It’s great fun as a wedding photographer to get to know local venues and how to capture them at their best. Northcote House is a venue that it was nice to go back to on a bright sunny day for Caroline and Terry’s Wedding. The interior of this building is so striking, that any direction we point the camera tends to have a great backdrop. This was used at great advantage throughout the day, especially during the speeches, the bride and grooms shots and the first dance.

A big part of our style is how we treat the photos after the day to bring out the best in them. We spend time on each photo to get the best presentation possible. There were a few particular effects that we really loved for this wedding, which worked particularly well for the interior shots but also complimented the outdoor shots as well.

Here are a few of our favourite photos to show off how well it all comes together when you combine a stunning venue, great photography and happy people!

www.artisstudios.com

Northcote House Wedding Photographer, Northcote House Photography

It’s definitely been a long old winter, so when the sun finally showed itself I am glad it was for Keiran and Sarah’s big day! They both got ready at Tylney Hall in Hook, then had the ceremony at All Saints Church in Dogmersfield, then back to Tylney Hall for a fantastic reception. Throughout the day everyone was commenting on just how perfect the whole wedding was, particularly the weather, as I believe it was the first day that the temperatures reached over 10C as well!

What I loved most about Sarah is that throughout the whole day you could tell just how excited and happy she was about everything that was happening. She really enjoyed the day and seemed to savour every moment of it, which was brilliant to photograph!

The daffodils were still in bloom (unusual for late April), the sun was warm and so guests were happy sitting and chatting outside. Even into the evening everyone was still very happy to go outside for the surprise firework display. Just before we left, we spent a little while spelling out LOVE with the fireworks….it took a few tries, but it was worth it!

Kat

www.artisstudios.com

Tylney Hall Wedding Photographer, Tynley Hall Photography, Fireworks photography

I had a really fun wedding a few weeks ago with Zoe and Michael at The Royal Berkshire Hotel in Ascot. The whole wedding was based there, so really easy for us to be able to capture everything that was happening. Some of the key people at the wedding were the four little bridesmaids who looked amazing walking down the isle in front of Zoe, and performed their bridesmaid duties impeccably throughout the day!

The ages of the girls is often a very tricky age to photograph as a documentary photographer, as this age usually love to look right at you with the biggest smile. Whilst this was what I wanted for some photos, the rest of the time I needed them to ignore me and enjoy what they were doing instead. After noticing it straight away during the getting ready shots, I invented a game with them calling myself ‘The Invisible Photographer’. Every time I put my camera up to my face, I said that I was invisible and they couldn’t look at me at all! This worked surprisingly well, although they did need reminding during the ceremony – luckily the one adult bridesmaid was on my side and played along with the game.

I didn’t need to remind them at all once the ceremony was finished as they were far too busy enjoying the day. There was also a magician to entertain both kids and adults alike. It was a fantastic day, with lots of laughter and great moments to capture! Here are a few of our favourites photos of Zoe, Michael and the girls.

www.artisstudios.com

Royal Berkshire Wedding Photographer, Bridesmaid children’s photos

So you’ve had a lovely time at your photo shoot and now you are sitting in your viewing session trying to decide which photos you would like and how to display them. I’ve been there myself so I know how it can be so hard to narrow down to just a few, and it’s tempting to say “I want them all!”. You also may not have the space to hang all the images you love on the wall, or perhaps your family can’t agree on the best photo, so what better solution than to have all your favourites in an album?

We are very pleased to unveil our brand new style of album, which is already proving to be a big hit with our customers. It can come with a black or a white cover and with it’s luxurious, thick textured pages and high quality prints, it really does justice to the beautiful photographs you will cherish for years to come. We offer various sized albums and depending on how many images you wish to use, you can have an image per page or multiple apertures in different layouts, but don’t worry, we can give lots of help and advice along the way! As you can see, the photos below speak for themselves.

Amy

www.artisstudios.com

Berkshire portrait photographer, Ascot family photography

We had such a successful collaboration with our local vets back in 2009, that we felt that it was about time to update there Pet Photography Book with some more photos of their customers. So to raise money for a very deserving charity, The Cinnamon Trust, we are offering all pet lovers registered at Sunninghill Vets the chance to have a great photo taken with you and your pet in exchange for a £25 donation to charity. This gets you a £115 gift voucher to spend at our studio, which covers you for either a studio or location shoot, and then your favourite photo as a print.

This is available to all Sunninghill Vet’s customers. If you are not already registered with them, as an extra incentive to join they are also offer any new members a free health check to give you and your pet a chance to meet the vets and friendly team! They offer the highest quality medical care and a really personal caring service. For more info, have a look on their website at www.sunningvet.co.uk.

These vouchers will be available from the vets from now and must be used before August 31st, 2013. Head over there to pick one up, or give them a call on 01344 299899. For more info on the photo shoot and what the voucher gets you, have a look at our Promotions Page or give us a call on 01344 870033.

To get something a bit different for the vets to have up on their walls we did a special shoot with Hector the dog and Gladys the rabbit. Now many said that we were mad to try it, but have a look at some of the results as well as a few other favourite pet photos from the last year.

Disclaimer: No rabbits were even close to being harmed in the making of these photos, thanks to the wonders of photoshop! (Besides, it was Gladys who was chasing Hector!)

Kat

www.artisstudios.com

Sunninghill Vets Photographer, Berkshire Pet Photography

We have had some great family portrait sessions in the studio lately and with Easter this weekend and many people taking time out during the school holidays, we thought we would share why now is a great time for family portraits.

Family portraiture is a key area for Artis Studios and as our style is to keep photography relaxed and natural, we find our shoots are great fun as we play on the natural dynamics and interactions that appear in any family.  We are used to working with a variety of different ages and have a plethora of ideas and games to try and keep everyone entertained – even those cheeky 2 year olds

Every shoot is different just as every family is different.  Our main aim is to capture the personality of every individual in the group and for everyone to have a fun time.  We photograph children of all ages but take a different approach depending on the age group.  Another key benefit to doing a shoot in the studio is that you don’t have to worry about the weather being rubbish!

No matter the age, family set up, personalities etc. we work with you to capture really great natural photos that you can enjoy for years to come. Below are some samples of recent shoots.

For shoots during the Easter holidays call 01344 870033 ASAP to book your shoot as spaces are limited.

Happy Easter!

Hannah

It’s a wonderful part of the job that I get to travel to some lovely places for weddings, and my latest wedding in St Ive’s, Cornwall was definitely no exception! The Carbis Bay Hotel is set up on the cliffs with amazing views out onto Carbis Bay, with its own section of the beach right in front.

Fran and Adam booked this stunning venue for their February wedding, so they knew that it may be a little cold, but I don’t think even they were prepared for how cold it would actually be on the day! After a lovely ceremony I had to bring up whether they still wanted to brave the freezing cold temperatures and vicious winds to do some shots on the beach. Adam (the nicely wrapped up groom) was all for it but Fran and the bridesmaids needed slightly more persuasion! We convinced them that the shots would be worth it so we got the whole bridal party down on the beach. We had some helpers who whipped off coats at the very last minute, then quick bursts of photos whilst trying to remind people that they can’t look cold, then quickly back into coats and inside!

Later on everyone also got to enjoy some amazing fireworks on the beach. A lot the guests braved the cold weather again to really appreciate them properly, and it was definitely worth it! There were a lot of kids at the wedding, including four of Fran and Adam’s, who really enjoyed the party and had a brilliant time on the dance floor into the evening. Here are a few of our favourite photos:

www.artisstudios.com

St Ive’s wedding photographer, Carbis Bay Hotel wedding photographer

Studying photography at A Level made me realise how keen I was to develop my skills further so I was over the moon when I got the job here at Artis Studios! I’m doing a ‘creative and digital media’ apprenticeship which involves me travelling to Ravensbourne College in North Greenwich every other Wednesday. Recently my tutor has visited the studio and watched me carry out a shoot with a 7 month old as part of my assessment! This really helped get the ball rolling with my practise shoots and recently I have been booking volunteers in regularly to help me with my training. Our current cherubs parents have been brilliant at passing on the message to their friends for getting me people to practice on.

Over the last six and a half months I’ve sat in on many of Hannah’s Cherubs shoots, slowly learning what it takes to be a baby photographer (including being able to make lots of silly noises and be a child yourself!). This really helped when it came to carrying out my own shoots.  So far I have been concentrating on the first and second cherubs shoots in the studio working with babies between 3 months up to 10 months.  I hope to move on to the third location shoot once the weather warms up a bit and then i’ll be working with children around 16 months and a lot more mobile!

It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience that has not only opened my eyes to the world of photography but into the world of motherhood as well (it always amazes me how calm and collected mums can be with five bags and a screaming baby!).

Below are some of my photos from most recent test shoots.

Phoebe

One of my favourite things about retouching is when we get in a restoration. I can take an old or damaged photograph and return it to it’s former glory! Not only does it often provide a different challenge for me in terms of retouching, but I can take great satisfaction in knowing that those memories can be passed on through the family and preserved for many more years to come. Personally, I am very interested in my own family history, and seeing photos of my great great grandparents is fascinating. I cannot stress enough the importance of saving these images, as the longer they are left the more they can deteriorate, and therefore harder to restore.

Some photographs I have recently worked on came from a lovely gentleman from Belfast, whose wife has sadly passed away. Some were from their wedding day, and another was more recent, but they were varied in terms of the work needed.

The image above started out quite faded, but all that was required was a simple clean up of dust and specks, a boost of contrast and change to true black and white. As it was also being enlarged I sharpened it slightly.

This image was slightly more complicated in that in addition to the usual clean up, there was also some heavy creasing across the photo, and so detail had to be reconstructed on the cake and also the groom’s face.

This is a much more recent photo but out of the three was one of the most complicated, as it was requested that the husband was taken out so it was a photo of just his wife. Again, some reconstruction was involved along with some clever cropping! I also did a full version of the image in which the date in the lower right of the photo was removed.

Our happy customer wrote us a great testimonial saying, “I, no doubt, could get this work carried out here in Belfast but being aware of your professionalism and expertise I know I can be confident of your workmanship.”

So as you can see there is a lot that can be done to improve old photographs, whether it’s a simple clean up and enlargement, or removing people and objects, and reconstructing areas. If you have any photos that are in need of some TLC then please feel free to pop into our studio. We can take a look and make some suggestions as to what can be done.

Amy