Pure View Photography

The Blog is Moving

2009-11-04T20:34:00.005Z

I wanted to let everyone know that our Blog is moving. The new blog address is:

http://pureviewphotoblog.com/

We have a little bit of tweaking still to do, but all future updates will now be on the new Blog. I have transferred some of the posts from here to the new Blog so why now pop over and have a look.

Photo Shoot with a 1 Year Old

2009-11-03T13:29:00.004Z

Over the past year I have done two photo shoots with Alfie. The first was as a newborn and then I went back when he was sitting. As he was turning 1 it was time to do the last photo shoot making the first year of his life. He was having a first birthday party at Ray Lodge Farm s I arranged to go along before the party and do some fairly informal shots of Alfie with his Mum and Dad.

I really enjoyed doing these shots and it has been fantastic to see how much Alfie has changed during this first year of his life. Congratulations, also, to Caroline and Julian who are expecting their second baby next year.

These are some of my favourites from the day...

If you are interested in booking a session to record the first year of your baby's life please contact Louise on 01342 300352.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T15:56:00.004Z

I know, it's a day late but I just couldn't resist putting up this image of a very special cupcake:

We saw them at a Wedding Fair we went to last month and we brought some home as we thought they would make great season images. Watch out for the Christmas ones!

I hope everyone had a great time last night. We certainly had plenty of Trick or Treaters knocking on our door. Fortunately we had plenty of sweets to give them:)

Newborn Photo Shoot

2009-11-01T14:57:00.006Z

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a newborn photo shoot with baby Alyssa. She is the daughter of Iain's niece and she has to be the most content baby I have ever met. She was joined in the photo shoot by Mum (Theresa), Dad (Will) and her older brother (Tyler).

I have been lucky enough to do several baby photo shoots over the past few weeks and I really do love being able to capture these memories of such early stage in a baby's life. Alyssa was so content that I thought we weren't going to get any images at all with her awake. You certainly need lots of patience when doing this type of photography! Anyway, we got there in the end and I really do love the results. What a truly gorgeous addition to the family...

We will do the next photo shoot at around 3 months, then when she is sitting and the last one will be when she is standing/walking. I can't wait to see how she changes and develops over the next year.

If you are interested in booking a baby photo shoot to capture the first year of your baby's life please contact Louise on 01342 300352.

Teenage Photo Shoot

2009-11-01T14:36:00.006Z

Earlier this year I did a family photo shoot in Crawley, West Sussex. We got some really great images from the photo shoot and one of them now has pride of place in our new Studio in East Grinstead. I arrange a follow-up with session with Oleta on Monday this week, as it was half-term. I arranged for Make Up Artist, Siobhan Woods, to come over and help out so as soon as Oleta arrived she had her make up done. We started off with a studio session and then moved outside to do some environmental shots. We didn't have to go far from the studio to find some great outside spaces.

I really enjoyed the session and think we got some fantastic images. Here are some of my favourites. I'd love to receive feedback or comments.

If you would like to find out more about booking a portrait session please call Louise on 01342 300352.

Newborn Photo Shoot

2009-10-22T17:21:00.003+01:00

This week we had the pleasure of doing a newborn photo shoot with a baby who was only 9 days old. She was absolutely gorgeous and we had no crying at all. She was asleep to begin with but she woke up later on and we managed to get some shots with her eyes open.

This is the first of 3 photo shoots we will do in the first year of her life. The second one will take place when she is sitting and I can't wait to go back and see what she is like then. These are some of my favourites from the day...

if you are interested in having a baby shoot please get in touch with Louise on 01342 300352 or send me an email.

Baby Photo Shoot - East Grinstead

2009-10-08T16:36:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I had a photo shoot with the most adorable little girl. Her Mum, Sharon, is one of the people who run Flowerbug Designs in East Grinstead. Their workshop is just a few doors away from us and we refer business to each other where possible. They will also quite often pop round to our studio for a chat and a cup of coffee - and sometimes even cake!

I had been asked if we would be willing to give a portrait shoot as a competition prize by a publication and they needed a sample image to create a poster. As the session would be against a white backdrop we very quickly needed to create one. Sharon's little girl has been round to our studio a few times and she is just gorgeous. I have been really keen to do a session with her for ages. We spent about half an hour today and managed to get some really cute pictures. In fact, I think Sharon loved all of them. Here are some of my favourites. Any feedback or comments are welcome.

Jason & Sarah's Wedding in East Grinstead

2009-09-16T11:23:00.005+01:00

On Friday, 11th September we covered Jason & Sarah's wedding in East Grinstead. It was being held at one of our favourite, and local, venues the Felbridge Hotel and Spa. I spent time with Sarah beforehand and she looked truly gorgeous. Sarah and her Dad travelled from her house to the hotel in a horse and cart which looked really lovely.

The legal part of the service took place at the hotel and it was great to see that their family were very much a part of the proceedings, including Sarah & Jason's son Harrison. After the service the bride and groom took the opportunity to have some time together by taking a short trip round the grounds in the horse and cart. Once they returned we spent some time with them while the drinks reception was taking place.

There were some great speeches that took place before the wedding breakfast. We stayed until the cutting of the cake and the first dance. What a great wedding it was and they both looked like they were really enjoying it. Here are some of my favourite images from the day...

If you are getting married and you would like to chat to us about your plans, please call Louise on 01342 300352. Alternatively you can email me on louise@pureviewphoto.com

Basil & Diana's Wedding in London

2009-09-16T10:53:00.003+01:00

Last weekend we covered Basil & Diana's wedding. The church service was in North London and the reception was at Heathrow. I spent some time with Diana and her family while they were getting ready and she was surrounded by many family and friends. She looked absolutely stunning when she appeared with her wedding dress. Once Basil was ready we headed over to a nearby park to take some formal shots before the Church service. It felt a bit like organised chaos at the time, but it was a lot of fun and we managed to get some great images.

We then headed to the church which was not too far away. This was a Coptic Church service and there were certain formalities to attend to before the service that meant they were legally married before they walked down the aisle together. This is the second Coptic wedding we have covered and the church service was full of emotion and tradition at the same time. After the service the couple greet each of their guests.

The reception was at an hotel near Heathrow and we managed to get there before the bride and groom. They looked so happy when they arrived and we felt privileged to share this special day with them. We managed to get some photographs while the drinks reception was taking place and then the wedding party joined the rest of the guests for the wedding breakfast. The rest of the evening was such fun with some very energetic dancing.

Here are just a few of my favourite images from the day.

If you are getting married and would like to chat to us about your plans please call Louise on 01342 300352 or email me on louise@pureviewphoto.com.

Jason & Mindi Wedding in Brighton

2009-09-15T12:11:00.005+01:00

We have had three weddings in a row since 30th August and this is the first of the three. Jason & Mindi were married in Balham in South London and the reception was in Brighton. It was a fairly early start to the day for both of us as we had to get from East Grinstead to South London to capture some of the moments, before the wedding, of both the bride and groom. Then it was on to the church in Balham. They were surrounded by many family and friends, many of whom had travelled some distance to be there and it was a really beautiful church service.

Afterwards, it was off to Brighton for the reception. On the way there we stopped off at Preston Park to take some photographs of Jason & Mindi. They are a really great couple and Jason has more enthusiasm than a young puppy dog! We managed to get some great images at the park but time was pressing so we had to get to the reception so that they could welcome their guests. The reception was a lot of fun for us and all the guests looked like they were enjoying themselves. We managed to set up a little "studio" area and the image of Mindi below on the sofa was taken there. We have lots more to show Jason & Mindi of their family and friends. What a great couple... and what a great wedding!

If you are getting married and would like to chat with us about your plans please call Louise on 01342 300352 or contact me by email on louise@pureviewphoto.com.

Turnberry Wedding in Scotland

2009-09-14T17:09:00.006+01:00

On 22nd August I went up to Scotland to Rachel and Murray's wedding in Scotland. I was there as second shooter for my friend Sheila Morris who owns Dove Photography based in Blackpool. The church service was at Symington Parish Church in Ayrshire which was about a 40 minute drive from Turnberry Hotel and Golf Courses, which is where the reception was taking place.

I was really excited to be helping Sheila with this wedding as it gave me a chance to go up and visit my Mum who lives in Ayr. On the day of the wedding it was really sunny, which was a bit of a bonus because the weather in Scotland can be truly awful. We met the bride at the hotel and then Sheila and I raced off to the Church. It was a really gorgeous setting for a wedding and is one of the oldest churches in Scotland. True to tradition the bride was a bit late but it was worth the wait as she looking gorgeous and radiant. One of the highlights for me was that they had a "scramble" for the children waiting outside when the bride and groom came out of the church. I remember this from when I was young and lived in Scotland and it was such fun to see all the children taking part.

Turnberry Hotel was a fantastic setting for the reception afterwards. I used to work there when I was younger and it was great to visit the hotel again with all the recent renovations that have taken place. We managed to get out to the Lighthouse for a short while and take some photos there while the guests were at the drinks reception. By then it had turned cloudy and was also quite windy but we still managed to have some fun.

I feel very privileged to have been part of this wedding in a place that means such a lot to me. Thank you to Sheila for asking me to join you in capturing their memories.

If you are getting married and would like to chat to us about your day please contact Louise on 01342 300352. Alternatively you can email me on louise@pureviewphoto.com.

Gorgeous Bride

Inside the beautiful Church

The scramble outside the Church

Some alone time with Bride & Groom

At the Turnberry Lighthouse

Congratulations!

A quiet moment...

Rachel's Daughter

2008 Jerry Ghionis Workshop

2009-07-21T23:44:00.004+01:00

Last week we went up to London to meet up with Jerry and Georgina Ghionis and their students on the 2009 workshop. This reminded me that I still haven't blogged about being on the 2008 workshop.

As I mentioned in my previous post I went on a course in Chicago with the Bebbs last year. Just before going on this course I received news that a place had come free on Jerry's course. The only problem was that I only got back from Chicago on the Saturday and Jerry's course started on the Monday. It only took me about two seconds to decide I couldn't pass up the chance as I had heard so much about Jerry's workshop. Then the day before the course was due to start we found out someone was unable to attend which meant my husband could also go on the workshop - result!

Attending a workshop like this is really quite a daunting prospect because you have to take along some images that will be critiqued in front of all these other photographers. I was so not looking forward to that part of the workshop. Anyway, we survived the critique and it was on to the rest of the course. There were two days when we had to go out shooting in London and we knew beforehand that out of these sessions we were going to have to choose one image from each day that would be critiqued straight out of camera. The two that I chose are below. During these critique sessions each person is asked to do their own critique based on what they have picked up so far on the workshop. When it came to my second image, of the bride and groom, Jerry asked whose image it was and I tentatively put my hand up from the back of the class. He said "don't say anything... I love it, love it, love it!". I have to say that after that I didn't hear anything else - all I could hear in my head was "Jerry loved my image - yay!"

One of the best bits of advice I read before attending this course was from Zoe Richards who is a photographer based in the North West of England. She said when Jerry is setting up shots, really pay attention to what he is doing rather than shooting away madly trying to great shots of the model. Each person has a chance to shoot on their own for 15 minutes with each of the two models anyway. It is much better to take shots showing what Jerry is setting up because you will be able to refer to them later on after the workshop.

One of the other great benefits of attending this course is that you meet such great people. Jerry, and his wife Georgie, are really lovely genuine people. And then there are the other attendees... and not forgetting Gill Taylor who is Jerry agent in the UK. She does such a fantastis job during the workshops and we were also lucky enough to have her as one of our models.

If you get a chance to do one of Jerry's course - do it!

2008 Bebbinar in Chicago

2009-07-12T19:01:00.006+01:00

It is very important to me, as a photographer, to recognise that training is an ongoing investment in our business. During 2008 I attended several training courses and I am finally getting round to blogging about some of them. One of the courses I attended was a Bebbinar run by Jen and Steve Bebb in Chicago. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect and was definitely out of my comfort zone. Although it did give me a chance to explore Chicago which is a city I hadn't been to before. I had the weekend there before the course started. I met some of the other people who would be on the course the night before at a DWF get together which was really nice.

To say the course changed the way I approach my photography would be a huge understatement. Jen and Steve are such giving people and they shared their many years of experience with us. It was a really well rounded course as they dealt with the photography and all the business aspects of running a photography studio. We got a chance go out and do some shooting around Chicago and I really love their gritty approach to finding the perfect location. The emphasis is so much on the moment, rather than a pretty background. We each had to "direct" for 5 minutes and I was dreading this as it is not something I relish doing with an audience of other photographers. I did it anyway and the others people on the course were great. It was also useful to see how others approached this. I have since been following the work of two photographers via Facebook and their Blogs and just love what they are doing. They are Dustin Izatt Photography and Misha Media Photography.

We had a review session of the images that we took and this was a really constructive experience. Before we left we all had a chance to have a one-to-one session with either Jen or Steve and that was very helpful as I dealt with some of the points that Steve had made when I returned to the UK. I constantly draw on the knowledge learned on the course when I am doing photo shoots and would highly recommend this course to anyone who is think about it.

A UK Bebbinar was planned for earlier this year, but has now been postponed until later in the year. If you live in UK this would be a great chance to do this course without having to travel to North America. To get in touch with Jen or Steve for more details about the UK Bebbinar, visit their website. Below are some of my images from the course.

A Day out in London

2009-07-09T20:48:00.004+01:00

This week my sister has been down from Scotland. She has been staying with her Brother-in-Law in South London and I arranged to meet up with her in London on Monday. I am not very good at carrying around my professional camera with me because it is too heavy, but I decided I want to take it. I used a Canon 5D, no battery grip and a 50m 1.8 lens. This means the camera was much lighter than normal. Some of the photos below were taken in Starbucks at Victoria and the others were taken in my Uncle's flat in central London. I was quite pleased with the results and would certainly consider using this combination again. And in case you are wondering why I took a photo of sweets, we were brought up in South Africa and my sister has a passion for some of the sweets we used to get there. She always visits the Bok shop in Covent Garden and she was showing me her purchases - not for sharing I might add!!

I'd love to receive your feedback.

Evening Sun Photo Shoot

2009-07-05T19:50:00.004+01:00

For a while now I have been wanting to do a photo shoot in the evening sun. This was something that could only be done at very short notice because, being England, that weather can change very quickly. We have used a model cally Becky before and she said she would like to take part in the photo shoot - that was all the encouragement we needed. Fortunately Becky's house has some great fields nearby so we even had a location. We were lucky that the South East had more than two days of sun predicted and we arranged a date. What Becky hadn't told me was that to get to the field with the sun I had to climb over a fence with barbed wire. It took a while and props were required but I finally made it. The photo shoot was great fun and we had about 45 minutes before the sun started to disappear. Must remember to schedule more time for climbing over fences next time! These are some of my favourite images from the photo shoot. I'd love to receive any feedback or comments.

SWPP Award Winning Images

2009-07-03T21:46:00.003+01:00

June has been a really busy month for us and literally at the very last minute I decided to enter some images in the monthly SWPP Competition. I was pleased to win 5 Bronze Awards and these are the images that won. I would love to receive any feedback.

Portraiture Traditional

Portraiture Contemporary

Fashion

Events

Children

Prom Night for Sackville School, East Grinstead

2009-06-25T22:40:00.004+01:00

On 23rd June Sackville School in East Grinstead held their Prom for the Year 11 students. Our daughter is at Sackville and some of her friends came to us for a photo session before the Prom started. We were only given 45 minutes to get all the shots that we wanted and it was a bit of a production line, but we had great fun. All the girls looked stunning and it was hard to believe they are only 16 years old! It is an end of an era because Faith has now left Sackville and will be going to Haywards Heath College from September onwards.

It was so difficult to choose some images for the Blog as I wanted to put them all up, but I managed to restrain myself. Here is a very small selection of them and I would welcome any feedback or comments.

Baby Photo Shoot - 9 month old

2009-06-23T15:01:00.003+01:00

I did a photo session yesterday with Alfie who is an incredibly cute 9 month old baby. I did his first session when he was only about 3 weeks old and he has changed such a lot in that time. He now looks like a little boy rather than a baby. I was amazed at how tolerant he was as the shoot took about two hours and he was still really happy at the end. In fact, I think he saved his best smiles for the time after I had packed my cameras away! These are some of my favourites from the day and I would love to receive any feedback or comments.

The photo shoot took place at Ray Lodge Farm and I want to thank Sheila for letting us use her wonderful surroundings.

Orpheus Centre Open Day

2009-06-22T19:54:00.009+01:00

On Saturday 20th June we went to the Open Day for the Orpheus Centre based in Godstone in Surrey. The centre was founded by Richard Stilgoe and supports young adults with special needs through the use of music and drama. It was a great day and there were several performances by the Apprentices who reside at the centre. There were also some workshops taking place that visitors could take part in and they were really well attended. It really is a very special place and the Open Day was a great success. These are some of our favourite images from the day, Organising the group shot of all the people involved with the Orpheus Centre was a real challenge! I'd love to receive any feedback or comments.

Random Act of Kindness - Free Wedding Photography

2009-06-08T11:52:00.007+01:00

We believe that every couple deserve the very best wedding photography. Unfortunately, sometimes the budget won’t stretch far enough, especially in the current economic climate.
We would like to offer one lucky couple the chance to win their wedding photography free of charge.

The rules:

The wedding must be taking place in 2009 and on a day when we are not already booked. ( We will let you know when we receive your application if that date has already been booked.)

The wedding can take place anywhere within approximately one hour’s drive from East Grinstead. (That would take in locations as far away as Brighton, Guildford, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells…)

You must not have already booked a photographer for your wedding day

You must allow us complete freedom in how we photograph your wedding day and allow the images to be used in all forms of advertising for Pure View Photography

How to apply:

Send us your story by email to info@pureviewphoto.com, with the email subject “Why we should have Pure View Photography at our wedding”.

As well as telling us why you should win, we need to know the following details:

o Your name
o Your address
o Your contact phone number
o Your email address
o The date of the wedding
o The wedding venue
o The reception venue

What the winner will receive:
- Coverage of your wedding by two photographers for up to 8 hours
- A box set of 20 selected, retouched images from the day
- An on line proof gallery where additional prints can be purchased

Who else benefits?
10% of the proceeds from any images sold via the online gallery will be donated to Cancer Research UK. This means that at least £1 from every image bought by you, your friends and family from the online gallery will directly benefit Cancer Research UK.

Please feel free to let people know about this very special offer. We are looking for a couple with a very special story. If you think this is not for you but you'd like to discuss your wedding with us please call me on 07595 044252 or send an email to louise@pureviewphoto.com.

Make Up Model Session

2009-06-01T12:45:00.003+01:00

Gorgeous Make Up by Siobhan Woods

2009-05-30T23:19:00.006+01:00

If you have read my 3 previous posts you will know that I did a photo shoot this week for a new make up artisit called Siobhan Woods. I started thinking about what I could do with the images that would really show off the amazing job that Siobhan did. So I have been playing with s0me layouts today that could easily be turned into postcards or postcard sized flyers. They were a bit time consuming to set up the first time but as I'm planning to do more teenage photo shoots soon I think I may create some templates that could be re-used.

I'd love to receive any feedback on them :)

Tash's Photo Shoot

2009-05-29T11:18:00.006+01:00

This the last of the three models from the make up photo shoot on Wednesday. I have done a couple of photo shoots with Tash before with some amazing results so I was really excited about using her on this project. I thought she was absolutely brilliant and we had so many good shots to choose from. She has a great personality and is very versatile which is great from a photographer's points of view. Here is a small selection from the day. I'd love to receive any feedback.

If you would like to contact Siobhan (the make up artisit) regarding make up for your wedding or photo shoot please call her on 07999 411 274. I will be doing a separate post soon that will really feature the make up session, but I have to go now as we have a wedding to shoot today:)

Lauren's Photo Shoot

2009-05-28T21:57:00.008+01:00

This is the second post from our model photo shoot and features Lauren. I did a photo shoot with Lauren last year and got some really fantastic images. I have been wanting to do another shoot with Lauren since then so this was a perfect opportunity. She has a really individual look and you often hear about people who have their own sense of style - well that really is the case with Lauren. These are the first few images of Lauren, but I will find a few more that show off the make up and post them later on. I'd love to receive any feedback :)

Details of Siobhan, the make up artist, are in the post below.

Model Session with new Make Up Artist

2009-05-28T21:32:00.005+01:00

At a recent wedding event I met a make up artist called Siobhan Woods. She was quite keen to expand her portfolio so we discussed the idea of doing a photo shoot together. We finally managed to get everyone together this week and had a fantastic session. The only downside was that it rained all day so we didn't manage to do any shots outside.

We had three models and Siobhan did two "looks" for each person. The first look was very natural and the second one a bit more dramatic. We used a simple white backdrop for the first session and then something a bit more luxurious for the second one. It was a bit like a production line for Siobhan and she coped really well.

Below are the shots from the two sessions with Becky. I have worked with Becky before and, once again, she was fantastic. I will do a separate post for the sessions with Tash and Lauren. Thanks to all the models. We couldn't have done it without you!

If you would like to contact Siobhan regarding make up for your wedding or photo shoot please call her on 07999 411 274.

Book a Portrait Session & help Cancer Research

2009-05-21T09:52:00.007+01:00

On 28th June I will be taking part in Race for Life at Ardingly in Sussex. I was motivated to take part in this amazing event due to the fact that my wonderful father died from Cancer on 9th January 2006. He was only 65 years old. He was a truly amazing person and made a huge impact on my life.

Cancer is a disease that can strike anyone at any stage of their life and it is a truly horrible disease. All sponsorship raised from Race for Life will go to Cancer Research which is a really worthwhile charity. As a business we will be supporting Cancer Research in various initiatives during the following year. During May & June we will be donating £10 from the session fee for any portrait session to my sponsorship for Race for Life. A portrait session costs £80 and from that you will receive an 8" x 12" print, ideal for framing. Below are some images of my Dad (and Mum) and you can see how much he loved life:)

Please scroll down to see some more details on this offer.

If you have been thinking about having a portrait session, whether it is to mark a particular time in your family's life, or just for fun, now is the time to book that session. Not only will you have some amazing images but you will also be helping to raise money for a worthwhile charity.

To book a session call Louise on 07595 044252. Below are some images from some previous sessions:

Birthday Party for a 5 Year Old

2009-05-05T18:40:00.007+01:00

We went to a birthday party on Bank Holiday Monday for a very cute 5 year old - and 30 of his friends! When we left East Grinstead the sun was shining but by the time we arrived in Oxted the clouds had gathered and it was raining very lightly. Fortunately a marquee was in the garden so at least all the children were kept dry. Entertainment had been laid on and the children were completely engrossed and clearly enjoying it. We managed to get some really nice candid shots of the children and although this is not our normal type of booking we really enjoyed it. Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy!

Here are some of my favourites from the day. I would love to receive any feedback you have.

Evening ball

2009-05-04T00:30:00.005+01:00

On Saturday evening, we returned to the hotel where the garden party had taken place, this time to cover an evening's dinner and entertainment. The guests were greeted with a champagne reception, then during dinner were entertained by the Rat Attack singers and a bevy of gorgeous dancers. Menwhile, outside, the scene of that afternoon's garden party was an oasis of calm.

Garden Party

2009-05-03T23:33:00.006+01:00

On Saturday, we covered a garden party for the owner of a local hotel. Given that it was a Bank Holiday weekend, you could be excused for thinking that umbrellas were required... well in this case it was merely to keep the sun off. The weather was great, the food looked superb and the entertainment laid on for the guests ranged from Jugglers to a string quartet. The setting was idyllic although parked out front were reminders of a much noisier pastime including a Ferrari 430 currently racing in the British GT Championship.

EGBA Monthly networking lunch

2009-04-30T00:32:00.004+01:00

The East Grinstead Business Association have recently begun to organise a monthly business networking lunch. This is an ideal opportunity for local business representatives to get together in an informal setting and network. Although organised by the EGBA, non-members were welcome and there was representation from several BNI chapters, including Meridian and Crawley. The setting for this event was Nizam, one of East Grinstead's leading Indian restaurants, with Salim and his team providing an excellent spread. With almost 100 attendees, this monthly lunch on the last Wednesday of the month at Nizam is set to become a regular event.

Family photo shoot volunteers

2009-04-29T11:13:00.005+01:00

In March and April, before the wedding season kicks off in full swing, we look for volunteers who would be willing to sit for a portrait photo session, to help us get some new material for our marketing literature. Steve belongs to the same BNI (Business Network International) chapter as us and volunteered his family.

We had a fun session with Steve, his two very cute (and amazingly cooperative) sons and his lovely wife. Although the weather wasn't great, we shot these images just inside the french doors, which let in plenty of soft light.

Family Photo Shoot in Crawley

2009-04-21T20:23:00.004+01:00

Last week I did a photo shoot with a lovely family in Crawley. Rain had been predicted by 1.00 p.m. so I was really keen to get going before it arrived. We went to a park near their house and it turned out to be a fantastic location in terms of the different areas of interest and textures that were available. As so often happens on a photo shoot, this was the first time they had met me and they were quite nervous to begin with, but I felt that we were all much more relaxed by the end of the shoot. The two middle children have even agreed to do a follow up photo shoot with me, so I'll be out looking for some new locations. Anyway, here's a sneak preview of some images from the day. All comments are welcome.

Training Day in London

2009-04-20T11:20:00.003+01:00

Last week I spent a day with Martin Grahame-Dunn on some 1-2-1 training. It was a great opportunity for me to focus on certain elements of photography where I felt I needed more experience. I met Martin in London and took my son, Max, who was my model for the day. We mainly shot in the streets around Victoria Station and it is surprisingly easy to find lots of suitable locations. I got very excited when I saw a huge puddle of water and knew I could get some reflection shots.

We shot until around 1.00 p.m. and then went back to Martin's place to do some editing. All of the images below were shot by me but have been processed mainly by Martin. It was interesting for me to see how someone else approaches the post processing workflow and I felt I got such a lot out of this day. I'd love to receive your feedback.

Model Shoot [Blogged by Iain]

2009-04-19T18:17:00.004+01:00

We had a great shoot with a couple of volunteer models yesterday. This was an opportunity to practice without pressure. We were able to play around with different camera and lens settings. These were all shot in the back garden and the woods immediately behind the house. Louise normally handles most of the environmental portraiture, so this gave me a chance to pratice my posing and directing, giving Louise the chance to be my assistant. I would like to thank the girls for their patience and willingness to try anything we threw at them.

Easter in Scotland

2009-04-13T20:38:00.003+01:00

We have just spent a very enjoyable week or so in Scotland with family for Easter. We have been so busy over the past few weeks that we hadn't prepared any eggs or bonnets beforehand and were in two minds as to whether we were even going to enter into the competition. However, after a bit of emotional blackmail, we capitulated and got busy painting eggs and preparing bonnets with only 24 hours before the event. Bringing all our artistic talents to bear, we managed to take away several prizes, although we did leave some room for others to take some prizes. The images below are just a little taster of some of our entries...

A Place in the Sun Exhibition

2009-04-07T20:44:00.007+01:00

On Friday, we went to the "A Place in the Sun Live" [Channel 4 - A Place in the Sun]exhibition at Earl's Court as the official show photographers. It was a long day and I was on my feet from 08h00 to 18h30. when you do that, you then realise just how heavy the Canon 70-200mm L IS USM lens is.

We pretty much covered everything in the brief, as well as shooting almost every stand. It was interesting to see how much effort some exhibitors put in, while others merely occupied a bit of space and hoped people would stop and talk to them.

I've spent the last day or two weeding out the photos and colour correcting the remainder. The lighting in Earl's Court is very yellow and to make matters worse, there were orange carpets almost everywhere. Although your eyes compensate for this, the camera isn't quite so clever, so there was quite a bit of correcting to do.

Silver Award winning image

2009-04-03T18:32:00.005+01:00

I entered some images in the SWPP monthly online competition and I think the judging is getting a lot tougher. I mainly work in the social photography market but thought I would enter an image that was a little different and was pleased to see that it won a Silver Award. It was taken when we were in Missouri in August last year. The second image won a Silver Award in the November competition and it was taken at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. I am now aiming for Gold!

Borneo bound

2009-03-27T00:22:00.003Z

On Tuesday evening we attended a function at Oxted school, organised by a number of students who will be going to Borneo to help build a school in one of the villages. The guest speaker was one of the geography teachers, who gave a detailed account of his trip to Antarctica. The event was well attended and the teacher kept us enthralled with his enthusiastic account. The purpose of the evening was to help raise funds to send the pupils to Borneo and the evening was organised totally by the students. The event was sponsored by three local businesses, Guard-a-kid (http://www.guardakid.org.uk), Cotswold Outdoors - suppliers of actionwear for outdoor pursuits (http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com) and WinEntwine, a social network based around wine tasting (http://www.winentwine.co.uk) We were pleased to be able to go along to surport them and wish them good luck on their adventure.

Hastings Diesel

2009-03-22T18:05:00.004Z

Hastings Diesels ( www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk )have a preserved diesel electric multi unit (DEMU) train, capable of operating on mainline tracks anywhere in the UK - the only one of its kind able to do so. On Saturday, we went on a journey on this train from Tunbridge Wells in Kent to Salisbury in Wiltshire. We were there to take some photographs for the new promotional brochure being published by the company. They couldn't have picked a better day for it... the weather was wonderful and the train virtually full of enthusiasts and others reliving a bygone age.

More fun [blogged by Iain]

2009-03-18T23:59:00.006Z

As Louise said in her previous post, we're focusing on development in March. Normally, Louise is the one doing the baby photo sessions, so we decided it was time I got some more practice. I would like to thank Russell and Niki for letting me shoot them and their lovely little daughter Yasmin this afternoon. At only seven weeks old, she was a little star and behaved perfectly throughout the session. This is a small selection of the images captured today...

...and a few in colour (although some have been worked a little)

Photo Shoots for Fun

2009-03-17T20:06:00.006Z

Last week we went out and took photographs just for fun. This type of session is something we try and do at least once a month but we don't always seem to manage to find the time. We decided that March was going to be a development month and have lined up some models of different ages to help us out.

It was a really sunny, but very windy, day and there was a lot of hair flying over faces. It also started to get really cold. We still had lots of fun and I have arranged to shoot with the two girls again at the end of the month in Brighton. Thanks very much for helping me out.

David's 50th Birthday Party

2009-03-17T19:42:00.007Z

We were invited to David's 50th birthday party on Saturday night. It was a Masqurade Party and I was so impressed by the effort some people had made. There really were some amazing masks there and some of the images are below. Unfortunately we were not able to stay for too long as we had the Wedding Fair the next day. The party was held in London and we also had to make sure we were on the last train home to our home in Sussex. The atomsphere at the party was brilliant, the food was delicious (thanks to Barry) and it was great to be able to celebrate this special birthday with David. Well done Jason for bringing it all together...

Wedding Fair at The Felbridge Hotel and Spa, East Grinstead

2009-03-17T19:02:00.011Z

We exhibited at a Wedding Fair at The Felbridge Hotel and Spa in East Grinstead at the weekend. We were there last year in March and it was extremely quiet so we weren't sure what to expect this year. On the morning of the Fair the sun was shining and that it always a good sign as it brings people out. It was definitely worthwhile being there and the hotel had made a lot more effort to bring people in, including a fashion show by a local bridal shop. We had some good enquiries which we will be following up on. These are some of the images from the day, including a selection of other exhibitors:

Pure View Photography stand

Tables set up for a wedding

Flowerbug Designs (Florists) stand

Wedding Gowns by Utopia Brides

Balloons and decorations by Balloonability

Rose's Beauty Room stand (bridal make up artist)

If you are getting married and would like to find out more about us please get in touch with Louise on 07595 044252 or email me at pureviewphoto.com. You can also visit our website to see more examples of our weddings: http://www.pureviewphoto.com/.

Felbridge Hotel Masked Ball, East Grinstead

2009-03-01T22:25:00.006Z

We were the official photographers at a Masked Ball at the Felbridge Hotel & Spa on Saturday 28th February. This was a great event and very well attended. We took some "posed" photos in the reception area where everyone was having cocktails. Iain was shooting with the 5D MKII tethered and it worked really well. We had an event printer with us and were able to print on site. These are some of the images from the posed shots.

After the photographs had been taken evenone moved into the room where dinner was being served. During this period we processed the images in Lightroom and were therefore ready to start taking orders once dinner was finished.

This was also an opportunity to try out the 5D MKII and see what it is capable of. This is a shot that was taken by Iain at ISO 6400 f2.8 without flash. It is far from being perfect but I think it conveys the atmosphere of the room very well. The shot taken after this one was taken with the 5D using flash and gives a totally different result.

After dinner I walked around the room and took some shots at the tables. We didn't sell these on the night but they will be available to view on our online gallery from Monday onwards.

There were two different groups providing music for the evening. The first was from ‘Asteria’, an Electric Quartet who have just returned from their European Tour with ‘Take That’ and they were following by the live sounds of ‘The Blue Groove’. I thought they were both excellent and I am sure they were appreciated by the guests who attended the event.

Throughout the evening we were taking orders for prints and we delivered them towards the end of the evening. We left the event at around 1.00 a.m. and the dancing was still going strong. I think that Nigel Humphriss who promoted the event did a fantastic job and we hope to be able to work with him again in the future.

Wedding evening [blogged by Iain]

2009-02-25T12:29:00.004Z

Louise mentioned last week that we would be attending a wedding evening hosted by Spires Hairdressing in East Grinstead. We went along on Monday evening and had the opportunity to meet with a few prospective brides and other suppliers in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Karen, the owner of the Salon, was demonstrating various styles on some of the prospective brides, while the rest of us were located around the salon and adjoining office space to talk about the services we could offer. Of course, we couldn't resist the opportunity to take some shots while we were there and I have posted a couple of these below.

The next bit is for those interested in the technology... the rest of you can stop reading now.

All images were shot on the Canon 5D Mk II with 24-70mm f2.8L IS USM. The first three shots were lit by flash - 580EX II with a Gary Fong Litesphere. The remaining images were shot at ISO 3200 under existing halogen & fluorescent lights.

The Black and White conversions were done in Lightroom 2.2 using Mikey G's B&W presets, which emulate a number of different Black and White film styles. The exterior shot emulates Ilford Delta 100, the interior shot emulates Ilford SFX 200 and the head shots emulate Ilford FP4 125 and Ilford Delta 400 Pro respectively. These are great presets and definitely worth having a play around with if you use Lightroom.

Engagement Shoot with Alistair & Venetia

2009-02-22T11:29:00.005Z

Yesterday we did an engagement photo shoot with a gorgeous couple. They are getting married in South Africa in September so we won't be doing the wedding but it was such fun getting a chance to spend some time with them yesterday and we managed to get some great images from the day. Al is my cousin's son and I know she will be really keen to see some pictures from the day so I wanted to get them up on the Blog as soon as possible. They were telling us about some of their plans for the wedding in September and I know it is going to be a very special day for them. Here are some of my favourites from the day... all comments welcome.

Wedding Evening - Spires Hairdressing

2009-02-16T00:12:00.005Z

I just wanted to let you know about a Wedding Event we will be attending on 23rd February at Spires Hairdressing in East Grinstead. One of our clients, who is a hairdresser, is putting on an evening for brides and some local suppliers will be there as well. Karen will be doing some examples of bridal hair and the suppliers will be on hand to discuss some of the other arrangements brides will need to think about. If you live in the area it is definitely worth visiting. Below are some more details supplied by Karen:

Getting Married?

Just let your mind wander for a moment………

Your hair has that wow factor!
Your flowers could grace a Royal wedding!
Your photographs capturing just the right smile!
Your guests children have a crèche for that peace of mind!
Your balloons have that look of ..what a reception!
and….
Your perfect honeymoon….the icing on the cake!

Come and see our ideas for your magical day in action over a glass of wine with complimentary admission at….
Spires Hairdressing Salon, 1 Church Lane, East Grinstead
On Monday 23rd February from 6.00pm – 9.00pm
(nearest free parking – Chequer Mead)

We have a collection of people including:

Blossoms(Florist)
Spires Hairdressing
Got it covered (Live band)
Balloonability (balloons for every occasion)
Pure View Photography (Photographers)
South East childcare (nanny service)
Siobhan Woods (beautician)
Louise Nye (for personalised honeymoons)

Family Photo Shoot

2009-02-12T11:23:00.005Z

You may have seen my earlier post about Chloe's 18th Birthday Party. After the party we were asked to do a family photo shoot with all members of one branch of the family. As many of the people involved in the photo shoot are not available during the day it was scheduled to take place in the evening. This is always more challenging because you don't have natural light to work with, but we took along some of our professional lighting equipment. The family were such fun to work with and really got into the spirit of the shoot. We are still processing most of the images but just wanted to put a few up here in the meantime. All comments welcome...

If you are interested in having a family photo shoot, please get in touch with me by email or phone:

Email: louise@pureviewphoto.com
Phone: 07595 044252

Sweet Sixteen?

2009-02-12T10:46:00.007Z

At the weekend our daughter, Faith, celebrated her 16th birthday. She had a party and we were asked (not really negotiable!) to stay out of the house for 3 hours. So we went out for a meal and left Max (who is almost 18) with the job of letting us know if we had to come back for any reason. We had a lovely relaxing evening but I must confess I did call Max a couple of times just to make sure everything was okay.

When we arrived back everything was as normal as a 16th birthday party could be. It looks like it was a good party and by around midnight most of the guests had gone, leaving just a few of Faith's friends who were staying for a sleepover. This is a picture I took before we went out and Faith is the one in the middle.

Competition [blogged by Iain]

2009-02-06T13:12:00.005Z

The SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) run a monthly competition across several different categories, awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze for the winning images. I have only entered twice and was really pleased to get a Silver in the Contemporary Wedding category in the January competition. This is the image which received that award:

This particular image was shot on Brighton beach on a chilly Friday afternoon, hence the lack of other people in the shot as well as the lovely blue sky.

The image was treated in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to adjust the balance of exposure across the image and to create the panoramic crop. Other than that, it's almost exactly as I captured it.

Caroline & her horse

2009-02-02T16:14:00.003Z

On Saturday morning I was up bright and early (for a Saturday morning!) to go and take some photographs of a friend of mine with her horse. This is a personal project for me and it was really great to get out and do something that is a bit different. It is a long time since I have been around horses and I think they are so beautiful and really quite majestic. It wasn't quite as cold as I had been hoping for and the skies were a bit grey but I think we still managed to get some good shots.

I have also been playing around with In Design and have put together a montage of some of the images just to see how it looks. If I was printing it I would only have one black thin line around the outside. The rest is really our branding for the web. I'm not sure how well you will be able to see this, so I have also included some individual images. An added bonus was that I got to see Alfie who is Caroline's incredibly cute baby.

Caroline stables her horse at Ray Lodge Farm and they also run a B&B. We took some photographs for their new website while we were there and we will do a blog about this in the near future. I met Sheila who runs the farm/B&B and she is really lovely. So if you need a B&B in the Lingfield area please bear her in mind. All comments are welcome...

A Place in the Sun - [blogged by Iain]

2009-01-31T20:55:00.003Z

We have been looking for ways to expand our commercial photography activities and one of the areas we have been interested in is exhibition photogrpahy. I went to the "A Place in the Sun" exhibition in Birmingham last year at the invitation of the organisers. I presented the organisers with a selection of the images and must have done something right, as we have been appointed as the official photographers for this year's exhibition in London in April.

The images below were taken from the exhibition in Birmingham last year. Watch this space to see this years images...

Helping a Friend

2009-01-29T16:36:00.004Z

Earlier this week I went to visit a friend of mine who is a florist based in London. I have known Randal for many years going back to the time when I worked in the corporate world and he organised flowers for us on a weekly basis. He also used to send flowers to authors and created amazing arrangements when we were hosting book launches and other events.

We were discussing how to attract more business in these challenging economic times and I suggested he try setting up a Blog. Although Randal liked this idea he is not great with technology so I helped him to set up the structure. However, I insisted that he did the first blog himself. And so the Blog for Flowers by van Twisk was created...

Please visit his Blog and give him some feedback. If you know of anyone who is getting married (or hosting an event) I would highly recommend you get in touch with Randal as he really does provide a personal service at competitive rates. The images below are from an event he covered at Mansion House in the Summer. We went along to take some images for his portfolio and he managed to create some truly impressive displays in this amazing location. His contact details are:

Email: flowers@fbvt.com
Tel: 020 7834 4071

Hallmark Travel Event in West Sussex

2009-01-21T11:34:00.004Z

We spent Saturday at the Hallmark Travel Extravaganza in East Grinstead. It was held at East Court in East Grinstead and we know the location well as we photographed a wedding there in September. It was an extremely busy day for us as the event started at 10.00 and finsihed at 5.00 p.m. Throughout the day there were presentations by the various tour operators as well as activities going on in the hall, including local Indian restaurant Nizam. In some ways it was similar to a wedding fair where there are busy periods and then really quiet times. However, overall I thought the response was pretty good for a very cold January day. The Mayor opened the event and we took some photos, but as these may appear in the local press I won't put them up here yet. I thought Charmaine from Hallmark Travel had organised this event really well and everything seemed very smooth and professional. Sadly, we were not in a position to book a holiday ourselves but if you are thinking about your plans for 2009/2010 I would highly recommend getting in touch with Hallmark Travel. Hallmark Travel chose the British Heart Foundation as their charity for the event and made a donation to them for each person who registered for the event.

Here are some of our favourites from the day... all comments welcome. If you were one of the tour operators at the event, the event gallery will be online soon and Charmaine will be in touch to let you know the details.

Hallmark Travel's Holiday Extravaganza

2009-01-15T12:20:00.005Z

I wanted to let you know about a great travel event that is taking place in East Grinstead at the weekend. Hallmark Travel who are an award winning Travel Agent, based in East Grinstead, are organising a Travel Holiday Extravaganza. This is a great opportunity to plan your holidays for 2009/10 and the beauty of it is that it's right on your doorstep. It is taking place at East Court Mansion, East Court, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3LT. Charmaine at Hallmark Travel has really put a lot of effort into making this event a success and I would highly recommend you come and have a look if you live in the area.

We will be attending the event as the official Photographer's so we may just see you there.

Hallmark Travel's

Holiday Extravaganza 2009!

Saturday 17 January 2009

at The Meridian Hall, East Grinstead

10am - 5pm

If you need some inspiration…If you have something to celebrate… If you just want something different…

Our Holiday Extravaganza is a day full of exciting ideas, presentations, advice and help with planning and pricing…with experts and specialists gathered on just this one day and just for you!

Programme details, presentation times and appointments available

Visit Hallmark Travel's website for more details...

Visiting Stan

2009-01-15T12:09:00.005Z

For those of you that are one of my "friends" on Facebook, you may have noticed that my status sometimes refers to "Stan". He is my uncle and has unfortunately spent the last 6 months in hospital. He was finally moved to a very nice nursing home called Albany Lodge in Croydon just before Christmas. I went there to visit him on Wednesday this week with two of my cousins. Iain took some photographs while we were there and this is quite rare for me because you don't often find me on the other side of the camera! We had a lovely time visiting him and we were all very impressed with the nursing home and how is being looked after. Hope you like them...

Family Photo Shoot in Sussex

2009-01-14T22:24:00.004Z

This weekend was a really busy one for us. We had already planned to deliver a wedding album on Sunday to a couple in Brighton and then we were asked to do a family photo shoot. We worked out that we could do both by starting fairly early and doing the family photo shoot on the way to deliver the album. It was a fairly overcast day when we set out but fortunately the weather improved while we were there. Our biggest challenge was actually finding the house in the first place! I am so glad we were asked to do the family photo shoot and here are some of my favourites from the day... All comments welcome.

Frosty Mornings

2009-01-13T16:06:00.004Z

Last week it was extremely cold in Sussex so on Saturday I got out of bed fairly early (for a Saturday!) and took some photographs of the area around where we live. I was fascinated by the frost that formed on the leaves. I particularly liked the first image that was backlit. There was a general whiteness outside which does not really come through in the images but I've included the one of the tree to give some sense of this. Enjoy... and comments are welcome.

18th Birthday Party

2009-01-05T00:18:00.004Z

On Saturday night we were asked to go along to a very special 18th birthday party. We have known Chloe since she was very little as she went to school with Max, our son. We set up a "mini studio" in one of the bedrooms and we also roamed around taking casual photographs. It was a great opportunity to take some very special family groups in the "studio" and seemed to be quite popular. We are now processing all the images from the evening, but in the meantime I wanted to post a few here and I will also put some on Facebook. It was a great evening and Chloe looked stunning. How quickly they grow up!

New Years Day Photo Shoot

2009-01-02T14:25:00.005Z

On 1st January 2008 we did a family photo shoot (of Iain's family) and decided to do the same again this year. It is something we plan to do every year on 1st January with whoever is available. Unfortunately it was a bit grey yesterday so the light wasn't brilliant but I really enjoyed the day. It was also an opportunity to wish everyone Happy New Year and have a little drink together. I had made soup because it was so cold outside that I knew everyone would need warming up afterwards - and it seemed to be very welcome. It was great to get everyone together and I really had fun doing it - I hope you all did as well!

I was fortunate to be able to attend a seminar in November by David A Williams a top Australian photographer. One of the things I brought away from this seminar was the importance of creating memories for future generations. So many of us don't like to be photographed because there is something about ourselves that we don't like (myself included). Or we just don't think that we are photogenic. Or, perhaps, we just don't see the point of it all. What David brought home to us was the fact that we are creating treasured moments for our children and their children and beyond... There will come a point when your children are going to want to have a photograph of you that includes them. This is quite a responsibility for photographers. It is also worth remembering that your children will love you no matter what you look like. It is our job as photographers to recognise what people may not like about themselves and work with the positive points.

I was really encouraged yesterday by the fact that everyone was very positive about the session. I wondered afterwards if this was because they had been told up front what the day was all about and that it included having your photo taken. This would probably mean you are more prepared. My own experience is that I know I do not look good in candid shots. However, if I am asked to pose I can generally get a good photo out of it. My daughter, for example, does not like photographs taken from one side but is happy with the other side. I actually quite like it when someone tells me they are not photogenic because I want to prove them wrong, but I will always listen very carefully to the clues they are giving me.

To show some examples of what I mean I have included two photographs at the end of this blog which demonstrate the parent/child relationship. One is the last time I was photographed with my father in August 2005. He died unexpectedly in January 2006. The other is one of me with my daughter taken during the same holiday in Scotland. They are both treasured memories for different reasons. I am very self critical about myself in both images but, at the same time, I recognise their importance.

I hope you enjoy the photos and I would love to receive any comments. The reason I am not in the shots is that, apart from the fact I was behind the camera, this is Iain's family so it was more important to have him in the groups. If we were doing a similar photoshoot with my family up in Scotland the roles would be reversed and he would be behind the camera.

Kennedy Family Photo Shoot

2009-01-02T14:13:00.004Z

We came back from Scotland early as we had been asked to do a family photo shoot in East Grinstead on 28th December. The main photo shoot of the day was with 40 people and there were several other photo shoots with smaller groups. These will be uploaded to our website for the family to view. I spent a little while with some of the children while the adults were having lunch and some of my favourites are below. I have also included a photo I took right at the end of the day of the oldest member of the family. I think she looks amazing and she must have been so proud to have her family with her on such a special day.

Boxing Day 2008

2009-01-02T13:56:00.007Z

We stayed over at my sister's house on Christmas Day and also spent Boxing Day with her. We had a really lazy day chilling out and it was just lovely. In the evening my cousin, Jax, came to visit and we played some games including a quiz. True to form I was a bad a loser - at least I'm honest and I'm sure it will be no different next year! I managed to persuade Jan and Jax to have a little mini-portraits session which was quite an achievement seeing as neither of them like to have photos taken. They were both pleased with the results afterwards and Jax is convinced that she is only photogenic when I take her picutre! Jan also has a dog called Fitz. I am not really a "dog" person as I am actually quite scared of them. However, I think Fitz is starting to win me over. He looks really fierce but is actually quite a softie. Here are some of the pictures from the day. I couldn't resist adding a few of the decorations. Hope you like them...

Christmas in Scotland

2009-01-02T13:43:00.003Z

We went up to Scotland this year to visit Mum and to spend Christmas day with my sister, Jan, and her family. I love going up to Scotland at any time of the year, but Christmas is even more special and Jan always puts so much effort into the preparations. She is also an amazing cook so the meal is always delicious - and this year was no exception. It is great to spend time with my nephews as we don't really get to see them very often. We had a fantastic time and, as usual, there was lots and lots of laughter. Here are just a few images from the day. I will be putting a larger selection on Facebook. All comments are welcome.

Happy Christmas

2008-12-20T10:53:00.010Z

We wish all our friends, family, clients & colleagues a

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

and

a prosperous 2009

image by Iain, taken during the snow in April

Family Photo Shoot

2008-12-20T10:31:00.005Z

On Wednesday evening we went round to do a family photo shoot for Nadine at her parents home. They have a photograph of the children on the wall that was taken when they were all very small and she thought it was probably about time it was updated. Everyone was quite nervous to begin with but after a little while they really got into it and it was great fun - for us at least! I love doing photo shoots at someone's house, rather than a studio, because they are just so much more relaxed and natural.

These are some of my favourites from the day. We will be editing out some of the backgrounds before they go up on our online gallery, but I wanted to post these here before we go off to Scotland for our Christmas break.

BNI Christmas Party

2008-12-20T10:18:00.003Z

We attended the BNI Christmas party last weekend and took along the camera (of course). It was really nice to attend this event because as self-employed business people we would probably not have had a Christmas do otherwise. It was a really nice dinner held at Sweetwoods Golf Course. Some of the other members went along earlier in the day and also played a round of golf, but we passed on that as neither of us play golf. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of the people we see on a weekly basis on a more personal level and big thanks to Nadine for all her efforts in sorting it out.

Our quickest turnaround yet!

2008-12-10T16:25:00.003Z

We had an enquiry for a baby photo shoot at the beginning of the week and they wanted the images in time for Christmas. It turned out the Dad could be off work on Wednesday. I normally go up to London on a Wednesday to visit my uncle in hospital, but we worked out we could just about manage it. Iain came with me and then immediately after the photo shoot he drove home and processed the images while I went up to London. He put them into the online gallery at around 3.30 p.m. so that we could put the order through before the Lab's Christmas cut-off date (tomorrow).

He is a really lovely little baby and it was so worth making that special effort. He is just gorgeous! Get in touch with me if you want your own baby photo shoot as we still have some dates available in January & February. http://www.pureviewphoto.com/

Loving those Babies...

2008-12-09T17:10:00.004Z

November & December really has been all about the babies. I have really enjoyed going out to take photographs of babies from 3 weeks up to 11 weeks old. And what is great about babies is that they are all so different. A few weeks ago I had a baby where it was impossible to get a sleeping shot because he was so wide awake and then yesterday the baby I was shooting just couldn't stay awake! His Mum asked if she should try and wake him up, but having had babies myself I just couldn't consider doing that. It is just wrong!! So we ended up with really lovely "quiet" shots. Another great thing about the baby sessions is that I will do 3 shoots in the first year so it will be fantastic to watch them grow during that period. I can't wait to do the next batch in about 3 months time. In the meantime, I have another 11 week old baby to photograph tomorrow...

If you know someone who has recently had a baby, and they live in the Sussex/Surrey/Kent area, ask them to get in touch with me if they would like to organise a baby photo shoot. It is definitely worth preserving those memories as they grow up so quickly!

Email: louise@pureviewphoto.com Phone: 07595 044252

A very cute 2 year old

2008-12-09T17:00:00.004Z

This week we went down to Brighton to do a portrait session with a very cute 2 year old (and her Mum & Dad). It seems that most of the babies & toddlers I have shot recently have all had a runny nose - and this one was no exception. I also found out that asking her to lie down was not a good idea because she thought she was going to bed. I will remember that for our next session! However, inbetween wiping her nose and a few tears we managing to get some great images. I've also included a few of her Mum & Dad as they were a big part of the day.

Shooting just for fun

2008-11-29T10:43:00.004Z

Last weekend my daughter's friend came round and we went into the woods near our house to just have some fun with our cameras. What I love about Autumn/Winter - apart from all the gorgeous colours - is the fact that it is cold enough to wrap up in coats, gloves and hats. I was relegated to second shooter so that Faith could do most of the direction (with a little bit of guidance from me) and I think she did really well. Although she did let me do some direction of my own and these are a few of favourite shots from the day. All comments welcome...

Keeping it in the Family

2008-11-21T22:38:00.003Z

I mentioned in an earlier post that Faith is planning to take Photography as one of her AS Courses next year. She wanted to start getting used to using a Digital SLR so she used our son, Max, as her "model". He is a hairdressing appentice, which explains the interesting hair! These are some of the shots that she liked. She will be taking some more shots of her friend this weekend and perhaps next time I can even get Faith to update the Blog.

Our Beautiful Daughter

2008-11-18T17:44:00.004Z

This is Faith, our daughter, who is now 15 years old. She is planning to study Photography for her AS Levels next year and she was messing around with our old Canon SLR on Sunday, taking picture of Max (our son). I then took some pictures of her and here are some of my favourites. I will get hold of some of her images of Max and post them up as well.

Birthday - blogged by Iain

2008-11-17T17:19:00.003Z

On Sunday, I was invited to take photos at a special birthday party. The birthday girl and her three sisters were together in one place for the first time in ages. It took a coordinated effort by their respective children to get them from their individual homes to the party venue and who knows when they will be able to do this again?

Despite their very respectable ages, these girls still had a twinkle in their eyes and a wicked sense of humour - enough to make us mere youngsters blush.

Kyle and Emma - blogged by Iain

2008-11-17T16:24:00.005Z

On Saturday, I had an opportunity to shoot my nephew Kyle and his partner Emma. We visited a few of our regular locations - simply because they are on the doorstep. When I say doorstep, that's not an exageration... we went into the woods behind the house and then into the back garden! At this time of year, we were looking to get some of those wonderful Autumn colours. Kyle and I both like black and white images, so having captured some of those wonderful Autumn colours, I promptly got rid of them. Let me know what you think... keep the colour or go "arty"?

Welcome baby Alfie

2008-11-15T17:59:00.003Z

I had the absolute pleasure of being asked to take some photographs of Caroline & Julian's baby, Alfie. He is so gorgeous and only 3 weeks old. He managed really well with the session but seriously did not like being placed on his tummy. We were lucky enough to have really good weather on the day which provided some lovely natural light. Here are some of my faves from the day - all comments welcome.

Don't forget we have a Special Offer on "Newborn" sessions that is running until 10th December. Get in touch with me on 07595 044252 to find out more.

Winter Promotion - Free Baby Photo Sessions

2008-11-10T20:05:00.002Z

We have a fantastic pre-Christmas promotion for all those new Mum's (& Dad's) out there. If you have recently had a baby we will do a photo shoot free of charge during any weekday (Monday to Friday) for the next 4 weeks. The promotion will run until 10th December which will give us enough time to process the prints before Christmas. The free photo shoot will include:

60-90 minute session in November/December
60-90 minute session once the baby can sit
60-90 minute session once the baby can stand
1 free 6x4 print from each session (this can be upgraded to a larger print for small fee)

So don't delay, get in touch with us as soon as possible to get a date booked. This is a fantastic opportunity to record those special moments that you will cherish forever. Please pass this news on to anyone you know who may have had a baby recently.

Email: louise@pureviewphoto.com

Phone: 07595 044252

Second Photo Shoot of Thomas

2008-11-09T15:31:00.002Z

I did a photo shoot of Thomas at the end of September and it was out of that photo shoot that I ended up with the image that won the Silver Award. During that session his Mum wanted an image of him supporting himself with his arms. I tried to get the image she wanted, but he just didn't have enough strength yet to support himself for very long. I said I would come back once he had a little more strengh in his upper body. I went back to do the second session yesterday and it reminded me of what a lovely little baby he is. He is now just over 4 months old and it is amazing how quickly they change. I spent about an hour with him and some of my favourites are below. I am looking forward to the next session which will take place once he is able to sit. I can't wait...

I Won a Silver Award

2008-11-03T20:23:00.002Z

I have been a member of the SWPP & BIPP since January this year. Each month there is a competition that members can enter. I entered in three different categories in October and was awarded one Silver and two Bronzes. I was really pleased to be awarded a Silver with my first entry and I will certainly be looking for some images to enter in November. The first image below was awarded Silver and the other two were awarded Bronze. I really loved the first image as soon as I saw it so I am really pleased that it did so well. I'd love to receive your feedback or comments.

Happy 16th Birthday

2008-11-03T20:09:00.002Z

I had the pleasure this week of doing a photo shoot for someone I have known since she was a little girl. Lauren and Faith (our daughter) attended the same school until they were in Year 4. They have stayed in touch since then although we don't see them (her family) as much since we moved to Sussex. Lauren has just celebrated her 16th birthday and I went along to do a photo shoot to mark the occasion. She has her own sense of style and I'm sure you will agree she looks stunning. Happy Birthday Lauren!

Cousins Photo Shoot

2008-10-28T22:09:00.006Z

At the beginning of September I joined the BNI and one of the referrals I received was to do a family photo shoot of some cousins. The parents want to end up with an image that they will be able to give to the grandparents. One of the families had travelled up from Poole and we were really lucky because the weather was gorgeous. We went to East Court in East Grinstead which is a fantastic venue with some great scenery. We had a wedding there just a couple of weeks ago. It is only about 5 minutes from where we live so really convenient as well.

Family A

They are a really lovely family and it was a real pleasure to do the photo shoot. One of the areas I will be promoting in 2009 is the "Seniors" market - as they call it in the U.S. This is where we do a session with pupils who are in their final year of school (either GCSE or A Level) and they are able to use the images in the School Yearbook. If this is something you are interested in doing, please get in touch as we will be offering very attractive packages while we are building up this side of the business.

Here are some of the shots from the day. There were just so many good images to choose from that it was really difficult to come up with just a small selection. I would love to receive any comments/feedback.

Family A

Family B

Girl Cousins

Boy Cousins

Wedding Fair - 19 October

2008-10-24T13:02:00.006+01:00

In March this year we exhibited at a Wedding Fair at the Felbridge Hotel & Spa in East Grinstead. It was extremely quiet and as far as I could tell not much business was carried out by anyone. We had signed up for both the Spring & Autumn events and did not have high expectations but as we had already paid to attend we decided to go along anyway.

The Wedding Fair took place on Sunday 19th October and it was a lovely day outside. The attendance this time was so much better. We had a sample album on the stand but we also had a laptop showing other album layouts. In addition to this we had a large screen TV with a slideshow on loop showing images from recent weddings. This certainly caught a lot of Groom's attention - boys & their toys! We displayed large images from some recent weddings on a stand and received a lot of positive feedback on these. We came home with enquiry forms from over 20 couples and we have already sent out follow up emails. It is difficult to know, at this point, exactly how many bookings will be made as a result of attending the Wedding Fair but we certainly felt it was worthwhile going to this one. We also managed to network with other exhibitors and were pleased to see that, once again, we were positioned next to the Chocolate Fountain stand. Result!

The images below were taken before the visitors to the Fair had arrived. Later on there was an exhibitor positioned just in front of us who was displaying wedding gowns & morning suits. The gowns were really gorgeous so we had something pretty to look at during the few "quiet" moments.

David & Victoria's Wedding

2008-10-12T15:29:00.004+01:00

We were asked to cover a wedding yesterday that was very local to where we live - only 2 minutes away by car. It was an intimate celebration with the wedding party at only 20. It was a relaxed and fun day and the bridal couple, David & Victoria, clearly enjoyed the day surrounded by their close family. A few members of David's family had travelled over from Ireland that morning and the celebrations will be continuing next week in Ireland when the party continues. Victoria looking stunning and it was a real privilege to be able to capture some of the special moments from the day.

A fun family portrait shoot

2008-10-12T10:50:00.003+01:00

Last week I had the pleasure of doing a portrait shoot for a really lovely family. They had won a competition prize and probably weren't quite sure what do expect. We had a brilliant time and the family were so lovely to work with. The little girl had 3 changes of clothes and she had such a fun spirit that she didn't need much direction at all. Here are some of my favourites from the day:

It's All About the Babies

2008-10-08T22:29:00.002+01:00

At the end of September I went along to take some pictures of the most adorable 3 month old baby boy. This session was given to the Mum & Dad as a present and it was a real pleasure to be able to record some really special moments. I will be going back in about a month to take some more pictures, so watch this space...

Baby Naming Day

2008-10-08T22:23:00.002+01:00

We were asked to go along to take some pictures of a gorgeous little girl after her naming ceremony. It took place on a rather wet day at the end of August and we had to take advantage of the few dry moments that existed. Here are some of the results:

Michael & Arsinah's Wedding

2008-10-02T11:42:00.005+01:00

On Sunday 28th September we went to Brighton to photograph (& video) Michael & Arsinah's wedding. The service was at St Mary & St Abraam's Coptic church in Hove. It was a lovely service and not at all like any service we have attended before. It was a real privilege to be part of this special day. The reception was at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton which was a fantastic location. Micahel & Arsinah were so happy on the day and they looked like they really enjoyed the celebrations. Here are a small selection of images from the day. All comments welcomed.

Pure View Photography

2008-09-30T13:04:00.002+01:00

I can't believe it has finally happened, but it is now official. As of 1st October 2008 we will be Pure View Photography. Iain has built the new website (www.pureviewphoto.com) and we are in the process of sorting out all the stationery and new branding. Caroline from Working Smarter has been fantastic and has helped us to refine our ideas into something that we think works really well. We just love the new branding and can't wait to see our new business cards.

We are working on some fantastic promotions over Autumn/Winter and details of these will be posted on our website soon. In the meantime, I have updated the blog to include some of our recent activity. September has been a crazy busy month and October is already shaping up the same way. I'm not sure when we next have a free weekend but we are absolutely loving it. I'd love to see your comments on any of the posts below.

Arsinah & Michael's Engagement

2008-09-30T12:47:00.005+01:00

On the same day that I was doing the family photo shoot Iain went to Brighton to cover an Engagement shoot for Arsinah & Michael. I met them both earlier in the month and went down to Brighton to look round locations with them. They are a really fun couple and this clearly comes through in these images. I so love the colour of her dress and I'm sure you'll agree that she looked stunning. All comments welcomed.

Family Photo Shoot

2008-09-30T12:23:00.004+01:00

Earlier in September, I was asked to do a family photo shoot to celebrate a 25th Wedding Anniversary. I had been warned that the father of the family did not like having his photo taken. Sound familiar?!! The shoot had been arranged by one of the grown up children and I was really looking forward to it. Finding the house was the biggest challenge of the day, but it was definitely worth the effort. It was a lovely setting and the garden was spectacular, which is lovingly looked after by the mother of the family. The shoot went very well, even though I managed to fall over on some slippy paving stones. I was more worried about the camera than I was about myself. Here are a few images from the day.

Jo & Nick's Wedding

2008-09-30T12:13:00.003+01:00

On 6th September Jo & Nick got married at Alexander House in West Sussex. It is an amazing location but unfortunately it ended up being an incredibly wet & rainy day. I mentioned in an earlier post that it was a "surprise" wedding. Jo had a significant birthday a few days before and the family had been asked to attend a birthday lunch, but in actual fact they were going to be attending a very intimate wedding instead. At one point only the hotel and ourselves knew this was happening, apart from the couple themselves. We had, of course, been sworn to secrecy. We had such a brilliant time with this couple during their e-session that we just knew it was going to be such a fun day. They ended up telling their parents beforehand but all the other guests were totally surprised. Jo & Nick looked so happy on the day and it was a pleasure to be able to have some part in this special day. Here are just a few of the images. All comments welcomed.

Caroline's Maternity Shoot

2008-09-30T12:01:00.003+01:00

I was privileged to be asked by Caroline to do some shots of her "bump" as a surprise present for her husband. I ended up doing them the day before we went off on holiday for the Summer. It was a great day and she was really pleased with the images and ended up getting three of them framed. The present was for their wedding anniversary which has now happened and he loved the idea of these images to look back on once the baby is born. I can't wait for the baby's arrival sometime in October as I'm planning to do some shots in the first 10 days of the baby's life. Here are some of the bump shots. I'd love to have any feedback.

Jo & Nick have fun in the rain

2008-09-30T11:43:00.004+01:00

Back in July we were booked by a really lovely couple to cover their "surprise" wedding in September. We went out for an e-session on a very wet & rainy Sunday in August. They had asked what plan B was if it rained and to be honest we didn't really have one so off we went and had a great shoot in the rain. They were great fun and really made the most of the day. And right at the end of the day a little bit of sun shone through the clouds and we managed to get picture no. 3 which is their favourite.