Let’s talk babies…

My most recent shoot was a newborn shoot. If you are a photographer reading this then you will know how unpredictable babies are *head in hands* lol.

Now let me start by saying, I am not a newborn photographer, nor have I taken any newborn courses, so I am basically like a fish out of water here. My first newborn shoot was with my step daughters new baby and there was no pressure. The shoot was basically a favour for family, under familiar circumstances and even at that it wasn’t a walk in the park. I done my research, found some useful tips and learned that to capture the best images the shoot should be done within the first ten days, this is when babies sleep the most (apparently). Well apparently not….. this defo wasn’t the case for this little madam, eight days old and she stayed awake for the whole shoot, well up until the last five minutes (bearing in mind the shoot was 1 and a half hours and 4 outfit changes) lol. I’m not going to lie but I really had to work to capture the money shot and I swore I would never do it again until I’d taken a newborn photography course. Unfortunately covid denied me of any course and put a haul to those plans. Not sure if that was a good thing or bad to be honest, lol.

Anyhoo my recent shoot was also a favour and before the shoot I was already fearing the worst. This little lady was a week old and i swear she could smell my fear *massive sigh*. Two hours and she just wouldn’t settle, I knew I was walking away with nothing as we tried everything to comfort her and send her off to sleep. Lack of knowledge played a massive part in this, and all involved were stressing that there wouldn’t be any pics of this beautiful newborn baby girl. A hot water bottle provided by mum and dad at the very end, placed under the blanket that she lay on soothed her long enough to take a few pics before traumatising everyone. The moral of this story?? Don’t do anybody any favours lol! No but seriously… knowledge and experience is defo the key here and bucket loads of patience.

I was extremely lucky to get these images and thank my lucky stars that I had something Nice to show mum and dad. Never again! Well, not without proper knowledge lol. I take my hat off to newborn photographers, it’s defo a talent. Probably don’t get the credit and appreciation they deserve.

I would like to take a moment and thank you all for joining me on my photography journey, and listening to me babble on and on, not forgetting my bad grammar lol. I’m taking some time out just now but won’t leave it too long! until the next time 😘

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4th Jul 2021 0

Summer is here

The days are warmer, the schools have finished up and outdoor locations and attractions are packed….. must be summer lol.

Most of you will think I’m mad but I’m not a massive fan of summer, for me it’s the heat and I don’t cope great in the heat. I do however like the nice feeling that the sun brings, nature comes alive and the nights are less of a bore.

Most people if not everyone is outside, enjoying not only the weather but the easing of restrictions in Scotland. photographers are making the most of the nice weather and venturing outside with their cameras. This is a great season for outdoor photography and a busy time for working photographers. Unfortunately Ive had to postpone both professional and personal projects as I make some personal changes within my life, i won’t go into too much detail just now but if you follow me I will explain these at a later date.

Ive not been blogging much really, as I’ve not had much me time but i will get back to boring you all soon lol. Anyhoo… I had the pleasure of doing my first communion this month, the weather stayed dry and that’s all I could be thankful for. Being a photographer I thought I could go out into the world and capture anything.. I’m quickly learning that isn’t the case. I’m not the most confident person and I’m extremely hard on myself, maybe too hard sometimes. I’ve learned that outdoor portraits isn’t my strong point and I put a lot of pressure on myself to capture something different, this does not do me any favours. Did I enjoy doing the shoot? No. Did I capture something different? No. Will I do it again? Probably 😂

This shoot was extra special because the girl making her first communion was my niece. Having me as her auntie, she is a pro in front of the camera as you can imagine and she looked gorgeous ☺️ I’m starting to babble on now so I’ll just show you…

Her mum, like all other mums out there just wanted a nice picture of their child that represented their special day as a keepsake, and I think I managed to give her exactly that.

In the fear of writing a novel and talking too much I will keep my recent shoot for another blog lol. Until the next time 😘

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3rd Jul 2021 0

A (Wo)mans best friend

Today’s blog is all about dogs. Now I know dogs aren’t Everyone’s cup of tea, but if you have had one, do have one or just like dogs.. you’ll know that they make the best pets. They are loyal, affectionate and fantastic companions. My dog is a yellow lab, he is 12 this year and is most certainly classed as part of my family. I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old, and it hasn’t always been fun and games but with plenty time, patience and training he settled in quickly and does exactly as he is told. Approaching 12 he has some cheeky senior moments and selective hearing lol, but i wouldn’t change him for the world 🥰

Few weeks ago I set up indoors for a mini portrait shoot with my wee old man, to capture his newly grey beard and older wise eyes. He has changed soo much from the day I laid eyes on him and i like to document his years. Before you see the pictures I captured, I forgot to tell you how much he hates the camera 🙈 ironic I know considering, but it’s true. He hates his picture being taken and always has 😂. So here he is… meet Bailey, my wee old man.

I used my shoot time wisely capturing some extra images to play about with. I tried something a little bit more creative for fun. I created a cartoon feel image, concentrating on his lovely big eye, using window light to create a more natural outdoor feel and adding a wee piece of nature. It’s always fun using my imagination and photoshop to create something a little different, I quite like the outcome….. what do you think?

In keeping with today’s dog theme I would like to announce that my sister, after years of waiting eventually got the puppy she always wanted. My sister has asthma and can only have specific breeds of dog, she also has three young girls so waiting was the right thing for her and it paid off. Her new fur baby is adorable, she is a wee black Cavapoo (cavalier King Charles spaniel/poodle) girl with the temperament of an angel, she is patient with the kids and extremely respectable, she has found her place in the family and settled in instantly. I had the pleasure of meeting her outside and introducing her to the camera. She was very unsure of the camera but with consistency and more meetings she will come around. I’ve included a few wee images from that day and I think she done really well for her first shoot ☺️. This is Belle….

I plan on capturing Belle again, only next time within an outdoor location, eg. A park or woodland area. Just waiting on her getting her immunisations ☺️. Until next time…😘

You can see all my work on both my Facebook and Instagram pages.

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16th Feb 2021 0

Back to school

With the schools returning after five months off and some schools unable to accommodate a school photographer, gave me an opportunity to capture a few school images.

Now… under normal circumstances school shoots are pretty straight forward, mums want nice tidy images shot within the studio. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Well… I don’t have the use of a studio and unable to enter anyone’s home under government guidelines meant it had to be carried out, outdoors.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely had my doubts regarding all the things that could go wrong using studio equipment outside, but it was worth a try. I also had to work in a safe way for both myself and the client, keeping a 2 metre social distance, wearing a mask where necessary and cleaning hands and equipment before and after the shoot. I’ve included some behind the scene pictures of the setup that show how I achieved my final images, and the final results. This shoot was for the McCluskey girls, Caoimhe and Madelyn.

I was happy with the result and the girls mum was over the moon. Always nice when everything works out ☺️ “happy client, happy photographer”. I was asked to do another two school shoots because that one went so well and both clients were soo happy that they will be coming back for more. First set of images are of Brother and Sister Erin and Shay.

And lastly we have Sisters Mia and Kara.

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27th Sep 2020 3

Patience pays off…

Ive been pretty busy over the last few weeks editing, printing and trying to keep everything up to date between my social media sites to remembering to update my blog.

I love nothing more than a delivery day of prints and it makes my day to see a client happy with my work. My most recent shoot was with the McCluskey family, three beautiful girls who all looked amazing in their images. Working with kids is great fun although if they don’t want to corporate, they won’t lol. In this case it was the youngest of the girls that posed difficult, she is only 11 months old and was going through a clingy stage with her mum. The meant that she was reluctant to leave mum without crying and running away and resulted in only 1or 2 usable images with her sisters. I spent two hours with these girls and I wasn’t leaving until I had at least one.

“Patience is a Virtue”

Here is a look at a few of my favourites…

A few more shoots to do before my next set of project images. Click subscribe and never miss a post. 😘

10th Feb 2020 0