Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing Gary and his family in the studio. I called Gary an hour before the shoot to see if he wanted to head to a location (Berkhamsted Castle) or have a studio shoot, the weather wasn’t looking great and so he decided to opt for the studio … as you can see below:
Harry last visited the studio when he was just 3 weeks old for a newborn photo shoot, he has changed a lot in 15 months! Walking, talking and keeping his parents busy 
Harry was a joy to photograph, he gave us some very cute expressions, a few giggles and was extremely patient. Thank you Harry!
Last week Donna brought her children and her parents to my Berkhamsted Photography Studio for some photos. You may recall seeing a recent posting about Donna’s farewell party (which was on top of Pitstone Hill), well she wanted a few photos of her nearest and dearest to take with her to California and I was only too please to oblige. Donna’s children were great fun, Joe kept pulling some of the funniest faces! His little sister, Evie, took a while before she relaxed in front of the camera – but when she did, she delivered some beautiful expressions.
A few images from the shoot:
P.S. You may also remember seeing Joe and Evie in some autumn woodland photos I took last year.
The Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead branch of the NCT are organising an Arts and Crafts Morning at the beginning of August. If you get the chance to take your children along, I’m sure that they will have a wonderful time and the Sacred Heart is a great place for children and toddlers with it’s hall and enclosed garden.
Here’s the flyer:
I met Carolin at a fair that I help organise, she was running a stall selling her book “My Tummy Yummies“. (Very generously, all proceeds from the sale of her book go to The PACE Centre who make a difference for children with physical disabilities). Anyway, after school, Carolin brought her family along to the studio for a family portrait shoot – I can’t believe that she didn’t get stuck in the traffic through Chesham on her way!
I recently acquired a new helper in the studio, until now, Eeyore had been my main partner, he flaps his long ears and sings “If you’re happy and you know it”, but he now has Noddy to help take the strain. Noddy can also sing, his song is “Make way for Noddy”.
During the shoot, Eeyore and Noddy partnered to help make Carolin and her family chuckle … well the boys were laughing pretty hard when Eeyore, who had been sitting on my head, fell off and landed on the floor.
So here are a few images:
The Ashridge Estate, close to Berkhamsted, Tring and Dunstable, is a very attractive place to visit with your family. Walks in the woodland, picnics on the grass or a cup of tea in the cafe – there’s always something to do. Our children like to climb on the giant fallen tree trunks and then eat icecreams .
This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting a beautiful young family at Ashridge – they wanted to get some family photos. At this time of the year, a location based shoot works really well. Children can run around with almost complete freedom and their parents can relax and enjoy the scenery. I worked from a distance, looking for natural, candid shots of the family – little Ethan and his cousin Harley were very cute and a joy to photograph!
Here are some shots:
Last night, a group of Berkhamsted mums met at the top of Pitstone Hill to wish Donna a fond farewell. Donna is moving a few thousand miles to sunny California for a few years – her friends organised a very fine, surprise, fish and chips at this very scenic location. I was there for an hour getting a few images to record the celebrations.
I’ve been supporting the local NCT group for a while and I recently I received a nice letter from them …
“Dear Richard
Re: Cheeky Monkeys Tea Party
Just wanted to say thank you for your advertising support. We had a good turn-out and an enjoyable morning which raised a total of £257.00 (£173.00 after expenses, which will go directly to NCT Fundraising).
Your prize draw voucher was won by …..(deleted for privacy).
We ended up with a few goodie bags left over, these are going to be given out at our next NCT ‘Arts & Crafts’ event in Berkhampsted early August.
Kind regards, Lucy”
Earlier this week I had a visit from some very lively young people who were accompanied by their mum. Ned and Lucy popped into the studio for some fun – mum, Charlotte, wanted some photos . With Lady Gaga playing in the background the shoot began, there was lots of variety with the children bringing their own ideas of what we should be doing.
Here are a few of the images we created together:
