Earlier this month, I posted an article on the blog letting you know that I’d become a member of the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers). Since then, I’ve applied for their first level of qualification which is Licentiate. Today I’m very pleased to announce that the panel of 3 very senior and well respected photographers have examined my application, which included 20 recent pieces of work, and have awarded me the Licentiate qualification.

Here are the images that formed my application:

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I’ve taken the plunge and become a member of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP). It provides a members directory for people searching for photographers in their area and to members it offers a most comprehensive range of educational seminars by inspirational speakers.  So I’ll be doing more courses and progressing on the path of continuous improvement to deliver you the best possible experience and images.

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Yesterday evening a lovely couple from High Wycombe visited the studio for a portrait shoot. (Joanne booked me after finding my website on google). The three of us spent a while discussing the shoot and looking at  sample pictures which depict the style of work I typically produce. On with some music and out with the camera! Here are a few pictures from the session:

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Harry at 3 weeks

Today I met a beautiful young family from Radlett. Dan, Karen and their gorgeous newborn baby Harry arrived at the studio this morning for a portrait shoot. Harry was very sweet and had a sparkle in his eyes.

After a short chat about the shoot, clothes and a look at some possible poses, we commenced the shoot. We spent about 60% of the time with a high key set up, white background and soft lighting. Once that part was completed, and after Harry filled his tummy, we swapped over to a black background and more directional lighting.

Mum and Harry

I hope mum and dad like these early pictures, they’re hot off the press. Dan is heading overseas very soon for work and so I’m working hard on post-processing all the images from the shoot so we can be ready for a viewing before he leaves.

Dad and Harry

Karen mentioned that she wished she had some maternity portraits before the birth of Harry – if you are expecting, please check out the maternity portrait page and blog articles to see the kind of work I do in this area.

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Sweet young lady!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a family from Harpenden, Sam and Darren brought their 7 month old daughter and Sam’s parents to the studio for some family portraits.

Baby Emily was so cute and such a pretty young lady! She seemed to enjoy posing for the camera and had lots of patience with me.

For the first time, I had an assistant in the studio, Emily’s grandfather, he very kindly attracted her attention with a prop I keep to hand – a singing Eeyore who has ears that clap! Many thanks for your help!

I’ve been busy processing the pictures from the shoot, here are a few for mum and dad. I’ll be in touch soon to arrange your viewing.

Mother and daughter

Proud Parents

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Aylesbury Family Portrait

A family from a small village near Aylesbury visited the studio on Sunday. The three children were full of energy and took advantage of the good weather and the fact that the studio is located in my garden, running around for a good 10 minutes before we started the shoot. Dad wasn’t feeling at his best after celebrating England’s win over Scotland in the rugby on Saturday afternoon ;  mum wasn’t too sympathetic after all, it was Mother’s Day and she was expecting him to make an effort for her!

Mother and Son.

The family were great fun to photograph and the kids wanted to try all sorts of poses! Many thanks for your visit , your photos will be ready for viewing soon – I think we have some great family portraits for you to see!

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Our youngest doesn’t go to nursery on a Wednesday and my wife usually looks after him, but not this week, she needed to in to work for a meeting and so this morning, I took our baby out for some fun at a Hemel Hempstead park. There was a chance for some photography whilst we were out, across the road from the park was a field full of daffodils, they were looking very pretty in the warm morning sunshine. There was another photographer working away, he didn’t talk or even acknowledge my presence, oh well.  After a few shots of the flowers, I pushed our 20 month old along in his push chair and through the underpass to the park, after a 10 minute stroll we arrived at the children’s play area. He was very excited and enjoyed playing on the slides and climbing frames very much – it was his first visit to this park. We’re back home now and he’s gone for a well earned sleep! Where shall we go next time – mead open farm? Tring’s natural history museum or a bit of kite flying at Dunstable downs???

A beautiful spring morning

Roll on the summer

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Mum to be - Looking very elegant

Very kindly, this young lady from near Hemel Hempstead, has allowed me to show you these maternity portraits. She’s about 6 or 7 months pregnant and wanted to record this special time and decided to be brave and have a series of nudes. After she arrived, we looked through some example photos so that she could consider the poses that she liked and would be happy with.

The shoot started with some bump shots with some fabric wrapped around her, just below the bump. Then we moved on to a sequence of shots with her lying on the floor in various poses. She was very relaxed and didn’t seem at all nervous about the experience so we the moved on to shoot some silhouettes (which I think make wonderful maternity portraits).

Hemel hempstead pregnancy portrait

This mum to be has been back to the studio for her viewing and she said she was delighted with the results (many thanks for the order!), she was very easy to work with and as I said earlier very generous, letting me share these pictures with you. Good luck with the birth!

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20 Years of bliss!

A lovely couple from Watford visited the studio, M. decided to buy his wife a portrait as a 20th Wedding Anniversary present and I was lucky enough to be chosen as the photographer for the job. They wanted a large framed picture to hang on their wall M’s wife told me that she liked the white background pictures with natural poses that she had seen on my portraiture website and so that’s was the brief.

We started with the white background and some full length shots, then to 3/4 and on to head and shoulders. I tried to keep some variation, standing up, sitting down etc and we even managed to get M. to kneel on one knee for a couple of shots.

Once the high key shots were all completed and with my clients wearing black tops, I suggested that we might try using a black background and some directional lighting. They were ready to give it a try and 5 minutes later, with the backdrop replaced, the lights adjusted and a few test shots, we were all set.  A short sequence of shots and the shoot was over.

M and his wife seemed to enjoy the shoot, there were lots of smiles and laughter (especially when we tried to get M to kneel down!). They were a joy to work with, very decisive, easy to direct and open to try different things.

Wonderful smiles

A shift of mood

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Lots of smiles here!

Daniela (from Leighton Buzzard) and her three friends arrived at the studio on Saturday afternoon for a shoot. It was a 30th Birthday surprise for one of the girls and I think they were planning to have a drink or two in Berkhamsted once the shoot was completed.

The studio was switched from my families/children/baby set up where I use the raised stage, to a full height arrangement; the stage comes apart and is moved out of the way, I then utilise a white vinyl backdrop which is unrolled to cover the back wall and the floor.

After a brief chat with the 4 young ladies, it was clear that they wanted very informal, natural group shots. I think above all, they wanted to have some fun!

Piggyback rides!

For 25 minutes or so, I made suggestions for poses that I thought would work well and for the remainder of the session, the girls used their own imagination and tried out lots of different things from Charlie’s Angels to piggyback rides!

30 today!

Daniela and her friends were great fun to work with. I hope you enjoyed yourselves at the shoot and later on during your evening out on the town!

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