At Artis Studios we love to try and help our customers with any special requests that they may have. We were more than happy to ‘play along’ when one of our customers organised a surprise viewing for her husband.
As it was her husband’s birthday she wanted him to think she had organised a photo session for them, and that they were coming in to enquire. Little did he know that she had already been in the previous week with her son for a photo shoot! It was great fun for us, pretending we had never met them before. After sitting them down with some leaflets we offered to show them a quick slideshow of some baby photos we had recently taken. “That baby looks like Harris!” exclaimed her husband before turning round to see the three of us peeping round the corner. “You were all in on it!!”
There were so many great photos that they couldn’t pick just one, and so they ordered the 9-image montage which will look fantastic on their wall. Here are some of the photos they chose.
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New to this year we are putting extra emphasis on creating themed portrait shoots. Before each portrait session we ask customers to think about their hobbies and interests and we will then work together on how we can incorporate these into their shoot. This can be as simple as bringing in a few favourite toys, to incorporating props to create a theme.
An example where this has worked really well was a little boy who was passionate about cars and whose parents were both racing car drivers. We got some really cute shots of him and his little brother surrounded by his toy cars. Another boy bought in his favourite bright red toy fire truck. We’ve also had some brilliant shoots with older generations, for example Dominique told us she loved reading and coffee so we took some gorgeous Parisian style night time shots in Ascot high street and one of it’s coffee shops.
For customers who have no specific shoot ideas, don’t worry, we have plenty of them, adding props just makes the photos as personal as possible giving them that extra special edge.
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For the 2nd Cherubs session, we typically shoot on a bright white background and it’s all about the smiles, fun and games. However one of our favourite techniques which we also use in regular portrait shoots is to set them against a darker background and blow bubbles! This is great for a number of reasons. On a grey or black background the lighting we use is more directional and so it’s important to try and keep babies in the same spot by grabbing their attention. The bubbles work brilliantly for this, standing out against the darkness, and often inspires different reactions – one a look of complete awe, and the other of immense excitement as they try to chase and catch the bubbles! Here are some of our favourite bubble shots from recent 2nd Cherubs and kids photoshoots.
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Whilst out walking Jasper recently we bumped into a lovely couple and their dog and got chatting and we invited them in to have some photos taken. They decided to book in for a shoot at the studio with their beautiful two year old rescue Staffie crossed with Rottweiler and Boxer! Although this sounds like a really scary breed, he was quite the opposite! As well as being extremely soppy and docile, he was so well behaved and followed Hannah’s instructions really well – a natural model!
Before they had the shoot the couple commented that their friends would laugh at them for having professional photos taken of their pet. In fact Pet Photography is extremely popular these days as our animals are just as much a part of the family as anyone else. We tend to say that if a photo makes you smile, then why not?
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Over the Christmas holidays we opened for one day to do portraits, and this saw us on a brilliant model shoot at Virginia Water. The ground was still thick with snow and it was a very foggy day. This combined with the good looks of our model in his Led Zeppelin t-shirt produced some fantastically atmospheric images reminiscent of the recent Twilight films.
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It’s that time of year again, and what better way to bring a smile to the faces of your friends and family than by sending your own personalised Christmas cards? That’s just what these families decided to do when they came in for their Christmas sessions.
The first bought their black Persian cat in for a festive shoot with fairy lights and tinsel. It was great timing as it was something she has wanted to do for ages and so took advantage of our recent Victorian Fayre voucher offer. Another went for a family photoshoot which was the perfect opportunity for them to show off the latest addition! You don’t even have to have a new set of images for your cards. We had a family last Christmas who had a perfect winter wonderland shoot in the snow, and so they decided to reuse an older photo for this years cards.
We always design our own cards from scratch so if you have an idea in mind then anything is possible. We always work closely with our customers until they get the perfect design they want. Although it’s too late for this year, if it’s something you would like to do next Christmas we always recommend coming in by early November. Not only does it ensure that we have time to make the cards, but it gives you time to write and post them too.
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One of our Cherubs customers is a tattoo artist, which is fun for Hannah as she loves to incorporate images of tattoos with her baby shoots. She was thrilled when she received an email from this client about a National Tattoo Portrait Competition, as it was the perfect opportunity for her to explore her own creative visions and experiment.
We advertised on Facebook Fan Page for tattoo models and Rebecca, our cherubs client, contacted some of her customers to let them know what we were doing. We had a massive response and eventually narrowed it down to two male models who volunteered their time in exchange for some images. They were both great models and very relaxed in front of the camera. In both cases we found they had a very definite personal style which really suited their tattoos. One wore a flat cap and braces, and we experimented with smoke and coloured gels on the lights which complemented the colourful tattoos which covered his body. The other had some beautiful Polynesian designs on his arms and they looked really good with his chiseled features.
Now we have submitted our images for the competition, they will be cut down to a shortlist and printed for an exhibition hosted by Tattoo Freeze in Shropshire where the public will vote for the winners. Although I don’t think it makes a difference to the winner, please click the links to vote for us anyway! LOVE and TRIBAL
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We met Jason and Rachel from Jason Charles Jewellery at a wedding fair about three years ago, and recently had the pleasure of taking some corporate shots for them to use on their website.
For the photos Jason demonstrated his work, some of which involves melting down old materials to make beautiful shiny new jewellery – it was fascinating to watch all this in action! This shoot gave us the chance to utilise our photojournalistic skills, and the photos of his equipment really complement the natural headshots we took in their everyday surroundings.
Jason and Rachel and have used Artis Studios a few times for portrait shoots with their little boy, so we have become good friends and look forward to working with them more in the future!
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We had another lovely brother and sister in the studio for a portrait shoot last week. They got on really well despite the age gap of four years. Having both bought along books (not intending to read them of course!), we decided to use them as props which made for some interesting and quirky shots. They were a really enthusiastic pair and got a fantastic set of photos.
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When you think of corporate headshots you may think of stiff, prim and proper photographs that all look the same. Where possible, we find it is always nice to add some personality to the images that can reveal something a bit more about that person. Although we can do some interesting shots in the studio, we particularly love doing them out on location.
We had the pleasure of shooting for a local designer and lecturer at her house, which she designed herself and was an amazing space. She was very apprehensive about having her portrait taken to start with, but soon settled in to it which was probably helped by being in her familiar surroundings. We got some really lovely photos for her which she is using to promote her books and seminars that she speaks at.
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