NEW! Mini portrait sessions

 

These NEW mini portrait sessions are ideal if you want to try out a lifestyle photo shoot without the commitment and cost of a full session. It's the perfect opportunity to get family photographs shot in a beautiful location. Choose from shoots amongst the bluebells, in a garden bursting with Summer colours or against a backdrop of Autumn splendour. Dates and times are listed at the end of this blog.

A mini portrait session lasts for about 30 minutes and you book a specific time slot with me. The price of the session is £125. This includes:

• A telephone consultation prior to the shoot to discuss your requirements and for advice on clothing etc.
• 30 minute photo shoot
• £75 credit towards the cost of a gallery canvas wrap, framed print or album. Prices for finished products start at £110.
• Once you have selected your finished product you may also buy photographic prints. 
• A private online gallery of the final images (usually around 20-30). The gallery will be live for 7 days to allow you to enjoy and select your images.
• Guidance on the best way to display and share your favourite images, including visuals.

Mini portrait sessions are limited and places are booking fast so don't delay. Book now - send me an email to reserve your session. 

Dates of mini portrait sessions for 2013 are as follows:

SPRING SHOOTS AMONGST THE BLUEBELLS

10am, 11am & 12pm on Wed 24th April and Thurs 2nd May 2013

These take place in the bluebell woods at Bluebell Cottage Gardens, Dutton, Cheshire. This beautiful area of woodland is a blaze of blue and green in the springtime and is a magical place to photograph children. Bring along fairy wings and floaty skirts for that extra bit of woodland magic!

SUMMER GARDEN SHOOTS

10am, 11am, 12pm on Wed 12th June and Wed 19th June 2013

These take place at Bluebell Cottage Gardens in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. Sue Beesley, owner and designer of the gardens, won a gold medal at RHS Tatton in 2011 and is a former BBC gardener of the year. Her garden is always bursting with colour at this time of year and provides a glorious backdrop for a family photo shoot. For little ones I can bring along bubbles and mini gardening tools for extra fun!

LATE SUMMER IN THE STATELY GARDENS OF A TOP CHESHIRE COUNTRY HOTEL

September dates tbc

Send an email if you would like to be informed when dates are confirmed

The grounds of this beautiful hotel offer many photographic backdrops, from the sunken garden, to the rose arbour and the avenue of trees looking over the lake.

AUTUMN LEAVES SHOOT

October dates tbc

Send an email if you would like to be informed when dates are confirmed

This shot will take place at Marbury Park and take advantage of the many lovely locations and magnificent Autumn colours.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

In the bleak mid winter

Click to enlarge

Well, not really but the black and white images kind of suited the title! In the last few days I've been walking Ferb at the "Flashes" as they're known locally. This is shortened from the Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes, an area of reclaimed land that was heavily mined in the 18th and 19th centuries leading to serious subsidence, forming craters and the creation of lakes where the River Weaver flowed into them. Today it's a rather unique site where some seaside plants thrive due to the high salt levels and it's rich with birdlife, butterflies and dragonflies. There are several circular walks that link to the wider Northwich Woodlands and it's easy to walk to Marbury Park and the Anderton Boat Lift. From most points you are reminded of the industrial heritage of Northwich by the dramatic factories on the horizon with  pipes and chimneys pumping out steam.

As you can imagine it's a great place to walk, with a multitude of circular routes to choose from and real variety of scenery - woodland, canals, lakes, meadows and rivers. And of course it presents tons of lovely photographic opportunities. During today's walk we met many other dog walkers but also lots of people out and about with their cameras attracted by fresh snowfall, clear blue skies and the threat of a thaw within 24 hours.

I didn't end up taking many photos, as I was simply enjoying the walk, watching Ferb's highly comical run - his back legs seem so much longer than the front ones and he lollops clumsily along but somehow at high speed. When I got back and looked at my shots I decided to have a go at thinking square again - admittedly I didn't shoot them with this intention but I'll allow it as another useful exercise. (If you don't know what on earth I'm talking about you need to look back at my last two posts).

I thought the images looked a bit flat and monotone so I experimented with some black and white conversion as well as the square cropping. I like the results but am not blown away. Looking forward to more walks over the coming weeks and more photo opportunities.

I've written about the Northwich Flashes before - I was shocked to see it was 4 years ago almost to the day. Click here to read what I thought back then - apologies that the pictures aren't there - I think Blogger ate them as I couldn't have deleted them as I wouldn't even know where they go I've posted them! I'm going to root out some photos I've taken in the last 4 years and post them.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Magical Autumn Family Portraits in Cheshire

Autumn is my favourite season by far! Nights start to draw in, with a nip in the air there's an excuse to have a real fire and dig the scarves and hats out. True, this autumn has been a little strange so far with frosts few and far between. But the autumnal colours have been spectacular especially over the last week or so. And in just a few short days the trees and bushes could all be stripped bare of their fiery glory - it will only take one gusty day or a sharp downpour.

With the ephemeral nature of Autumn in mind I have packed several photo shoots into the last couple of weeks. Of course the backdrop of scarlet, gold and burnished yellow leaves is perfect for outdoor portrait sessions but so is the light at this time of year. The sun is lower in the sky, shadows are softer, the light is kinder and if you can work quickly in the magical hour between 2.30pm and 3.30pm you can maximise all of this, resulting in stunning images.

Beautiful light on the edge of the wood

My chosen location for these recent shoots has been Marbury Park but I imagine any park with decent stands of trees would be as good, as long as you've scouted out a few good spots first. Woodland can be tricky - if the canopy of leaves is too dense then it can be a tad too dark and flat but if you can find somewhere towards the edge of the wood the light can be wonderful.

The birdhides made an unexpectedly great place to take portraits, as the viewing slots allowed my subjects to be lit naturally from both sides and the green wood of the hide was a very complementary backdrop.

Kids love messing about in woods and no more so than when there's an ankle deep carpet of leaves on the ground. I adore the fun of the piggyback shot but just look at that light in the background!

The other thing I love about Autumn is that the colours all go together so perfectly - Mother Nature never makes mistakes with her seasonal palette! I particularly like the fact that in my last shot here the family dog also matches in so well!

So don't hang about - you've got about a week at the most (don't hold me to that!) to get out and about with your cameras. We will have the magic of that cold Winter light next but it's not quite so pleasant doing a shoot then and kids' noses have a nasty habit of turning red and a bit runny!

Thanks to the families who have allowed me to share some of their images - these kids were wonderful - very photogenic and really fun to work with!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!