Martin and Karen Photography Blog

Carly and Nicolas’ Pre-wedding Shoot

martin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:47:36 +0000

Carly and Nicolas live in the south of France so their pre-wedding shoot was the first time that we’d met. They are a lovely couple, relaxed and obviously delightfully happy in each others company. It was a joy to spend some time with them having fun taking their photographs. Carly and Nicolas get married later this year at Coltsfoot Country Retreat, one of our favourite venues. We can’t wait!

On a catch up mission

martin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:34:46 +0000

Karen and I are just back from a short summer holiday between weddings. Of course we are right in the middle of the wedding season, and that coupled with the runaway success of Alter Ego Portraits means this blog has been a little neglected recently. Well that is going to change because I have some amazing shoots I want to share with you. I’ll be starting with a quick catch up of some of this year’s pre-wedding shoots then sharing some truly spectacular weddings. Watch this space.

Ruth and Mark’s Pre-wedding Shoot

martin — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:55:23 +0000

Thank goodness weather forecasts aren’t always right. On the day of Ruth and Mark’s engagement photo shoot it was supposed to rain heavily all day. As it transpired, apart from a brief shower, it stayed dry until after the shoot was over. I don’t mind photographing in the rain – it’s a fact of life for a UK wedding photographer – but I was happy it stayed away.

As well as being a good looking couple Ruth and Mark were also great fun to be around. That’s usually a recipe for fab pictures and so it turned out. Here’s just a selection of favourites from the shoot.

Family photography that’s a bit different

martin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:03:52 +0000

When I’m photographing families I always aim to have the photos look as natural as possible. It’s one of the reasons that I usually prefer to work on location with kids. They can have fun playing in a park or another favourite location without being corralled into an artificial studio environment.

Sometimes when a client wants some studio style images we’ll start at the studio then move to a location later. Even then I like to keep the shots looking as natural as possible. I’m not a big fan of the white-background look that is so prevalent nowadays.

Annita came to the studio with her lovely children Lexie and Jake. We started by making some relaxed portraits on the studio floor just using natural light before moving to a local park to finish the shoot. They aren’t due to come back to see their pictures for a few more days but I can’t resist sharing a few here. Hope you like them.

Family friend Alice came along too. Here’s a portrait of her, taken on location:

Twins Alex and Ava

martin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:36:04 +0000

Capturing natural pictures of babies is one of my favourite things to do. Although we’ve got a fully equipped studio I much prefer to photograph babies at their home. That way if baby needs to be changed, or have a sleep or a feed it’s no problem. Much less stressful for the baby and for the parents too. I couldn’t imagine ever adopting the production-line approach of some studios. You get your hour slot and that’s that. What happens if baby is off form, or they get stressed out by the whole studio experience?

I photographed twins Alex and Ava at their home in North London. Although you can’t tell in these pictures Alex really wasn’t feeling herself. So I’m going back in a few days to do another session with them. I’m always happy to reschedule or come back and do another shoot at no charge if for some reason baby isn’t in the mood for photographs. Stuff happens

Here’s a sneak preview of a few of my favourites from the first shoot. More to come

Hannah and Oliver’s Pre Wedding Shoot

martin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:16:01 +0000

Hannah and Ollie came to the studio last week for their pre-wedding photo shoot. Pre-wedding days are always great fun and this was no exception. After a coffee and a chat we headed off to our favourite location for a couple of hours making fun photographs. Every couple has slightly different tastes so we always try a few different styles of shot to see what works best for them. Hannah and Ollie liked the relaxed natural style but were also up for a few edgier shots with a fashion twist. Look forward to putting those ideas into practice in a few weeks at South Farm

Here’s a few of Hannah and Ollie’s favourites:

Tory and Shane’s Pre-Wedding Photo Shoot

martin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:20:15 +0000

Most pre-wedding shoots start off slowly as I ease the couple gently in to the whole photo shoot experience. Not with these guys. This shoot went with a bang, right from the start Tory and Shane were in the groove. The first shot here of Tory is the first one I took. What a seriously fab couple and joy to photograph. Just cannot wait for their wedding at Great Fosters in May.

Lots of great pictures to share so there will probably be a gallery on Facebook sometime soon, but meanwhile here’s a few of the pictures Tory and Shane chose for their album.

Family photo shoot

martin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:57:47 +0000

This shoot was organised by Evonne and Emma as a birthday present for Mo. So we made a day of it with a location photo shoot that started late morning, a buffet lunch back here at the studio then back out on location for some more photos. It was the first time I’d seen everyone together since Evonne and Alex’s wedding in 2007 so it was great to meet everyone again. It was also great to see Kaian again and to see how he’s changed since we photographed him at a few weeks old.

It was a great fun shoot and a great jet lag antitdote Here’s a selection of our favourites.

News update

martin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:01:23 +0000

Those of you that haven’t been following us on Facebook might have wondered why it has been so quiet in these parts recently. Well we haven’t disappeared! We’ve been busy meeting many lovely couples who are getting married later this year and are looking forward to photographing their weddings including some super new venues.

Most of the last month or so has been taken up with the launch of our new Alter Ego brand of contemporary boudoir and 1950s pinup style portraits. If you haven’t done so already why not check out our new web site at www.alteregoportraits.com.

Alter Ego has a Facebook fan page. If you are not already a fan sign up now for the chance to win a free photo shoot and album. We’ve already had one lucky winner from our first 100 fans. The next 100 to sign up will also have a chance to win.

As if that’s not enough there’s another chance to win a free shoot by entering a competition we’re running in conjunction with Northampton Image magazine. Follow this link go to page 81 and follow the instructions on how to enter. The main prize of a 1950s makeover and pinup shoot and album is worth £600 and there are five runners up prizes of the makeover shoot that’s worth £195. Too good to miss

That’s it for Alter Ego news on this blog. Normal business will be resumed shortly If you want to keep in touch with Alter Ego news remember to become a fan on Facebook.

Catherine in the snow – location portraits

martin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:50:36 +0000

Catherine was at the studio last week for a portfolio shoot. By late afternoon we had finished the studio photographs and since we had a fresh covering of snow and some late afternoon sun it would have been a shame not to take some outdoor shots. It was freezing and the sun was setting fast so we took these pictures in the space of about twenty minutes and just a few yards from the studio.