Meet Louis. Louis is a Cocker Spaniel with a gorgeous black coat, long black ears, dark eyes and a black nose too! He has paws the size of a bear and has a very vocal greeting accompanied by a madly wagging tail.

A completely black dog can be a challenge to photograph as it is important that the features are visible and don't get lost. It might seem a little counter intuitive then to photograph him on a black leather sofa with the light mostly behind him! However, the back light gave a gorgeous 'halo' effect which separated him from the back ground and as it was at a side angle to him it also picked out the fabulous curly fur on his ear and provided a catch light in his eye too. A little tweaking in PS5 allowed me to slightly exaggerate the highlights to pick out more detail and to add a little dodge and burning to the ear to give it more texture. I'm very happy with the result as was Louis' owner.

Alfie

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Alfie, or Alfred the Great as his owner proudly called him. Alfie is a tri-colour border collie and being an older chap is not as bouncy as he once was but still enjoys a good game of fetching the ball (which turned out to be a handy prop of getting and keeping his attention too!).

Alfie's owner, adores their faithful dog and commissioned me to take some photographs for a large framed wall picture. We had great fun among the trees taking photos and Alfie was the perfect gent, sitting nicely when asked and putting up with the camera with good humour as he knew there would be a game with his ball as a treat, so he had a fun time too.  Such a handsome fellow deserves to have their portrait taken don't you think?

I am always happy when I am approached to do pet portraits as they are such an important part of many people's families and I enjoy working with the animals and meeting the owners,. Invariably they have some lovely stories about their pets and seeing the bond and trust between owner and pet always puts a smile on my face. I left with an especially large grin after working with Alfie and Wendy.

Fun-by-the-Sea

Sometimes I get asked to do a photo shoot which is fun with a capital 'F". I was recently asked to photograph a young girl with a big personality and bags and bags of energy. I travelled to a little seaside town called Weston-Super-Mare for a shoot by the sea. The day was overcast but warm and so I suggested we went down to the sea front and found some great spots to take photographs.

 Like most children, this little girl had so much energy and so it soon became clear that standing still and posing was not an option. She was always on the move and so I set up some scenarios to shoot as I wanted to capture her personality. The first shot was taken with the pier in the background and I just love the way she is swinging on the railings, and the second shot was taken on some decking by the sea front. I asked the girl to do some star jumps for me and to make them BIG. She did a fabulous job of them I think!

She was a complete natural in front of the camera and loved having her photo taken which made her a real joy to photograph. The shot above was taken during an unguarded moment when she was laughing with her mum (out of shot to the camera's left). I did take a few that were more posed but this one was my favourite of these  - there is real fun in her expression I think. When we stopped for refreshments I discovered where she got her energy - chocolate cake of course!

I think it is really important to keep any portrait shoot fun and relaxed and so I have always favoured the lifestyle shoots on location, but this little girl made it so easy. We had a blast hanging out by the seaside.

Dori

I come from a background in theatre where I worked in stage management and lighting so I have heard the saying "Never work with children or animals' often enough. So I should know better right? Fact is that I am an animal lover though. I grew up surrounded by various animals and have my own small menagerie, so it is only natural that I love to photograph animals.

Our pets are part of our family and so I offer pet portraits at Imaginography. Recently I had the pleasure of photographing Dori, an extremely affectionate and bouncy spaniel. The shoot was outdoors at a spot where Dori often enjoys her walks with her owners. It took a few attempts as Dori was more keen on exploring everything going on than posing for the camera, but I got some nice portrait shots of her, relaxing beneath a tree. Every few seconds though it was too much for her and she would have to come and see the camera, or her owners. The most important piece of kit to have in your bag when shooting animals (apart from the camera!) is patience. We were certainly rewarded with some adorable photos!

Castle shoot

My preferred style for portraits is informal and natural and so I mostly like to shoot outdoors using natural light rather than stick to the confines of a studio setting. Of course, the downside to this is that I am not in control of the light and sometimes it can be very changeable! On this particular day the sun was quite strong, causing all sorts of shadows through the trees, but then clouds would cover it and the bright light would vanish in an instant.  The upside though, is that I can photograph clients in cool locations.

These two shoots were taken recently for a writer and the location of a ruined castle was perfect for them. My favourite is the first photograph as I love how the stone changes from the moss and lichen encrusted green and black to the red stone further up the tower. Finding the hole in the wall where the stones had been taken or fallen away was fantastic and just perfect for the shot. It actually made a great place to stand as there was the remains of an old spiral staircase which had obviously been built into the wall at a later date when the castle was further fortified.

Down town

Part of being a good photographer is to recognise that there is always something to learn. There is always a new technique or a different way to do something that adds to your overall skill as a photographer. Last year I decided to book myself on a course with Damian Lovegrove, a well respected photographer and trainer in the UK (www.lovegroveconsulting.co.uk) on the Urban Portraits workshop which was held in Bristol.

 We all met at the start of the day in a coffee shop before hitting the streets of Bristol with our lovely model Stina. Damien demonstrated his approach to taking portraits in an urban setting using natural light and off camera flash. The photos from the shoot that I have chosen to share here are all using natural light and were shot on a Canon 50D using a 70-200mm f2.8 or 24-105 f4 lens. (I will share some more photos from the shoot that used flash in a later post).

Workshops like this are great for brushing up on skills or trying new things in a safe environment. It was great looking at the urban landscape and searching out locations that would make good photos. All the things I picked up that day were added to the skills I bring with me when I do a portrait shoot for a client, whether it be for couples, kids, families or a photo of someone special. It's the only way to keep developing as a photographer and to produce a great looking set of photos for the client.

If you are interested in booking Imaginography for a shoot, then please visit my website: www.imaginography.co.uk. Thanks : )