A Family Christening/Naming Ceremony - Why should you consider hiring a photographer?

I have recently started to offer photography packages for christenings and naming ceremonies, and people have been pleasantly surprised that they are able to have high quality images similar to that from a wedding, at their child's christening. I am surprised at the number of people who don't realise this service is available and opt to have blurry low resolution mobile phone snaps of their child's special day. I wanted to write a blog about the reasons why you should consider hiring a professional photographer, as it is something that is often overlooked when planning a christening or a naming ceremony.

• All of your family are dressed up formally and the ladies have their best hats on – having photographs of this occasion means you have some lovely family portraits in more natural setting than in a studio

• A christening happens once in a child's lifetime. More than likely, they will be too young to remember it, so having photographs they can treasure and look back on is a precious thing.

• Compact & mobile phones cameras do not generally work in low light in the church, and flash photography is often prohibited, meaning your images are generally blurry. A  photographer has a professional kit meaning they can get gorgeous images in low light.

• A photographer has experience and 'the eye' of all the creative ways to take your photographs, meaning your images have an arty and stylish feel.

• Having a photographer there will ensure the christening is a relaxing experience as your main focus can be on your child and your family, whilst knowing the photographer is capturing all of the special candid moments of your day.

• A professional photographer will have experience in events, weddings and christenings, and quietly blend into the background of the day, ensuring they are unobtrusive in their approach.

• You will not have to worry about your camera being fully charged or whether you cleared your memory card, your photographer will not only have their main kit, but a back up incase anything goes wrong.

• Careful planning, effort and money goes into a christening ceremony, and this is a once in a lifetime event for your child. Having a professional photographer means that you have a permanent record of your day for all of your family to look back on for years to come.

To celebrate the new packages I'm offering 20% discount to those who book before the end of February, for anytime in 2011. More details can be found on my website (under the information section) here.

Ethical Wedding Supplier List & other news!

I'm pleased to announce this week that i've signed the pledge to be an Ethical Wedding Supplier on the English Wedding Blog.  It's about giving excellent service to your customers & going the extra mile with them, being friendly to other suppliers, minimising business waste, and generally being an all round 'good-egg'. All the information can be found here. It also means I get a shiney new badge for my website! Hooray!




Speaking of the website - have you seen it recently? It's had a total revamp and I'm really excited about it. It's going to have a mobile version made soon too so you can view on iphone & ipad as well, as I'm always getting emails from Brides to Be with the tell tale "sent from my iphone" on the bottom.

 I've had some great bookings this week i'm really looking forward too and there's going to be a lot of eye-candy amazing photos for your viewing pleasure coming up. Think vintage wedding on a farm coming this summer, and also in 2012, a gorgeous spring wedding with images shot on the beach and possibly even the funfair. All so exciting!

Anyway - enough about weddings. (Hope I haven't lost everyone else already!)

To celebrate the revamp of my website i'm offering 20% off my fantastic Christening/Naming Ceremony Photography Packages, when you book before the end of February, valid anytime in 2011.
I'm going to speak more about these packages in my next blog. If your family are having a Christening this year you won't want to miss it. 

Megan

One of the roles I enjoy most in my life is being a big sister to three fabulous little people. Well one of them is not so little, James is almost 20, and lives in Germany. He is an amazing artist and is studying stone masonary. He makes outstanding sculptures and every one of his pieces make me burst with pride! (See his website here if you're interested!) The other two siblings are twins, Luke and Megan (I was worried for a while I was going to have three brothers!) Doesn't seem two minutes since they were born but now they are 12.

Megan absolutely loves having her photograph taken so I decided to take advantage of this whilst I was visiting. Unfortunately due to time restraints I wasn't able to do an outdoor shoot with her (she's at school during all the daylight hours i'm here!) but i'm going to have a chance next month. I can't wait to do an outdoor shoot with both of them they both love having their photographs taken and are full of energy.

These were just basically capturing a few shots (and her big personality!) in her room. She describes herself as 'half tomboy, half girl', and dancing and sport are big parts of her life. After I took these photos, I was staring at them as I can't quite believe it's the girl who I once could fit in one of my hands. She was 3lb 3 ounces when she was born and people thought she was my doll.

 

 

(She told me she was pretending to re-create a retro photo here!) 

 

 

Ahoy there Captain Ted's!

Something exciting has landed at the shopping centre in Gosforth, Newcastle.... Captain Ted's! A brand new soft play centre and cafe, named after the owner and creator Alison's little one, Teddy. The bright and fun centre has been much anticipated by the local community, who have been peering through the paint on the windows for weeks now, trying to catch a glimpse of the work in progress.

On 11th January Captain Ted's opened for business and is already a big hit with parents and kids alike. There is a large seated area and cafe, serving a variety of hot and cold snacks, yummy homemade cakes and coffees. (One Mum I spoke to today said she bought a cake intending to give it to her little boy, and he didn't end up having any because it was so delicious...!) 

 

   The colourful playframe is fantastic with a variety of things to push and pull, squeeze through, jump over, crawl under, slide down and jump around in! There's a baby and toddler area as well as the larger area for the older ones.

Here is one keen visitor testing out the new playframe....

 

The centre also offers a variety of different party packages and also private hire. I am pleased to announce I have joined up with Captain Ted's to offer a photography package alongside their birthday parties, where you can have a professional service, shots of all the guests and the birthday girl/boy having a great time, an album of high quality prints, and an online gallery (password protected) for you and the other parents to view. For more details about the party packages please visit the Captain Ted's website here.

I will also be attending regularly to photograph the children in action - for any parents who would like some natural fun portraits of their children having a good time, without having to go to an expensive studio or organise an appointment. The photography service for play sessions will be free - and prints can be purchased on my online gallery. Dates are to be confirmed for this but please contact me via my website to find out more information.