It's been a busy year...

Well we are just about to kick off October...

This time last year this site was not even live - we wanted to create a site that people would want to come back time and again. We now we have over 200 pages, full of new content and every week we add more.

This year has of course been busy with weddings - a big thank you to all our couples, we have enjoyed both meeting our clients and capturing their photographs.

We have visited a number of great venues - including Stapleford Park (again), Fawsley Hall, Holdenby House (we fell in love with this venue), Swinfen Hall, The Priest House, The Barn at Bury Court (in Surrey) - along with many local favourites, such as Branston Hall, Colwick Hall, Holme Pierrepont Hall, Kelham Hall and the Petwood.

Portraits has been one of the major new developments for us this year - with the PureLifestyle and PureWoman brands. We have brought our own style of contemporary photography to this. Someone said to me that if you can take a good portrait then you can take a good picture - because it is one of the hardest areas of photography. I can understand that, because the combination of technical and people skills is paramount. You can't just be a fly on the wall, you have to be able to direct people but still maintain a contemporary feel to the picture.

We opened our new studio at Hexgreave Hall, Jade and Vanessa joined our team - Jade as a third photographer and Vanessa on album designs, and we have had much fun working on various fashion shoots with Lincolnshire Pride magazine.

I have picked one picture to show here- amongst the many thousands I have taken. There were of course so many that I could have picked. It is a recent picture - taken in August at Hexgreave - of baby Grace and her mum Sally. I took Sally's wedding pictures last July - we love to get to know our clients and it is always great to meet up again. I was delighted when Sally and her husband Nick asked if they could bring their new daughter for some portraits. This is called lifestyle photography and the picture was taken in the grassy fields in the Hexgreave Hall estate.

Gift Ideas

Many of you will know that we have been developing a contemporary approach to portraits - in terms of PureLifestyle and PureWoman experiences - and we have developed a range of great ideas for the winter season, including gifts for Christmas.

You can see these at our We Love... pages and we have created a facility through our client gallery for these to be purchased on-line. Every order receives a beautifully framed gift voucher, which is posted within a few days of your order. I have uploaded a few of the offers below:-


We have introduced gift vouchers and these can be purchased in £20, £50, £100 and £250 denominations. These can be used towards any photography purchase, including prints, frames or towards a lifestyle photography or a PureWoman shoot.


This is a special winter offer for a Lifestyle shoot - people have really enjoyed the experience and the pictures have a much more natural and relaxed feel.


Here is a great and novel gift idea - a PureWoman experience, and great fun too!


Weddings and babies have a strong connection!! So if you would like some great photographs of your baby then this a fantastic offer over the winter.

Calling All Hens!

Hello!

Over the past month, I have been getting a lot of stick because frankly, I'm not that great at blogging! If it weren't for Glen our blog would be looking very sparse indeed! So here I am! And I've got something pretty exciting to tell you about...

As you may know, we launched PureWoman about six months ago and now we're ready to take it on tour! Keep checking in with our blog and you'll see the locations that we'll be bringing the experience to.

I also wanted to tell you about the great pampering days that we can now offer for Hen Parties. For parties for four to eight people we can arrange a great champagne reception, fantastic hair and make-up styling by the wonderful Rachel Liney and an individual boudoir shoot for each Hen. Prices start at only £125 per person. Check out www.wearepurewoman.co.uk for more details or give me a call on 01636 673800 to find out more.

We are now also offering vouchers for PureBridal experiences, which make the perfect gift for any bride to be, especially for the Hen Party to give. Again check out www.wearepurewoman.co.uk or give me a call to find out more.

It's sooo much fun! I hope to see you soon!

Sam
x

Recent Wedding - David and Victoria

I have just uploaded the pictures from David and Victoria's wedding, which you can see in our recent wedding gallery by clicking here . Here are a few pictures below:-


I really like this picture of Victoria and David, the light in the wooded area was more subtle than in the sun and the tree provides a nice setting and it makes for a very good romantic picture.


This more abstract picture of Victoria getting ready shows what can be achieved using a professional lens and no flash. The only item in focus is her tiara. This effect is entirely created within the camera - I use very little photoshop, as these images were taken using good old film. It is the quality of the lens that has created this - and capturing the moment.


We like to take a few different bride and groom pictures at our weddings. This involves a little more time and sometimes a few moments after the meal, like this picture here. It was taken early in the evening, when David and Victoria were more relaxed. The use of the wall creates a slightly different effect.


This picture again shows the quality of the lenses we use. The soft background is again created entirely in camera, as this picture was also taken on film with no photoshop applied and it makes for a nice picture, especially in black and white.


Speeches are great for candid moments, like this one.


And this one too.

Holdenby House, Northants

This is one of our favourite venues this year. You can see the pictures from Amy and Richard's wedding in our recent gallery. The house is still a private home and therefore can only be used for weddings a few times each year, when the family are away. It is a lovely venue. It is not so big that the wedding party is either confined to one part or becomes too spread out; and is it not too small so that guests are tightly packed into a few rooms. Here are a few pictures:



There is a long drive to the front of the house and this view shows the extent of the property and its architecture.


This is the room where the ceremony was held and was used in the evening as one of the reception rooms.


This is the main reception area, which has the most wonderful light, as you can see.


The wedding reception meal was held in this room and was then used for the entertainment later. The amount of light coming into the room was great, as often older houses can have very dimly lit interior rooms.


This gives you an idea of the expanse at the back of the house, with a large grassed area and then extensive grounds.


This is Amy coming down the main staircase for the first time in her wedding dress, to be greeted by her dad.