The Memories Thru a Lens Blog

In one of my last posts I explained how I add my photoshop magic to my wedding photography and portrait photography and this post will explain a bit more about my style of photography.

Anyone who is looking for a photographer to capture their wedding day of the wonderful memories of their child growing up will often be asked if they know what style of photographer they are looking for; indeed I will often be asked what style of photographer I consider myself to be so that the potential client can weave their way through the field of potential photographers out their and pick the one that best suits what they are looking to achieve in their photographs.

When asked what my style of wedding or portrait photography is I would say I am bespoke and artistic, but why would I say this.

Firstly lets address bespoke; the dictionary definition of this is “made to order” which I feel couldn’t describe my service better, to me each and every client be it for wedding photography or portrait photography is different and deserves to be treated as such.  So I don’t head off to a wedding shoot or portrait shoot with a list full of poses that I use each and every time, instead I judge on the day and the person and adapt how I take photographs to that, so therefore each and every shoot is made to order.

So that brings me to artistic; now the dictionary definition of this is “having a creative skill” do I have creative skill in my photography?  Well that would be a question for my clients but what I do know is that I certainly put my own creative mark on all the images I take.  First its the actual shot being taken, how I do this is something I find very hard to describe I simply look around, look at my subject then look through my lens and out the shot comes.  Luckily for me its the most natural thing in the world to capture a photograph, a skill which I certainly cherish.  Next I edit the photo adding my photoshop magic, I guess this is where my creativity really comes into its own to make the shot a work of art that when my clients see it will love it and be proud to hang in on their walls.

To follow are  some images that I really feel are artistic…. enjoy!

Its not often my friends ask me to take some photo’s of them, but when they do I really enjoy it. I love what I do and being able to do it for those close to me is great.

Its quite a strange feeling when something comes naturally to you, for me taking photographs, weddings and portraits in particular just comes naturally to me, I somehow just know what angle to take the photo from to get the shot Im after, what’s strange about it though is that not everyone can do it and before you realise you have a talent you believe that everyone can just get the photos right, just as you do. Now I’m not saying my friends are bad photographers on the contrary they often take some great pictures but I also know when I take some for them they love the photographs as they don’t feel they could have taken the same shot.

The only trouble is, unfortunately, my friends photos often take a back seat to my work so they normally have to wait a little while to see them, which is what happened when I took some portrait photos of one of my very best friends Jill. Mainly its because I always add a a bit of post processing magic to my photographs and it takes time to get them ready for viewing, I wont say how long it took me to get these portrait photographs ready for Jill as you will all think Im a terrible friend!

Im sure Jill thought they where worth the wait though….

I love snow, really I do that is of course when I have the luxury of not having to drive in it.  It blankets the world and manages to give it a serene look and sound about it, much as I do love a laze on the beach, given the choice I would rather be hacking up the white stuff on the slopes.

So to wake to the beautiful blanket of snow this morning in Newbury was fantastic, of course snow will always make a fantastic back drop to wedding photographs or portrait photographs if anyone wants to venture out.  I was lucky enough to cover Ian & Karas wedding in December when the last big snow fall came over at Missenden Abbey, so we captured some fantastic wedding photographs in the snow there, which I will post up soon as soon as the bride and groom have had first peek.

In the meantime as it is my daughters first winter and first experience of snow we simply had to wrap up this morning and get out there to show her the beauty of the world bathed in snow, not to mention grab some portrait photos of her to add to the other 5500 images I have managed to take of her in 6 months, Im sure all photographers who are parents do the same thing!

Stuck thinking of the prefect gift for Christmas… look no further a family portrait photoshoot by Memories Thru a Lens for your friends or family is the gift that keeps giving!

Memories Thru a Lens approaches photos a little differently, we never photograph in a studio but instead in your home or a location that suits you and your family. By allowing babies and children to be comfortable in their own environment means that I can capture natural portraits showing their true expressions and personality, plus being in their own environment keeps them far more settled than putting them in a stark white room with big flashing lights all around them.

For JUST £25.00 you can buy a VIP invitation gift voucher for your friends or family, which will include a location photo-shoot (so no hauling to a studio), a DVD slideshow of all the images from the shoot, plus a 12×8 print from the shoot. All this normally costs £69.99 but between now and 20th December its reduced to £25.00!

Simply contact info@memoriesthrualens.com and order your voucher now to take advantage of this great offer.

One thing I look for when taking wedding or portrait photos is something different, a background that is unusual but makes the picture.

Things have been a little quiet over the last few weeks, which is normal for this time of year and gives me a chance to catch up on all the things I try to do in the summer and never quite get five minutes to do.  Like preparing my sample albums that go into venues or such like.

However this year over the last few quiet weeks I have been working on some developments for Memories Thru a Lens, both in wedding photography and portrait photography in this upcoming year.  So watch this space.

With Christmas coming up, finding special gifts for loved ones can by tricky.  So why not give grandparents delightful pictures of their grandchildren, or surprise your teenager with a stunning professional portrait in the style of their choice, let them be a model for the day. You could even spoil yourself with the perfect photograph to treasure. 

Rather than expect you to trek to a studio, I will come to you and can take pictures in your home, garden or at a favourite location, maybe the woods, park or a striking urban setting.  My aim is to make it as fun as possible.

I’m happy to provide vouchers so you can give the gift of photo as a surprise.

I have just carried out a lifestyle photoshoot of the lovely Alfie, Alfie is only four months old but made a wonderful model, he really is a cutie.

A lifestyle portrait is a simply a portrait session that is outside of a studio, I much prefer to do my portraits this way as I think its more relaxing for the client, plus you can get some really nice arty shorts that make a great addition to your wall.

With Autum arriving but it still being quite warm it’s a perfect time for a lifestyle shoot.  The colours are simply amazing at the moment, which makes all that summer rain seem a little bit more worth while… well kind of!

Paul wanted some shots done of himself and with his girlfriend Kath so we wrapped up and headed out into the beautiful autumnal colours.

Last weekend so me take the trip down to London once again, for two reasons the first being to photograph Aruna and Claire who will be married at Pembroke College in oxford on 16^th August, and the second reason, my 30^th birthday!!!

My husband was away unfortunately but that is one of the pit falls of being married to a F1 technician so while he was working hard at the Hungarian grand Prix, I went to celebrate in style with my girl friends.  The champagne corks popped as the train pulled out of Newbury, so thanks girls for I had a fabulous time although my recollection of it is somewhat hazy, can’t think why!! ;o)

So yes the other reason was to photography Aruna & Claire, they live down there and having two children it was a good idea for me to go to them rather than the other way around.  Rain threatened but never materialised so I was able to get some great shots, the cloud was quite low and menacing which for me made the shots all the more interesting.

So here they are the soon to be Mr & Mrs….