Friday 31 January 2014

Master CakeSmith Photoshoot (Ellingham)

A few months ago on a very hot summer day I photographed some cakes for The Master CakeSmith. Dawn, who owns the business makes amazing vintage-inspired wedding cakes with lots of floral details.

Dawn was thrilled with the photographs and started planning her next photoshoot after that! This shoot took place this week at her home in the gorgeous little village of Ellingham, right near Ellingham Hall. 

Dawn is wonderful to work with, as she has so many creative ideas. She had some props from The Finishing Touch Company and some fresh flowers from Bels Flowers to decorate some little set ups for her cake.


Whilst I was there I spotted their garden shed which had some lovely peeling paint on it, and mentioned how if we did another shoot there we'd have to use that as a backdrop. Dawn's husband was over the moon as he now has an excuse not to have the job of re-painting the shed until after our next shoot, hehe!!


Here are some of the previews from the shoot! 

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 This lovely cake bunting is available from Emma Bunting

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 Dawn's Dad actually made the mini-ladder above, how fantastic! 

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The little bottles of liquer are available through The Master CakeSmith as well for wedding favours.
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All photographs copyright Katie Byram Photography  and must not be used without written permission from the photographer. 

Sunday 19 January 2014

Christening Photography: Why should I consider hiring a professional photographer?

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I have recently had the pleasure of photographing some beautiful christenings and several people have been pleasantly surprised that they are able to have high quality images similar to that from a wedding, at their child's christenings. 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 explore 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. 

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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.

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All of your family are dressed up  and the ladies often 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.

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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, and the knowledge of making the most of the lighting conditions,  meaning they can get gorgeous images in low light.

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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.

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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.

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

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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 camera and lenses, should any equipment stop working or become damaged. 

A photographer may also offer professional album design of the images from the christening, which is a fantastic precious family keepsake, and something that will last a lifetime. 

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Careful planning, effort and expense 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.

 "I've just had a quick look at the photographs and they're fantastic!! I've been so looking forward to seeing them and actually cried when i looked at them.... Thank you for doing such a wonderful job I love them all!! " 

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Copyright Katie Byram Photography, and must not be used without permission.

If you are interested in hearing more about the packages I offer for christenings, please do get in touch via the website. 

Friday 17 January 2014

Post-wedding photoshoot in Northumberland Previews (Mr & Mrs Smith)

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Ruth & Martin got married at the end of December at Matfen Hall in Northumberland. They knew right at the beginning when we met up to talk about their wedding photography that they wanted to have a post wedding shoot after their big day, so they could visit several locations in Northumberland, and so they could have more time with their wedding guests on their big day.

After the first day was postponed due to a really bad weather forecast, we finally got together on the slightly chillier day the second week of January.

Lisa Cameron, Ruth's wedding hairdresser styled her hair again and she looked absolutely fabulous!
Ruth wore her Justin Alexander  wedding dress from Mia Sposa Bridal in Newcastle.

Frost lined the grass at Matfen Hall, where we decided to pop back to because the rain and wind was so bad on the wedding day that we didn't get a shot with the couple outside of the front of the hall. The staff were really lovely to welcome us back. It really looked like a winter wonderland.

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We visited the woodland nearby. The couple had a woodland theme for their wedding reception, so it seemed the perfect fit to go take some photographs of the newly-weds with the trees. 

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In December 2012, on Christmas Day, after lunch, Martin took Ruth to a beautiful little church in rural Northumberland, for a walk and it was here he popped the question. We returned to take some photographs against the stunning countryside backdrop. 

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The couple absolutely love the coast, and so we also decided to drop by Druridge Bay on the Northumberland Coast. Ruth loved my recent night time shots from Druridge Bay which gave her the idea to go here instead of the busy coastal towns. 

It was actually getting very dark when we took these photographs, sunset on the East coast on a cloudy day in winter loses light very quickly, so this was just a quick stop off but no romance was lost! 

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I had a blast with this newly-wed couple, these are just some of the previews with more to come! 

All photographs copyright Katie Byram Photography  and must not be used without written permission from the photographer. 



Thursday 16 January 2014

Matfen Hall Winter Wedding (Siobhan & Mark)

Siobhan & Mark got married in November at the stunning Matfen Hall in Northumberland. 

They were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. They chose to have their pre-wedding shoot at Jesmond Dene, and were completely relaxed in front of the camera.

This is what the couple had to say after seeing their full wedding gallery:

"Oh my goodness Katie! Our pics are amazing. Finally me and mark have been able to go through them. I've been on night shift and we wanted to look at them together........ 
Cannot Thank you enough. Since now the day has been such a blur! Your photos have truly captured every memory. Looking at them we have both laughed and cried. You have done all we asked for and more. You put us both so at ease it was more like you were a guest at our wedding. Your knowledge of the venue avid your unique approach captured the day perfectly! Thank you so much. I hope that in the future you will be able to capture some more of our family memories. Love from Mr and Mrs Webber (and Ollie ) xx" 

How lovely is that?! Here are the highlights of their wedding day:

Siobhan chose to wear a subtle champagne coloured wedding dress, with an elegant cathedral length veil. The couple went for a vintage theme wedding with soft pinks and cream colours. 

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 The bunny is a fab way for little flower girls to carry the flowers! 
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How fab were the bride's Irregular Choice wedding shoes? 

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The groom's outfit complimented the bride with his subtle champagne and cream colours... 

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The groomsmen were up for some fun with the photographs straight away.

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 The ceremony and wedding breakfast was dressed by Event Diva. 

The ceremony was rather emotional! 
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After the ceremony, we did some family photographs with the couple's little boy, who was almost one year old and absolutely adorable. 

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The wedding stationery was designed By Wendy at Just Perfect Wedding and Events Gallery, with a birdcage theme and dusky pink colours. 

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Their beautiful vintage rose cake cake was made by Pat from The Ivory Cake Company, also based at Just Perfect Wedding and Events Gallery. 

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 Mark & Siobhan wanted something different from the usual confetti shots and asked about using sparklers when we met for their wedding plan... I was mega excited and very happy to capture these moments! 
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The couple had a beautiful first dance song 'How Long Will I love you' By Ellie Goulding, which was a fantastic choice and very emotional! 

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Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Webber on their wedding and all the best to them and their family for their future lives together!

All photographs Copyright Katie Byram Photography  and must not be used without written permission from the photographer.