Some recent work

Well, still in that vein of trying to get back up to date here is a selection of photographs that I have taken recently at our new location at Stanley Grange on Knowsley Hall Park. More to come!

Bridal Photographs in Southport

What an amazing day!  A bridal shoot with everyone kitted out like brides for the day!  

It started early for the girls, none of whom are professional models, who all had their hair designed and styled by Shush, Southport's Bridal Hair Salon, based in Birkdale.  Make-up was beautifully applied by Becky and Sian Louise who made each girl shine.  We then got them dressed up in the most stunning dresses from The Wedding Rooms in Formby - designs included were Marylise, Ellis Bridal and Imogene.  

And finally, after everyone got dressed and titivated in my studio we crossed over the road to Owens Restaurant on Hoghton Street in Southport as Tony Owen and Clare were kind enough to lend us their space in the restaurant for the shoot.

Here is just a small sample of the wonderful photographs we were able to capture today, starting with a group photograph - thank you to all the girls involved, and thanks too to Shush, The Wedding Room, Becky, Sian Louise and Tony Owen.

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

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.

40s Themed Fashion Shoot

This is a very tiny sample of some of the photographs I took at the recent 1940s themed fashion shoot. These photographs are not going to be used in the book, so I have permission to upload them now as samples. These showcase the gorgeous and talented Fleur, who makes me think of Freda Kahlo here. My mother loves Kahlo's self portraits, so I think I must have been influenced just a little.

I can't wait to share some of the photographs from the shoot that are being featured in the book - but as the press releases don't go out until the start of April, I can't do that yet!  You'll just have to wait ... sorry for the tease!

1940s Themed Fashion Shoot

On Sunday I worked on a fantastic fashion shoot in London where I was recreating a 1940s theme.  It was such great fun, with Nina of Ninas Vintage Hair in Waterloo, London - www.ninasvintageandretrohair.com - doing the hair styling, and Theo and Fleur being our 1940s models.  It was quite bizarre watching these normal girls from our era transforming into young ladies of the 40s!  

In order to get the look right I researched 1940s fashion photography, and other photographs of the era, including looking through photographs of 40s Hollywood stars.  It was really interesting to see how photographic styles have changed as well as the ways in which we pose models today in comparison to the 40s. But it was also interesting to see more of how the 40s has influenced fashion photography of today.

At the moment I can't post the images that I have taken as they are for a book, so I have to wait for permissions for me to use them on my blog, but I am so excited, I can't wait to show you some of them!  The whole feeling of the 40s comes across straight away.

Quick update!!!!

I have just seen a print out of one of the photographs in the style that it will be printed in the book, and it looks amazing - so exciting!  I actually had tears in my eyes when I looked at it, and I feel so proud that I have created the photographs that are going in the book.  We are now planning the second shoot, when we hope to finish all the work off before all the final work gets done on the book.  This is so exciting, and I do wish I could share some of the photographs, but in time I will be able to!

Clemmie in London

Yesterday I had a lot of fun photographing Clemmie in London.  We had a play around with video lights, as you can see in this photograph taken at the City Inn, Millbank in London.  

My daughter, Ellie has challenged me to take at least one photograph a day throughout 2008 - ok, so I missed the first couple of weeks as she only challenged me on Friday!  So this photograph of Clemmie is the first of the 'Take a Pic a Day' series that I am going to build up.  And at the end of the year I'll make a slideshow using all the 'Take a Pic a Day' series.

Some Photography Fun in 2007

Hope you enjoy this slideshow - it's a compilation of just a few of the photographs I have taken this year. I've had such a great year, met loads of lovely people, won 9 awards, taken some amazing photographs, had an article published in a national photography magazine, and another in a regional bridal magazine, been to Italy for fashion shoots and weddings, and generally had a really good time! I'd love you to leave a comment about the slideshow telling me what you think of it. And the year isn't even finished yet!

A Christmas Gift with a Difference for 2007

Thinking of getting something different for someone special in your life this Christmas?

Then how about buying a Photo Shoot Gift Certificate? The person who receives the Gift Certificate will have £165 credit for your outlay of just £75 for the Family or Child Portraits, and with the Fashion Shoot, the Gift Certificate provides a credit value of £215 for your outlay of just £95. Purchase any 2 Gift Certificates and receive a further discount of £10.

The Gift Certificate pays for the photo shoot along with a 16x12in fine art print ready for framing, along with the option to upgrade with the remaining credit. Please rest assure that this is not an opportunity for hard sell from me afterwards though - I am confident that whoever you buy the Gift Certificate for will love their photo shoot and the photographs that I take, and if they want to purchase more I will show them the options available to them; equally if they simply want the photograph from the gift you have bought them, then they won't be forced to buy anymore.

You can choose from the following 3 Gift Certificates:

Fashion Photo Shoot for the woman or teenager who would love to be a model for a few hours.


Family Lifestyle Portrait - enjoy a morning or afternoon out at a favourite place whilst having your family portraits taken - we can go to the beach, go up into the hills, visit a local park, or anywhere else that is important to you as a family.

Child Lifestyle Portrait Session - photographs taken in a studio environment are great, but how much better to have a portrait of your child (aged up to 18 years old) surrounded by things that tell their story. Are they into music, sport, horses, art, cycling, shoes or shopping? Then let their photograph tell the story of who they are with the Lifestyle Child Portrait Session.

Photo shoots must be booked by 31st March 2008, and the shoot will be arranged for any time from February to October 2008 to fit around your family. Special arrangements can be made for family who live away from the area, so if they are all visiting at Christmas I will work with you to see if we can arrange something when everyone is together - please talk to me about your particular needs.

Nick

Nick was great to photograph - we shared the same tastes in music which was useful for the studio session because I forgot my iPod! Thankfully he had his. And although it was a bit cold we went down to the sand dunes and got some fantastic photographs. I love this first one where he is looking all thoughtful.

Anna

Just a small selection of photographs of gorgeous Anna from a recent photo shoot. We had a great time in the studio and out on location at the sand dunes at Southport beach. Anna is training to be a makeup artist, and did a great job with her own makeup.

Fashion Shoot in Italy

Designer: Amy Radcliffe
Make-up Artist: Sarah Heap
Photographer: Zoe Richards

Models: Laura Kelly

Chelsea Price
Location: Le Marche Region of Italy

How lucky were we - 2 models, a make-up artist, the designer, and my guide and mentor, Mavis Roper, all working hard on a fashion shoot in Italy this summer! And we had such a good time!