Family Photography Castleford | Portraits for the Crowther Family

Several months ago a close friend of Nikki contacted us as she wanted to buy her a portrait voucher as a gift for a special birthday.  We were happy to hear from Matthew, Nikki's husband, when he called to say that he, Nikki and their children, Zach and Poppy were ready to come to the studio for their family portrait session.

Zach wasn't in the best of moods when the family arrived, clinging to his dad for dear life and "crying".  Aren't kids brilliant at making parents squirm at the worst possible time?  Matthew was worried and he said that Zach was never like that but mum Nikki's advice worked a treat - ignore him and he'll come round!  

A bit of fun, banter and a high five or two later and we managed to get Zach on side and the reward was several great photographs of the family together before we let mum and dad have a bit of a rest on the sofa and allowed Zach and Poppy to play, dance and do their own thing as this seemed to work better than trying to get these two, who were full of beans, to sit still together. 

Sometimes cracking photographs just happen and the shot of Poppy on her toes, kissing her big brother, is our favourite.  

If you'd like to book a studio session for your family, kids or even the dog, a session costs just £35. Alternatively, a portrait gift certificate can be personalised to your exact requirements for any amount you wish from £35 upwards.  Call Janet on 01977 730159 now.

Family Photography West Yorkshire | Portraits for the Smith Family

As family portrait photographers in West Yorkshire, we recently welcomed the Smith family to our studio.  They were such a laugh to work with as Jay has a very funny sense of humour, all of them were really happy and it was obvious that they enjoyed their time with us.  We worked though several ideas for family photographs before giving mum and dad the job of standing behind the camera and helping to make Brooke laugh.  However, she's such a gorgeous smiley baby anyway that it wasn't difficult.  We took  some baby photographs of Brooke on her own before bringing in the brightly coloured tub stack which she loves.  It was hilarious because Cara and I had to stack the tubs whilst Jay held firmly onto Brooke, as she just wanted to crawl to the tub stack and demolish it before we could get it fully assembled.  A great session!

If you would like to book a family portrait session, please call Janet on 01977 730159

Wedding Photography Oakwood Hall | Claire and Andrew

         
We arrived at Claire's mum's house which has stunning views over the moors.  She said that it was wonderful watching the seasons change and what a spectacular view!  

Once we'd photographed Claire's preparations, we left to meet Andy and the guys at a cafe bar in Baildon, just down the road from the methodist church where he and Claire were getting married.  We walked the short distance to the church where we met up with Terry and Lauren from Picture House Wedding Films who were the videographers for the day and who we like working with a lot as they are a lovely father and daughter team and extremely good at what they do.

We managed to get all the boys' photographs before the rain started just before the bridesmaids arrived, resulting in brollies at the ready and photographs in the church porch and it was still drizzling when Claire arrived with her brother, James, who gave her away.

Claire and Andy had decided against having photographs taken from the front during the ceremony so we stayed at the back, along with Lauren, whilst Terry captured the proceedings at the front.  The flower petals in the aisle made a beautiful feature in the photographs.  

A peek outside at the end of the ceremony confirmed that it was still raining and so we took the close family group photographs inside the church and, unusually, the confetti shots too!  It's not often you get a vicar agreeing to allow this as they usually insist on it being thrown once everyone is off the church premises!  We don't envy the person who had to vacuum all the confetti up afterwards!

The decision was taken to risk going to Oakwood Hall for the rest of the photographs which included some large family groups and a big group shot of everyone.  These pictures were very important to Claire and Andy.  Apparently, Claire's uncle Steve has an iPhone app which is very accurate when it comes to the forecasting the weather and his call was that we should risk it as rain was forecast for only half the time during the afternoon.  Wonder why the weather forecasters can't manage to be anywhere near as accurate because he was spot on and we managed to get the rest of the groups done without another rain drop plus a few pictures of newly married Mr and Mrs Pitts before everyone sat down for the wedding breakfast.

There was a bit of a Disney theme going on which was evident during Andy's speech and there were some lovely details like big jars of sweets on the tables and the couple's table plan which was beautiful and very original - a string of pastel coloured cards hanging across the fireplace.

Claire and Andy joined us for a few photographs on the staircase after dinner before their first dance together.  Our thanks to them for asking us to share their wedding day.

Maternity Photography West Yorkshire | Pregnancy Portraits for Gemma

As professional photographers, we enjoy meeting and working with lots of lovely people and we always work very hard to give them the best possible service and to exceed their expectations. Sometimes a project is offered to us which makes us realise just how special our job is (if you can call it a job!) and we are given the privilege of capturing not just pictures, but an incredibly special event in someone's life and something that can never be repeated.

It's hard to put into words my thoughts about Gemma and her circumstances and how humbled we both felt at being given the chance to document a life changing milestone in Gemma and her husband, Paul's lives that may never have happened, was against all the odds and is something which many people take for granted - parenthood.

Gemma first approached me by email to enquire about a maternity photography shoot so that she could present Paul with an album of images of her proudly showing off her bump.  Nothing too unusual about a pregnancy photo shoot you might think, except that her journey had been anything but smooth and her courage at getting to this point was inspirational.

Time was of the essence, of course, because baby bumps need to be big enough for the photographs but babies sometimes arrive early.  The other important factor was that Gemma really wanted the album to present to Paul on his birthday in October.  The project was to be kept a big secret and so the only contact we had was via email because Paul works from home and ringing Gemma may well have given the game away.  Our communication ran to many emails back and forth which resulted in me inviting Gemma into the studio for a chat in the hope that it would reassure her.  We chatted about ideas and established that the sweet style of maternity photography with ribbons tied around pregnant tummies definitely wasn't Gemma's style.  With a date in the diary for the session, Gemma left, hopefully feeling a bit more relaxed.

A short while later, I received an email from Gemma asking if the session could be brought forward by a couple of weeks as it was suspected that the baby, nicknamed Peanut, might arrive early and we couldn't afford to take the risk of missing the maternity photo shoot.  Gemma came into the studio for the session and I'm sure she won't mind me say so, was very nervous, so she was accompanied by her close friend, Lyndsey, who offered a bit of moral support.

The session went absolutely brilliantly.  We worked through several ideas, some of Gemma's own and some of ours, used different backdrops, drapes and a wind machine to get Gemma a variety of images for choose from.  She said that she'd really enjoyed herself and was delighted with her images even just looking at some of them on the back of the camera.

Soon afterwards, Gemma came in to view her photographs and her reaction to them blew us away - she said she couldn't believe it was her in the pictures.  She chose a selection of images which Alex designed into a beautiful digital album for her.  Just a couple of hours after she collected it and a lovely email arrived.

"Hi Alex and Janet, well I couldn't keep the secret any longer and presented Paul with his present this afternoon.  You've managed to reduce a grown man to tears!!!!  I told him I'd organised some more shoots for Peanut and both of us once she's here and he's totally up for it, can't wait.  I really can't thank you guys enough."

We are used to keeping secrets for our clients and we always exercise the utmost discretion as generally, our boudoir and maternity photographs are not published, but Gemma has very kindly allowed us to share a couple of her beautiful images.

So, we're anxiously awaiting the news that baby "Peanut" has arrived and we will meet her soon afterwards when the family come in for their first of three portrait sessions which will ultimately result in another digital album documenting the story of this very special baby's first year and we can't wait as we know that we've been very privileged to be a part of something incredibly special.

West Yorkshire Wedding Photographers | Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photography for Michelle and Ashley

       

Michelle and Ashley married on a Thursday at Darrington church before celebrating at Rogerthorpe Manor.  We've noticed that we are getting quite a lot of bookings for Yorkshire wedding photography on weekdays and we know that our friends at Rogerthorpe Manor offer some fantastic deals on all inclusive wedding photography packages.  If you're looking for a lovely wedding venue, the best in customer service, friendly and approachable staff and delicious food, this venue is well worth a look.

We started the day at Michelle's parents' beautiful house which has a fabulous garden overlooked by a terrace.  A perfect place for some bridal portraits, we thought, and so did Michelle's dad.  Michelle was in her stunning dress a few minutes before we had to depart for church which meant that we could take some portraits of her.  This was great and something we like to do but it doesn't often happen as things usually run late.  It's a big bonus when everything comes together like this and Michelle looked amazing!

We arrived at Darrington church, had a chat with the vicar, Adrian, and then walked back to the gate to photograph Ashley with his attendants.  Adrian is the vicar at several churches in the area and we know from experience that he has strict rules regarding photography during the marriage ceremony - from the back only!  Although there are two of us and we always love to be able to capture beautiful moments from the front of the church and scene setting shots from the back, we always comply with the vicar's wishes and photographs from the back are better than none at all so this is where we stayed during Michelle and Ashley's ceremony.

The weather has kept us on our toes a lot during this "summer" and it did the same for part of the day, threatening rain which, thankfully, failed to materialise, allowing for a few family group photographs at the church door, followed by confetti at the gate and all the remaining important photographs outside at Rogerthorpe Manor before we went inside to document the details, the cake and the Cawthorne Suite in its Cadbury purple colour scheme all set up for the wedding breakfast.

Whilst the wedding party were enjoying dinner, we had ours in the Jacobean pub - the steak pie is delicious and one of the big bonuses of being wedding photographers at Rogerthorpe Manor.

When Michelle and Ashley re-appeared, we borrowed them for a few minutes more to get some lovely images of the two of them outside the hotel.  This can be difficult earlier in the day because, of course, guests are mingling and there is a lot to cover in the time we have. We really enjoy this relaxed time spent with the couple - in fact, it's our favourite time on a wedding day and allows us to get creative.

We left Mr and Mrs Maeer with their guests and captured some informal pictures before Michelle and Ashley were called to the floor for their first dance and a balloon drop.  We know that Michelle's sister, Louise, recommended us as she had been a bridesmaid for Laura, whose wedding to Steve we photographed a few years ago.  She told Michelle that Laura and Steve's wedding photographs were the best she'd ever seen and we were very flattered. We're delighted that Louise did this for us and our sincere thanks go to her for the recommendation and to Michelle and Ashley for asking us to capture their big day.

Wedding Photography Rogerthorpe Manor - thank you from Sarah and Richard

       
It was a real pleasure to photograph Sarah and Richard's wedding in Barnsley and their reception at Rogerthorpe Manor and so nice to receive the following from Sarah when the couple returned from their honeymoon.

"Hi Alex and Janet, thank you a MILLION times for your hard work on our wedding day, you both made it so easy for me and Rich, and I was absolutely blown away by the slide show you played in the evening - I just couldn't believe it.  I know it's all down to your hard work.  The blog is absolutely great as well!  Really enjoyed reading it, and the preview pictures were once again stunning.  Thank you again and speak soon, Sarah x"

Wedding Photographers at The Craiglands Hotel | Wedding Photography Ilkley for Sabrina and Vimal

   

We met Sabrina and Vimal for the first time at a wedding fair when they had yet to finalise a date and a venue. What we didn't know at the time was that Sabrina had vowed that when she and Vim did marry, we would be their wedding photographers.  

The couple's plans didn't go very smoothly as they found it difficult to find a wedding venue who would cater for both their English and Asian guests but they finally settled on the Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley and set the date for Sunday, 4 September.  So glad that we were free on their date!

As wedding photographers at the Craiglands Hotel, we arrived nice and early and were greeted by Paul, Sabrina's dad, who was carrying out an unusual fatherly duty - typing bright pink bows to the lamp posts along the hotel driveway.  Soon afterwards, the ladies arrived and we all went upstairs to where Sabrina was getting ready, to photograph her gorgeous dress, fabulous shoes, perfume, jewellery, flowers and putting on make-up.  Sabrina even managed to look good applying mascara with her hair full of curlers!

We left her for a while to take some photographs of Vimal getting ready before meeting the boys outside for a few pictures and keeping Vimal busy doing a bit of relaxed posing for the camera.  Vim's such a nice, kind hearted guy with a very funny sense of humour and we can see why Sabrina loves him so much!

Following the civil ceremony during which the registrar gave us free reign to take whatever photographs we wanted, everyone came outside onto the steps for a big group photograph and the confetti throwing which featured the biggest and most impressive confetti canon we have ever seen.  The family groups were completed really quickly, leaving plenty of time for Sabrina and Vim's pictures together.

The wedding breakfast room looked lovely and we really enjoyed the speeches which were both funny and touching. The couple had chosen a buffet style meal with a mixture of English and Asian food rather than a traditional wedding breakfast and whilst they were eating it rained.  This was disappointing because we'd planned to take Sabrina and Vim to the Cow & Calf for some time out and some photographs together.  Sabrina even brought her trainers to wear on the way up there but because of the rain, we thought that our plans might be scuppered. Good old British summer time strikes again!  However, luck was on our side, the rain stopped when it mattered and as soon as the couple were ready, we all jumped into our car and drove up to the Cow & Calf.  

Sabrina and Vim were brilliant to work with and up for anything we suggested.  As creative wedding photographers in Yorkshire, when you have a couple who are so enthusiastic, you pull out all the stops for them and this is what we did.  Vim was happy to take a short break and admire the stunning backdrop of the Cow & Calf whilst we photographed his beautiful wife posing on a rock.  We then captured some images of them both together, ending with a walk back down the path and back to the car for the short drive to the Craiglands and the evening party.  

This lovely couple took to the floor for their first dance for which they said they didn't have a routine but Sabrina made up one of her own which was pretty impressive and involved almost throwing Vim around the dance floor. This energetic routine was followed by a more serene father and daughter dance and then something we haven't seen before, Sabrina's mum and dad and her grandma and granddad dancing together which was quite emotional to watch.

Our last job was to capture an Asian tradition, organised by Vimal's mum, in which gifts are presented to the newly married couple.  Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Patel and thank you so much for asking us to share your amazing day.

If you were a guest at Sabrina and Vimal's wedding, please feel free to leave a comment - thank you.