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

All work and no play

With the diary reopening and filling up quickly, I’ve had to put my personal projects to one side. With the summer months passing quickly I plan to capture that landscape I’ve been talking about and wanting to get for a while now ASAP. In the meantime I’ve been kept busy…

With the diary full to the end of June, I thought I’d take some time out to update my blog and show you all some pics from a recent sitter shoot I done. I’ve chose to share these images because the model is too cute not to share.

The following images are from a sitter shoot with 6 month old, Miss Georgia Mae. Georgia was a photographers dream, she sat the whole time without falling and she was full of smiles and we managed to hold her attention for the whole hour.

Each shoot is different from the last because not only does everyone look different but they all bring a different personality which reflects in every image.

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6th Jun 2021 0

When nothing goes right…go left

A few weeks ago, I decided to capture a set of three images that would all tie in with each other, in one way or another. I had a few ideas with the first being of a romantic nature. This idea involved two people, a male and female, a red heart and a fair bit of photoshop work. I managed to organise the two required subjects and organise the photoshoot for a few days later. Unfortunately for various different reasons I was unable to capture what I had envisioned, but unwilling to walk away with nothing decided to create a set of three using a little creativity.

With my set of three images complete I realised that I could make a series and add to the series,bit by bit, using different subjects and other creative touches. I used a quote to name the series, it’s the perfect title for this series….

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect”
Alice Walker

All the above images are modelled by the lovely Iga Brola.

This series will continue, becoming my new project among other things 🙈😂… watch this space ☺️

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6th Apr 2021 0

Comfort zone

I am fortunate enough to have tried various genres and types of photography during my time at college. In doing so I found there were things I liked and things I didn’t, genres I was ok with and genres I wasn’t ok with. I found that I enjoyed portraiture and developed a keen interest, this was a genre I wasn’t originally keen on. I always thought I wasn’t much of a people person and yet I found that when behind the camera I loved people. Each person with their own expressions, their own character and mood helps make every image unique and I love that each one tells its own story.

Since leaving college I have concentrated solely on portraiture and unable to capture peoples portraits right now I have been pushed to explore other ideas. Ive been looking on social media at other photographers work and what’s been keeping them active during lockdown. In doing so I’ve found that self portraits are quite popular, this may be because its achievable within the house, photographers can be really creative or it may be that it’s easier to instruct ones self than instructing another person. Whatever the reasons were I did think about giving it a bash.

Anyone that knows me well, will know that I love a selfie. I have no issues taking a selfie, I’ve perfected the angle over the years lol, I know my best side and I’m fond of a filter or two to hide every insecurity.

The camera on the other hand is not my friend and I have never been comfortable having my picture taken. The stress of no filters and every flaw being magnified freaks me out, I know how I look when I look in the mirror but I really do prefer the catfish look, lol. All that aside I have enough knowledge within photoshop to create a flawless look so I did eventually decide to give self portrait a bash. I chose to concentrate on my favourite type of photography…..close up portraiture, and have included the final result below…

This image was taken during the first Scottish lockdown and has a wee story. I felt it was appropriate to capture a self portrait with a wee creative touch that would incorporate the lockdown that we were all living in. I know by now we are all sick of hearing about covid 19 but its taken over life as we know it and its hard not to talk about, sorry. The title of the image is…. “Inside looking out” the title speaks for itself really. I’m portrayed as being inside and looking out through a gap in an ajar door or through a gap in the curtains, the list could go on but the message being Stay home, stay safe.

My second attempt at a self portrait (captured during the 2nd Scottish lockdown) wasn’t creative in the slightest and I found myself just taking extremely close up portraits and using shadows and highlights to enhance the overall look.

Im going to be honest and it may hold me back due to lack of subjects with this current situation, but sadly Self portrait isn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy this type of photography and I’m far too critical as it is without being in the image myself. It was now time to explore other ideas ☺️ watch this space.

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7th Feb 2021 0

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn

2020, the year the world stood still yet surprisingly the quickest year ever. Autumn has arrived and the colours outdoors are changing. I love Autumn, the air feels cleaner, it’s not too cold nor too warm and the world becomes colourful.

Autumn is always a busy time of the year for me socially and 2020 seen my son turn 16. I still can’t believe I’m a mum to a 16 year old 😂 we celebrated his big day with a family gathering outdoors and a movie night. Happy 16th to my baby boy 🥳

Autumn also seen out the last of my outdoor shoots as the dry days became less. This shoot was captured in the clients gorgeous garden and included mum, dad, daughter and gran. The family were fantastic and we had some fun and laughs throughout, even got a postman involved 😂 (needs must). Obviously I’ve included a few images from the day, a good end to my photography year.

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12th Oct 2020 0

A strange year

Well its been a while since I last wrote a blog post. I don’t even have any excuses for not keeping my blog up to date, especially under the current circumstance. I suppose I didn’t have much to write about lol. I will go back to where I left off last April and write a few blog posts this week regarding the last year, bare with me.

Covid 19 has changed life as we know it and not for the better. I can’t speak for everyone, but it has certainly played havoc with my emotions and I’ve spent a whole year being all over the place.

As a photographer I have been unable to interact with others and capture the images I love. This time last year I was just starting out as a professional photographer and trying to establish myself in a world full of various photographers. Feels like I took one step forward and 41 million steps back lol. However, the current situation and worldwide pandemic didn’t stop me from picking up my camera and trying to have some lockdown fun.

The first thing I tried was working with water, never worked with water before and thought it would be fun. was it fun??

yes lol. I used my son as my model and I had soo much fun soaking him. Stressful doing it in the smallest space in my house (the bathroom) but still fun. I’ve attached a few of the finished images below…..

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18th May 2020 0

A new year…

Happy new year! I can’t believe its now 2020, the years are flying by. Photography wise, 2020 is already looking good and I’ve been kept busy over the last few weeks working on both clients shoots and personal projects, I even managed to venture out with the camera in this dreadful weather.

Its been a while since I wrote a blog post so I will take this time to talk about my next set of project images.

So over a period of time I have been participating in my own personal project relating to Depression. The images taken represent different stages/types of depression, a possible cause and outcome. My first set of images previously blogged relates to social bullying and the possible effect this can have on a person. My next set of images will relate to Bereavement and the possible effects this could have.

I have chosen to use an older subject to undertake this set of images and topic.

I worked alongside Ann to cover three stages of this type of depression and will post the results in my next blog post.

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1st Feb 2020 0

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Its been a few weeks since I last updated and here is why…. Well the last few weeks since starting HND have been hectic. I have just about digested each brief and the research has began. In amongst my busy college schedule I have been kept extra busy with my very own hectic life. Between photoshoots and personal circumstances Ive been kept busy, busy, busy!

Anyhooo with that said I eventually picked up my camera after a well deserved break and put it to work. Although this wasn’t for any college brief I was excited to be behind the camera again. My first shoot was a sitter session, capturing images of my newest niece, Anna. This little lady was a star and was on top form throughout the shoot. here is a wee sneaky peak…

I was also asked to shoot a first birthday party last weekend which was a new experience, but with the help of a fellow class mate I survived and captured some nice images of the birthday girl.

To add to the excitement I finished this week off participating in A memory walk at Hamilton park racecourse to raise money For the Alzheimer’s society. This time around I was not taking images but will keep an eye on the Alzscots website or facebook page for the next photography oportunity.

https://www.alzscot.org

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16th Sep 2019 0