Oh well, y'know. A bit of this and a bit of that

People keep asking me, "What are you doing, what's happened to the blog?"

Ok, I know. I'm sorry. Just for you here's a whistle stop tour of the last few weeks.

The studio. Oh my Lordy Lord. The studio.

It's been battered, bashed, changed, painted, decorated, and generally pulled around so it bears no resemblance at all to how it used to look.

Bob has boxed in the roller shutter door which will make the place much lighter, warmer and quieter. He's also made a dressing and prop room for me. That's going to be amazing. I got the flooring for in there last week and once it's down I can get all the props I'm currently storing in baskets out on display.

The new studio flooring has gone as well and I've been running round and picking up some gorgeous new props while Bob's been doing all the hard manly work.

Carla made me this brilliant cushion. Isn't she clever?

You can't tell how big it is from the photo but I can tell you it's big enough to pose not one but two six week old babies on.

Well, we all know how much I like shoes so how could I not buy this?

I saw it in a shop one day while I was out walking the dog. Obviously I couldn't take the dog in the shop so I practically dragged him back to the studio so I could go and buy the chair. It's not often he struggles to keep up with me, it's usually the other way round.

Then when I was out having a posh coffee with Carla at the Darwen Gift and Furniture Centre (well worth a visit if you find yourself in Darwen ). I'm always in there,  it's just so jam packed full of gorgeousness.

While we were there we saw this:

As you can see, even the dog is worshipping it! It's going to go against my new red rose wallpaper (the chaise longue, not the dog) .

For the 'urban corner' in the studio, Carla got busy again. This time she drew some graffiti for me. As you can see by the hair, the girl she drew is obviously herself.

I can't wait to see the finished result.

While all this has been going on I've been having to hide all the debris every time I've had anyone in the studio so it's been a constant round of tidying up, which mostly consists of hiding everything behind the screens.

We've painted the kitchen and got loads of new samples images to show you. Watch this space for details of an open day with lots of goodies and special offers coming soon.

Aside of all this we've also had a steady stream of Cherubs through the studio and the wedding season is well and truly underway. Our feet have hardly touched the ground. It's been a busy year so far.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting lots of images from weddings that we've shot recently and keeping you up to date with what's going on so don't forget to keep checking back. These are exciting times!

Baby, look at you now!

Well what an exciting start to the year!!! 

We have recently exhibited at the 'What Women Want' charity event at the Preston Marriott Hotel. What an evening! Hello again to everyone we met there.

 If you weren’t there, why not? It was brilliant!

There was everything you could think of, shoes, bags, cakes, make up, cocktails, photography, clothes, jewellery and even a fashion show. It was a great success and such a fun evening. Keep watching for dates for the next event.

Have you noticed Mother's Day is fast approaching?

Are you stuck for gift ideas? 

I may be able to help you there.

Why not purchase a photo shoot for Mum? I’m sure she would love a family portrait hanging over the mantelpiece. Well, it just so happens that we are offering a special discount for Mother's Day gifts. Book a shoot for only £25 and receive 25% off all framed prints, acrylics or canvases until the end of April.  Book fast and give your mum the unique gift she deserves. She will love it!  

Our lovely studio is becoming much more lovely, fantastic even! 

We are doing a whole new re-vamp to spruce up the existing sets ready for summer and we've created a whole host of new sets ranging from the cute and cuddly baby girl set to the naughty and nice boudoir set and everything in between. There's a set to suit everybody. Our prop box is over flowing with exciting and glamourous goodies, so whether it is a tiny baby, fashionista teen or glamorous granny, we have everything we need to get those fabulous photos!

These tow teens turned out to be a proper couple of hippy chicks. It was flower power most of  the way with a bit of gangnam style thrown in for good measure. What a laugh. It's hard to take photos with tears of laughter streaming down your cheeks. I love my job!

Since becoming the MPA's Cherubs photographer for this area I've had a steady stream of lovely, squishy, cuddly and cute babies through the studio.

Anyone who thinks that babies all look the same is very much mistaken. I quickly discovered that they have very different looks and very different personalities - even as tiny babies.


It's been great fun getting lots of new backgrounds and props for the studio to pose all these babies on/ in/ under/ over and around. Carla even made a huge heart shaped cushion for me. I've yet to use that- the right baby hasn't come along just yet.

So. Here are just some of the lovely babies who have been to see me this year.  Some of these babies may be a teeny bit older than others!

If you have a young baby, why not contact the MPA and find out all about the Cherubs scheme. I look forward to meeting your little Cherub soon. 

Good Grief!

It's halfway through February! How did THAT happen so fast?

Well, like this:

Bob and I had THE BEST holiday in Finland in January. It's been on my bucket list for some time to go and see the norther lights and this year we actually did it!

Did the holiday live up to expectations? Yes it did.
Did we see the northern lights? Oh yeah!
You can see the photos from this amazing trip here

Once we came back from that trip we hit the ground running.

There have been some major changes in the studio - and more to come over the next few weeks. I'll be posting photos on here when it's all finished. It's all so exciting. I'm loving choosing all the new props and wallpapers.

As well as all that I've had a steady stream of babies through the door. As the new MPA Cherubs photographer for this area I'm seeing lots and lots of gorgeous, teeny, tiny, squishy li'l babies. Over the next week or two we'll be adding a new gallery to the website and telling you all about it.

What else has Happened? Oh yes!

The Princesses and Divas photo shoots have taken off in a big way. Two hours of modelling mayhem for girls from tots to teens for only £15 has proved really popular. It's a brilliant gift. We generally get two or three girls together so it is like  a party. We bring along drinks and cup cakes, do a bit of age appropriate make up and everyone has a ball.

So there you are. That's been my year so far.

How's yours been?

What was that about never working with children...?

It's been a baby week! Well,  small child week.
This little girl came to the studio today. Not for a photo shoot, It was her  Mum, Nana and Aunty who were all booked in for that. Somehow though, this little one managed to completely take over. She was  lovely, what a character. Bob and me were howling laughing at her antics. I couldn't resist shooting just a few frames of her. Isn't she gorgeous?

Well into the wedding fayre season, we will be at the Preston Marriott tomorrow, why not pop in and say hello?

Thanks

In among all the  ahem, 'medical' emails that landed in my inbox the other day was one from the lovely Anthony and Kirsty. 


Remember them? 


We shot their wedding in the Marble Church at St Asaph at the end of May. We took along  a couple of assistants with us as Bob was filming the ceremony and as good as I am even I can't be at the back of the church and the front of the church at the same time.


They picked up their wedding album last week, a big and beautiful black leather one with their details etched on the front. I was really pleased with it. 


At every wedding we shoot I end up with  one overriding memory, something about the day that reminds me about the couple in an instant. With these two my 'instant recall' memory is that at one point during the ' romantic' couple's shots I couldn't work for a couple of minutes because my eyes were streaming with tears and my legs were buckling with laughter!


I'm far too much of a lady to tell you exactly what was being said but the pair of them were full of fun and mischief and it was a complete joy to work with them. 


Here are their album pages:

We were really pleased with it and I know Anthony and Kirsty were. Then this turned up:

Good morning to the most fantastic photographers!

        We have been doing the rounds with our gorgeous album and it's a  

massive thumbs up from everyone! The DVD is beautiful and definitely  

brought a tear to my eye, the music and everything about it is  

perfect!

Thank you all, (Carla & Ben included) for your amazing work &  

leaving us with the happy & beautiful memories of our wedding day!

Regards, Kirsty & Ant.

 What a lovely surprise.

Everyone likes a pat on the back every now and then and we were thrilled to bits. Thanks right back at ya, Anthony and Kirsty for being brilliant to work with and actually, just brilliant!