James Crockford Photography -the blog.

Our friends, Stephen and Kerstin are getting married later this year at Avoncroft Museum, and wanted an image to send out on the invitations.  As they are really into their 1940’s dance, we arranged a pre-wedding shoot at the museum itself because it is a quirky venue and meant we had plenty of interesting places to shoot.

We spent some time wandering around the different buildings at Avoncroft,  getting some great shots of the two of them with a 1940’s feel – a bit more formal and a bit less modern, but also wanted to get some images of them dancing.  They showed me some of their moves outside, but also moved into the big hall to get some more creatively lit stylised shots of them doing some lifts.  They are good dancers – they obviously work hard at it and I’m impressed with their technique.  They were also good at changing the lifts to make sure they looked good on camera.

Thanks to both of you for being up for it.  Some of the photos from the shoot….

I love networking – it took me  a while to get the hang of it, but now I enjoy the way that you get to meet a real variety of interesting people, and make connections you might have otherwise missed.  A while ago I was talking to James from South Farm in Cambridge, and he mentioned Bonnie and Toby at Alrewas Hayes, and that I should meet them.  South Farm is a venue that I have been to a few times for non-wedding events, and it is a very successful and well run wedding venue, and James had been talking to Bonnie and Toby as they developed their own wedding venue.

Alrewas Hayes is tucked away in a peaceful spot not far from the A38 to the north of Birmingham and Lichfield, and they have a really lovely venue.   I was genuinely impressed with how well they had renovated it, and would highly recommend anyone looking for an interesting wedding venue in the west midlands to go and have a look and meet Bonnie and Toby.  It is one of those flexible venues that can give you a small and intimate wedding, or a quite simply a huge party.

I am really looking forward to working with them in the future on weddings and big events, and if you are looking for somewhere different for a wedding, give them a ring and see Alrewas Hayes.

Prom Portfolios spent two days at Merry Hill Shopping centre talking to everyone about prom night photography, as well as amazing prom fashion shoots.  We nestled in the middle of the fayre behind some gorgeous frocks, and it was great to meet loads of prom girls, either having their proms this year, or in the next year or two.  It was also good to meet some of the dress shops, including Laura from Frox who hire out some fab designer dresses – have a look at their blog and pop in to see them if you are looking for inspiration.

I love the challenge of getting fab shots of people in a really short amount of time – I was taking photos at the stand, and only have a few moments to get a photo that doesn’t look like it was taken in a shopping centre – either of the girls who were looking at the stands or of the dress models who were showing off the dresses on the day.

All the photos are now up on our Facebook fanpage.  This is what I was up to:

I love being busy, but the downside is making sure I have enough time to update my blog.  I’m sorry for abandoning you blog.  It doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking of you though….

A couple of weeks ago I went to a lovely event at the Kings High School Warwick, run by the PTA.  It was a Mother and Daughter event, with a fashion show and local business stalls, and I went along with Prom Portfolios and our funky new event photography equipment to get some photos of Mothers and Daughters, and also groups of friends.  I try to create something different with my event photography – rather than the standard white background, I like to get more creative with the light and backgrounds, to really make sure the photos stand out.  You will probably see more of this over the next few months as the Proms and Events side builds up.

I also took some time to get photos of the fashion show, which included some of the sixth formers from the school, who did a great job on stage.

Kat and I (and Joe) had a real laugh and loved meeting all the mums and daughters.  All the photos are now on my Facebook page too – www.facebook.com/jamescrockfordphotography, including the fashion show shots.

Some of the images…

Just spent a long but worthwhile day at the Belfry for a wedding fayre.  We love meeting brides (and the grooms, but to be honest the majority of the guys look like rabbits in the headlamps…), and we had some really good conversations with plenty of lovely brides today from across the West Midlands, getting married at venues like Nuthurst Grange, Moxhull, Ettington Park, the new Midlands wedding venue Hampton Manor, and Rowton Castle.  We have booked in a load of meetings, and will be dropping a load more couples a line in the coming days, and I am really looking forward to being at some of their weddings.

It is also a good chance to catch up with friends in the business, and to meet new suppliers, like Ben, the Cake Man, who had a massive crowd around his stunning cakes.

We had Joe with us for the day – at only 5 months old he is still a bit small to be away from Kat for such a long day, and he was so good.  He did draw in the crowd, but having done that he then distracted attention from my albums to his cute smile, so I am not sure if he was the best marketing aid!

If you met us today (or even if you didn’t get to speak to us) become a fan of James Crockford Photography on Facebook to see all our latest updates.

It has been such a hectic few weeks – we have been meeting and booking brides, and getting ready for the Belfrey Wedding Fayre on the 31st Jan.

In between that we have also been out and about with Prom Portfolios.  We are so excited about this new part of the business, and we have been getting amazing feedback from everyone we have been meeting. The idea is simple – to get fantastic photos both on the prom night itself, but also of individuals on Prom Fashion Shoots.  We think we are the first people in the UK to really push the boundaries on prom photography, and we love doing it.  Have a look out the Prom Portfolios website and become a fan on Facebook to see more details and some of our prom photography.  We are currently recruiting Prom Portfolio  Ambassadors – if you are on your prom committee or know them, and you are interested in a free Prom Fashion Shoot, drop us a line.

We had a real blast at the Westmead Hotel at a Prom Fayre organised by Debbie Hanson at Prom World UK.  We set up our funky new event equipment in the foyer and got photos of all the girls as they came through, which we then able to printed out there and then.

The main event at the fayre was a fashion show.  Debbie had recruited real girls rather than models, and they did an incredible job on the catwalk showing off the dresses.  I was able to catch five minutes with each of them after the show to get a couple of shots each – I love the challenge of trying to get shots that they will love in such a short period of time (and having to be extra careful with Debbie’s dresses).

Thanks to all the models for taking the time to get these shots.

Prom Photography Fashion Shoot

One of the things I love about my job is the diversity.  One day I am shooting a wedding, the next a corporate gig, and other times working on portraits.  Even within each genre every shoot is different; no two weddings are ever the same, and no two portrait sessions either.  This is the massive benefit of not working from a studio – I am constantly looking for interesting places to shoot and keep me inspired.

A short while ago I met up with the lovely Rita and Jon at their home with their families.  I have known Rita for a few years, and more recently got to know Jon, and I am very happy to be their wedding photographer later in the year.  In the mean time, we arranged to get some family photos.

The ‘kids’ are all in their teens and early 20’s so I decided as it was a crisp and clear winters day I wanted to take advantage of the low and warm light, but to enhance it with some funky off-camera flash. When they told me about an abandoned railway line I decided that despite the fences and embankment, that was where we were heading.  And it was well worth the effort and braving the cold.  I tried to work as quickly as possible as it was really quite chilly, and to get different images of James, Louise, Rian and Nikesh.

This is a small preview of the portraits from the shoot.

I had such an amazing year last year – lovely clients, interesting locations and inspirational shoots.  I wanted to share a few of my favourite images from the year.  It was a real challenge keeping the number down, but these made the shortlist either because I love the image, or simply because I had a blast taking them.  They come from a mixture of weddings, pre-wedding shoots, portraits, a seminar, corporate work, and my new development for 2010, Prom Fashion Shoots (watch this space….)

So here is a selection from 2009….

A few days ago we went down to Lewes to see our old friends Simon and Sam, and to meet their three week old daughter, Lily.   Lily was a bit reluctant to arrive (she was about 17 days late!), but she was well worth the wait.  She is absolutely lovely.

We were able to spend a good few hours catching up with Simon and Sam (and meeting their friends Tim and Bobbie again), and I could get some photographs of Lily in their lovely new house .  I have really enjoyed taking photographs of several babies over the past few weeks, but I think these are my personal favourites from this shoot.

So this is the very sweet Lily Brewer…

And relax….

So after a final rush to get all my Christmas portraits framed, thanks to the fantastic Pete at Frame Tec (who finished off my pictures so they look amazing on the client’s wall), we were finally able to leave Birmingham, head out of the snowy metropolis that is the west midlands, and reach the semi-rural idyll that is my parents’ house in Stonehouse.

Christmas day has been lovely; we took the boys to a playground this morning, before heading back for a long leisurely lunch, presents and a snooze. The boys have had such a great day, with lots of adoring cuddles for Joseph, and wrapping paper and a Gruffalo Trunki for Joshua.

And now my father is heading over to the garage to get me a pint of Stroud Brewery’s finest real ale – awesome.

My camera took a break for the day, but here is a iPhone photo essay from our day…