shot.  I'll be using this new lighting setup next week with my next corporate client when they visit me for portraits for their directors.  When I discussed with them their needs and what they were looking for I was told they already had photos taken they were unhappy with.  Having looked at those images and having listened to the description of how they would like their team protrayed I thin...

  I knew this image was a favourite for a reason.  The judges of the monthly competition obviously agreed.  So often winning competition entries aren't just about the technical qualities but also about the story telling within an image.  And for me this tells a very sweet story.  This lovely puppy was oblivious to the commotion in the background but instead intent on behaving for the camera.  She wanted her portrait taken and didn't care what her brothers and sisters were getting up to.  I love it!