Archive for April, 2009
Family Taster Session at Puddleducks Nursery
Posted by Paul in For Website, Lifestyle on April 30th, 2009
You need quite a lot of bounce in your bungee to this job. And on the annual family taster session with our friends at Puddleducks Nursery in Haddenham, you really do need it!
We do this session every year as a way of raising much needed funds for one of the best nurseries in our area. Our son, Jake, went there and I can’t speak highly enough of the staff there and the crowd of parents who help keep it running and funded.
The idea is a simple one. We provide an entire day of photography broken into 20 minute slots. On a first-come-first-served basis, the families with children at the nursery can book in and have 15 minutes of photography (I try and have a 5 minute gap to get my breath back!) to get a taste of what it’s like to have a full lifestyle session with us. There are no fees but if you like your photos you can buy them from us and we split the profits with nursery. A great way to help raise funds!
Weather permitting, we try to make the session as much like one of our normal sessions as is possible – only it’s much shorter! This year the weather was pretty much beautiful and we captured the majority of the images outside – something that I love more than anything. Particularly with young children as they just relax so much quicker and it all feels much more natural.
And, of course, we have a load of beautiful images. The kids (oh, and their parents too, of course) were brilliant and provided us with a never-ending supply of moments to capture. You can’t ask for better than that.
This is one of those instances where that old saying ‘never work with children and animals’ is at least half wrong!
Have a look through the images and let us know what you think.
Cheers
P.
Marc & Rebecca Pre-Wedding session in Regent’s Park
Posted by Paul in For Website, Pre-Wedding on April 30th, 2009
Oh wow, it feels like summer.
The daffodils are out (though I do have to admit to a secret and irrational dislike of them – something to do with them taking over your lawn every spring I suspect – and they’re not even particularly pretty. I am worryingly beginning to sound like an old git…), birds are singing, kids are guzzling ice cream like it’s gone out of fashion and the great British public has taken off a little too much clothing and is quietly going pink. Ah, the sound of sizzling and the smell of coconut oil.
And all of this in the middle of London.
I love shooting up in town; there is just something about it. The area around us here in rural Buckinghamshire is beautiful and tranquil and everything I’d ever want to live in but I still get a real buzz from being back in London, camera in hand.
This shoot was the pre-wedding session for Marc & Rebecca who we’re going to be working with in a few weeks’ time. And it was glorious. The weather was simply too good to be stuck in anywhere stuffy so we headed over to Regent’s Park. Bit weird, it has to be said, as it happened to be the G20 conference that week and it seemed like the park was the site of a Policeman’s Picnic. There were stab vests and blue lights everywhere (something to do with the American Ambassador’s place backing onto it) and it did feel a little weird being watched given I was clearly holding the terrorist’s weapon of choice – a camera. Sigh.
Still, this was an absolutely beautiful shoot! Marc and Rebecca were (are) great company and clearly very much in love. Ahhh. A great set of photos and the exciting prospect of shooting them again at their wedding back in London! Can’t wait.
Let us know what you think.
Cheers
P.
Mac vs. Windows
Posted by Paul in Articles, For Website on April 30th, 2009
Blimey, I never thought I’d have a view on this one but it’s 2am and I’m in the process of switching everything over from my trusted Windows Workhorse to working almost entirely on a Mac. To be fair, my workstation has been a Mac Pro for about 3 years but I’ve always run Windows on it as I’ve used Mr. Gates’ stuff ever since Windows 1.0 – which does date me I know – and so it was easier than trying to get my head round yet another operating system.
However things move on.
The Fuse Fireworks session we did a while ago, put such a strain on the processing power that Windows simply couldn’t cope any more – the higher resolutions of the Hasselblad (something we’re going to be using quite a bit from now on) were just too much and, much to my frustration, the Windows version of the Hasselblad software is nowhere near as powerful as the Mac version.
So here I am having now switched over to an admittedly prettier world of pleasingly bouncing icons and gently reassuring ‘bongs’ when you hit the wrong button. An attractive world, yes, but nonetheless a world that is alarmingly alien to me. Still, I do like an adventure.
And why am I telling you this? Well, firstly ’cause it’s completely taken over the past couple of days and so I just wanted to get it off my chest. But more importantly, because the switchover will allow us to provide a better service to you, our clients. The Mac is ultimately a more scalable solution that will allow us to use the latest cameras and software without worrying about stability. Don’t get me wrong, our back-office is all Microsoft and will continue to be so as it is the only way to handle normal office and data processing. However, when it comes to beautiful pixels, from now on it’s all Apple. And a big one at that.
I’ll keep you posted on how I get on. 
Bob & Rachel Pre-Wedding Photography in Haddenham
Posted by Paul in For Website, Lifestyle, Pre-Wedding on April 25th, 2009
We’re now into the full swing of our summer season – you can always tell it’s busy because the blog goes quiet for a week and then there’s a whole string of entries thick and fast. I’ve just finished another shoot today, which is now quietly being backed up to DVD, so I thought I’d sit down and get things a bit more up to date!
Bob & Rachel’s wedding is going to be this village’s event of the year. Can’t wait. The pre-wedding shoot was fantastic! I’m hoping the year carries on like this ’cause we’re having an absolute ball. And that’s pretty much critical for the type of photography we do. You gotta enjoy it. That way our clients enjoy it and, hey, you get beautiful pictures of people looking natural and comfortable.
Bob & Rachel (and Alex who came along for the shoot and turned out to be pretty handy with a reflector!) were fantastic to work with and I think we have some gorgeous images! I know we’re in a recession (the press do keep reminding us!) but with sessions like this one, it’s looking like 2009 is going to be an absolutely classic year for us.
Let us know what you think.
Cheers.
P.
How to choose your photographer.
Posted by Paul in Articles, For Website on April 25th, 2009
This is an article we wrote for the Mum Knows Best Website where we have the honour of being the resident source for all matters photographic. We’re going to be writing regular articles for the site – of which this is an excerpt of the first article.
Capture the moment
So, here’s the thing (as some of my clients in the U.S. might put it). You’ve decided that you’d like some beautiful images of you and your family to hang on the newly decorated lounge wall. You’ve always wanted to do it and, as the new paint is slowly drying, you figure that now is the time.
Fantastic! This is the kind of moment that every portrait photographer loves to hear about – when someone sits down and decides they’re going to engage in one of the most special things with their family: a photography session.
However, I’m also acutely aware that there are a vast number of photographers and studios out there with different styles and price points to suit every taste and pocket, so how do you go about choosing the right one to ensure you get beautiful pictures that you’ll love for the rest of your life?
In the first of our articles for MumsKnowBest.com, I’ll try to provide a little guidance on how to go about it and what to look for. Those perfect pictures are just within reach!
You can view the full article here.
A Class Act?
Posted by Paul in For Website, News on April 24th, 2009
Just a quick one – I am one of 3 photographers featured in this week’s British Journal of Photography cover story: ‘Class Acts’. OK OK, so I’m blowing my own trumpet but it’s always nice to read someone else say things like:
“Julian Lass meets three award-winning portrait shooters combining the best of modern and contemporary. Grounded in craft-based black and white techniques and using their highly developed lighting skills together with a more relaxed approach to posing, they’re bucking the trend and increasing sales by pushing their creative, professional expertise. Just good enough doesn’t cut it.”
OK, so maybe I’m blowing the trumpet a little hard to but you’ve got to admit, that’s not a bad opening line for an article when you’re one of those three photographers!
The whole article (though sadly not all of the pictures that are in the magazine) can be found on the BJP Online Site.
Let us know you comments. I would be really interested to know if you think the article is right!
Enjoy.
Cheers
P.
Isobel, Millie & Jemima for Little Italy Coffee Shop
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website, Lifestyle on April 18th, 2009
I loved this session as it is everything we’re about.
The whole session was full on from start to finish with the three girls I was photographing being exactly how you’d wish kids to be – funny, exuberant, energetic and spirited (oh, and incredibly polite and well-mannered – even when they were being cheeky!) This just makes for a fantastically creative location session for us to capture a really diverse set of images as the next candidates for The Little Italy Coffee Shop.
I do have to admit that this was one of those sessions in which I’m not entirely certain who was actually in control. I do, naively, like to think it was me but I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t Jemima, aged two and a half. Even her own family affectionately called her ‘The Boss’.
The whole of this session was held at one of our more regular locations for portraiture – Wendover Woods. We started with the playground area up there. To be honest, I don’t think I had much say in the matter as the girls were off and running as they spilled out of the car! Still, as this fits with our approach to a shoot (i.e. to make it as much fun as possible – particularly with kids) that it worked perfectly.
Once they’d burned a seemingly boundless amount of energy there, we used every bit of woodland we could find that had good light – which is a lot at Wendover! Eventually we were unceremoniously swamped by a large number of Cub Scouts, at which point we retired to the cafe. I love outdoor photography but one should never underestimate the importance of a hot chocolate at the end! Particularly if it means you can grab an additional shot or two. Which I did. So the hot chocolate is almost an integral part of the shoot! That’s my excuse anyway.
The time just flies when we’re shooting and this was no exception. It felt like we’d barely started and we’d already spent nearly two hours running around and had a bag-full of images. I think we’d earned the refreshment.
So, if the next time you’re sitting drinking one Little Italy’s fantastic coffees and wondering who took the photos and how they were done – now you know!
Do let us know what you think as we love to get comments and feedback (good and bad – though clearly, we’d rather it were good!)
Cheers
P.
Cinnamon Tree Restaurant
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website on April 18th, 2009
As a regular visitor to the House of Spice restaurants it was fantastic to be commissioned to photograph their new restaurant in Fairford Leys: The Cinnamon Tree. The restaurant opened at the end of last year and offers a huge selection of exclusive Indian cuisine. Cuisine that includes a seemingly limitless buffet – which, incidentally, we had the pleasure of sampling after the shoot (just one perk of the job!)
The photographs needed to capture the feel of the new restaurant which is stunningly modern and quite different to our local Haddenham venue. The restaurant is full of colour with a private dining area (including its own HD TV – perfect for lunchtime meetings and presentations!) , water wall and a beautiful cocktail bar/reception. I think we caught all of that. Oh, and the food is absolutely delicious
Let us know what you think!
Cheers
P.
Debbie & Kit’s Beautiful Day
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on April 16th, 2009
An unbelievably beautiful day.
The first wedding proper of this year’s busy season and it was an absolutely stellar day! I still find it hugely flattering that we have a client list that is just full of people who are genuinely a pleasure to work with – and this couldn’t be more true of Debbie and Kit. And their wedding was to be everything you’d wish for out of the most romantic day of your life!
The way we approach our wedding packages is so that we can always cover the whole of the day, right through the build up and then into the ceremony itself and completing with the celebrations afterwards. This makes for a fantastic wedding album full of interesting moments and surprises. Admittedly, this particular day did kick off with the groom’s party not being, well, exactly where myself and Kelly, my ever patient assistant, had anticipated them to be (we eventually tracked them down in our regular haunt, The Little Italy Coffee Shop, for an impressive breakfast of caffeine ‘n’ carbs!) However, once this slight glitch had been ironed out – and the lads had been united with their wedding suits – we were on a roll.
After a very emotional (and very musical) ceremony, the celebrations moved to The Barn At Chilton which is one of those venues that simply takes your breath away – possibly quite literally during the winter months as its perched right on the top of the hills overlooking wide open expanses of Buckinghamshire countryside leaving it just a tad exposed. However, this day was as perfectly still and as calm as any August morning and the location was everything you could wish for (and the staff up there are fantastic which always makes our life so much easier!)
We stopped off on the way to photograph the bride and groom in Kit’s stylish… er…. van. Yup, once a surfer always a surfer (even Debbie’s shiny new surfboard was temporarily re-purposed as a somewhat unusual seating plan!) Kit had arranged for a red carpet for the bride though! Anyway, this all just addedto the really relaxed atmosphere – I did half expect to Debbie to dig out her ever-near acoustic guitar and we’d sit around and sing a song or two, but this didn’t happen until a little later! And the photos we captured are beautiful!
Finally, just as I thought the day couldn’t get any better, it quite simply did with the appearance of possibly the best wedding band I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to – awesome!
Cheers
P.
Emily for Little Italy
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website, Lifestyle on April 12th, 2009
Well if the rest of this year continues the way the first few months have been, we’re going to have another absolutey amazing season!
This particular session was one of a few we’ve been doing recently to create new images for our friends in the Little Italy coffee shop in Haddenham.
I love creating these images as we know exactly how they’re going to be used and, as it happens, they’re one of my particular favourite genres – classic black & white.
For this particular session we were photographing the most beautiful little angel, Emily, who proceeded to take complete control of the shoot from the minute she stepped into our studio right up until we’d finished and, grinning, she climbed back into the car with her mum and waved goodbye.
For the type of work we specialise in this works perfectly. And the images reflect it. They are all full of the life and vitality that kids have, from the excitement of having an entire pains aux raisins to be devoured just for the benefit of the camera to the exhuberance of leaping into puddles to create explosions of water. And all of it done with the biggest smile you can imagine!
And for me, this is what portraiture is all about – capturing beautiful images and still having the most fantastic time doing it. And Emily was wonderful. She was funny and engaging, intelligent and wilful – but always polite and well behaved. Oh, and gorgeously photogenic. Isn’t that what photographing childhood should be like?
I do hope so.
Cheers
P.
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