Amanda & Beth - Couples Photoshoot in the Snow - Jesmond Dene & Newcastle Quayside

So this week, it's snowed A LOT!!!

A lot a lot, schools are closed, people are struggling to get out and about and kids are having a whale of a time building snowmen and going sledging.

On Friday, I met Amanda and Beth at Jesmond Dene House which is situated within the lovely grounds of Jesmond Dene, Newcastle. It was extremely snowy and the flurries were on and off. Now usually, when I go to shoots, I try to dress practically but smartly... this time it was just practical. I had to wear walking boots, about 5 layers of thermals and my bright pink waterproof coat. Added with the kit and the umbrellas and the snow, it was a challenge!

Amanda & Beth wanted to capture some relaxed photographs of them together, showing their personalities and just having a fun afternoon out in the snow.

We went into Jesmond Dene and first off went for the waterfall. It's a place i've photographed a bride & groom wedding photograph here before, but it looked completely different in the snow...a snowy wonderland...

I shot this on a fairly slow shutter speed - can't remember it now but think it was around 1-2 seconds... just to get the flow of the water... and wow was there a lot of water compared to the summer time... ! I had to explain how I wanted the couple first as they couldn't hear me shouting from the bridge.. there was a bit of me waving my arms around looking a bit mad to ask them to change into the relaxed poses we'd planned.... but it was all worth it for the pic - this one has had lots of attention on Facebook and Twitter this week.... :-) 

Amanda's lovely red hair and Beth's fabulous orange scarf stood out amazingly well in the snow.. I had asked them to wear something bright, and they decided to implement this in their accessories, which worked so well!! (Beth actually took up the offer of borrowing my beloved Cath Kidson wellies for the shoot too!) 

We walked around the park and got the last of the light, plus had some fun with a mini snow-ball fight. 

 I loved getting creative with the snow! I love the photo above on the left where the snowballs are in focus and they are out of focus.. just think it's a bit different :)

 I haven't really done a lot of close up looking straight into the camera type shots on my couples shoots.. as normally try to keep them as natural as possible... staring into the camera is not really my style... however I've found that once people are into the photoshoot and a bit more relaxed, it's always nice to get a photo like this, and plus, the snow here made a fantastic reflector!!

It started to snow again, very heavily, so we cracked out the umbrella (I carry a range of umbrellas and chose this purple one for the shoot as it went so well with their colours and stood out well in the snow too! 

We took shelter in the park building, and had some fun with props

Love the red brick!! As you can see it was snowing so heavily at this point I could hardly see them! (Lots of other photos are just white!) So we decided it was an appropriate time for a coffee and cake break...  At the Sage, Gateshead, which has a lovely cafe with homemade goodies, and also a fab gift shop! 

 We hung out and chatted for a bit until it was dark, then we ventured outside again (much colder now!)

We had fun taking some portraits outside in the dark and snow, which was a bit of a challenge, but I thin they turned out well!

I love the Quayside as it does look wonderful all lit up at night, these were shot on the Millenium Bridge, with the iconic Tyne Bridge in the background. I used video light to light these portraits. 

I absolutely love the Baltic Art Gallery so had to grab a shot with this in it.. just love how there's the silhouettes of another couple walking in..

Amanad & Beth have to be one of the sweetest couples i've had the pleasure of working with. they were extremely lively and fun, and sooo happy together... 

Thanks to them for braving the cold weather and trusting me asking them to do a few crazy things in the snow!

Click here to visit Katie Byram Photography 

If you're interested in fun, quirky and relaxed photography for your civil partnership or wedding, anywhere in the UK (Or world for that matter!) Please drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you. 

(C) Katie Byram Photography 2013 - Do not copy or use without permission 

Competition Winner!!

So after shortlisting to 7 yesterday, this morning I logged into the random number generator which chose a winner at random from the shortlist (See previous entry!)

So the winner was number 1, who was.... drum roll..


1. Becky Maitland-Titterton 

"Well, everyone I know on facebook seems to be getting engaged and married. Having no immediate plans to baton myself down with a massive family do/argument, a lovely romantic photo shoot to show my friends that a relationship can be exciting and romantic without a ring would be lovely! Plus, since being shacked up with a Mackem, I love skimming stones at Marsden Beach and loved your photoshoot there!"

Well done Becky! I look forward to seeing you for your photoshoot.

For the other six people who were shortlisted, an email will be on it's way to you shortly, as you have each won a £20 voucher applicable to any of my photography services!... I really liked all of your answers and decided to treat everyone on the list. 

Thanks to everyone who took part in the competition! 

Announcement: Photoshoot Competition Shortlist !!

Hello all! 

To celebrate reaching 1000 fans on Facebook, i've been running a photoshoot competition and had lots of interest and entries for it. I originally decided I would take them to shortlist to 5 entries, but i'm finding it so hard to narrow it down further, and as 7 is my lucky number, I've decided to keep it to a shortlist of 7. Hope no-one minds!! 

So here are the shortlisted entries.... The question was 'Why would you like to win a family or couples' photoshoot. Shortlist is in order of entry. 

1. Becky Maitland-Titterton 
"

Well, everyone I know on facebook seems to be getting engaged and married. Having no immediate plans to baton myself down with a massive family do/argument, a lovely romantic photo shoot to show my friends that a relationship can be exciting and romantic without a ring would be lovely! Plus, since being shacked up with a Mackem, I love skimming stones at Marsden Beach and loved your photoshoot there!" 2. Karen Eager

"I have two fantastic teenage children, a gorgeous new husband and am celebrating a milestone birthday today - I want to capture this moment in my life and save it for always - I think you can help me do this Katie x"

3. Karen Olsen

"Would be lovely to have our on location family photoshoot with you as you were one of the first to find out i was pregnant even before our parents"

4. Lorna Taylor

"2012 was a dreadful year for myself and my family. I'd love to start 2013 with a wonderful opportunity of winning this competition and capturing some dearly needed smiles!"

5. Nerissa Clark 

"I'm expecting my first child with my partner Lee and we've been engaged just over a year now so would love the first official family photos to be done by an amazing photographer" 6. Joanne Gibbons

"To have some beautiful, special, family memories that I can treasure. Children grow up so quick & would love to capture a special moment as a family to keep forever."

7. Donna Weiss

"Because we have been together 12 years this year and married 3 years, because of being a volunteer and spending years dedicating my time to voluntary work we didn't have enough money to pay for the professional photos of our wedding day. This is something we really regret not being able to do. We would love a photoshoot to make some memories to be able to keep please, we have no professional photo's of us both together. thank you xx"

Well done to everyone above, the winner will be chosen with a random number generator and announced tomorrow morning. 

Newcastle Dance Centre Photoshoot - Ellena

Earlier in the year, I was contacted by Allyson, who regularly volunteers with the fantastic Tiny Lives Nearly New Sales  which I exhibit at several times a year.

She was looking for something a bit different for her daughter's 16th birthday, sometime to mark the occasion, get some photographs to look back on. Ellena is a very talented dancer, and her and her family were keen to get some images to keep as a snapshot of her life, without doing a typical 'make over' style shoot.. they wanted something real to represent who she is and what she does...

Allyson organised the shoot with the help of Newcastle Dance Centre , where Ellena regularly dances. She had also recently taken up singing lessons as well as dancing, and keen to gain natural photographs of Ellena, two short 1-2-1 lessons were arranged with the staff there. The staff were fantastic throughout the shoot. I was keen to keep it natural, and gain some lovely images but as I'm not experienced or knowledgeable on dancing, they helped to keep the genuine dance poses and moves.. so it was a win-win!

I was really pleased with the results and the family were very happy too :-)

All photographs (C) Katie Byram Photography and must not be used with written permission.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has had a fantastic Christmas & New Year break...

I always look forward to the New Year as a way to set some goals for the year ahead and have a fresh start. One of my big goals is to blog more.. preferably at least twice a week. I have a lot of 2012 material that is yet to see my blog, and I will be getting a lot more of that up here as well as new work.

Over Christmas I photographed two beautiful weddings, Alan & Paula's wedding at Matfen Hall, and Phill & Joanne's twixmas (In between Christmas & New Year!) wedding at The South Causey Inn.

I will be shortly posting the previews of these two Christmas themed weddings which was lovely.

Also this year my goals for blogging are:

- Include some more personal work
- Write on various photography topics/ideas
- Include wedding planning ideas and tips for brides & grooms
-Showcase other local and national businesses
- Blog some great weddings
- Blog non-wedding related posted (portraits, christenings etc)

2012 was amazing... and I will be posting a year's round up in photos soon too...

I've had some definite highs and lows of the year, but mostly good things....

I photographed 22 weddings, organised and photographed a fantastic photoshoot with local businesses, met some wonderful families, for photoshoots, supported local charity exhibitions (Tiny Lives Newcastle). I had the pleasure of photographing photographed a 1 day old baby, a talented young singer/dancer for her 16th birthday, and a fab village christening.

My largest wedding had approx 150 guests, my smallest had 2 weddings. I travelled to Scotland, The Lake District, Huddersfield, and further afield to photograph weddings and meet clients. I experienced being a guest at a Polish-German wedding in Poland.. I also had the opportunity to me photographed myself which let me see things from a client's point of view... I achieved a Qwest award for business professionalism, worked at some fantastic venues for the first time (Ellingham Hall, Langley Castle and Matfen Hall were definite highlights).... sometimes it's easy to get caught up in hecticness of everything... and to get easily disheartened.. but when you take a step back you can see things differently....

Very excited about what 2013 has to bring!