Thanks from Kate and Andy

Got this email today from Kate and Andy. It's this kind of email that highlights the joys of being a photographer, when you can help bring extra helpings of happiness into peoples' lives - and they heap it onto you too! It leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling!

"Zoe,
I have just finished looking through our photo's for about the 7th time this evening. THEY ARE AMAZING…

We have been absolutely bowled over by the stunning pictures you have taken and how you seemed to capture the whole 'mood' of the day which was 'love and fun,'

There are so many special moments you have captured that Andy and I just can't quite believe how you took them (did you become invisble for some part of the day?) I LOVE the ones you took of Andy in my Dad's conservatory… the ones of Dad, Freya and I before we got in the car, the ones of Freya coming down the stairs, the outdoor ones - just far too many to mention.
I have posted the photo's on confetti and had nothing but positive replies - my uncle and aunt saw them aswell this evening and my uncle had a tear in his eye! I too, have just cried when I read your blog… In you we feel as if we have found a friend. Thank you so much.

To have you at our wedding was a complete honour… a true professional and a lady too. You touched our hearts with the way you have captured our special day and the important people we had sharing it with us. Some of the photo's are truly stunning, original and I think it shows how much fun we had with the photo's with the amount of times we were laughing !

So once again, THANK YOU… Friends, family, Kevin (my driver) and Glynnis (the catering manageress at Wigan Town Hall!) have all commented on how lovely you were!

With lots of love and many many many thanks,
Kate Morris.

p.s. Freya has a new teddy bear which she has called Oe - as in 'Zoe' without the 'Z' - we presume this is because of you."

Maxine and Banny

We're looking forward to photographing Maxine and Banny's wedding in September - they have such a good sense of humour that we just know we'll have a good time. Here are some of the photographs we took at their pre-wedding shoot recently.

Andy and Kate's Wedding (and Freya too!)

Venue: The Atrium, Wigan Town Hall

Honeymoon Destination: The Lake District

I had such a lovely time with Kate, Andy and their daughter Freya on Friday. They are just the sweetest, kindest family you could hope to meet, and it was lovely to see such love between the three of them. So it felt like a real privilege to be invited to photograph Kate and Andy's wedding in Wigan. It was a small, intimate wedding, with the ceremony in the beautiful surroundings of The Atrium of Wigan Town Hall, followed by a short walk through parts of Wigan for some photographs - and cheers from passers-by! And then back to Wigan Town Hall for the reception, where Kate had chosen a classic theme of white and silver - simply beautiful.

Here are just a few of their wedding photographs, starting with Freya.








Thank you Andy, Kate and Freya for letting me be part of your day - I had a great time!

More of Andy and Kate's wedding photographs are online on my Wedding Website .

Dave and Sandy

I met up with Dave and Sandy on the Southbank in London, close to the London Eye, so that we could do a quick pre-wedding shoot. We had a really nice time together, and got some gorgeous photographs of the two of them - but then that's not difficult with them being such a beautiful couple.

Here is a small sample of their photographs - more can be viewed on my wedding website . I can't wait until their wedding in Italy in September!

Sunset in Southport

Southport is on the North West coast of England, with a beautiful, long, sandy beach. We get gorgeous sunsets here, as you can see in this sunset at the Pier.

The Richards Family Get Fit!!

Well, we needed to do it! We have all been piling the weight on all summer, so Rob has had a tow bar fitted to his car, we've bought a trailer thing for the bikes to go on, and we're off in search of the perfect traffic-free cycle tracks in the North West of England. I haven't cycled much at all in the last 5 or 6 years, but we all used to love cycling, and we love watching the Tour de France. This year's Tour of Britain goes almost passed our house, so we'll be having to watch that too!

Our first trip out wasn't far from home to be honest, but having the bike trailer meant that we could miss out the first 3 miles of the route, all of which is along a really busy road into Liverpool which would have scared the living daylights out of Ellie. We went to the Cheshire Lines path, which is built along an old railway line, and enjoyed a leisurely cycle for around 10 miles. I say liesurely, well, it was easy going out, but on the way back I discovered we'd had the wind behind us - it was quite a struggle after we'd turned around!

I'm hoping the exercise will help me lose the extra pounds, so I'll keep a photographic record of how we do - I just couldn't bear to take a photograph today though! On Wednesday we're going to Glasson Docks near Lancaster, so I promise to take the camera along there with us.
Z

Professional Photographer Magazine Article

I am so chuffed! This month I have an article published in the UK Professional Photographer Magazine! It is about my successes with competition entries, and features some of my photographs. You can buy your copy of the magazine at all major newsagents, such as Borders, WH Smith, etc. And if you get a copy, I'd love to know what you think of the article! I have posted the article below, but it is too small for you to be able to read it - but you can get a sense of what it's all about.
Z

Tero Sade is coming to town!

Are you a photographer who is building a portrait business, or would like to improve your sales in your portrait business?

We are hosting a Tero Sade seminar on 10th September 2007 at our studio in Southport.

Here is what Tero and Julie write about the seminar - they say it so much better than I could.

"Portraits for Passion, Profit and Lifestyle!

This is your special invitation to come spend a day with one of the world's leaders in portrait marketing. Learn how in just 4 days per week, 40 weeks per year, Tero Sade personally photographs and generates over $500 000 in portrait sales in one of the poorest communities in Australia.

Find out how by implementing his very simple marketing systems, Tero can predict and control both his work and cash flows. What would it mean to you if you could gain control of your portrait business?

Only Three seminars in the UK

10th September - Southport, Merseyside - only 16 spots left
12th September - Wolverhampton - only 10 spots left
14th September - Guildford - only 15 spots left

9.30am registration, lunch and refreshments included, concludes 5.00pm

For just £78.00, you could change your business forever.
This is the seminar you can't afford to miss!"

To find out more and book, go to http://www.fotoseminars.com/

Hope you decide to book - and if you do, I'd love to see you in our studio in Southport on 10th September!
Z

Fashion Shoot

Photographer: Zoe Richards

Make-up Artist: Sarah Heap

Models: Sindy Walsh

John Whaite

Photographer's Assistant: Liam

Purpose: Test Shoot

This is a recent fashion shoot with John and Sindy at a local farm where there is a rambled old mansion house. We had great fun amongst the mud, the chickens and the peacocks!

This is me!

Here is a photograph taken by the wonderfully talented David Williams when he was visiting us from Australia in June - that's me in the front, and Rob and Ellie in the background. We were really lucky to have David stay with us when he was running his 'Almost Alone ' course in Southport - many photographers will know of David as he is a caring and sharing guy who teaches you so much about understanding who you are as a photographer. As a family we feel really privileged to have been touched by David, and look forward to welcoming him into our home again.

And talking of 'Almost Alone', I am very alone this weekend, as Rob and Ellie have gone to the Leeds festival - the annual father/daughter bonding session. Truthfully I think that Rob is reliving his youth, and is really chuffed that he has a daughter who loves the same music as he does! Me? Well, I love the music, just not the crowds! So I am staying home to look after the dog - someone has to!

Z

My New Blog

This is really exciting - my new blog! So let's start with a little bit of info on who I am. My name is Zoe, I am married to Rob, and have a daughter, Ellie, who is 15 and my pride and joy! We also have a dog called Sam - although he gets called Sammy more often than not. And until a week ago we had a cat called Jess, but she sadly died after living with us for 16 years - I got her before I knew I was pregnant with Ellie.

I am a professional photographer based in Southport, Merseyside in the the North West of England, and I consider myself to be really lucky that I work at what I love. I have been able to shoot in various places across the UK and in Europe, most recently in Italy.

I will use this blog to post photographs of projects that I am working on, such as my fashion photography, portrait sessions, and fine art work. I also shoot around 12 weddings a year as I love to be able to bring a touch of the glamour of fashion into the lives of real people on their wedding day - and of course I will post photographs from those weddings for everyone to enjoy.

Thanks for checking in - I'll post more later.
Z