Father of the bride…

18th March 2020

I didn’t want to get to the eve of my daughter’s wedding and be staring at a blank screen, filled with emotion, with a heart overflowing with love and pride and then to find I was suffering with father of the bride writer’s block. So clutching heaven and hell (my mobile phone), I started making notes. Armed with the book I’d bought on writing I followed their first masterclass tip, just let the words flow! Don’t worry about punctuation and spelling (why start now), childhood memories, music we’ve shared, quotes, poems, poached ideas from weddings I’ve photographed and tick box …

North East Calendar 2020

31st December 2019

When it comes to photography, weddings, portraits and predominantly people are my thing, but to relax I love photographing local landscapes. Michael Poole Estate Agents asked me if I’d like to work with them on a North East Calendar 2020. They have branches in, Billingham, Coulby Newham, Eston, Ingleby Barwick, Middlesbrough, Nunthorpe, Redcar, Stockton and Yarm. So images of local interest are very important to both me and Michael Poole Estate Agents. I don’t have a library of local scenes, but over the last couple of years I’ve managed to build up a small collection of images around the Teesside …

Christmas present portrait, young girl photographed sat on a bench at Wynyard Hall Gardens, beautiful light

The Best Christmas Present (ever)…

27th December 2019

location portrait photography If I had a pound for everyone I bumped into in October telling me they needed to book in and update their family or children’s portrait, I’d have £23 in my pocket. Another year goes by, followed by another and another and if you don’t book it in, I can guarantee you’ll wish you had. Zara’s mum Lena made the effort and booked her in for a location session. When her mum and dad look at the images of their daughter they will see her personality, her youth, spirit and zest for life. They don’t need to …

Pet Photography

1st December 2019

Haute Dogs & Irresistible Bitches Waggy Christmas To You… Thank you to everyone who has emailed me their interest in the rebirth of Haute Dogs & Irresistible Bitches pet photography. I’ve been on Norton High Street now for 20 years and I’ve never really had a plan (is it possible to muddle through for this many years). So 2020 is going to be the year of the plan. Instead of having good images, I’m going to build a great pet photography portfolio. My initial plan was to book 5 shoots and update my website with a selection of fresh new …

flower girl taking a photo with an iphone of a bridesmaid and her partner.

Anyone can take a photo…

27th November 2019

professional photographers do it for a living. Taking an image is getting easier as phones get more camera sophisticated, but does that make you a photographer? Google tells me a photographer is someone that captures memories, so if you’ve ever taken a pic, then you’re a photographer. Do we still need professional photographers? The ballpoint pen was patented in 1888, so does that make everyone that’s ever owned one a writer. I suppose the answer is a very loose yes! Can you see where I’m going with this or do I need to spell it out? I’ve had my studio …

Award Winning North East Wedding Photography…

10th October 2019

Hero images & Real images It’s not all about being an Award Winning North East Wedding Photographer, when I photograph a wedding I’m thinking mainly what the bride and groom want from me(in this instance Sara and Paul), next I consider what would their parents want from me and finally what do I want from the wedding (from a creative angle, although a glass of prosecco and a slice of wedding cake would always be welcome). Reportage is what the French call it… Telling every couples individual story is always top of my list, making sure all those natural candid …

bride and groom walking from church under and umbrella

Rockliffe Hall wedding photography…

13th September 2019

Sam and Tom’s Rockliffe Hall wedding Wedding Q&A from the heart. How long have you known each other? 6 years and 4 months. How did you meet? My friend Nadia said her sister asked if we wanted a drive out to Whitby with a group of her friends (all lads). Nadia then started dating Tom’s best friend Glen from that night. Tom was always with Glen and I was always with Nadia so did a lot together. Can you share your proposal story? Tom came home and I was cooking tea and hoovering. He’d pretended to have been to golf but …

2 flowergirls walking into the ceremony room with the groom out of focus in the foreground.

It’s the little things…

6th September 2019

Childhood memories are the most important in life. As an adult try to remember your favourite childhood memory: scoring the winning goal for the school team, going to sleep at your Grandma’s, your first underage pint in a pub (please drink responsibly) or being asked to be a flower girl at a family wedding. Top Tip, a flower girl should be under 8 years of age, any older and I think they’d rather be referred to as a junior bridesmaid. Childhood memories are the building blocks of our personality. We are shaped into who we are as an adult in …

stylish black and white image of a brother an sister

Happy Birthday To You…

2nd September 2019

With a big birthday looming and a catalogue of bad birthday presents the pressure was on Robert (name has been changed to protect his identity) to excel. Guess what, he only knocked it out of the park… Every morning when Robert’s wife comes down the stairs she looks at a framed portrait of her two most precious humans. This frame has had pride of place for over 12 years and is now more valuable as the children are now 18 and 15 years old. This framed photograph was taken by me on a cobbled street in Norton, I know what …

overview of ceremony room at Le Petit Chateau

Le Petit Chateau Wedding

17th August 2019

this blog post about a Le Petit Chateau wedding venue and it has the lot, from a beautiful bride Q&A to cute children giving their wedding angle… In my opinion a good friend is someone who when you’ve not seen them for a while, as soon as you meet up it’s like they’ve been there all along. That’s what it’s like for me and Lynn when we meet up with Maisie’s (the bride to you) mam and dad. That’s exactly what happened when Jimmy (brides dad, are you keeping up) phoned me to tell me his daughter was getting married …