Jerry the Horse

I love photographing people involved in activities that they enjoy doing - so it was great fun to be asked to photograph Jerry the horse for Hannah.  She even let me have a little ride at the end, which was such fun - I haven't ridden for a few years, so I ached a bit afterwards, but it was worth it.  Jerry is a beautiful horse, full of energy, and clearly much loved by Hannah.  When I photograph lifestyle shoots like this I like to get involved in the whole event, so we photographed everything from mucking out to tacking up, as well as photographing Hannah riding Jerry.

Lawrence and Gerry's Wedding

Ceremony: Croxteth Hall, Croxteth Park, Liverpool

Reception: New Capital Restaurant, China Town, Liverpool

Honeymoon: Sorrento, Italy

Lawrence and Gerry got married on Tuesday at Croxteth Hall in Croxteth Park, Liverpool.  At the start of the day it looked like the weather was a bit dodgy, but it soon cheered up - I don't think any amount of rain would have dampened the spirits of the day though!  It was such a fantastic day, if a little tiring for us.  We started off with the girls in the centre of Liverpool, and then the guys came along for the bartering for the bride - some of the games looked cruel ... here's a little 'taster' of what happened!  I don't think I can show the photograph that came straight after this one!

And here is a little teaser of the day, starting with Gerry who looked radiant - absolutely stunning!

Considering the weather earlier in the day, it was glorious when we came outside Croxteth Hall.

After the ceremony at Croxteth Hall Lawrence and Gerry went to the New Capital Restaurant in China Town in Liverpool.  The food was amazing - probably the best Chinese food we have ever had!  Gerry changed into a red dress that had been specially designed and made for her.

And after the 14 course meal there was a Tea Ceremony

In the early evening we took everyone outside for a few photographs.

And finally, we had a play around with shadows - the light was gorgeous, and I just spotted the beautiful effects of their shadows on the wall - I love this!

Thank you Lawrence and Gerry for inviting us to be part of your day - it was a privilege to be involved and to feel so welcomed by everyone.  We had a fantastic day!

Clair and Mark

It was freezing on Sunday when we got together with Clair and Mark for their pre-wedding shoot.  Thankfully the wedding isn't until August, when it should be nice and warm!  Mind you, in past years, it has been quite warm at this time of year, so I think we all expected it to be ok.  We met up at Lydiate Priory before going to Hayloft Farm and Tea Shop for a warm up.

Clair and Mark are getting married at one of our favourite venues, West Tower Country Hotel in Aughton, so we are really looking forward to it.

Charm, Birkdale - Fashion Shoot

On a rainy day in early March I took my car in for its service, so I had no transport for the day.  I needed to go into Birkdale in Southport, and from our house that means the easiest way to get there is walking, which normally I wouldn't mind.  But that day it was pouring down and I was soaked through.  As I got to Birkdale Village I passed a gorgeous fashion boutique I had been meaning to visit for months, so, soaking wet, I decided that I might as well call in.  And that was the start of a wonderful new relationship with Keith and Michelle, the owners.

Yesterday Keith and I took Abi, our model and part-time assistant in the boutique, into Liverpool along with a broad range of the clothes and bags from the store to photograph them for Charm's new website (click on the title above to go straight to the Charm site).

Here is a small selection of photographs that we were able to get in the freezing cold weather (Abi just pretended it was the Caribbean!)

This is Keith's favourite photograph - have to agree with him that I love it, but I think the one above, with Abi holding the bag is my favourite ... sorry Keith!
We went over to Sefton Park at the end of the afternoon to photograph the Boutique range - I just love this outfit that Abi is wearing.
The rest of the shoot was done at The Rope Walks in Liverpool - I love photographing there because there are so many different looks in one small square.

Big thanks to Abi for working so hard in such cold conditions, and managing to pull off the pretense that the weather was so much warmer.  My only regret of the day is that we didn't take some photographs on Lark Lane, which we would have loved to do, but we ran out of time.  Maybe next time

Jenny's Portfolio Session Part 2

The weather couldn't be more different than last week - the sun shone almost too brightly!  At least we were able to complete Jenny's modeling portfolio for her.  I think our only problem now will be selecting which photographs to use - there are so many brilliant shots.

Here is a tiny sample of what we were able to photograph today.

Teen Shoot - End of an Era

Today I photographed a group of teenagers who are coming to the end of an era - they leave school next term, after doing their GCSEs, and although they will still be there for each other through college they wanted to mark the end of school in style, so we took some photographs of each of them individually and of the girls as a group - it was bit chilly, but I think the girls were happy to get a bit cold to get the right images!

Rugby with the Boys

Even though it was really cold this morning, I was out on the rugby pitch today with the Ball boys to get some secret photographs for their dad.  And whilst we were there, we got some photographs of mum too.

I love photographs like this one - you don't have to have a person's face in the photograph to know it's them - and the action in this photograph makes a lot of the activity that these two love so much, so it really tells their story.

Tips for Brides 3 - Traditions

There are so many times that people tell me their wedding is different from everyone elses, and then you find that actually it's much the same, largely because of their own, or their mother's, desire for tradition to be followed.  So let's look at some of those traditions.

Did you know that white wedding dresses only became fashionable with Queen Victoria?  Before then brides would wear brightly coloured dresses to celebrate their joy at getting married.  When Queen Victoria wore a white dress, it was linked to what the christian church had taken on as a symbol of purity.  Poorer women would simply wear their best dress, whatever colour it was.  So go on, be brave, and add colour back into weddings, move on from the Victorian imposed 'traditions'!

Veils were originally used in the days when marriages were arranged for the joining of two families (often associated with land).  Quite often a painting (maybe a miniature) would be sent to the groom to show him what his bride would look like, but the painting would not necessarily be an accurate record of her looks (Oliver Cromwell is famously painted as he really looked because he insisted on being painted 'warts and all' at a time when paintings glorified people).  When the bride walked down the aisle she wore the veil to hide her real looks, and it wasn't until they were married that the groom would see exactly who he had married.

The saying 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' comes from Victorian times (those Victorians have a lot to answer for!).  The 'something old' signified the move from the old life for the bride, and the 'something new' relates to the new life that is about to begin.  Having 'something borrowed' is about borrowing something from a happily married woman to encourage some of the same happiness to rub of onto the bride's marriage.  And the 'something blue' is representative of fidelity, as blue represents purity.  The lesser known part of the same at the end is '... and a sixpence in her shoe.' and signifies wishing the bride financial wealth - it's said it should be in the left shoe, by the way. 

Throwing confetti originates from the throwing of rice, and rice is seen as being life giving, and so symbolises the bestowing of fertility on the couple.

The groom wearing a button hole flower comes from the days when he would wear his lady's colours to demonstrate his love for her.

The bride stands on the left of the groom at the altar to allow the groom to keep his sword hand free.

S you're not going to see the groom the night before the wedding?  Well that also links back to arranged marriages where the bride and groom couldn't see each other in case they realised they were not marrying who they thought they were.

I love traditions, but I also feel that you should do what you want for your wedding, which might be to follow tradition, and also could be about you setting tradition aside and doing your own thing, being truly different.

Jenny's Portfolio Session Part 1

The weather beat us today, so instead of a full day shoot as we'd expected, Jenny only had a morning session, but we'll do part 2 next week when the wind isn't blowing a gale, and the rain isn't falling horizontally!  It also felt like it was one of the coldest days of the year, but I guess that was the wind chill factor.

So, here is a small selection of Jenny's photographs from today, taken at her home, the effects in the first one being helped along by Hannah, my assistant for the day, holding a light outside and shining it through the door. I was nice and warm inside, but I think poor Hannah felt the chill in the air!

Fashion Shoot

I was working on a fashion shoot today, and photographed Jade and Jess who came along to help.  More on the fashion shoot when the images are released in a week or so.