A pretty good year….
Wow. What can I say? In January this year I had no idea that I would end up where I am today. Back at the beginning of the year, I felt my dreams of becoming a professional photographer were just that. Dreams. I’ve said this before in a previous blog , but it was only when Ian and I took a month out to travel around Australia and New Zealand, that I finally realised where my heart belonged. Photography was the one thing that I came back to time and time again, but I suppose I never really knew which “path” to take. Taking time out gave me time to re-evaluate things and figure out what area of photography I wanted to progress in. I suppose I was quite lucky really, as one of my best friend’s knew a wedding photographer, so once I had completed my wedding course in February, I was good to go. The following month, I was second shooter on my first wedding and I loved it!
March – Jenny. My first wedding as a second shooter…..
It was also working alongside somebody else that made me realise I wanted to do this on my own; I didn’t want to work for someone else. Back in May, I signed up for the Bespoke course with Annabel Williams (now Aspire Photography Training), and I’ve never looked back.
This year has been pretty full on. Building the backbone of my business has been hard work, but well worth it. Creating my own personal vision for my business keeps me on the right track, and helps me focus on what I want to achieve, as well as what I want to provide for my clients. My clients are my businesss, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them! Creating a blog (working on a new website!), business language, branding, and marketing all play a huge part in everything I do. I live, breathe and love what I do and I hope it shows in all my images.
….and this wouldn’t be an end of year blog without showing some of my favourite images from the past 12 months. There are far too many to show, so here is just a small selection for you to look at:
April – Kavita. She looked stunning – these were taken at her bridal prep….
June – The lovely Becky Deighton….
Deborah Ingram….
July – Casey Allum….
August – Kimberley McBeath….
September – Lorraine and Nick…..
Jasmine and Natasha…..
November – Pippa and Isaac….
December – Chelsea Leggatt…..
Freya Muir……
So I think the only thing left to say, is a massive thank you to all the people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working alongside this year. As well as another big thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me and stood by me through the tears, tantrums, smiles and laughter - 2010 has been a pretty good year and I think 2011 can only get better!
Happy New Year everyone – all the best for 2011 
Remember – I’m now taking bookings for 2011 / 2012 so don’t be shy! Please drop me an email at enquiries@lornarobertsphotography.com or give me a call on: 07583 230648.
Filed under: Personal |
The Christmas List…..
I don’t like Christmas shopping. Well, I don’t like any type of shopping really, but’s that’s another story. I also don’t like crowds, escpecially Christmas shopping crowds. Normally by the end of October my Christmas shopping is done. Over. Which means when everyone else is running around like crazy, I sit back and relax. Smugly. However, come Christmas Eve, Ian and I realise we haven’t actually wrapped each others presents, start scrapping over wrapping paper at about 11pm, and then frantically try and find each others Christmas cards that are of course, “in a safe place”.
This year has been different. I started the Christmas shopping in October, but last week I was still running around picking up last minute bits. In the crowds. That I hate. BUT, Christmas presents were wrapped and placed nicely under the tree, cards were written on and exchanged, and the house was very easily cleaned and tidied. Which meant late afternoon Christmas Eve, there was nothing left to do except sit back and relax and wait for the local Cantonese to open!
One of my favourite gifts I got for Ian was a caricature of us both. For the past decade, I’ve been asking Ian for a list of things he wants EVERY Christmas. I never get one, and I have to use my imagination to come up with something unique. This year was no different. I asked for a list, but didn’t get one, so I commisioned one of my oldest friend’s, Andrew Dunn, http://andrew-caricatures.blogspot.com/ to do me a caricature. He didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t wait to see the mockery he would make out of us, but Andy preferred to call it a “celebration of features” – and apparently there was a lot to celebrate!
Oh, and about two weeks before Christmas, and after a decade of waiting,…..Ian finally gave me a Christmas list. So since yesterday, we have been trashing the house with a remote control helicopter. Nothing is safe. Never mind. At least he got something off his list!
Introducing Freya Muir…..
I would like to start by thanking Freya and her Mum Linzi for braving the cold for yesterdays teen fashion shoot. It was so, so cold but we all put on a brave face (along with many, many layers of clothing), to try and keep the cold out. Freya, 14 who wants to be a vet when she leaves school, was a pleasure to photograph and really easy to work with. She didn’t even complain about having to get changed in the middle of a field in the snow and ice!
I’m really pleased with the shots that I got and I hope Freya and Linzi are too. Thank you again for braving the cold. I hope you like the images.
Thumbs up and thumbs down!!
So on the run up to Christmas I’ve been pretty busy, editing, last minute Christmas shopping, editing, printing stuff, editing, diy-ing, visiting Starbucks, did I mention editing?!
Anyway, what gets the thumbs up and thumbs down from the past week? Thumbs up to:
Putting the Christmas tree up…….
Having presents under the Christmas tree……..
One of our friends got us a singing and dancing Homer a few years ago. At the time, we had a cat, Tibby, and he used to set it off ALL THE TIME. It was quite annoying for us, but not so much for him. He was deaf and just used to sit in front of it and watch it dance. I’m pretty sure if he could hear it, he would have left it well alone! So here’s a big thumbs up to unleashing dancing Homer and bringing back happy memories of my boy Tibby……
Getting early Christmas presents. Ian found out about a magazine subscription that I bought him for Christmas, so in return he told me about the Vogue subscription he had bought me. He also decided to give me the subscription gift early, instead of waiting until Christmas. Mainly because the compliments slip said “We thank you for your order and have pleasure in enclosing your subscription gift, which we hope you will enjoy”. Apparently he didn’t want to enjoy it and he felt “uncomfortable” holding onto it!
Visiting Starbucks at the beginning of the week with Ian for a lovely cup of green tea……
Oh, and the deliciously yummy, scrummy, very fruity, berry, scone at Starbucks aswell…..
Last minute Christmas shopping with my friend Ste…..(and visiting Starbucks AGAIN!!)……
Ian buying a really BIG jar of jalapeno peppers…..YUM!! My favourite……!
Thumbs down to:
- My car failing its MOT on Monday and costing me money
- Queuing in traffic on the way home from the Trafford Centre (or rather the Traffic Centre as we call it)
- Ian trying to put a shelf up and drilling holes into our stupid walls. Whenever we try to drill into the walls they fall apart. Nothing ever works. The plaster just crumbles and falls away. Every. Single. Time. I think it’s because our house was “Plot 13″ when we moved in. I’m dramatic. And superstitious.
The Perfect Gift For Christmas…..
Christmas is upon us already, so it’s a perfect time to buy someone a unique and special gift! A gift voucher for a photoshoot experience is the ideal present for that special someone. Available for Lifestyle and Boudoir sessions, the photoshoot which costs £210 includes a framed 10 x 12” photograph from the images taken on the day.
Having a photoshoot is all about having fun! You can dress up, make yourself look amazing, strut your stuff in front of the camera and have the experience of being a model! Not only will you have a good time, you’ll also be creating some beautiful photos to hang on your wall at home!
What are you waiting for? Treat someone you love to a unique and special gift and BOOK NOW!!
“Bear”ing the cold….
Armed with two cups of tea, I walked through Sale town centre and headed over to the tram station. It was so, so cold but Chelsea Leggatt had braved the weather for her photoshoot. With Chelsea’s big personality I knew this shoot was going to be fun from the word go, and I wasn’t wrong! The weather was cold and frosty; there was also still some snow on the ground, but this didn’t stop Chelsea having some fun. She jumped off things, she Vogued (yes, you heard!) and she was also up for some hair swishing as well!! This is one of the most fun photoshoots I’ve ever had. Armed with ear muffs and the most brilliant bear hat ever, I think Chelsea’s personality really shines through in these photos. I really hope we get to work together again soon. Thank you Chelsea, your fun and enthusiasm was simply contagious!
Down at the Bottom of the Garden…..
It’s cold! Oh. So. Cold. Even though this is normally my favourite time of year, frost on the ground, a chill in the air and clear blue skies, it’s actually getting to the point where I would rather stay indoors! However, I managed to venture into the garden to photograph the frost collecting on everything. I love the texture. So here is a collection of images from the past couple of days. Although today I toyed with the idea of heading out with my camera, I finally decided to stay in and “admire” the frost and snow from the comfort of my office – whilst rocking out to Queen! Maybe I’ll venture out tomorrow instead….
Winter Portraits Part II
A few weeks ago I was over at Aspire for two days of marketing and a day of shooting. The Winter Portraits course was lead by Phil Barber and I’ve finally managed to edit all the images from the day! In the morning we shot Pippa and Isaac, (who’s images I posted a couple of weeks back) and in the afternoon we photographed Ella and Louis (or Luigi) to his friends! As I normally just photograph grown ups, the afternoon was quite insightful! It was so cold though and poor Ella was carrying a hot water bottle around for most of the time to keep warm – unfortunately I wasn’t quite so lucky!
Anyway, here are some of my favourite photos from the day. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them. I’d love to know what you think!
