The second best thing about photographing Teodor is that I get to visit Holland Park region of West London W12. The whole area is perfect for baby and children’s photography. The predominant architecture is Georgian affording wonderful big windows which allow lots of lovely natural light inside most homes, and then outside we have the fantastic playground and natural backdrop that is Holland Park itself with so much choice of locations for great baby and children’s photography of all ages from the Japanese garden to large areas of woodland and chilren’s play areas and facilities.

We started off at home  before heading to the exquisite Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, at it’s beautiful best at this time of year. Teodor was so happy inspecting the flora and fauna there and spending time with mummy in the fresh air.  Then it was a quick buggy ride home before my little muse opted for a much earned nap, after a spot of lunch of course.

Here are some of my favourite images from my baby photography session with Teodor and Micaela in Holland Park, London W12

The week before last I travelled to High Wycombe registry office for Caelen and Fiona’s ceremony and then onto the Sir Charles Napier restaurant in Chinnor and  the King’s Hotel Stokenchurch for their wedding celebrations. Lovely people, bags of emotion, beautiful Chilterns countryside and some fab vintage cars (don’t ask me how I got the car shots below, let’s just say it was a balancing act).

Here are some of my favourite images from Caelen and Fiona’s wedding in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. To see all the images that made my edit and to order prints or framed prints, please click  here, email me at anna@annamccarthy.com or call me on 07811242266.

My next post will showcase my second wedding of the month - Hester and Nick’s wedding in Otford Kent for which the Spring sunshine finally arrived.

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/05/16/buckinghamshire-and-oxfordshire-wedding-photographer/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/05/05/baby-children-and-family-photography-in-the-barbican-city-of-london-ec2/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/05/05/baby-children-and-family-photography-in-the-barbican-city-of-london-ec2/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 20:14:14 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7227 It was raining again last week when I visited the Ketley family (Louise, Bobby, Bridgett (3) and baby Martha) in Defoe House in the Barbican in the City of London EC2 for their family photography session.

As Defoe House is literally on my doorstep (my London base being 5 mins away in Gilbert House, EC2), the rain didn’t hamper our plans -  initially to do some pictures inside (Martha being 3 months is best photographed inside at this juncture) and while Dad could be around too, and then later on in the day returning when the rain cleared up and we had some lovely light and Daddy had a window again  to return from work in the city,  venturing  out to the lovely gardens that are open to all residents here.

There are so many fantastic locations in and around the Barbican and City of London to carry out children and family portrait photographs. Families that live in and around the city and the Barbican are spoiled for choice of places to go,  but this session was all about relaxing and playing at home and then some fun and fresh air within the complex itself.

Over the 3 or so hours I was with them, we packed in a tea party, Eye Spy,  singing, dancing, swinging, What’s the time mr wolf,  building a camp fire, Hide-and-seek, monsters, goodies chasing baddies… and of course making baby Martha smile…

Here are a few of my favourite images from my latest relaxed on location children’s and family portraiture session in London’s Barbican, EC2:

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/05/05/baby-children-and-family-photography-in-the-barbican-city-of-london-ec2/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/27/london-and-suffolk-wedding-photography-wedding-photography-products/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/27/london-and-suffolk-wedding-photography-wedding-photography-products/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:22:05 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7366 Rain doesn’t usually call off family photography or children’s portraiture sessions for me - whether I am in Kensington or Chiswick in Central London,further out in Putney, Wimbledon or Richmond, in the countryside in and around suffolk or on the coast at Aldeburgh or Southwold, or indeed out in the home counties such as Buckinghamshire, Hampshire or Surrey - partly because for almost all my children and family portraiture sessions, we invariably spend part of the session indoors, but also because rain and bad weather is not something generally to shy away from and can result in wonderful photographs full of character.

However, there are of course always exceptions to this rule and this weekend is one such. I was due to visit Holland Park in W11 this sunday, one of my favourite places in London for  family and children’s portrait photography because of the wonderful park, tree-lined avenues and general elegance and character of the area - but as I will be photographing a little boy who has only just begun to find his feet, going outside in what looks like exceptionally wet and windy weather ahead is not ideal so a postponement is sensible.

So over to Wedding photography again for this post and I am looking forward to photographing two weddings next month: Caelen and Fiona’s wedding at the end of next week in High Wycombe, Chinnor (Sir Charles Napier restaurant) and at the King’s Hotel in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire - and later on in May, Hester and Nick’s wedding in Otford in Kent.

I have recently photographed these beautiful luxury Queensberry parent and digital copy wedding albums that I offer my wedding clients who choose a Queensberry album as part of their wedding photography service from me.  There are two options for accompanying albums I offer:  Fully matted parent albums where the parents choose their own selection of images and the album is created from scratch with professional photographic prints hand assembled under beautiful boards (or mats), or  alternatively a digitally printed replica copy of of the main album. I offer these digital replica albums in two sizes: 10×7 inch and mini copies at 3.5×5 inch.

For both album types but you can choose different cover materials in a  wonderful choice of colours as well as various kinds of detailing on the front of them.

All of them make absolutely beautiful parent albums (heirlooms in their own right) and the mini ones make gorgeous presents for bridesmaids, maids of honour too.  Queensberry takes  great pride in the high quality materials they use to make these albums as well as their care and attention to assembly and service, as do I with the design and image production values in them:

These first three images show a 10×7-inch digital replica/copy Queensberry album with cover motif in gunmetal buckram. In front of it is an open 5×3.5inch digital mini copy album in ivory buckram:

With a digital copy/ replica album the images are printed digitally:

Parent album with a buckram mint cover with cover motif image:

With a parent album, the pages are created in exactly the same way as your main album with archival photographic images assembled under luxury boards (matts). The images in the parent album are chosen from scratch - that is they can be different from the main album:

Spine showing two parent albums with ivory, gunmetal and mint buckram covers:

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/27/london-and-suffolk-wedding-photography-wedding-photography-products/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/24/keep-photographing-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-lydia/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/24/keep-photographing-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-lydia/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:52:15 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7203 Henri Cartier-Bresson said: ‘Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth that can make them come back again.’

Nothing could be more true than how we feel about our children and their childhood.

In this post I’ve included some pictures I’ve taken of my daughter in the last 3 months - in the snow, on the underground, by the river, in the woods and on the beach - and added a few tips that might give you food for thought with your own picture taking - the time between our sessions when I’m not there to record these vanishing moments for you!

I consider it yet another lucky thing about my profession - the fact that in years to come I will have all these images to pour over and to aid my memories. Apart from my daughter herself of course, I have no doubt what I’d reach for in the event of a fire in my home…

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Tobogganing… stand back and make use of the ‘negative space’ in an image… it can help put an activity like this into context and even enhance that sense of motion and purpose. To get your snow white though you’ll  need to know how to use your camera on a manual setting and to trick the meter (for another time)

Framing  your subject within the surroundings will always make for a strong image. And the backs of children can say a lot about them too:

Taken on the London underground within a minute of each other and shows how a young child’s mood can swing from pensive to playful very quickly. The light on tube trains isn’t very flattering but don’t just photograph your children in the obvious places:

Most children love to be set a challenge, especially one involving timed running or running towards you  - and into you:

This is what I call a semi posed portrait.. set up by me but taken in a split second as I interrupted her by calling out her name. Pathways always give pictures another dynamic but the light in this scene is bringing it together - Suffolk light on a stormy day adding to the overall mood:

Nothing wrong at all with posed smiley pictures. Every parent loves them especially when the subjects are as happy and engaged with you as these two are:

Sequences… Try to anticipate action and move around your subject quickly - and try to find interesting angles at the same time:

In another world, on the look out for treasure ships:

Stick work:

Finding the shade for a portrait is best especially on a beach to avoid squinting and harsh shadows - and getting your subject to lean against something instantly helps relax them. Works wonders on teenagers too:

Forced cheesy grins versus natural spontaneous grins. There is a big difference and every parent knows what I’m talking about. If told to smile children will do what adults try not to do - i.e put on a forced smile. It is no way to take a successful picture. As a photographer you have to inspire your subject to smile, not tell them to do it!

It is always better to actually take these shots when children do this. Everyone moves on more quickly and they love to see them even if Mum and Dad don’t choose them!

Crazy energetic letting off steam moments:

Quieter moments, listening and watching for woodland animals:

Young children are unselfconscious once they feel relaxed and trust you. This is one of the joys of photographing them: when they do things that are slightly left field (in this case pretending the wall is a xylophone and playing a tune on it with a stick). These are the memories we want to capture:

Every parent loves it when their child does this: get totally absorbed into their own make believe world. It’s a time to take photographs:

Posed yes and slightly unwilling, but sometimes these shots speak volumes about our children:

in a different way to fully engaged performing for the camera shots do:

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/24/keep-photographing-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-lydia/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/24/observing-and-capturing-revealing-character-in-ordinary-activities/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/24/observing-and-capturing-revealing-character-in-ordinary-activities/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:26:31 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7243 When I’m photographing children, I always allow lots  of time so that I can maximise time observing them doing things that are natural to them and capture them within that.

With younger children I mix it up -  positively joining in with their play and integrating into their activities as well as standing right back when they get immersed into their own world or with their siblings or parents.

With teenagers it is similar but the key is spending time with them first and getting them completely comfortable in your company - usually by showing an interest in something they are interested in.  You are always in danger of either self consciousness and shyness, or, at the other end of the spectrum, overperforming for the camera in a way they think they should look, or want represent themselves as.

And so often it is from those very simple, ordinary every day activities - even doing up hair -  that natural and spontaneous images emerge - images that bring about an expression or atmosphere in the shot revealing something essential about a person.

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These products are also really popular for the more utilitarian parts of the home: kitchen diners, bathrooms,  kids bedrooms  as well as hallways and sitting rooms etc.  There is no problem with them being hung in spaces where they might get splashed with water or condensation as they are all heat sealed and protected on the surface and can be wiped clean easily .

All the products in my range are bespoke so you can start with your wall space and I can produce the finished product in whatever size you need.

The Mdf block wrap with the image wrapped around the entire block:

The Mdf with a bevel edge: With this mdf product, instead of the image wrapping around the whole mdf as above, the edges of the mdf have a 45-degree bevel  and this is coated with a choice  either white or black foil. The images below show the product with a white bevel but you can see more mdfs with  a black bevel edge (which looks great with black and white images) by visiting this post:

With the Fine Art Canvas wrap you have two options: the image wrapped right round the frame or with a coloured border as here:

To order either product from an existing shoot, or to find out more about my Childrens, Family or Wedding Photography services, get in touch on 07811 242266 or email me at anna@annamccarthy.com or contact me here.

We all had great fun, and the time whizzed by between play, naps, cuddles, a quick spin around the garden and at lunch time examining spoons, shaking water over heads and practicing competing for food!

Here are a few of my favourite images from my baby portraiture photography session in Chiswick W4:

incy wincy spider:

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/11/family-and-baby-portrait-photography-in-chiswick-west-london-w12-twins/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/02/donkeys/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/02/donkeys/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:11:13 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7115 All winter I have been hoping to photograph donkeys in the frost, and whenever I am in Suffolk setting my alarm before light, struggling out of bed just to check if we have any, and hoping in particular for that very magical hoar frost.

But we haven’t had much frost this year, and now spring is upon us so in the end I have had to settle for donkeys in snow which I photographed back in January as these gracious beasts brace themselves against the particularly biting cold that we get in this part of the world when temperatures go below freezing.

Now we are almost at Easter and thoughts turn to the donkeys again and to my little friend Bella whose birthday I photographed a few weeks back and who adores donkeys and I promised to take along should  I visit them again with my camera.

I’m so glad I did as she definitely has a special affinity with them, long after we’d run out of carrots:

and here they are in the snow:

]]> http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/04/02/donkeys/feed/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/03/27/family-and-childrens-portrait-photography-in-suffolk/ http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/2012/03/27/family-and-childrens-portrait-photography-in-suffolk/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:11:46 +0000 Anna McCarthy http://www.annamccarthy.com/blog/?p=7089 In my experience as a Children’s portrait photographer, young children love going out in bad weather, and as long as they aren’t cold, barely even notice it.  Yesterday I posted some images from my children’s portrait photography session (in the rain) with the Vinton family in Suffolk to show what can be achieved.

Being a both a London and Suffolk family and children’s portrait photographer has the great advantage of me being able to shoot in every kind of location: in many London parks and in and amongst the fabulous architecture of the Barbican, City and other locations all over London, and in contrast to this, the very rural east suffolk countryside and in the stunning coastal locations such as Aldeburgh, Southwold, Walberswick and Woodbridge, as well as in the big parks such as Christchurch Park in Ipswich, the woods at Sutton Hoo and the Ferry at Felixstowe to name but a few.

Here are a few of my favourites from an hour’s walk with the children last sunday morning when it wasn’t raining. Unfortunately Leo the terrier was only able to make the breifest of appearances as he was sent home in disgrace within minutes for rolling, very thoroughly, in something  unmentionable. We had a lovely time searching for bugs, beetles and butterflies and practicing high jumps over an abandoned hay bale.

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