Boudoir Shoot

I spent most of Saturday at Pout Studios in London photographing the beautiful Ruth for a boudoir series.  Whilst Ruth is obviously an experienced model, boudoir photography is becoming increasingly popular for pre-wedding shoots for brides-to-be, or as a present for partners or even just for women to have a beautiful keepsake of themselves.  It can be a hugely liberating experience and lots of fun to be pampered by hair and make-up artists before being shot tastefully in a series of gorgeous outfits.  These shots were taken in a studio but shoots can take place in your own home, or a hotel.  If you are interested in booking a session please email me for details.  If you book a session before Christmas (a great stocking filler...) then I am offering a complimentary album filled with your pictures.

Alexander House Wedding Photographer, Perth || Aylin + Benedikt

Watching Wuthering Heights the other day really reminded me of the moment I pulled up at the end of mile long drive way to arrive at Alexander House, Auchterader, for Aylin and Bene's wedding. I stopped my car when I was in view of the house to get a few shots before arriving and literally my car was rocking with the strength of the wind! It was so dramatic, with bruised skies and rolling hills with this house just perched at the top.

I love doing small weddings and this was one of the smallest. Only about 20 guests, all staying for most of the week at Alexander House with Aylin and Bene who only recently moved to Glasgow from Germany. In fact, when I met them in September they had only been there few weeks. After being together for many, many years Benedikt proposed and then drove Aylin all the way to Perth to show her where they were going to get married.

She looked stunning in an elegant white shift dress and jacket from Tiger of Sweden, shoes by Phillip Hardy and a cute key necklace from Tiffany's. In her hair she had a cute fascinator from Melle Cloche (thanks Lisa at MC for putting Aylin in touch with me!). Her flowers were by Glasgow's Roots, Fruits and Flowers.

A number of American wedding photographers have recently introduced the concept of a 'first look', where the bride and groom meet before the ceremony in order to take the couple shots then, therefore allowing the day to run more smoothly. This was the first time that I had the opportunity to do this. And in fact I loved the fact that Aylin and Bene were getting dressed in the same room and that he zipped up her dress and she turned to him with such a beautiful look.

As the day was closing in we took the group photos in front of the house before all getting on a bus to Perth for the registry office. Being early and it being a new city for almost all of the guests we took a little detour around the town and up to the rather majestic Scone Palace before arriving at the Old Council Chambers on the River Tay for the ceremony.

After the ceremony whisky was enjoyed before heading back to the comfort of Alexander House for champagne and canapes by Alison Kerr at which point I took my leave and left them to enjoy a week of great company and joy with their family and friends.

Scales Plantation

I'm very lucky to work with a fantastic boutique travel company called Canopy and Stars, an offshoot of Sawdays, who specialise in luxury camping.  I met Tom who runs C&S down in Bristol after shooting the Yurt at Inshriach House and have subsequently done a number of their sites to provide images for their websites and national media. In the summer I turned up on the train to meet Tabitha at Penrith Station who took me back, settled me in to my gorgeous shepherds hut, one of three they currently have dotted through their forest.  Each camp has handcrafted traditional shepherds hut with (a very effective) woodburner, a cosy wooden kitchen and bathroom block and compost loo and firepit.  My site had a wooden deck, complete with deck chairs perfect for sitting and gazing out over the spectacular North Lake Fells.

I luckily got to spend two nights there, slept extremely well under my feather down duvet and could happily have stayed a week in such amazing peace and tranquility.  I hope to get back there next summer although I intend to work my way through a few more C&S sites.  I've got my eye on the treehouse next...

Wuthering Heights: Mesmerising Cinematography

So I was feeling a little glum last night and thought that I would indulge it further by going to see the new film by Andrea Arnold; Wuthering Heights.  I hadn't even seen the trailer but after watching Fishtank I was in awe of this director and beyond excited to see what she would do with this Bronte classic.  Wuthering Heights was always a favourite for me during my angsty teenage years.  It's the ultimate doomed love story for a hopeless romantic.  I used to lie in the bath in the dark listening to the audio version in the run up to my GCSE English exams. Having recently got to grips with the video function on my Canon 5D mk II I have become more intrigued by the intricacies of film.  This movie didn't disappoint for quality of inspiration.  I was so moved by the combination of power and subtlety and the tensions between the characters and nature.  The use of texture and light made my heart ache and race.  It's not a film for everyone (my father wasn't an ideal viewing companion!) but if this trailer touches you then you will understand.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoOuB9PAVug]

Shooting dancers

A new challenge last week - facing November temperatures and shooting a couple of dancers outside.  I met Emelye at Camp Bestival in the summer - she gave me some wellies (she was working for Shuh) and I was working for Monkey Shoulder.  We swapped numbers and finally managed to meet up in Portsmouth for a shoot with her friend James. Pretty early in the shoot the police rolled up to say they had received a complaint from some locals about people 'prancing in their underwear'.  The police obviously didn't waste much time in coming to have a look.... once we promised that Emelye wouldn't be stripping down any further they let us continue without concern for further risk.

We started off at Knowle Village - a community village built around the old hospital buildings then ended up at Titchfield Abbey, the ruins of a 17th century abbey which was a gorgeous location.  Hair and make up by Tori Harris.  Delicious cupcakes for eleveneses baked by Emelye.

Kate + Alex's Wedding at Great Fosters, Surrey

I have to confess; covering a wedding for a friend is quite possibly the most stressful assignment out there for a photographer.  I feel the pressure even more than usual to ensure that the photos are absolutely knock-out good (they know where I live), but this wedding actually turned out to be one of the most relaxed and calm I've been to all year.  The whole day from start to finish just flowed smoothly.  The team at Great Fosters were outstanding, with fabulous attention to detail and service.  And Kate and Alex simply radiated happiness and charm throughout. Kate got ready at her parents house, with make up by her friend Christina Panzini and then it was a short hop to the very lovely chapel upon a hill; St Edward the Confessor in Sutton Park.  It was pretty tight inside which meant I had to try and make myself even more discrete during the ceremony (at nearly 6 ft this is something I sometimes struggle with!).  Kate's composure dropped and her emotion came through as she entered the church on her dad's arm wearing a stunning gown designed for her by Forget Me Not Designs.  At the top of the aisle, Alex was tense in anticipation before he turned to see her walking down the aisle.  Oh, I'm welling up just writing about it! As everyone piled out of the church the sun broke through, accompanied by the pealing of church bells courtesy of one of the ushers, Mark, my brother (such wide ranging skills, who knew?!) and I pulled the couple away for a quick stroll up to the end of the church lawn and a few pictures. Back at Great Fosters we took a walk around the gardens where we had been a few weeks earlier for their engagement shoot.  Except for 30 seconds of rain (literally) it stayed bright and lovely.  I could have shot for hours with them, they are such a beautiful couple, but got them back to the Tythe Barn in good time for their grand entrance.   Usually at a wedding I will take a break during the meal (photos of people eating are never flattering), collapse in a corner, call my boyfriend and drink a LOT of water and when lucky be provided with the wedding meal.  Kate and Alex kindly squeezed me onto a table and I was sandwiched between newly weds Gemma (my brother's wife - wedding pics from Ibiza here) and Hayley.  Unfortunately for them I probably wasn't great company as I was hopping up and down every 5 minutes for shots but it was nice to grab snippets of conversation between mouthfuls.

The meal was delicious, salmon roulade, lamb and plum crumble and ice cream.  Cheese came in the form of a cheese 'cake' instead of the traditional wedding cake (made by The Lavender Hill Company who also did all the beautiful flowers).  After the first dance the awesome Ska band, Oomphf from Brighton kicked in, and parked outside was a photobooth taxi providing instant prints for guests.  Here is me and Dan the fantastic videographer from From the Hip trying it out:

If you were a guest at Kate and Alex's wedding you can view the full album here.  The password is their surname.

The Lazy Duck at Nethy Bridge

So after my epic adventures in America I then retreated up to Aviemore, via a small wedding in Perth (to be blogged about soon), to stay with Walter and Lucy at Inshriach House in anticipation of a wedding I was covering there at the end of the week. Lovely Polly (who owns The Dell of Abernethy cottages which I blogged about here) asked if I would photograph the latest accommodation addition at her parents place, the Lazy Duck at Nethy Bridge, the Woodman's Hut.  The cottage is super cosy with a wood burning stove and a cute box bed which can be closed up at night and has a skylight for stargazing, and windows out into the woods and across to the Caingorms for lazy mornings in bed with a cup of tea.  I had almost finished up there when the sun came out in a last blaze of glory before dipping down behind the mountains and it was absolutely lovely.

The bit at the end is an outdoor shower...

The Lazy Duck Hostel...

Some Lazy Ducks...

Spaceport America

A blog about something a little different today... I've just returned from an incredible trip covering America, Canada and Mexico with my father which saw us touring Vancouver, cycling the Golden Gate in San Francisco and visiting friends in Los Angeles to climb to above the Hollywood sign.  The highlight of the trip was the opportunity to photograph at the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport, Spaceport America near Las Cruces in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin in New Mexico. Last week saw the opening of the new terminal building, a collaboration between Virgin Galactic and the State of New Mexico.

The launch event was attended by the world press, celebrities from Kate Winslet to Buzz Aldrin to Princess Beatrice, along with 150 of the nearly 470 'future astronauts' who have already parted with $200k each to be the first space tourists.

It was a tremendous privilege to be able to see the site, watch a flight demonstration of Spaceship2 and Whiteknight2 and to hear speakers including the ex second in command from Nasa, the govenor of New Mexico and Richard Branson among others.

My new aims after such a spectacular trip are to start flying lessons and hopefully one day (when the price comes down) purchase my own trip into space.  The whole experience moved me far more than I anticipated.

Galactic Girl, Sir Richard's private jet as he arrived early morning for the event...

Watching the flight demonstration with the Govenor of New Mexico...

Buzz Aldrin presenting Sir Richard with the street name for the Spaceport - named after the address of their first office in London...

Carla + Tom's Liverpool Wedding

The last time I went to Liverpool was for the launch of a New Look store in my old existence as a marketeer, so my knowledge was limited to the shopping district.  It was a long way to go on Saturday, especially after a full day wedding in Surrey on the Friday but a friend and colleague, Luke, asked me at the last minute to cover his brother's wedding for just three hours.  And since I had just bought the Skoda, I thought it a good opportunity to stretch her legs on the open road. I pretty much never photograph a couple without having met them at least once, and usually done an engagement shoot with them too, so it was a little strange turning up on the doorstep of Carla's friend, where she was getting ready.  The gorgeous three story house was a hive of activity with Carla having six bridesmaids (of mixed sex).  My favourite image of Carla was actually taken in the bathroom, sitting on the loo, where the light was gorgeous - she looks absolutely beautiful.

Michelle Webb, a friend of Carla's, was doing the make-up.  I'd met Michelle before on the set of 500 Miles North, a film directed by Luke and mostly filmed up at Inshriach.  I went on set for three days to do some behind the scenes shots.

Luke didn't supply me with details of the church until the last minute, so it was a bit of a Magical Mystery Tour (ahem) of Liverpool, but I found the church, All Hallows, Allerton, looming large on a fork in the road.  The bridal party made their entrance, with Carla walked down the aisle by her mother who had come over from Mexico.

I was only booked to stay long enough to get the group photos done outside the church (efficiently choreographed by Luke), and a few shots of the couple before the party reconvened at a local pub for the reception and I headed back on the long drive to Surrey.

Chris + Meghann's Wedding on Barra (Outer Hebrides)

During quieter times I like to make the most of my destination weddings and so a wedding in Barra, the Southern most island of the Outer Hebrides, became a week long road (and boat) trip for me and mum in early June.Chris and Meghann are Americans who somehow found my details and got in touch. As a MacNeil, Meghann wanted to celebrate her Scottish heritage by marrying on the Isle of Barra, at the seat of the MacNeils, Kisimul Castle; situated on a tiny island in the bay of Castlebay. Given the journey involved getting from Pasadena where Chris and Meghann and their families live to Barra it was close family only.You can fly to Barra (it is the only airport in the world that has scheduled beach landings!) but mum andI decided we had time to take the slow route which involved me collecting her from Inverness airport (she coming from Gatwick, me coming from Inshriach House’s folk festival Insider, a little worse for wear) and driving to Oban for the 7 hour ferry crossing to Barra’s Castlebay. With only about 1600 residents, island life is a little different to life on the mainland. Our B&B (Tigh Na Mara Guesthouse) host looked quizzically at us when we requested keys for our rooms, ‘you won’t need those here’, he assured us. How refreshing.I joined the family for the rehearsal on the tiny castle out on the bay and the wind and rain whipped around us. The next morning however, the sky was blue and the waters calm. I loved the intimacy of a wedding of only 11 people (including the bride and groom) and the setting couldn’t have been more picturesque. It was a joy to spend time with them and their lovely families and they invited me and mum to join them for the wedding meal at The Castlebay Hotel that evening after I had stolen them away for a half hour for some informal shots on the beach. After honeymooning in Italy they are now back in the US and have a summer of celebrations to share their marriage with wider friends and family.

Hannah + Danny's Wedding at Mar Hall, Glasgow

Hannah and Danny are the young couple that I recently photographed in Edinburgh for their engagement shoot.  I was so looking forward to their wedding and it didn't disappoint. When I join a bride at the start of the day they are often getting ready either in their own home or that of their parents which is always quite an insight into who they are and it's quite a privilege to be invited into such a personal space.  Despite being a doctor, it's clear that Hannah is a multi-talented girl.  Music is important to her and her creativity shone through in the wedding favours, decorations and the fact that she had personally designed the bridesmaids dresses and her mother's dresses.  I loved an anecdote that her father told during his speech about how, as a little girl, she was in an art shop and the lady behind the counter asked 'when you grow up do you want to be an artist?', Hannah, confused, replied, 'I already am an artist'.

When I arrived at Hannah's parents house that morning they had already had their hair and make-up done and were milling about looking so extremely calm and relaxed I thought I must be in the wrong house.

The boys were also pretty relaxed and Danny looked so happy and excited.

Despite some upset about the scaffolding that had unexpectedly gone up at the church in the weeks preceding the wedding, all such concerns drifted away as Hannah arrived down the aisle on the arm of her proud father.  The church was so beautiful inside.  Robben led the parade - Hannah had been bridesmaid at her parent's wedding 13 years ago - a tradition they hope will again be honoured in another 13 years.

On coming out of the church the rain that had not stopped all day was still pouring but nothing could wipe the smiles off their faces as they bundled straight into their waiting car whilst the guests stayed on at the church for tea and cake.  We went straight on to Mar Hall for the couple photographs.

They had pictures of both sets of their parents on their wedding day and a polaroid camera available for guests to take pictures and add to the guestbook.

I've mentioned Mar Hall before - it has the most wonderful grand hall which hosted a champagne reception, followed by the meal in an absolutely huge marquee (necessary to seat the 190 guests).  I have to say Danny's speech will be hard to top.  He told us that it had not been love at first sight but required a little engineering from some insightful friends, but then surprised everyone by pulling out a guitar and serenaded his new bride with a self-penned love song left the 190 guests in no doubt about the strength of his adoration and love for her now.

If you were a guest at this lovely wedding, you can view the full album and buy prints here. The password is Danny's surname.

Hairpiece by Katy Moon

Dress by Joyce Young by Storm

Flowers by Ruby Flowers

Cake by Top Tier

Yvonne & Gordon's Wedding at Brigadoon

Brig O'doon House Hotel in Ayr is a perfect wedding venue.  The hotel itself is set on the banks of the River Doon in an outstandingly beautiful area within lovely manicured gardens. The Brig o' Doon is a late medieval bridge used as the setting for the final verse of the Robert Burns's poem Tam o' Shanter. In this scene Tam is on horseback and is being chased by Nannie the witch. He is just able to escape her by crossing the bridge (over a running stream) narrowly avoiding her attack as she is only able to grab the horse's tail which comes away in her hands (thanks Wikipedia - my literature degree didn't cover Burns comprehensively).

Yvonne and Gordon had taken over Doonbrae House, a 19th century house opposite the house, to stay in before and that's where Yvonne and the girls were getting ready whilst the boys were in Rose Cottage next door.  Yvonne was very cheery and relaxed when I arrived, more concerned with helping everyone else in the party to get ready before herself, I found her on the floor tying up her dad's laces long after she should have been in her dress!  Gordon and the boys, on the other hand, were regretting getting into their woollen kilts so early as for October it was so, so hot and muggy.

The bridal party were piped over to the hotel and down the grand staircase into the main ballroom where the ceremony was taking place.  The flowers and bouquet were created by Elaine at Dream Flowers & Favours.  The celebrant for the ceremony was one of Gordon's tennis students.

Yvonne's niece, Emily, was like her little shadow the entire day...

Doonbrae House...

Tennis ball's as favours...

If you were a guest at Yvonne and Gordon's wedding, you can view the whole album and purchase images here.  The password is Gordon's surname.

Kate + Alex's Engagement Shoot at Great Fosters, Surrey

I am hugely flattered to have been chosen by Kate and Alex to shoot their wedding.  As a school friend of my brother's, I hadn't seen Alex for many, many years until he was best man at Mark's wedding recently.  Mark hadn't actually mentioned to Alex and Kate that his sister was a wedding photographer and so they had booked another photographer.  Happily for me they decided to change at the last minute and even more happily I was available.  We managed to squeeze in this shoot 10 days before their wedding.

I was bowled over by how stunning Great Fosters is - it will be a perfect wedding venue.  The grounds are spectacular and the venue itself is impeccably smart with wonderful staff.  We had a lovely 2 hours wandering around the grounds and they were such a delight to photograph - and absolutely gorgeous as you can see...  9 days and counting!

Lucy + Simon's highland wedding at Inshriach House

When I met up with Lucy and simon in the summer in Super Pizza on Brick Lane I was delighted - here was a couple with strong creative ideas and lots of input as to the type of photography they wanted. Roll on a few months and I arrived up at Inshriach House, nr Aviemore to find full hands on deck for their homemade village fete style wedding. The marquee on the lawn of the main house was bedecked in the brightly coloured, many metres of bunting that Sophie had worked tirelessly on for the Insider Festival, long trestle tables ran the length, covered with linen and sackcloth and scattered with purple vetch. Wild flowers were in a mix of cut glass vases and jars and the crockery and cutlery were mismatched. Unique place names (the arrangement of which were still being decided on hours before the ceremony!) were handwritten seed mats which could be taken home and planted. As I captured the details in the morning both the bride and groom were wandering in and out seeing to last minute arrangements.

Lucy didnt emerge from the bathroom until about an hour before the ceremony and slipped effortlessly into a trailing vintage style lace dress and enormous platform shoes (Lucy is very petite and Simon well over six feet!) and then I dashed on ahead to meet Simon at the Old Bridge Inn opposite the church - St Aidan's.

The cars were supplied by Bygone Drives in Aviemore with the bride arriving in a beautiful 1954 convertible split screen Morris Minor and her three gorgeous sisters, who were the bridesmaids, in a Bentley.

Whilst the signing of the register took place Lucy's sisters sang and Lucy and Simon peeped out to watch, both very moved. This is a couple so deeply in love that it's expressed strongly in their every interaction, so much so that I was moved to tears just watching them (it's something of an occupational hazard).

I always knew the the couple photographs would have the most spectacular backdrops. I could have shot there all day and we didn't even make it to the farmyard (chickens, tractors, festival props etc) but we did stroll through the fields and past the squash court and bothys.

The owners of Inshriach, Lucy and Walter Micklethwait, perhaps inadvertently,  come as part of the venue fee and are untiring in their efforts to ensure that a wedding on the estate runs like clockwise with nothing being too much trouble (picking vetch at 7am on the wedding day, extra lighting for photobooths at 11pm at night etc) So much so that the grateful bride usual insist they join the guests for the party.  As this bride told me, unlike other venues who are quick to discuss costs and curfews during an enquiry call, Walter simply enthused that a wedding at inshriach is 'amazing!' - sales pitch enough for an openminded couple with imagination.  Where possible they encourage the use of local or connected suppliers (such as myself - I have been going to Inshriach for 10 years) which gives any event a homely and personal touch.

The food, which had a very Scottish flavour, including venison stew and cranachan was supplied by Taste of Moray.  The cake (made by Lucy's sister, layers of coffee and fruit and nut cakes trimmed with wild flowers) was cut and it was onto a waltz for the first dance, played in by Ali and Hazen et al of Ord Ban Music who followed up with a good old barn storming ceilidh (which yours truly couldn't resist joining for a very extended Dashing White Sergeant.

I ended the night with an hour in the teepee cum photobooth with guests scratching out messages for the couple on the blackboard.  It's the first time I've done a photobooth but I really think it brings out the exhibitionist in guests - well, that and a belly full of wine, love and happiness...

(If you were a guest at this wedding, you can view the full album here.  The password is the surname of the groom).

Faye + Hugo's London Wedding

This summer my friend and fellow photographer Lorna ended up with a foot in plaster.  Not a good situation for a wedding photographer - you kind of need to be super mobile and for hours on end.  I was more than happy to step in and help her out at the intimate London wedding for Dutch couple Faye and Hugo. Having been living in London for a few years and big fans they wanted to mark their wedding in true London style which meant red double decker buses, union jack bow ties and Chelsea Town Hall.  Their bigger wedding happened later back in Holland later in the summer.

We caught up with them at Chelsea  Town Hall where the guests arrived on a London bus from The Hilton Hotel in Paddington.  The ceremony took place at the Chelsea Town Hall and the couple arrived together, Hugo walking Faye up the aisle in front of a small number of family and friends.

After champagne on the street the group headed back to Faye and Hugo's gorgeous flat in Notting Hill for cake and champagne.  Their friends had clubbed together to buy them a garden bench inscripted with their names and the date of the wedding.

A few hours later everyone regathered at the stunning private members club, Home House, for an evening meal and speeches.

Alice Mary Lynch - Dollmaker

Alice and I went to primary school together in Somerset many, many years ago.  As the daughter of two artists (James and Kate Lynch) creativity was in her blood and she was so obviously talented.  It was no surprise that she combined art with fashion and went on to work for John Galliano/Christian Dior followed by designing for Sonia Rykiel.  She bumped into my parents recently which prompted me to get in touch and check out what she has been doing.  It's so utterly gorgeous and unique that I had to share it.

Now living in Paris she takes inspiration from the fashion world combined with travel to create bespoke, personalised hand-made dolls created from the stories of the client commissioning the doll as well as personal keepsakes such as ribbons, fabrics and momentos.  She makes dolls for occasions such as births, marriages or just as a beautiful gift.

Alice says:  "I love imagination and humour, people who have their feet on the ground whilst dreaming, the poetry in everyday life.  I like a certain vulnerability whilst standing strong, 1930's cabaret, dark, shiny and mad, and silen films.  I like the circus, the colours when the lights go down, the trapeze artist making an entrance.  I like it behind the scenes, there are stories there, and toys and childhood, and history on our doorstep."

If you want to commission a doll from Alice, you can find more information at her website, blog or Facebook page.  All photographs taken by Alice or Sakura Fischer.

A week in the highlands

I'm just back in Surrey after a wonderful few weeks in Scotland.  I like to combine work and pleasure where possible so I meandered up North after Tara and Folarin's wedding in Bedford for a couple of Glasgow weddings and finishing up in Aviemore at Inshriach House - one of my favourite places in the world.  I'll be blogging about the wonderful home-made wedding that Lucy and Simon had up there on Saturday night but I thought I would post a few pictures of the delightful Inshriach landscape taken for the Location Scotland website - taken in between hoovering the house ready for wedding guests, washing a smelly Monty-dog and cooking for Walter and Lucy to earn my stay in the 'Summer Palace' (see the last picture for my cosy home for the week).  I shot a fashion story up here last autumn and the place is just brimming with amazing locations including the Spey, numerous bothy's, a squash court, a victorian dog shed , vegetable garden and a mini loch - all within a stone's throw of the main house.  It's also home to the amazing Insider Festival in June.  Many thanks to Walter and Lucy for their hospitality, wine and for turning my electric blanket on full in anticipation of my late night arrival :) From top:  Cottages, loch, squash court

From top:  Caingorm Mountains, Loch, Inshriach House (with teepee and wedding marquee in background)

From top left: Squash court and bothy, river Spey, Victorian dog shed, 'Beer Moth'

Official residence:  Summer Palace

Before leaving I popped in to The Dell of Abernethy to take a few pictures for Ross and Polly of their new home which they have taken over running near Nethy Bridge. It has six stone cottages attached to the house which you can visit all year round and is an awesomely quiet and beautiful spot perfect for exploring the Caingorms.

Mikey the Model Team/ScotCampus Winner

Over the last year or so Cathy at Model Team has been brilliant at letting me use the new models on her books for test shoots so I was more than happy to help out when she asked me if I would photograph the Fresher's Week winner of the Model Team & ScotCampus Magazine model search. I've shot a few weddings at One Devonshire Gardens, a Hotel Du Vin venue and was keen to do something more formal there as it's such a beautiful hotel (if it's good enough for Cheryl Cole...).  It rained all day non the previous weekend when I shot a wedding there but for our shoot it was gorgeous sunshine all morning providing lots of dappled light in the courtyard through the trees.  Mikey didn't enjoy the sunshine so much with his baby blue eyes being ultra sensitive - he kept his eyes shut most of the time until I shouted 'now'! as a prompt.  Made for a sultry scowl though...

We could have shot all day but we had to let Mikey head off into town to meet his patient girlfriend who was waiting to celebrate their 2 year anniversary.  I'm pretty happy with the results though.

Thanks to Alan Drummond who has recently gone from being friend to friend/assistant - he did an awesome job and I'm looking forward to him working with me at a wedding at the end of the month.  Hair and make-up was Sarah MacInnes.  Styling was a mish-mash of all of us as my favourite stylist Katy was rushed to hospital (she's ok now).  Who knew male styling was so difficult?!

Astrid

These are a few images I took of a model who answered an ad for a studio shoot. I wanted to create an Almodovar (Matador) inspired look which is the first image. The backdrop is a blown up matador poster. I loved what Alanna Lennox Coates did with her hair, and Rachel Helena Imrie did the make-up. Styling by Katie Nicholson.

Melle Cloche wedding accessories shoot

My flat in Glasgow was just off the main West End shopping street of Byres Road (populated it seems, mostly by cupcake shops and vintage shops) and so I was quick to spot Melle Cloche’s arrival and was probably one of the first through the door to say hello.  Melle Cloche is essentially a shop that sells everything wedding, except the dresses.  Run by two sisters, it is like a sweet shop for brides, stocked with such delicacies as parasols, headpieces, vintage style jewellery, shoes, lingerie and veils. Inspired by their stock I was keen to do a vintage style shoot and with dresses provided by Circa Vintage in Glasgow I pulled together a shoot at the elegant Willow Tea rooms(designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh) on Buchanan Street.

Our models Niahm and Misha were provided by Model Team, styling by Katy Nicholson, Make-up by Rachel Helena Imrie and hair by Alanna Lennox Coates.

You can see more of the images on Melle Cloche’s website and their marketing material.