Creating Real Portraits and Valuable Keepsakes.

Since I began as a photographer it has been my goal to provide more than just a photograph. I don't want to provide snap shots of a person but instead create something about the person. Just yesterday I heard an educator in the field refer to one of his friends who said that a photograph is OF someone but a portrait is ABOUT someone. And that is what I want to create for my clients, portraits about them, whenever I get the opportunity.

I've recently, thanks to my Fellowship, developed a style that is perfect for photographing a child that shows a little about themselves. And while creating my Fellowship I was fortunate enough to have a client like one of the images and ask for it for her daughter. She said her 3 year old loves dolls and doll prams and that shot would be perfect for her. So I asked her about her son and what he likes to do so I could come up with something for him. "He plays rugby", she said. Perfect I thought. "How do you feel about getting him muddied up for a portrait in his kit?"

I was so pleased she was keen on the idea.

I knew I wanted the intense stare for what would be the perfect portrait in my eyes. But just in case I made sure I got the a nice smiley one too. I know that artistically I am drawn to less smiley portraits but that not all my clients are, so I do like to play safe and capture a variety. In this case though my client chose the same one I did to be framed for their wall. I often find myself mesmerised by this portrait I love it so much. He did a perfect job. Although much to my surprise, it took him a bit to warm to the idea of playing with the mud. I think it was the idea of the obviously necessary shower he was going to need when he got him that was putting him off.

During these sessions I also create the standard simple portraits because I know my clients might need a variety of images for a variety of purposes.

I've recently had another opportunity for one of my real portraits which I am hoping to share here soon and I definitely hope to get more opportunities in future. If you're interested in having a personal portrait like this of your child or children please get in touch. I'd love to help you create a true keepsake. Give me a call on 01455 611069 so we can discuss.

Comments

My First London Fashion Shoot

Well I finally did it. I bit the bullet and faced my fears and headed to London with a good friend, Mr. Panikos Hajistilly to do my first location shoot. We chose our locations together and Panikos organised a model and brought so much of his gear which he kindly shared with me. And probably most importantly, he showed me how it's done. I was so surprised to see just how much wonderful light was there, just waiting to be used. I am a studio photographer and while I understand the use of studio flash very well, I am very much out of practice and out of my comfort zone with using available light. Its one thing to place lights and backdrops around my subject in the comfort of my studio. Its very different to find the right light and the right backdrop in unfamiliar territory and to place my subject in it. That may sound simple enough but honestly it is not, particularly on a day with no clouds in the sky. One of our planned locations just wasn't possible as a result of the

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

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani

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

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog