Robert Hooper Photography

New Blog address!

2008-05-29T17:00:00.000+01:00

Our main blog has now moved to;

http://www.roberthooper.co.uk/blog/

A fresh new look and bigger images...

Thanks for dropping by :-)

Rob.

Modern wedding and portrait photography

The marriage of Tina Hills and Michael Dallman

2008-05-29T16:58:00.001+01:00

Sunday 25th May 2008 saw the marriage of Tina and Michael at the Selsdon Park Hotel & Golf Club, Sanderstead, Surrey.

After a two month break, I'd been looking forward to photographing Tina and Michael's wedding day for a while now. Although Kevin was scheduled to assist, an unexpected fall and injury to his ankle just a few days before the wedding day made this impossible. Get well soon Kev!

Karen stepped into the fold, and despite having been sick with flu all week, kept up all day and into the night after some heavy doses of Beechams!

Tina looked fantastic and was beaming all day - as you can see from this shot taken during the ceremony.

Michael also looked relaxed and confident throughout. Here's another shot taken during the ceremony for you... Husband and Wife!

Of course, they weren't the only ones to enjoy themselves. Young and old, their guests seemed to have a great time. Here's a 'moment' for you, captured shortly after the ceremony.

Moving on a little, the next one is a shot taken during the ritual cutting of the cake... but instead of showing you a 'standard' cake cutting shot (yes, we do have those!) I'm going to show you this one I enjoyed taking...

So what's next? How about this one - Michael supporting his new wife as she recites an emotional and personal poem for Dad...

Wow.

And finally (for now)... a couple more shots of Tina and Michael enjoying the scenic grounds of the hotel together.

Great couple huh?

Great wedding guys, both Karen and I enjoyed photographing it a lot. I do hope you like the pictures, and would love to hear comments. Speak soon!

Full galleries will be available here after Tina and Michael get the first look! Tina and Michael wedding day

Rob.

Modern Surrey Wedding Photography

Andy Kostek - Guitar Hero!

2008-04-30T09:44:00.001+01:00

I'd like to introduce you to Andy Kostek.

Andy is a musician currently based in Ireland, and flew over to see me last week looking for some portfolio photos for his website and general promotions. The brief started out as a simple headshots exercise... but as you'll see from the pictures we ended up getting a little more than that..!

Want to see some? Here we are then, take a look at this...

Like that? Great! Let's look at another one...

Andy was a great subject to photograph. Both he and I are passionate about what we do, and this led to a great photo session for a Saturday afternoon. We soon managed to over-run on our planned session time, but when you're "in the groove"... these things just have to be done ;-)

One more "Guitar Hero" shot for you before we move onto more traditional things...

Those shots were a blast to do, and made fantastic use of my most recent little gizmo - a portable smoke machine! This was the first time I'd used this cool little gadget so I was a little unsure what to expect - but with a little advice from Andy who's more familiar with such things, we were soon up and running.

So hands up who thought the shots above were shot on stage then??? Nope. All shot in my tiny little front-room studio. A little bizarre? Perhaps. Does it work? I think so :)

Naturally, we got other shots too. Here's a more sedate one for you.

More?

And finally, a "headshot" for you...

Andy is a great guy, really into his music and was kind enough to leave me a copy of his CD "One by One" which has been described as "A fusion of acoustic, blues and soft rock with a difference".

I love guitar orientated music, so this was right up my street - some really class playing on there. You can check out Andy's music for yourself by visiting his webpage at myspace:

Andy Kostek website

Thanks for a really fun session Andy. Your full galleries will soon be available online here:

Andy Kostek's headshots and portfolio galleries

Do feel free to leave your comments, I'd love to hear them.

All the best,

Rob.

Headshots and portfolios for musicians and singers

Helen and Paul's Wedding Day, Langshott Manor

2008-03-19T11:05:00.008Z

Friday 14th March saw the wedding of Helen Heine and Paul Scriven, at the beautiful 16th century venue of Langshott Manor Hotel in Surrey.

Helen and Paul were a lovely couple, and right from the start it was obvious this was going to be a great day. Here's a confident Paul only 15 minutes before the ceremony, relaxing in the grounds during a break in the weather. With scattered light showers throughout the day, it was going to take more than a few drops of rain to dampen proceedings...

The ceremony included some wonderful heartfelt vows...

and felt intimate at all times...

Guests and their children all enjoyed themselves. Here's a great shot, with character shining through!

Another dry spell, and a few shots of the boys looking cool.

Of course, we can't forget our bride Helen, who not only looked fantastic, but also enjoyed and made sure everyone else enjoyed every bit of her day!

A few quieter moments for Helen and Paul to share together. Langshott Manor is such a beautiful location that it is just oozing with character and atmosphere, so it was important to me to try to convey this in our photography.

More atmosphere... this time in the dining area.

...and our happy couple still enjoying the day, and each other

until the first dance of the evening, and it's now time for Kevin and I to leave.

I'd just like to extend a big thank-you to the staff at Langshott Manor, who were helpful and courteous throughout the day and didn't once complain despite us having to share a rather busy corridor for some of those more intimate shots, while they were setting up the reception room for the evening disco.

And finally, a big congratulations goes to Helen and Paul. It was a pleasure to photograph your wedding day.

Full galleries here soon: Helen and Paul's wedding day

Please leave your comments below!

All the best,

Rob.

Quality wedding photography in Surrey

Charlotte's portrait session

2008-03-19T09:58:00.005Z

Meet Charlotte. Aunt Claire bought Charlotte a portrait session as a gift last Christmas, so a few days ago Charlotte came along accompanied by Mum for her photo shoot.

Despite not having done this before, Charlotte soon relaxed and got into the swing of things. Here are a few previews from the session.

Not bad for a first shoot at just 14. I hope you like the pictures guys!

Full galleries here soon: Charlotte's portraits

All the best,

Rob.

Surrey portrait photography

Rebbecca's Cat portraits

2008-03-19T09:05:00.005Z

Who likes cats?

Take a look at these two beauties... a gorgeous Siamese, and a lovely Russian Blue. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Beautiful aren't they?

By the way, did you ever wonder how we keep our cats interested when we're doing a shoot? Here's a shot of Rebbecca that might just give you a clue...

Thanks for your help Rebbecca. Enjoy the pictures!

Full galleries will be here soon: Rebbecca's cat photos

All the best,

Rob.

Cat photography in Twickenham

Jonathan and Russell's romantic portraits

2008-03-18T14:11:00.008Z

Meet Jonathan and Russell.

Jonathan contacted me a while ago, interested in having some romantic portraits taken with his partner Russell. The original idea had been around Valentine's day but my schedule dictated otherwise, so Jonathan had elected to wait until I was available.

Meeting Jonathan and Russell, it was clear that they are very close. A quick chat about exactly the sort of pictures they were after, and we started shooting. Here are the lads at the start of the shoot.

After shooting a few 'standard' portraits to allow the guys time to relax it was time to start shooting the more intimate poses Jonathan had asked me for. It's a strange thing to be posing like this for a camera, but both the guys listened carefully as we discussed various poses, and happily followed instructions to the letter.

Anyone who has been to us before will be able to vouch for how bizarre and non-intimate my home studio really is... very little space, and certainly not the most romantic of settings when full of lighting equipment and various other photographic paraphernalia!

With this in mind, take a look at the pictures below, and I think you'll agree that the pictures really do have a very intimate feel to them.

And if you want an even more romantic look to your room (if the computers, lamps, tripods and stands haven't put you off just yet)... there's always candle-power!

Well that's it for now. Well done guys - I do hope you like the pictures.

Full galleries here soon: Jonathan and Russell

As is usual, any comments are fully welcomed... and if you want your own set of romantic or intimate photos with a partner, why not get in touch and we'll see what we can do.

All the best,

Rob.

Romantic portraits for couples

Best friends together...

2008-03-14T06:37:00.012Z

Karen, Sue and Caroline have been friends since forever.

Karen asked me if I'd take some photos of them together: she had this idea of all dressed in black and shooting with a black backdrop. Well, I'm not one to argue so off we went to Caroline's place to do the shoot for them...

Wayne came along to do a chunk of learning and assisting in equal measures. Here's Wayne, Caroline and Sue checking lighting ratios before we kick off:

...and a snap of the girls together as requested.

And another...

Of course, I then had to photograph them all individually... Here's Sue looking pretty relaxed, all things considered;

We already know Karen is a poser of course :-)

...and Caroline, who also got nicely into the swing of things after just a little bit of prompting...

What with girls being girls, the wine was flowing and 'relaxed' soon turned into "Yeah baby!" Well who am I to stop them? I'd brought along a bubble machine for Caroline's boys to play with: no such luck for them, but the girls loved it! Here's a few more as they 'relax' further into the spirit of things...

Good fun, and best mates enjoying each other's company. Big up to Wayne for all his help again, running up & down adjusting lighting etc. Hope you enjoy the results: leave your comments below, let me know what you think.

Rob

Modern portrait photography in Surrey and the surrounding areas

Full galleries here

SWPP award winners, Feb 2008

2008-03-11T12:48:00.001Z

I don't enter these competitions very often... truth be told, I find the actual process of entering quite laborious and time consuming, so I don't enter as often as I probably should.

Anyway with that said, I did find myself with a quiet afternoon one day last month and decided to go completely mad and enter a whole bunch into the February competition for SWPP members' pictures. Karen keeps pestering - oops, suggesting to me I should make more effort for this sort of thing and I know she's right really - so in a major effort for a quiet life I humbly did as I was told...

So anyway, all in all I entered a single image into each of a total of 15 different categories, to see what would happen. The results? 7 Bronze Awards, 4 Silver Awards, and a Gold.

Not a bad showing, I'd say :-)

Here's the award winning images along with their category and the result each one acheived. Some, you will have seen before - I hope you enjoy them.

1. Gold award: Environmental portraiture

2. Silver award: Wedding, traditional

3. Bronze award:Contemporary portraiture

4. Bronze award: Wedding, contemporary

5. Silver award: Portraiture,traditional

6. Bronze award: Sports

7. Silver award: Fine Art

8. Bronze award: Pets

9. Bronze award: Science and Nature

10. Bronze award: monochrome

11. Silver award: Pictorial

12. Bronze award: Landscape

Well, that's it. As I said, that's not a bad showing in my opinion - competition is very stiff with international photographers from many countries taking part each month, many producing some really outstanding works of art and deserving every recognition they get - so it's great to find my work holding it's own against others with such a wealth of talent.

I'll try to make some effort again next month - but don't go expecting such a big bunch going in any time soon!

Your comments are welcomed of course.

Rob.

How cool is this dog?

2008-03-11T11:08:00.001Z

I want to introduce you to Max.

Max belongs to Nina, who asked me to take a series of pictures of Max for her last week. Max has a great temperament, is very friendly and was extremely well behaved during his photo shoot.

The results, were a lovely series of pictures which I think depict Max's real character nicely.

So take a look at the pictures below and tell me...

How cool is this dog? What a character!

You don't get much more laid back than that. A star in the making.

Hope you enjoyed.

Rob.

Pet photography in Surrey, London, Hampshire, Sussex and Kent

Croydon Photographic Exhibition & Awards

2008-03-10T11:22:00.009Z

This Monday evening (10th March) sees the opening of the annual Photographic exhibition for Croydon Camera club, hosted in the Sun lounge at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon - CR9 1DG.

The exhibition runs until Saturday 15th March, and will be featuring all manner of prints from a variety of club members, so if you are at all interested in photography in or around the Croydon area, I heartily recommend popping in to take a look at the quality and diversity on display there.

The Monday opening will also feature comments from judge Phil Peddy, ARPS, APAGB and presentation of awards to the winning entries. A big congratulations goes to Karen, who will collect the trophy for the best standard class image for her picture of Rome's "Coliseum by night" (below), while I will be collecting the trophy for best print runner up for my landscape image "Morning Mist".

Come along... enjoy the photos: the more the merrier ;-)

Rob.

Photography in Croydon

Thomas and Victoria's Wedding Day

2008-03-10T11:00:00.002Z

Thomas and Victoria's Wedding Day

Saturday 1st March saw Kev and I at the Vineyard in Richmond, Surrey to photograph the wedding of Thomas and Victoria.

Unusually for me this was to be my first meeting with the bridge and groom, and also unusual was that our first port of call was to be for the ceremony itself.

Knowing the London traffic, we left bright and early to give ourselves plenty of time to get there. Sure enough, our journey took almost 2 hours longer than the trusty sat-nav had told us... but still we arrived early and ready to go.

We met Thomas, waiting with best man Paul at the front of the church. Here they are - looking quite composed, I'd say.

Victoria arrived just a little after 2pm. This was to be my first glimpse of the bride, so I was as keen as Thomas to see how she looked! Needless to say she looked radiant as she walked up the aisle towards her waiting future husband...

Following the ceremony, the reception was to be held at the Templeton Estate just a few minutes away. A few pictures outside in the gardens, followed by some more inside in the warm...

...and then we left the happy couple to enjoy themselves as we toddled off home again.

Congratulations go the the happy couple... and full galleries of the wedding now available here.

All the best,

Rob

Wedding photography in Richmond, Surrey

Rob & Kaz' random photo's - just for fun

2008-03-06T17:22:00.008Z

Been a hectic few weeks recently, and I've been slacking off on the blogging while I'm running 'round keeping up with other things.

Still, I've not forgotten that I did say a while ago that I'd be posting a few 'random' images up every now and then... just to keep things interesting.

First up from me a landscape (of sorts). Well, it's been a long dark dull winter - so I thought I'd add a splash of colour to the blog while I'm looking forward to spring time. I love Poppies for their photographic appeal. This little cluster was taken just outside of Goodwood Park Estate, West Sussex. A very low viewpoint coupled to a super-wide lens gives us some drama to the picture, which I was pleased with when I took the shot.

Next up is my kids, Katie and Daniel. Dan is coming up 13 now, a real football addict. Here's a shot every parent will recognise these days, as the kids get on with doing what they do best...

...and one of my beautiful daughter Katie on her own. Katie just turned 10 and unlike Dad, she is quite at home in front of the camera (no surprises there then). Of course, I have hundreds of photos of both my kids, who both make it easy for me to look like a great photographer! ;-)

So enough of my pictures anyway... how about a few of Karen's pics then?

Here's a few Karen recently entered into our local (Croydon) camera club print competition very successfully. The first, was taken one fine summer's day at Singleton Open Air Museum - also not too far from Goodwood, Sussex. It's a lovely picture... but who thinks it'd be finished off by the inclusion of a horse walking by? ;-)

This second picture is my favourite from this trio - taken during a recent trip to Kew Gardens during a day off for both of us. I think this is a cracking shot.

And the last one... Sunset over Herne Bay. This was taken a few weeks back during a photo-taking day out for Karen and Wayne, whilst I was taking some portraits 'down south'. Another great shot. Looks like I'm going to have to stay on my toes or be shamed into submission pretty soon (and then I'll never hear the last of it).

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Do feel free to comment if you've a mind to, all feedback is appreciated.

Happy snapping!

Rob.

Hugh Mitchell's headshots

2008-02-27T16:07:00.007Z

Today I met and photographed a young Winchester based actor called Hugh Mitchell, who came to me for some up to date headshots for his acting career.

Hugh has already landed a number of acting roles both for film and television. His films include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Nicholas Nickleby, Waking The Dead and The Da Vinci Code where he played the young Silas. TV appearances include Tom Brown's Schooldays, Beneath the Skin, and Judge John Deed among others - Hugh also played the role of Colin Creevey in the video game Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in 2007.

Obvious talent aside, Hugh is an unassuming grounded young man, who obviously feels quite at home in front of a camera. Here's a few photos we took during the session.

Hugh can be contacted through his agent Maxine Hoffman, at the Curtis Brown talent agency.

Look out for him - I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of Hugh in the future!

Rob.

Actors headshots in Surrey, Sussex, London Hampshire and Kent

Warren and Susie's Wedding Day

2008-02-19T10:40:00.015Z

Today I'd like to introduce Warren and Susie, who were married last Saturday at St Nicholas Church, Worth, Sussex.

Warren is a pianist and Susie an opera singer and their wedding turned out to be a lovely opener for this year's wedding season. Kevin and I met Susie in Uckfield, East Sussex where Adam was already doing a great job of helping with preparations to hair, make-up and dress. Here's a couple of previews of Susie as she prepares for the big day ahead.

And the results...

Once ready, an excited Susie jumped in the vintage Bentley wedding car , and headed for the Church. Here's a picture of Susie in the car - with a little twist to it;

Warren waits patiently at the church...

...and the ceremony begins

...and is completed. St Nicholas Church is one of the oldest in the country, and a beautiful example of its type.

When asked what sort of wedding photography they were after, our couple told me they were looking for adventurous, traditional, arty and contemporary..!

Something like this then... :-)

The wedding reception was held at Worth Abbey School - another beautiful, visually impressive location. We stayed until the sun was on its way out then left Warren and Susie to enjoy the remainder of their day.

What a lovely wedding to begin the season with...

Thanks go to everybody for all their help and co-operation - and especially to Warren and Susie for being such a great couple. Feel free to leave your comments... I hope you love the photos!

Full galleries available here soon

Rob

Contemporary wedding photography for South East UK

Bridget's cat portraits

2008-02-19T10:00:00.003Z

A cat called Rover...

Bridget contacted me and asked me to photograph Rover for her: apparently Rover is the apple of Mum's eye, so Bridget and decided it would be a lovely birthday surprise for Mum, to have a portrait done of the cat for her.

A classic black and white setup, though taken in colour would suit this job well - so we made good use of the popular white backdrop and turned Bridget's home into our makeshift studio. Rover didn't seem to mind at all ;-)

Our subject turned out to be very mild mannered and docile - perfect for me on the day, having pulled my back sometime the day before, whilst on wedding duties. Big thanks to Wayne, who came along to help out with the gear lifting while I was feeling a bit poorly!

Full galleries available here

Rob.

London pet photography

Ruth's family portraits

2008-02-15T19:03:00.008Z

Busy busy week!

Just time to give you a few pictures from Ruth's family portrait session last week.

Supposed to be a surprise for Mum, the session was 'rumbled' halfway through when Mum arrived in the room whilst the session was in full progress!

Oh well... it was a nice surprise for Mum anyway, and she got to join in too - so maybe a bonus after all.

Here you go then, let's rattle a few off for you...

A great family, full of fun, and all seemed to enjoy the session. Plenty more to come in the full galleries, which should be online towards the beginning of next week.

Cheers guys,

Rob.

Sussex portrait photographer

Pictures of Molly: Cocker Spaniel puppy

2008-02-04T12:21:00.000Z

Meet Molly.

Cocker Spaniel Molly is 3 months old, and full of beans! Owner Sam contacted me and asked me to take some nice natural photos of Molly in an outdoor environment - choosing Epsom Downs as his venue of choice.

Molly clearly loves it there, and wasted no time in taking full advantage of the opportunity to stretch her legs, running between Sam and Lisa. And let me tell you, she is fast!

Here's a few more shots of Molly, after she finally started to run out of steam. She's a lovely dog and very well tempered, though like most youngsters, she won't stand still for more than 2 seconds!

And finally...

Some lovely pictures of Molly then - and nice to get outside and shoot her in the environment she loves.

Rob.

Surrey dog photography

Website is an award winner - Twice over!

2008-01-29T13:12:00.000Z

Good stuff!

It seems I just won an award for my website from Freeola.com, who said the following about the website;

"A fantastic modern photography web site. The use of bold images on each page against the clean white background makes a lovely contrast."

...and they're also kind enough to furnish me with a nice £30 gift voucher as well for winning. Can't be bad.

In case you haven't seen the website already (where you been?) why not take a look for yourself by clicking here: award winner

Additionally, the website has also been awarded a Website Gold Award by UK Wedding Store;

Good stuff. As other photographers who run their own websites will be painfully aware, it takes many hours of work to establish a credible looking website - so it's great to know it's not all done in vain!

Keep visiting, and I'll keep the pictures coming.

Rob.

Quality wedding and portrait photography for South East England

2008 SWPP Convention: Wow!

2008-01-21T11:05:00.000Z

Hi all,

Well, Karen, Kevin and I just got back from this year's SWPP convention at the Novatel hotel in Hammersmith, London. What a mad few days. We're all completely exhausted!

The SWPP convention is an annual affair, and probably the biggest single gathering of professional photographers in the UK, staged over a one week period and bringing in many of the world's very best photographers and image makers in the fields of both wedding and portrait photography alike.

I'm a firm believer in continued education to improve skills in all areas, and what a venue for learning from the masters! With seminars and Masterclasses running continuously throughout the week this was definitely the place to be if you want to hone your skills and drink in your fill of motivation.

Among the many talks & masterclasses attended, a number stood out for their exceptional skills in both imagery and/or communication including those by the hugely talented but extremely down to earth multi award winning wedding photographer Gordon McGowan (pictured above, taken with my mobile phone), master of flow posing Doug Gordon, and the fantastic understanding of light from glamour and portrait photographer Mark Cleghorn along with Photoshop guru Guy Gowan who never ceases to amaze and impress with his vast knowledge of image retouching - just a few among countless others who either inspired or enlightened or both.

A great few days, leaving us all on information overload: lots to absorb, and as with all seminars and workshops we attend I am sure we this will help us to continue to go from strength to strength in all areas of the service we provide to our customers.

All the best,

Rob.
Wedding and portrait photography for Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, London and Kent

Puppy portraits: Cute!

2008-01-17T08:10:00.000Z

Meet Kenji.

Kenji is a 9 week old Japanese Shiba Inu, and as soft and cuddly as your favourite teddy bear!

Owner Derya commissioned me to take a series of portraits of Kenji as soon as possible, while he is still in the 'puppy' stage of development... all too aware that this stage disappears very fast.

Here's a few shots from the photo session.

Well I did tell you he was cute...

And more...

Hard work, all this posing...

...and who could say no to a face like this?

Isn't he gorgeous?

If you have a puppy or kitten, don't waste any time thinking about it while he/she grows up in front of you... contact us now to arrange your own series of special pet portraits before it's too late.

Rob.

Dog, pet and puppy photography in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and London areas

Time to burn...

2008-01-15T17:15:00.000Z

I'm currently going through the regular, necessary, but laborious process of burning files to DVD for backup purposes...

So, while that's tinkering away in the background I thought I'd use my few minutes to pop a post up for you. Today I have a few of Karen's pictures to show you. Here they are then;

First up is a beach in Bude. I particularly like the sky in this one

The second shot is an inhabitant of a small local (Carshalton) park. Squirrels are great this time of the year: cheeky and bold. For this one Karen used her most recent acquisition - a Canon 70-200 L lens. Great kit, and well used giving us a lovely differential focus to keep our little rodent sharp and standing out well from nicely softened background.

And the third shot... taken during our short break in Wales last year. Another lovely shot, and well spotted. And for those of you who may be wondering... I can vouch for Karen that yes the bird really was there at the time of taking!

Not too shabby eh? Karen is currently entering competitions in our local Croydon camera club in the standard class, but I'm sure she's going to find herself amongst the advanced workers very soon if she continues outputting work of this standard. Nice one K.

Rob.

Random photos...

2008-01-11T14:50:00.001Z

Hey all,

I've decided this year, to open up the blog a little, and post a few more personal photographs from time to time.

So here's a couple of pictures dragged from the archives for you. No particular order, just as they come. The first, is a shot taken at Santa Pod Raceway during the Europian Finals in 2006. I travelled up with my son Daniel, my buddy Alan, and his son Kieran and enjoyed a fast paced weekend with plenty of action and far too much noise. Jet cars are great to photograph - particularly as the light goes down, because they really show up the flames at the rear. Got to be quick though... They cover a standing quarter mile in about 3 seconds, with a terminal velocity of around 300mph!

The second picture I have for you today is called "Hangnails". This one was taken as a project in light and texture. My initial idea was to give a very 'processed' look to the picture, really accentuating the texture of the rope, and using a combination of techniques to emphasise the shape and form of the skin on my model, the ever suffering Karen. After searching for some suitably textured rope, and a trip to Tesco for some bright red nail varnish, off we went. The result, as you see below is an attention grabber if nothing else. I was happy with it, and it achieved what I had in mind at the beginning. :)

The final image for today is this dragonfly, taken on the wing. I love doing these, even though I seldom get the time. These creatures fascinate me, looking like they belong on another planet - and the challenge of capturing one in flight is a great one to set yourself. I rarely get time to take macro photos these days, but always plan to go back and do more when the time is right.

Well, that's it for now. Karen is threatening to make me put some of her pictures up too, so I may have some more for you to look at soon enough. Hope you enjoyed them.

Rob.

Fine art and other photos

Mark Charles headshots

2008-01-11T14:09:00.000Z

Hi all,

Today, I've a few more headshots for you to look at. This is Mark, who travelled up from Ashford in Kent to have his first set of headshots taken for his acting career.

Not having commissioned headshots before, Mark needed some standard headshot pictures for submission to agencies - so we started with a few basic, safe shots to begin with and then moved on to a few more 'artsy' type photos after we got those done.

For a first photo shoot, Mark was incredibly relaxed, and surprised himself by actually enjoying the session!

Here's a small selection taken from Mark's completed galleries;

Nice going Mark - hope you're pleased with the pictures!

All best,

Rob.

Headshots photographer for Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and London

FrankyNero headshots

2008-01-07T14:48:00.000Z

FrankyNero: Singer

This is Franky Nero, an R & B singer who wanted some funky new headshots for his website and general promotional materials. Here we go then...

We took a 2 hour session, and got some great shots of Franky, who turned out to be a very affable guy with a very relaxed attitude in front of the camera.

Let's show you some more picks from the portfolio we shot during the photo shoot then...

As you can see, the portraiture was a lot of fun, and Franky made the most of his time in front of the camera, getting some very cool shots that suited his look completely.

If you want to see more, FRANKYNERO has a whole selection on display at his website, where I also recommend you go to listen to the brand new single "Always", taken from Franky's forthcoming album "Lion of Judah".

So what you waiting for? Go listen to the single and more, here:

FrankyNero's website

There... you know it makes sense. The final shot I'll leave you with, was one actually taken in front of a green screen (chromakey) with the wall added afterwards to give it an urban feel: a bit of fun :)

If you're a singer, actor or model and need your own high quality headshots, complete portfolio, or simply a few images for your own promotional materials, contact me here: Surrey headshots photography

Rob.

Portraiture for Surrey, Sussex, London, Hampshire, and Kent

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T17:31:00.000Z

Hi all.

Just a quick post to wish "Happy New Year" to everybody. Thanks to all the previous customers who sent us Christmas cards and well wishes, they're much appreciated. We had a great Christmas despite both suffering from a yukky cold for a few days. Both Karen and I celebrated our birthdays on Christmas day - I turned 40 this year (ouch!) whilst Karen turned..... well, that'd be rude for me to say wouldn't it? ;-)

It was great to take a rest after a really hectic run up to Christmas and spend some nice relaxing time with Karen - and wonderful to get some well overdue quality time with my 2 beautiful kids Daniel and Katie. Here's a couple of snapshots I took of them at Arundel Park (Sussex) taken just a few days after Christmas.

Best kids in the world (ok, I'm kinda biased).

Now I'm feeling refreshed and ready to jump back in the saddle, and I'm looking forward to a great year in 2008.

Happy New Year!

Rob.

Neil and Tracey

2007-12-19T08:49:00.000Z

Just a few pictures for today...

This is Neil and Tracey, who called me for a portrait session at their home in Woking. Obviously mad about each other, the couple asked me to create some studio-type pictures of the pair of them together, so that's what we did...

Despite space being at a premium after I setup the equipment in their frontroom, we just about managed to squeeze ourselves into a number of different poses - and here are a few of the pictures we got;

Nice going guys. Hope you like them!

Rob

Surrey portrait photography

Family portraits for Simon...

2007-12-13T16:53:00.000Z

Here's Simon and Co. Simon contacted me for a family portrait with his two brothers, and his sister - a gift for Mum.

Originally planned as a surprise gift, circumstances dictated that this was not to be...

...so when I arrived at the family home in Crawley, Mum was able to take a ringside seat!

So, without further ado... here's a few of the photos we took for the portrait session...

Surprising what you can do in your front room with a little bit of effort isn't it?

By the way guys... I'm happy to report that my back is feeling much better now! Thanks for the help with the lifting :-)

Rob.

West Sussex Portrait photographer

Andrew's family portraits

2007-12-12T10:25:00.000Z

Meet Andrew and his family...

Andrew contacted me to arrange an 11 person family portrait session, with family members ranging from Grandparents, right down to a 6 week old baby. A lovely idea for Mum's birthday.

With such a big group, we were never going to fit into my usual shooting space, so we met at a studio in Croydon for the shoot. Andrew's family turned out to be a great bunch - friendly, and full of fun. I think they enjoyed the session, over a 2 hour shoot we got ourselves a bag-full of great pictures for them. Here's just a few, starting with Andrew, brother Phil, and Dad...

The 'kids'...

Grandparents and grandchildren...

Sweet...

...and again..

Here's Nick, with the littlun'. A little 'Arty' for this one..

And a tender moment for Mum and Baby.

The boys, with Mum...

Horsing around with Dad!

And of course... the family group together.

Great stuff - A lovely family, all great to work with: you know... it's not the easiest thing in the world, to get 11 people arranged and not looking like a football squad - but I do believe we managed it! Thanks guys.

Rob.

Surrey portrait photographer

Sophie and Friends

2007-12-04T11:54:00.000Z

Today, I want to introduce you to Sophie & co.

Sophie contacted me a few weeks ago with an idea for a portrait session for herself and her brother, Micheal - a great Christmas present for Mum & Dad. We agreed a booking, and then extended the shoot to also include Sophie's partner Kevin, and Micheal's partner Jo.

The group decided to go with the popular white backdrop, and here's a few examples of what we got, beginning with Sophie and Mike...

here's Sophie again, this time with boyfriend Kevin...

Micheal, and girlfriend Jo...

...Mike and Kevin...

And finally... all the guys as a group

A nice fun and relaxed session, which I think everybody enjoyed. Sophie and Micheal had been about 20 years between photo sessions... let's hope they don't feel the need to leave it another 20 years before the next one!

Rob.

Surrey portrait photographer

Giles' dog portraits

2007-12-03T15:03:00.000Z

Today I have some more animal portraits to show you again - this time we have 3 more dogs to photograph. Giles wanted a classic blue backdrop for his studio style pictures of his dogs, so we arranged for him to bring the dogs to me, and got a lovely series of pictures for him. Here's just a few samples for you;

As is the 'norm', with 3 dogs in one session, things got... a little bit excitable for our four legged friends - but we managed to get each of the dogs photographed in turn before going for some group combinations, which I thought worked out rather well...

Hope you like the images! If you'd like your own pet portraits taken, either for yourself or as a gift, please feel free to get in touch. :-)

Rob.

Dog portraits in Surrey

Family portrait fun

2007-11-21T17:23:00.000Z

Jack and Lilly:

Lloyd called me to book a portrait session for his two kids, Jack and Lilly...

Great kids, and a great idea for a surprise Christmas gift for his wife: the only problem being getting the shoot done without 'Mum' finding out!

Everything arranged, I arrived at Lloyds house and we started the shoot. Here's Lilly - a real smiler!

Lilly really enjoyed the shoot - a natural poser!

...and here's Jack. Very laid back, and also very at ease with the camera.

Finally, we got to shoot the kids together. Everything was great... until Mum came home an hour early! Cue one quick exit by Rob, and some fast talking by Lloyd. Luckily, we already had some great pics in the bag:

Good stuff. I'm sure Mum will love 'em.

Full galleries will be online very soon. All the best,

Rob.

Family portrait photography

SWPP award success

2007-11-19T13:47:00.000Z

This month I was awarded a merit from the Society of Wedding and Portrait photographers, in the glamour photography category.

This certificate was especially nice to receive because it isn't an area I specialise in, so it was great to be awarded a mark of 83% for my efforts, which can be viewed via the SWPP website.

Taking into consideration the awesome talent of some of the international photographers competing for SWPP merits, I was "well pleased" with that. :-)

Rob.

Horsing around

2007-11-09T09:45:00.000Z

Still busy photographing animals... this time we have a equine flavour to our pictures.

Andy called me and asked me to photograph his girlfriend's horse for her at the stables in Eastleigh, Hampshire as a surprise gift for her. No problem: here's a few pictures of Shannon - first outside then in...

...and finally, a quick shot of one of another horse from the same stable.

Many thanks to Hannah for her help in looking after the horses (and me)!

Andy's full horse galleries here

Rob.

Horse portrait photographer in Hampshire

Black cats at Halloween!

2007-11-01T13:24:00.000Z

With Christmas quietly approaching, I've been doing a lot of animal portraiture recently - and even more recently, it seems everybody has a black cat or two tucked away somewhere. I've decided it must be something to do with Halloween!

Richard called me, saying he wanted a special gift for his girlfriend - a couple of nice canvas pictures of their two 6 month old kittens. He wanted studio style portraits, so I gathered my gear and headed off to his home in Hampshire.

Here's a few pictures of his kittens...

Cute aren't they? No, I can't tell them apart either. A lively pair, they gave Richard a good chunk of work to do, gathering each one up and replacing him each time he decided to be elsewhere - but we got the shots we wanted in the end.

It's often something of a challenge with black animals such as these, to make sure you get a good representation of the animal's fur, and keep lots of detail in it - but at the same time, it still needs to look black. It's difficult to see, on these little websized versions of the pictures, but I think we got it pretty well licked :-)

Towards the end of the session, the kittens began to get restless, so we let them run free in the garden - whilst I ran off some extra shots before they bolted completely.

Nice cats, nice shoot, lovely pictures. Job done. nice.

Rob.

Hampshire cat photographer

New special offer for November

2007-11-01T08:48:00.000Z

Last month's offer was for wedding couples only - with several couples enjoying our offer of a free pre wedding shoot by booking before November. Thanks for the bookings guys, and I know we'll have a blast when the photo shoots come around.

This month, I've decided to throw out an offer that anybody can take advantage of...

For the whole of November, I'm offering a completely free upgrade for any 6x9 inch prints sold to be upgraded to 10x8 enlargement size for no extra charge.

That's a saving of £9 on each and every one, so order 10 and - well, you can do the maths, it's not tricky - you could save yourself a packet!

This is actually half the usual cost of a 10x8 inch enlargement.

All you need to do to qualify is to type: BIGMEUP into the comments section when you reach the checkout - or mention the offer if you're placing the order by telephone, and we'll replace your 6x9's with 10x8's for you.

Happy big-prints November.

Rob.
Photography special offers and deals

Appreciated...

2007-10-24T13:04:00.000+01:00

Now and again, I receive an email that really makes me feel like all my efforts are worth it. :-)

Here's a recent one I received for no apparent reason other than to show an appreciation for my humble efforts in portraiture. The fact that I don't know the author makes it all the nicer, in my book.

"I am a photographer that sold my studio several years ago. I miss it & have decided to open a studio in Omaha, NE USA. I spent the day today looking at a few hundred photographers websites all over the world and am appalled at the portrait product being shot today. I just want to take a minute to tell you that you are doing some of the best photography around. Keep up the great work!"

That's it - short, sweet, and to the point. What a nice message to find in the inbox!

ok, I'm realistic enough to know that there are thousands of fantastic photographers out there, many of whom produce works I admire immensely and can only aspire to someday try to equal... but it's also great to know my own humble efforts aren't wasted, and can inspire some level of affection on their own merit. Nice one.

Thanks for the kind words Micheal.

To view my portraits you can visit my portrait galleries complete with some funky new music which you will either love... or hate! Surrey portrait photography

It's... The Alexi Diamond Show!

2007-10-15T17:38:00.000+01:00

Here's one to watch out for...

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from an actor called Alan Sydenham. Alan was looking for some headshots and portfolio shots for promoting a brand new character you may be seeing much more of very soon...

"Alexi Diamond".

I won't go into too many details, but suffice to say that Alan arrived along with actress Diane, and within minutes they had transformed themselves from perfectly ordinary looking 'normal' people into "Alexi and Marcia".

Marcia is, as Diane described her "An archetypal Tory wife" with pretensions of grandeur, and Alexi is....

...Well, I'll let you decide for yourself! Here's a quick montage to sum up the afternoon photo session for you.

I have to say that both Alan (Alexi) and Diane (Marcia) were a blast to work with, and definitely livened up an otherwise dull day! Alan has a brand new chat show coming to Channel 4 in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to watch out for

"The Alexi Diamond Show"

to see more of this larger than life character soon.

Photographer to the stars... ;-)

Rob.
Surrey portrait photography

From dogs to cats...

2007-10-15T14:18:00.000+01:00

With the traditional wedding season drawing to a close it seems people are beginning to look towards Christmas - and more and more people are asking for high quality pictures of their favourite pets, either for themselves, or as a gift for their loved ones.

Helen called me, and arranged for me to photograph her father's two cats for her as a surprise gift for him. She was looking for studio style portraits taken on a classic white backdrop at her parents' home. Gorgeous though the moggies undoubtedly are, they had their own ideas about "posing" for the camera (as is quite normal for cats) so there followed the now familiar antics of placing/replacing/teasing/bribing/encouraging the cats to cooperate for the shots we had in mind!

Although it always requires a little patience for this type of shot, I hope you'll agree that a little perseverance is worth it for the shots below...

Once we had our shots of Dad's cats Helen brought down her own and we fired off a number of shots of him too. Sweet.

Full galleries of Helen's cats here

Rob.

If you would like your own animals photographed in either a natural or studio setting, check out our pet photography page for full details or email me at Surrey pet photographer to secure your booking.

Going to the dogs...

2007-10-11T12:13:00.000+01:00

I love my job. Every day brings something new, and something different: weddings, people, kids, cars, cat, and... dogs. Every job is different, and each brings its own set of challenges.

I got an email from Sally in Sutton. Sally owns not one, not two or even three dogs, but... 6 dogs! 4 small, Jack Russell Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, Shih Tzu, and Papillon - 1 medium, Collie Spaniel, and 1 large - Labrador.

Sally was looking for a single photograph with all her dogs together and finished the email by telling me "they are all naughty and hate to sit still to order"...

A challenge indeed.

So, off I go to meet Sally and the dogs at home. The dogs are lovely, every one of them - all very friendly, but also all (barking) mad! We decided to start off by photographing each dog in turn so Sally would have some nice portraits of each individual dog. Take a look at the following, all taken with available light around the home in a very improvised manner, as the dogs ran rings around me!

Lovely aren't they? Each was very individual, and it was clear that Sally knows each dog's character intimately. Some have come from rather unfortunate backgrounds, but have all been lucky enough to be taken in by Sally who obviously loves them all to bits.

In case you think I jest about our 'working conditions'... take a look at these two snaps - yes his feet are off the ground in the first one, and that's three of the six dogs with one toy, in the second!

So what of the multi-dog picture? Clearly, this crazy bunch wasn't going to hang around to have their pictures all taken together. We gave it some thought, and came up with a plan - a line up! With no room to take the shot inside, we cleared an area of the patio and set to work - and aided by the wonders of modern technology and more than a little jiggery pokery (both in taking the photo and during post processing) I can now show you the following 'line up' (which never actually happened)...

and finally... Sally's seasonal idea...

Sometimes when you wake up in the morning... you really do never know what's gonna happen next.

Thanks for your help Sally, it was a lot of fun!

Full galleries of Sally's dogs will be available very shortly.

Rob.

Surrey dog photographer

Maceo's Christening

2007-10-10T19:02:00.000+01:00

Sunday 7th October '07, and Karen and I found ourselves at the Sacred Heart Church followed by a reception at the Hilton, Islington to cover the christening of little Maceo - an adorable little lad just approaching 18 months old.

Family and friends flew in from as far away as Miami and Nigeria. Mum, Natalie, was keen for us to cover the event in a natural candid way with plenty of unposed moments and a good helping of black and white images (don't worry - there will be plenty of colour pics in the full galleries too).

Lovely: just how we like to do things. Without further ado, here's a few tasters for you.

As is usual, comments are welcomed. Full galleries of Maceo's Christening now available.

Best,

Rob

Surrey christening photographer

Jade's headshots

2007-10-10T11:13:00.000+01:00

Today I would like to introduce you to Jade.

Jade is a singer - and came to me looking for some high quality headshots to use in her portfolio. So here she is in classic headshot pose...

Good stuff: Ok, so there's our basic headshots in the bag then. Jade decided to opt for our new special headshot package: one set fee and all proof images supplied in high resolution on a DVD - so once our standard headshots were safely taken, we then moved on to some more playful posing;

This is a first time portrait experience for Jade, but I think you'll agree that she did a cracking job of playing out her new role of "Britain's next top model" for the shoot!

Not too shabby huh? Jade is a great character, full of (cool) beans and took to it like a duck to water. Here's a few more for you: how's this?

If you'd like your own set of quality headshots or portraits for your own portfolio - or even just for fun - check out our headshots page, then give me a call or email me at Surrey Headshot photographer

Jades headshots gallery now online!

September offer extended to include October

2007-10-03T17:51:00.000+01:00

Owing to the clumsy way I managed to find myself on holiday during the close of our September special offer period, I have decided to extend the offer until the end of October.

So...

Anybody booking their wedding photographer before the 1st November 2007 can now also have a great fun and really useful pre-wedding photo shoot absolutely free! All you'll need to pay out for is any travelling expenses incurred, if applicable.

Full details can be found on our special offers page of the main website.

Best,

Rob.
Surrey Wedding photographer

Turkish Delight

2007-10-03T17:38:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

Just a quickie - no new pictures to show you this week: we've been away for a short break in Turkey.

We (Karen and I) had a lovely week of real relaxation and chilling out. The weather was great, the people were fantastically friendly, food was amazing, and the chill-out factor was through the roof :)

I'd love to show you some pictures, but the honest truth is (and I'm ashamed to admit)... I really don't have any! A strange thing, you might think - but think on this: I love photography like you might love your favourite food: love to do it, love to eat it... but sometimes... sometimes isn't it great to do something completely different? Then when you return to your food (or photography) you can enjoy it all the more!

Now we're back I feel ready to pick up the camera and really go at it again. I have some fun jobs lined up over the next few weeks and I can't wait to get back in the swing of things once I've caught up on all my emails and deleted a million spams collected in the previous week.

Truth be told, it was great to laze around and not hit the shutter all week (oh, alright I did take a couple of photo's - but really it was only a couple. Karen took a few more, I'll try to prize a couple out of her for you...

I have to confess I didn't know too much about Turkey (still don't, really) but I would thoroughly recommend it if you're looking for a relaxing holiday - there are even some great photo opportunities if you look for them ;-)

All the best,

A very relaxed Rob.

Jill and Dan's wedding day

2007-09-23T12:13:00.000+01:00

On Saturday 15th September 2007, Karen and I went off to a nice sunny Southampton to photograph Jill and Dan's wedding day for them. Our day began with what turned out to be a 3 hour drive along a very congested motorway to Jill's place in Hythe. We were pleased to feel very welcome right from the word go, and it was lovely to meet Jill again following our fun pre wedding shoot we had done with Kevin a few months ago.

Starting with some prep shots, it was great to have the time to get some really lovely pictures of both Jill, and her dress and flower arrangements prior to the wedding itself. The exotic flowers looked amazing - check out the colours on these:

...and Jill was looking great already - beaming like a Cheshire cat, and enjoying every moment of the day! Here's one of Jill as we 'played' a little with some picture ideas by the window.

Our next port of call was the church, where we met up with a remarkably calm looking Dan. All went off faultlessly, with plenty of smiles all round.

I love this next picture - a real 'moment' captured. You can't pose pictures like this :)

The unusual transport was a delightful classic 1967 split screen bus VW camper van, provided by Chamberlain Chauffeured Classic VW's. Here's a shot of the camper outside our next destination - the Hythe Sailing Club. What's that in the background? Oh, that's just the QEII passing by at just the right moment..!

Here's another camper van shot (sort of). Well, they are newlyweds after all - a quiet moment in the 'limo' together, and a detail of a super-shiny hub cap for you. In the background, you may notice the other classic car in use on the day - a gorgeous 1973 Karmann Ghia

We took a short stroll onto the (very wobbly) jetty, where we got some fantastic pictures for the wedding album despite each of us feeling like we were actually on a boat, following the wash generated by the QEII. Both Jill and Dan were amazing - the photography is important to them, and it was really great to be given the time to get the shots they will love in the future. This makes all the difference on a busy wedding day and the pictures really reflect this.

Moving on a little bit, I'd just like to show you a couple of evening shots before we finish for the day: Jill and Dan enjoying their first dance as man and wife. Here, we made good use of a new edition to our equipment array - a small video light operated by Karen to give us a little more detail in the dark. We think this works wonderfully - giving us just enough detail where we want it, but keeping that all important atmosphere for the photographs. Agreed?

And finally, one more from the jetty again. Please do feel free to leave your comments... we love to hear your feedback.

If you want to check out a slideshow of Jill and Dan's entire wedding album, you can find it here: Jill and Dan's wedding album

That's it for the blog but we have loads more great pictures to show you if you go to the full proof galleries here: Jill and Dan's wedding day

All the best,

Rob.

Hampshire wedding photographer

Ken and Hery's wedding day

2007-09-11T20:41:00.000+01:00

This Saturday gone, Karen and I were in Chichester to photograph Ken and Hery at the Assembly Rooms.

Ken and Hery are a lovely couple who clearly adore each other. Starting out from Croydon first thing, we left some gloomy weather behind and as we headed South into Sussex the sun came out and proceeded to stay out all day. Lovely.

Our first port of call was to meet Hery at the Royal Norfolk Hotel, Bognor. Here she is just having the finishing touches applied to her hair and makeup for the day...

Next stop was to visit Ken. Ken is an accomplished man - both a photographer and martial arts expert! However, even 5th Dan Aikido experts still benefit from a good Mum to apply their special magic for a finishing touch!

Here's a snip from the wedding ceremony itself with a wonderful light breaking through ornate curtains

Still in the Assembly Rooms building, our couple posed for a few minutes on the stairs and then...

...we went on to Priory park to catch up with the guests ... and of course we also took this opportunity to add to the wedding photos. Here's a nice one of Ken and Hery, with me breaking all the 'rules' by shooting straight into the light. What are rules for anyway? :-)

Back to the reception, it was time for the speeches. Here's our best man, in full flow - and his appreciative audience!

What do you follow that up with? Well a rousing rendition of "Zip a Dee Doo Dah" of course! Guests from all corners of the globe enjoying themselves together - a wonderful sight.

Here's a quick one of the cake, made by Hery herself. Looks great, tasted great (and I can vouch for that)!

And finally... one more of Ken and Hery together.

A lovely wedding on a sunny day.

Ken and Hery example wedding album

Full galleries now available here: Ken and Hery wedding galleries

Rob.

Sussex wedding photographer

September Special - FREE pre wedding photo shoot!

2007-08-31T17:19:00.000+01:00

FREE September pre-wedding photo shoot

Throughout the month of September, we will be offering any couples who book their wedding photography through us a FREE pre wedding photo shoot - all you need to pay is for any travelling expenses incurred (if applicable).

Just book up before October 1st 2007 to secure your FREE pre wedding photo shoot and look forward to pictures like these...

Full pre wedding photo shoot details here

Enjoy a very special September with us!

Jessica and Glyn's wedding day

2007-08-29T07:51:00.000+01:00

Saturday 25th August saw us at Chichester Cathedral for the marriage of Jessica and Glyn.

Unusually, there were 3 of us on site this week: Kevin and I as usual, but also Karen, shadowing Kevin for the day in preparation for her own assisting jobs coming soon. This extra 'man' power proved very useful during the day actually, and Karen also got some great shots to add to the collection. How people photograph weddings alone, I don't know - hat's off to them!

Anyway, back to the story at hand... We started off at home with Jessica, getting some unposed pictures of the family before the wedding. Here's a lovely one of Jack by the breakfast table: a great little character!

And how about this one? How cute is that? :-)

The dress was fantastic.

Chichester Cathedral. Also fantastic.

One of Karen's shots...

And our happy couple, enjoying their day.

Full galleries are now available here: Jessica and Glyn wedding

Sussex wedding photographer

Jump + Pump personal fitness trainers, Jerry and Paul

2007-08-23T13:17:00.000+01:00

Jump & Pump Fitness Training

Last week Jerry and Paul visited me at home for a studio portrait session to create a pair of profile boards for their fitness training business Jump & Pump.

Both Jerry and Paul are very personable guys, and whilst chatting away to them during the session it became clear that they really know their stuff.

Let me introduce you. First here's Jerry - the founder of Jump & Pump. Jerry has been in the fitness industry since 1995. To give him his full title:

Jerry Cheah ACSM NRPT

And then of course, there is Paul. Paul has also been involved in the fitness industry for over 10 years, and has a background in both boxing and bodybuilding:

Paul Zahra NRPT

Jump & Pump are currently taking on new clients, so if like me you could use a little more exercise and education to help in keeping yourself in trim, you could do well to get in touch while they still have places available.

Jerry's website: http://www.cheahfitness.com/

Paul's website: http://www.bodymotivators.co.uk/

If you need portraits for your company profile, see details here for surrey portraiture or contact me directly.

Ken and Hery's pre wedding shoot

2007-08-07T12:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I met with and photographed Ken and Hery for a pre wedding shoot. They are marrying in September in Chichester, and clearly dote on one another.

The shoot was scheduled some time ago, and when the day arrived it proved to be gloriously hot and sunny throughout. Of course, we all love the sun - but the photographers amongst us will also know this light can create havoc with our exposures! Nevertheless, it was lovely to be outside on such a lovely day, and the shoot was a happy and relaxed event.

We started out on the beach: locals to the area may recognise this as being the end of Dark Lane, Bognor Regis - a quiet little beach with some lovely big rocks put there for just posing people on ;-)

A lovely shot of Ken and Hery enjoying each others' company...

...they clearly make each other laugh all the time...

...and enjoy the tender moments too.

After the beach, we moved on to Hotham Park, where we met Natalie - owner of Hotham House. Natalie was kind enough to show us around her beautiful home and then allowed us to continue our shoot in her lovely back garden. Feeling lucky to have found such a lovely spot, we took advantage of the location and took a whole series of pictures around the garden grounds.

To see more, the complete gallery of Ken and Hery's pre wedding shoot is now online.

Sussex wedding photography

Nikki and Laurence's wedding day photos

2007-08-01T14:45:00.000+01:00

28th July 2007

The marriage of Nikki Cline and Laurence Stubbington.

My congratulations go to Nikki & Loz, after being lucky enough to photograph their wedding at the Goodwood Park Hotel last Saturday.

Saturday turned out to be a lovely day, which after the recent spells of terrible weather, was a major stroke of luck, since the day managed to stay both warm and dry throughout.

Guests and family were in good spirits...

Nikki looked fantastic in a classically elegant wedding gown, with her new husband Laurence resplendent in tails.

I was delighted to capture some wonderful pictures of the celebrations, that I'm sure will help them remember their special day forever. Here is our happy couple being showered in confetti in the grounds of the Goodwood estate.

A quiet moment, at the edge of the golf course, and a little time for reflection for our newlyweds...

Wedding rings and bouquet...

Here we are, just heading back to the celebrations with family and friends...

...and a first dance as man and wife.

Complete galleries now online here !

I hope you enjoy the photos. As ever, feedback is welcomed...

Thanks to everybody who helped out on the day.

Rob.

Sussex wedding photographer

Jill and Dan's pre wedding shoot

2007-07-19T12:12:00.000+01:00

Today I would like to introduce you to Jill and Dan, marrying in September of this year. Here are a couple who obviously love spending time together, and will squeeze every bit of fun out of a situation possible!

Our session begins with a rather bizarre trip to a field of sunflowers, where I got to perch on an upturned bucket in order to capture our sunny couple frolicking among the flowers...

Nothing too serious going on here, as Jill and Dan do their best to blend in with the scenery...

Fun and fondness

What better place to show off your best catalogue pose, than on top of a giant pile of old tractor tyres?

...and I can't even begin to know what the below is all about...

Groyne surfing: this is normal behaviour, right?

What goes up, must of course come down.

...and a couple of more sedate beach shots for you...

Thanks guys, it was great fun. I know the wedding is going to be a heap of fun and I'm looking forward to photographing it with you.

If you would like your own pre wedding shoot like this, click here for details: pre wedding photo shoot

Rob.

Hampshire wedding photographer

Nikki & Loz pre wedding pictures

2007-07-18T11:17:00.000+01:00

Sunday morning of last week saw Kevin and I in the Goodwood Park Estate, Sussex for a pre-wedding shoot for Nikki and Laurence. After some very "iffy" weather during the week, we were lucky enough to get a break in the rain and were able to go ahead with the photo session in the Goodwood House grounds where Nikki and Loz are to tie the knot in just a fortnight's time. Let's hope we get the same luck with the weather come wedding day!

Here are a few of the pictures we took. As is normal, the guys were a little nervous at first, but soon warmed up to their new "modelling career" and we got some lovely pictures of the pair of them, and had fun taking them.

See you in a couple of weeks for the real thing guys!

Rob.
Sussex wedding photographer
Get your own pre wedding photo shoot

Gift certificates now available online

2007-06-28T17:33:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post today...

As previously promised, I am now happy to be able to offer photography gift certificates in all denominations available for direct purchasing from ei the wedding photography website - all via secure online ordering of course...

Rob.

Petition to allow ceremony photographs

2007-06-27T11:09:00.000+01:00

In the UK as things stand right now, there seems to be a (largely irrational) obsession by some officials who dictate that no photographs will be taken during the course of a civil ceremony whatsoever.

Whilst we, as photographers understand and applaud the thought that a wedding ceremony should not be turned into a photographic circus, many of us feel that this is taking things too far. Any professional worth his or her salt should be perfectly capable of taking a few discreet photographs during a ceremony without disrupting the events of the day with machine gun bursts of pictures, or blinding everybody with their flash!

With this in mind, a petition has been raised with No10 Downing Street proposing that photography during civil ceremonies should be allowed throughout the country, and not on the whim of the local presiding officiates.

For those that agree with this thinking and would like to see some change, please feel free to add your name to the petition here:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ceremonyphotos/

Rob.

New offers!

2007-06-26T09:58:00.000+01:00

I've just implemented some great new incentives that I'm quite excited about - Here's the skinny...

First off, I am really pleased to now be able to supply Gift certificates for purchase - and very soon these will be available for purchase directly from the main website.

What better idea for a wedding present if you're struggling to buy something a couple will really appreciate (rather than another toaster)?

By giving our gift certificates, you can help couples to buy the wedding package they will really want to keep forever. The certificates can also be used as a birthday or Christmas gifts to go towards any portrait session, or print purchases - or whatever the recipient chooses!

The next incentive I'm introducing is the Loyalty scheme - This acts as a thank you to existing customers, working quite simply like this: every fifth portrait session is free for returning clients. Simply buying 4 portrait sessions at the regular price will entitle you to a fifth session first hour photography completely free of charge - just cover any travelling expenses, and I'm all yours...

Finally, I'm also introducing the Referral programme whereby any customer who recommends me to friends who subsequently spend £100 or more, will earn themselves free gift certificates to spend with us as they please: A win-win situation, I hope you'll agree.

I'm hoping these offers will make it easier for both new and existing customers to continue to buy great photography from me at great prices. As is usual, any feedback is more than welcome.

Full details can be found on the main website here

Rob.

New Facelift for main website

2007-06-26T09:55:00.000+01:00

Today I unveiled the new face to the general photography website here

I'm sure many of you will recognise the overall look and feel of the site right away since this is now based around the same look as the wedding photography website already in place. I've updated it for a more consistent feel when moving between sites - something I've been meaning to do for a while now actually but many other things have had to come first - well here it is now in all it's updated glory.

It's not just cosmetics that have been changed however - there are a number of other changes, some new pages, and updates to both photos and galleries too.

Have a look around: I hope you like it.

Rob.

Carnival de Cuba

2007-06-22T15:19:00.000+01:00

Last weekend saw the London Carnival de Cuba: I was there, trusty camera in hand, to photograph the event whilst enjoying the sites and sounds of the day.

Full of colour and atmosphere, the event is a vibrant mixture of sites and sounds, being enjoyed by people from all walks of life...

The crowd certainly seemed to be enjoying the party atmosphere...

...as did the entertainers and dancers alike...

More pictures here

Tim Duggan-Rees: Actor

2007-06-22T11:17:00.000+01:00

Today I would like to introduce you to Tim Duggan-Rees. Tim is a young actor, who called me up to ask me to do some headshots for him. Tim is a nice friendly guy, who was quite at ease in front of the camera - almost certainly a by-product of his acting career.

Tim was also keen to try some more 'adventurous' shots whilst we were at it, and I promised him that I'd try to get a few shots up here on the blog to show some of the sort of things we can achieve with a little creativity on top of the standard "head shot". Here's a few I've had a little tinker with. We'll start with a 'standard' image...

...and a nice black and white, quite high key, and allowing some highlights to 'blow' for effect. I also added a little noise to this one...

The next 3 pictures are all variations of the same image.

I always find it fascinating to see what can be done with a digital file - assuming you start with a high quality original. So here's the original image as it came out of the camera: a nice enough shot with fairly strong lighting to give good form and shadows to Tim's features...

...but now we have the same image again, after some judicious processing to bring out all the features hitherto 'hidden' inside the image file.

For this version I first adjusted both levels and curves on separate layers, then used a combination of techniques including masking exposure layers, and quite literally 'painting with light' to further enhance each of the shadows and highlights already featuring in the picture. Finally, a further adjustment curve layer was added to the image, vignette-masked and used to darken the outside areas of the photograph - concentrating the eye on the centre of the face and Tim's eyes, where I want you to look.

The final image is a black and white version of the colour one above. The conversion was made giving careful consideration to the gritty, high contrast nature of the image, so as not to lose the dramatic effects of the highlights and shadows that are such an important part of an image such as this.

I hope you've enjoyed the images and explanations behind them - and I also hope you can see how versatile a young actor like Tim can be. Click on any of the images, to see larger screen versions.

To contact Tim, drop me a line and I'll ensure any messages get passed along.

Rob.

Sussex headshots photographer

C + G Distinction for Karen!

2007-06-19T10:03:00.000+01:00

At the greatest risk of swelling her head to the point of no return...

I would just like to say a big congratulations to Karen and blow her horn for her a little bit.

Karen recently undertook a City and Guilds photographic course - and not only did she pass the course, but she passed with flying colours - earning herself a whopping 71 out of 78 possible points, and was rewarded with a well earned pass certificate - with distinction.

Well done Karen, that's great work. Here are a few examples of Karen's work I stole from her to show you... :-)

Technology dependency...

2007-06-15T09:33:00.000+01:00

An observational ramble:

How dependant are you on technology? A few weeks ago, my mobile developed a fault, whereby if you called me up, I could hear you just fine, but you would barely hear me at all: not great. Since I use the mobile for almost 100% of my telephone conversations, this obviously needed fixing fast, so off it went for repair...

Meantime, what to do about taking those calls? Well, the short answer is I managed to borrow an old Nokia for the duration. This phone didn't like my Orange sim card, so I just had to set all incoming calls to divert to the card already in the phone.

Sounds fine... but... Oh dear - how much do I miss my phone???

I have to admit, that the last week and a half, I have felt completely (and literally) lost without my phone: I have no stored numbers in the temporary phone, so I never know who's calling me... I can't forward my text messages to this number... I can't collect any voicemail I may have had... I can't sync my appointments with Outlook on this phone... and one very relevant point to me right now since I just moved... I have no Sat-Nav on this phone. In short, I really am LOST without it!

A few days ago, it took me two trips to collect some prints coming back from the lab, from my new 'local' Post Office - because I couldn't find it before they closed for the day! How crazy is that?

Now, I freely admit to being something of a gadget fiend - I've always embraced new things that can help me make life easier/more efficient/better quality - but sometimes, we just don't realise how dependant we are on that technology until it's gone.

My phone has apparently now been repaired, and should be redelivered today: I'm glad to be processing photos at the pc today, so I won't miss the delivery (or risk losing myself on the way o the Post Office again)!

Not so many years ago, none of us had mobile phones at all. think about how different it is now... How would you be if you lost your 'phone now?

Rob.

Moved!

2007-06-06T11:41:00.000+01:00

Uff...

What an upheaval! After a hectic run up, and far too many things to do, Sunday 3rd saw me up and move, to base myself in South Croydon. A crazy mad weekend, followed by non-stop 'sorting' antics to try to bring some order to the chaos that surrounds me at the moment...

Special thanks Wayne for all his help at the weekend - and to Karen for opting to put up with me on a permanent basis!

Now working directly from the Surrey area, means I can begin to concentrate a little more on catering for this region - whilst at the same time, my still constant back and forth between Croydon and Bognor, means I'm still able to serve the Sussex and surrounding areas equally well - so I'm looking forward to establishing a good base here, and having everything settle down to 'normal' again.

In the meantime, everything is completely hectic, as we try to cram the contents of two places into one, and still keep on top of normal everyday life.

All part of life's rich tapestry...

Competition results!

2007-05-31T11:12:00.000+01:00

I had a wake-up call from Karen already this morning, reminding me that today is the day we agreed to tot up the competition results. Karen's enthusiasm was a little worrying, right from the start - so I just did a count up and can now announce that the winner is.....

Karen!

Karen's picture was the No1 shot, collecting 15 votes

My own sorry effort was No2, an amassed a staggering 12 votes

... so we have a clear winner, and Karen was right all along in her opinion that her picture is indeed better than mine!

Well done Karen.

My worry now of course (and this will be backed up by anybody who knows her) is how we shall never hear the end of this. Well, you brought it on yourself, people...!

Of course, I can't let it rest at just that: I think a re-match is definitely in order! But what subject matter? Why don't you help us decide - Drop a comment to this post, with suggestions for what you'd like to see us post in our next head to head, and we'll see what we can do. Need one for the boys! :-)

Kristie and Gavin tie the knot

2007-05-28T19:06:00.001+01:00

On Saturday 26th May I was fortunate enough to photograph Kristie and Gavin who married at 2pm at St Mary Magdalene Church, Bognor Regis.

Shooting for a little over 12 hours, meant we had the time to get lots and lots of great pictures for Kristie and Gavin, and really document the entire day for them, which was great - but since I'm moving in a few days, I've been working furiously round the clock since Saturday night processing the pictures prior to breaking down my equipment for my move. With literally hundreds of great photos from the day, this is a time consuming task! Here are a few so far:

St Mary's is a lovely church, full of atmosphere, and a very picturesque place to say your wedding vows...

This is the lovely Jasmine - complete with her own special "lollypop bouquet"

A spot of rain wasn't going to be enough to spoil the day for anyone - Here's Kevin demonstrating one of the many uses of an assistant photographer!

...and the girls didn't mind ;-)

...another quick shower, and a dash to shelter!

Congratulations to Kristie and Gavin...

No need for words...

Smoke and Bubbles: Wonderful!

I hope you enjoy the pictures - Comments welcomed, of course. More, complete galleries will be available here for viewing, as soon as they are ready - in the next few days.

Sussex wedding photographer

Awards, presentations and successes

2007-05-24T11:40:00.000+01:00

Last week saw the final evening of the year for the Bognor Regis camera club - an organisation I joined a couple of years ago, looking to share a bit more time with other photogaphers in the area. The club has an enthusiastic and knowledgable membership, which I have enjoyed becoming a part of.

Like most clubs, BRCC has members from all walks of life, and also supports a strong competitive element as well as enjoying other photo related evenings throughout the season.

Last week's meeting was the presentation and awards evening, whereby winners and runners-up for the various competitions held throughout the year were presented with the awards they had won with their photography.

For 2007, I was pleased to add 3 new trophies to grace my mantelpiece;

The Phil Preston Cup - for 1st place in the division one print league

The Tony Barnes Award - 1st place, set subject "Amusement"

The Arun Trophy - 1st place, "Two's and Three's"

A full list of winners for the year can be found here and complete league competition results can be found at the left of the page here.

The evening marked the end of the current season, with the exception of the annual exhibition, to be held on 6th to 11th August at the Recital Hall in Sudley Road, Bognor Regis: if you're in the area during that time, I recomend taking a look, for some great works on display.

Sadly, this will be my last full year at the club since I am moving further afield at the beginning of next month. However, I do plan to still spend a good quantity of time in the Bognor Regis area and so hopefully I'll be able to drop in from time to time.

In the meantime, I would like to wish all my camera club friends the very best, and thank them for putting up with me!

...and I also would like to wish them and the club continued success for the future.

Rob.

Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers

2007-05-22T09:51:00.000+01:00

OH, that's a mouthful! Ok, I finally folded and joined a 'professional organisation'...

The SWPP & BPPA (Society of wedding and portrait photographers) is an association for professional photographers, who provide a variety of services for wedding professionals, including roadshows, workshops, seminars and their own qualification structure. Since we are always looking to expand and grow in both the quality of our products, and services, I decided the time is finally right to join up. I am hoping to take advantage of some of the many seminars held throughout the year, to gather new ideas and stay at the forefront of new ideas as they emerge in the future...

In addition to that mentioned above, I hope that my membership of the SWPP will also give any brides who don't already know us, the reassurance that we operate in a professional manner abiding by a given code of conduct set out by the SWPP organisation.

Competition!

2007-05-16T07:30:00.000+01:00

Ok, following my Wales post from a few days ago, Karen informed me that that her waterfall picture is better than my waterfall picture - and who am I to argue the point?

Not wishing to get too deeply involved in the "Yours is better than mine" debate (Ok, I'm a coward) I thought.. why not throw it open, and let you decide on which is the better picture?

So.. below are two pictures, both of waterfalls. One was taken by my good self, and one was taken by my fair lady. I'm not going to tell you which is which - but I want your comments on which of these pictures you think is the better of the two. No prizes (Oh, don't be so shocked!), just a bit of fun. Post your comments below. I'll let it run until 31st May, then we'll announce the victor!

Don't be afraid to vote - it'll only take 2 seconds, and all comments are welcomed. Here are the pictures. As is usual, you can click on them to see a larger version.

Waterfall number 1

Waterfall number 2

So... Which one of these is the best one? Click "Comments" to place your vote! (votes may take some time to be authorised... but they will appear in time)

EDIT: Competition is now closed. Results can be found here

Double-Talk: Yervant and Joe Buissink Seminar!

2007-05-14T20:56:00.000+01:00

Wow. Very cool indeed.

Today, Kev and I drove up to the Hilton Hotel, Croydon, to attend "Double Talk" - a day's seminar on Wedding Photography, hosted by two of the most successful wedding photographers on the planet right now: Joe Buissink, and Yervant!

All I can say is: having won more international awards than you can shake a stick at - these guys really do know their stuff.

Each approaches their wedding photography in quite different ways - Joe, works from Beverley Hills, with a very photojournalistic style, whilst Yervant, based in Australia, shoots "Fashion" wedding style. Each is quite different, but each one was equally inspirational, both showing fantastic photographs, and talking freely and candidly about how they go about "doing their thing".

We learned a lot, but at the same time, found the day really enjoyable too. Both Joe and Yervant are very charismatic speakers, and it's clear that they certainly share one thing if nothing else: Passion. I would have to say that over the whole day, this is the feeling I was left with most of all - the passion that both of these massively succesful photographers have for their craft is obvious - and (combined with their equally obvious skills, creative eye, and intimate knowledge of their cameras) is what got them where they are today.

Inspirational stuff - and I hope I can in some way follow in their footsteps, whilst pursuing my own efforts at creating great works of my own!

A short break: getting away from it all

2007-05-13T11:19:00.000+01:00

Last week saw the bank holiday weekend, and my first and last opportunity for taking a break for while - so Karen and I decided to take advantage, and get away for a few days by taking a short break in Wales.

I've not been to Wales for some time, but I remembered that it has some great scenery, lots of sheep and a fair dose of rain! Undeterred, we set off and made the most of our time, relaxing and taking it easy away from the hussle and bussle of everyday life. Very nice indeed.

Of course, we couldn't go away without taking our cameras - so although this wasn't going to be a 'photo shoot' as such, we did both take a few snaps along the way. Here's the first of a short series I was playing with one evening. I loved the bird flying into view (yes it was really there!) and grabbed a few shots as it wheeled overhead. It never did quite make the 'perfect' placement in the picture, but I enjoyed it nonetheless while I waited for the sun to sink..

The next shot is what I'd had in mind when my feathered friend (above) flew into sight. This is a stitch together consisting of, I think, 5 different exposures - allowing me to create one huge picture suitable for a long wall hung landscape. The image below is just a quick edit of course, and will need to be refined before any printing is done, but you'll get the idea. As with any of the pictures here, you can click on it to view a larger version.

The next shot here is a little later on as the sun dropped slowly behind the mountain range..

Of course, where there are mountains, there are also waterfalls.. We both photographed a few of these along our way too, but I often find that my favourite waterfall pictures of all are those little detail shots, almost abstract in nature. Here's a couple of those;

And the last one..

..has been removed for now, pending a little bit of fun I'm planning to have with it over the next day or two (keep your eye's peeled for the competition post)!

Although the weather wasn't perfect (mostly quite muggy actually), we enjoyed our brief time amongst the hills and mountains, and will look forward to the next getaway - wherever and whenever that may be. But for now it's... back to 'real' life again!

Early bird gets the... photographs

2007-05-03T15:24:00.000+01:00

Well, today saw a new dawn... in fact, quite literally for me. My morning began at 4.00am when I was rudely awakened by my alarm. Through my sleep filled haze, I slowly recalled what I had planned for this morning: an early photo-shoot right back where we had shot Kristie and Gavin's pictures just last week among the bluebells.

Struggling awake, I just somehow managed to get myself together in time for my lift to arrive, in the shape of my buddy Andy; a keen photographer with what I considered to be far too much enthusiasm for that time of the morning. I gathered my assorted photo gear around me, dropped it in the car and off we went...

5.00am saw Andy and I standing like a pair of plums in a darkened wood, shivering and waiting for the sun to come join us. After what seemed like an eternity, the dawn slowly crept up on us, and we were greeted with the heavenly site of... nothing. Well, that's not entirely true - there were woods of course, and bluebells too - but none of the "heavenly light" we'd been anticipating. We waited a little longer, and shivered some more, waited, shivered, waited... and finally realised that things just weren't going to happen in our chosen spot. Time to move!

5 minutes later, we're out of the car again, only 500 yards up the road - but pointing in a different direction completely. Up we looked, and there it was: Sun... Trees... Beams!

Out of the car we jump, promptly running across our new chosen area, and started snapping away like madmen before the scene disappeared before us: we were late already, having spent too long at our original location.

Suffice to say, that the next 20 minutes gave us a wonderful display of early morning sunlight, that I was (finally) really pleased to witness. Yes, it was still far too cold, and far too early - with numbed fingers fumbling around on the exposure dials of our cameras... but it was worth it.

I still find it a little hard to believe that I managed to arrive home by 7.00am and had already done and dusted a photo-shoot... but I'm glad I did.

Kristie and Gavin's pre-wedding shoot

2007-05-02T12:57:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday evening, saw both myself and Kevin driving off into the countryside along with Kristie and Gavin, for their first ever photo shoot together!

K&G are tying the knot on the 26th May 2007, so this was our opportunity to get them outside for a pre-wedding photo shoot, to get some nice pics and let them get a feel for what goes on here...

A little nervous at first, our couple soon warmed up, and found they could actually enjoy having their photographs taken after all! We got lucky with the weather, after some rain earlier in the day, and enjoyed some nice evening light shining straight through the rape-seed field we had them strolling through. Once we had a few 'in the bag', we made our way into the nearby wooded area to take advantage of the lovely covering of bluebells carpetting the whole area.

How could you not enjoy that? And of course, they did... and we did too.

Both Kristie and Gavin turned out to be great in front of the camera, and we got some lovely pictures that I hope they will really enjoy: and when it's wedding time in a few weeks, I just know they're going to be fantastic!

Get your own pre wedding photos
Sussex wedding photographer

So... blogging then eh? An introduction to me

2007-05-02T12:38:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I have a blog. What's a (web)blog?

Well, this is new to me so it may take me a little while to get into the swing of things...

Why did I start a blog? Hmm. I have a business, and I have a website. In fact, I have two websites...

The first, covers my wedding photography business, whilst the second site caters for all my other general photography business - portraits, commissions and the like.

All very well and good. However, all that business and website stuff can seem just a little too... well... stuffy... at times - so I'm hoping that from here, I can post more of the 'less stuffy stuff' that may be of interest to those who are thinking of using, or indeed, have already used my services and just wanted to keep up to date with what's going on in my world.

I'm not a formal guy, and I'd like to use the blog to just keep folks up to date on things that may be happening, and/or ideas that may come to me as I go about my business, in an informal way that we can all be comfortable with.

So, will the blog be of interest? Keep an eye out, we'll see what it can do...