{ Woburn Wedding } ~ Sneak Peek

What a wonderful wedding at Woburn Sculpture Gallery on Saturday, the weather and day were beautiful... what's more I had a fantastic couple, who thoroughly enjoyed their day.

If you would like to view how their engagement shoot went, its here

More to come but here is a sneak peek :)

{ HELLO SPRING } ~ Tips on how to photograph blossom

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow" Proverb

I am very lucky to have blossom trees in our neighbourhood, it means that every trip out I pass such lovely blossom, I am in awe of the light pastel colours and cheery flowers that the trees produce year on year....

How to photograph Cherry Blossom

Here are a couple of techniques to help you capture the colours and delicate white and pink blossoms.  You will have to be quick we only have a window of a couple of weeks now to capture these spring treats:

Tip #1 – Think about the light

On a bright sunny cloudless day (not that we have many!) you would think it would be perfect to shoot the soft colours, well that’s not necessarily true.  It depends on the ‘look’ you are after.

Shooting into the sun will give you high contrast and lens flare, you may also find it hard for the camera to focus. The soft colours will not appear you will have dark and light to contend with.

Taking photographs when it is cloudy is ideal as you will get better depth colours in the blossom. Take a friend and try to use a reflector - a handmade reflector if necessary.
SLR users ~ pastel colours will trick your cameras metering, to compensate click your 'exposure compensation' up a couple of notches to brighten the image (overexpose), check your histogram with the outcome. Many point-and-shoots also have a setting for photographing in snow which should give you similar results.

Tip #2 – Make sure it’s not windy

If it’s a windy day forget it, it will keep your subject moving constantly and you will not be able to gain a crisp shot of any trees and certainly no close ups of the blossom.  SLR users you may need a high ISO 1600> to make sure you capture a sharp shot.

The only alternative is to see if any branches have come loose for you to then take home and shoot indoors, please try not to damage the tree by picking of any flowers.

Tip #3 - Pay attention to the background

Be aware of what you can see through the trees, even if you have a ‘blurry’ background (for SLR users that’s a wide aperture of f2-3.5).  It’s not great if you get houses or people or bright colours distracting you from the beautiful blooms

Tip#4 – Move around the tree

Take shots close up and then take a step back and fill the frame, showing the full story of the tree. Keep an eye out for any bumble bees who love the blossom tree, see if you can catch them at work.  Get underneath the tree and look up, use the sky as a background

Tip#5 - Take props
If you do struggle with the wind or background distraction you can use the blossom within other props to show of the blooms

 

SHOW US HOW YOU GOT ON

email me here your photographs and I can show them off for you :)

Engagement Photoshoot { wildly windy }

We had to take shelter where we could a couple of weeks ago for a very blustery photoshoot.

I headed out to the lovely Milling Barn at Bluntswood hall, Hertfordshire for an engagement shoot. The couple are getting married here soon and we wanted to have a good scout around at the area, it should be beautiful in the spring.

Here are a few shots from the day, wedding to follow :)

Gorgeous girls { Portrait shoot }

A recent portrait shoot with these to lovely girls was great fun.  These are all processed with my 'Blush' finish

{ Learn Photography } ~ Courses 2014

Looking for a Christmas present for that budding photographer in your family? Book on-line now!

I have just confirmed my courses at Bay Tree Cottage for early 2014.

This time I have three types of course ~ click on the title to learn more about what will be covered in each session

*Learning to use your SLR Camera - Course covers two morning sessions. The 1st is on Friday 14th of February and the 2nd on Friday 28th of February.

*Learn Portrait, Family and Group Photography - Morning session on Friday 7th March

*Teen SLR Photography - Morning session on 18th February during half term

{ Maternity } ~ Highgate house

Had a fun time early Autumn with a maternity shoot at the fantastic Highgate House, Northamptonshire.

Here are a few from the day

{ I Love Autumn } - Family photoshoot

Autumn is now in full swing, the colours are fantastic and I have to say it is the most beautiful time to have a family photoshoot.  Weather can sometimes be a bit of a problem, I have had to reschedule a couple of shoots, but on the morning of this shoot we just had a little drizzle to contend with.... the kids never seem to mind!

All processed with a Gold tint, just to enhance the gorgeous Autumn hues.  I tend to process in a number of tones for each shoot.

A fantastic family where we got so many great shots, here are a few for you........

"Not double trouble, but twice blessed" ~ { Twins }

I am so lucky to have photographed my first lot of twins, these two gorgeous girls were only a few months old and I love how they already are so aware of each other..... Baby shoots are notoriously hard work.... twins on the other hand..... you must have time and patience... oodles of it!