Family Photo

They say art including photography is subjective, well for me this is one of my favorite images i possess. It was taken last year during a family treasure hunt we did in the town where we live. my brother organised it and involved finding clues in certain places in groups. Sadly it rained down on us and we all got soaked but it was such good fun anyway the little ones didn't mind. It was one of those rare times when my dad had all of his grandchildren in the same place so it would have been daft of me to pass up the opportunity to put on my photographer's cap. The picture itself is of my dad and all his grandchildren not all of them are my children before you ask they are split between the 3 of us my brother, sister and myself, yes you might say poor man all those to buy for at Christmas not to mention all those birthdays. I am pretty sure he doesn't mind as they are all his world and he would do anything for them like all good grandparents should :)

Grandparents are special i have fantastic memories of both sets of mine and this Grandad is especially special to 4 of my children because he is the only Grandparent they know, the older ones are old enough to remember their nan before she passed on but my youngest two don't really have a clue what a Nan is or how special they can be and for a long time even called any old dear in the street Nan and as much as the old dears would have loved to take them with them i was pretty certain they would soon send them back. so i am pretty certain my dad will be a particularly special memory my children will want to keep. 

Sadly grandparents are lost to us over time and memories and mental images fade so how wonderful is it to have a memento of them such as this photo. When i took it we did a few normal 'posed' shots which he has proud on display but this one i just told them to be themselves and personally it is my fave because it really does sum up each and every character and believe me they are all different individuals. Despite not being the most technical of photos or especially posed photo i have taken it is one of my fave's because it is so personal to me...and not a white background in sight yay!. So think about it how many of you have photos of you with your grandparents i bet even less of you have one of all of your cousins and siblings with them and if none..why not? How many grandparents would love a photo with every single one of their grandchildren in it. 

why not arrange a photoshoot for that special parent/grandparent? with father's day coming up it's an ideal gift. June is filling up fast and for Father's day i am offering 25% off my usual price  for bookings of family portrait shoots taken before June 30th. bookings fill up fast so don't delay! 

London birthday suprise

Well it was my birthday last weekend and my wonderful sneaky husband organised a trip to London for just the two of us. It was the first time we had both stayed away from home since we got married 14 years ago and as pretty much everything we do involves our children in some way it was nice to get out and have a bit of 'grown up' time..that being not having to visit every toilet where we went and stop for food and drink every 5 seconds for the little and not so little ones :) . Their Aunt and grandad was kind enough to look after them and it was nice to see they were too busy to stop and talk to mum and dad when we rang to see how they were.

here are a few snaps i took of our time down there. Now we know the children are happy to be looked after  who knows where we could end up next :)

Hiring and valuing your wedding photographer.

So you have decided to get married, congratulations! before you finish your glass of champers you already have ideas for dresses, colour themes, flowers, bridesmaids, venues!! these sorts of choices have probably been in your mind for years since you were a wee girl walking around using your mums white underslip on your head as a veil, meanwhile your groom to be is possibly trying to think how he can persuade you to hire a Ferrari as your wedding car :) . Then comes the boring stuff to organize such as seating plans, who to invite that isn't going to upset such and such family member and who to take your photos. while the latter might not seem to be a very important part of your day especially if you hate having your photo taken i can assure you it really is something to take your time over and Rachel of Rachel Gosling Photography has some excellent tips to share here.

Everyone has different priorities when it comes to choosing things for their weddings some want  it to be a very up to date affair others want a more traditional wedding, for some cost is everything and there must be no corners cut for others cost is important and they want to do things within a budget. There is no right or wrong with either way and for a large percentage the budget way is the most common. i understand this completely as i have been there myself. My own wedding for example was very 'budget' we didn't even have a photographer because at the time being all loved up with MrG we didn't think these things mattered we would have been happy getting married in bin bags with just us and 2 witnesses present thankfully for the 2 witnesses we didn't do things that budget. but it was true that we didn't have a photographer and i genuinely do regret that and i will tell you why. At the time we relied on family members which were happily snapping away being told we would get copies of any photos which we never did, then my own mother bless her ended up losing her camera in a taxi so again wedding photos of ours were in limbo somewhere never to reach our eyes. in the end i think we had a total of 4-5 wedding photos that were what they were...side views of us from a really unflattering angle taken by random guest not what you want to look back on as the happiest day of your life and show your children. I married 14 years ago (and still happily married MrG will be glad to hear) luckily with today's technology these things are easier to share after all who doesn't have a digital camera in some form or other these days? your guest list will be littered with people with camera phones, ipads and digital cameras all snapping away on the day and of course with social networking as it is you will no doubt see these within hours of your wedding taking place. but the results of what you see will be the same today as it was 14 years ago for me photographs that just make sad in years to come. you might not think you will be bothered for looking back at your wedding day photos but believe me in the years to come you will want to remember how you looked and your children will too! so take your time to hire a professional even though it might seem complicated and the market is saturated with photographers all with different packages and prices.

so what can you do about this? well here is my advice:

1. Price- The saying does stand in that you get what you pay for. Friend of Tom Dick and Harry who has a good camera and is willing to do the job for £50 might sound like a great offer but what you get really is a glorified guest with bog standard results. That said you could pay £2000+ and still get bog standard results if you haven't done your homework on your chosen photographer. Checking out local colleges for students who are looking for experience for free or very little is also great and while i prefer this to the friend of a friend photographer you still have to consider things such as do you want your wedding photos used in a students portfolio and as they have no experience will they be up to the task on the day? wedding photography is hard work, also think about insurance, do they have insurance?  if something goes wrong on the day or they don't turn up where will that leave you?. by all means give a student a chance or even a friend of a friend if you can spare the guest space but hire a proper photographer too someone with experience and insurance who can get you the results you deserve, but tell them that you have a student or a friend on the background trying to get some reportage style shots of your day as some photographers don't like having second shooters on a job.

2. How much to pay- . i know some fantastic photographers throughout the UK they range from bargain few £100's to expensive few £1000's all are very good but each have there own ways of doing things and even within each price bracket there are huge differences to what you get for your money so always look and compare. Don't let price fool you, a man or woman with an expensive camera does not equal a fantastic 'tog' don't forget you are hiring the photographer not the camera so check out their work, not their equipment. i have heard horror stories of expensive photographers with masses of expensive equipment who refused to let couples have more than 20 photos no matter how many he took, refused to help with posing or take family members photos and point blank refused to edit on any photos so the couple got floating arms of excited children that got in the way of the shot and not a single shot of them they liked due to peculiar angles and 'arty' shots. i have had to edit many photos at more cost to couples just so they have something even remotely usable from their wedding day something i don't always like to do because as a photographer i value my own work for it not to be tampered with by someone but it's impossible to say no when you have a bride upset because the photographer they paid a fortune for refuses to fix the photos for them and they genuinely are poor photos. on the other end of the scale i have had people get a budget photographer and they have gone above and beyond all that was expected of them and the couples have been very happy. some of my most favorite wedding photographers are what i call mid range photographers some of the best guys work with just them one camera (and a back up camera for emergencies) and no flash something i strive for myself as i am a natural light photographer at heart. When approaching a photographer don't try and haggle packages often photographers packages are worked out to the minutest detail and most believe me are hardly raking it in financially from their packages. i have had many inquiries over the years as do a lot of photographers asking for really good deals and even recently had a couple  trying to play me and another local photographer off against each other over price by saying that so and so will do it for this much with album included which for the price they were asking for would mean me pretty much doing their wedding for free as you can imagine i wished them well and suggested they take up the other person's offer and i believe they did the same leaving the couple looking further afield and to what ended up being more expensive companies. i believe that was another case of someone seeing the price of wedding photography and assuming that you pay for the couple of hours the ceremony lasts for and doesn't even consider all the planning work and after work it takes to get those glossy magazine style wedding shots they expect if only life as a photographer was that easy to turn up take a few shots of people you have never met in a venue you have never seen and get vogue style shots instantly for £250 an hour. sadly it isn't like that and photographers have families to feed and the average wedding takes a good 2-3 weeks of planning and after work sometimes with months of contact to and fro with the happy couple for a pretty much average wage at the end of the day. If a photographer can offer you things like this for peanuts then you have to stop and think what effort will be put into your wedding day by that person. I think we can all say we would prefer a photographer who takes the time to plan the best shots for your wedding as appose to one who just turns up on the day and takes 500 photos in the hope they get 20 that turn out ok no matter how cheap or expensive they cost to hire.

3.Finding a photographer - Well this again is totally up to you as a couple you might have a photographer in mind whether they are award winning or published or come as recommended by another bride, a friend on a social networking site or you might have met them at a wedding fayre, or just heard from them from word of mouth the choice is totally yours but personally i think word of mouth can be very powerful so don't dismiss it. what i will say is always look at their work are they willing to cover everything or are they exclusively reportage in which case you won't get any posed family shots which although isn't my favorite part of shooting weddings is very important to most couples, look at their packages do packages include an album or are you able to print photos yourself. while i prefer to see my images printed out in the best quality i do offer couples copyright to print their own, check with your photographer because some refuse to have their images printed out by anyone other than their own recommended print company and if you want more photos in future it can cost a lot more than you realized. More recently couples have preferred to receive their album on one of my USB memory sticks rather than disc because of the increased use of tablets these days. if you cannot compromise a package on price you might be able to do a deal on stuff you want bespoke packages can be very much worth looking into if you find a package not suitable and often the bespoke packages can be cheaper too!

4. Communication - regardless of if you know exactly what you want from your photographer in terms of style and general who to capture on the day or if you haven't a clue and the photos are the bit you are dreading on the day communication is vital between yourself and your photographer. a good photographer will take time out to get to know you and what you want for your wedding day. every couple is special to me and i love everything about their day right down to the tiniest details even trying to work my photography around their style for their wedding. communication to me is very important between myself and a couple  because as a photographer you are such a big part of a couples day obviously we work in the background and blend in as best as we can but we are always there through some pretty intimate moments so it is important to have a good working relationship with each other and establish boundaries. i couldn't begin to imagine how awkward it would be to have a complete stranger turn up on my wedding day and be there in the background constantly taking photos. life planning a wedding is hectic but please take time out to get to know your photographer, if you are wanting to get to know them but they don't do pre wedding consultations for free then you need to get looking for another photographer.

bank holiday fun

So what a fantastic weekend for weather this past weekend has been. hopefully you were all spending it with your loved ones but if not then kudos for those important workers out there who were keeping things ticking over while everyone else had time off and days out.

I myself spent the weekend in the garden with my family which means bbq a tipple here and there and children running around having tons of fun. my 5 year old daughter Milayna was thrilled watching the birds coming to the bird house where she had given them some food she loved it so much she asked me to get my camera out for it so i did and here are the results. before anyone says anything no i am not going to be moving into wildlife photography i really am in awe of those who venture into that line of photography i myself prefer portraiture though and shall be sticking to what i know best :)

also while i am here here is a few more family shots from over the weekend.

Location photography V's Studio photography

So you want to get some family photos done, something to consider first though, studio or location photography?, you might think you don't know the difference, but have you considered it from a child's perspective? if not then here at Rachel Gosling Photography i shall put it to you this way:

Put yourself into the mind of a child. Your parents have told you they are taking you to have your picture taken, all exciting stuff and you are looking forward to saying 'Cheese' lots. Imagine walking into the big shop  wanting to play but mum tells you to sit still and not get your best clothes dirty, eventually after what seems like 500 years to the young mind you finally get called through. Disappointment begins when you are made to go into a really grim dark room with a big plain white wall/floor, where you are blinded by the few lights around (this can be quite a scary experience for the very young hence many parents having to spend the first half hour of their 'timed' shoot calming little ones down)You want to play but you can't because for the next however long you are told to do this and do that and told to play with this and that, your face aches from fake smiling for the man/lady behind the camera and you just want to get out of there! eventually it's over and you can get back to being a normal happy kid. You look forward to seeing your photos after all you did everything the grown ups said and had your best smile on and said 'cheese' really well! imagine only seeing one or two photographs from all your hard work because after paying a small studio fee your parents are left only being able to afford one or two photos because of how expensive they are!

Now put yourself into the mind of the same child. your parents have told you they are taking you to have your photo's taken, again all exciting stuff but you aren't looking forward to being stuck in that studio again. imagine getting out of the car and realizing you are at your favorite park 'but mum i thought we were going to have our photo's taken?', 'we are sweety the lady is meeting us here' Cue the slightly crazy but funny lady who tells you they want to see this fantastic park they hear is great for running about and climbing in. imagine getting to go for a nice walk, run and play in the park with mum and/or dad while the photographer just snaps away happily and tells you how great you are doing and what a natural you are. 'i am not even having to put on my fake smile!' you say. imagine when the lady says goodbye she is off now giving you a mini 'hi 5' for how well you have done. you speak up 'but i thought we were having a photo shoot?' , 'well' i say and reply 'we did little one i have the best photos of you running around being yourself with a big smile on your face from you being in your favourite place with your favourite people, i even managed to get some nice shots of mummy and daddy for you who usually hate having their photo taken but were happy to join in when they saw how natural and happy you all looked out here'. imagine getting a disc of those photos back and being able to sit down and go through them as a family and print out all of your best ones together, however you choose!.

As a photographer i love location photography, don't get me wrong i am happy to do studio photography when it is requested and have plenty of times taken my portable studio to people's houses to give them a studio shoot in their own home (which is a lot less scary for little ones than being taken to a studio by the way) after all it is what the client wants that is important. i have never been a fan of the plain white/black studio background though, i find it lacks something that bit of spark maybe that comes from people that you only get when they are fully comfortable in their surroundings. be it their own home, relatives house or park location photography brings out the most relaxed natural personality from people.

Some people are put off having family photos done because they worry their feisty little one/s will be a nightmare to get to keep still long enough to have a photo taken. I lose track of how many people i meet that say 'oh i love your photography i would love you to capture my children but i fear they won't behave for you' this is usually because of past experiences of school photos or studio photos where children are forced into the most unnatural poses and lose patience really quickly with people trying to get that perfect shot of them. To this i say don't worry you can capture a memory of any child no matter how boisterous, i myself have 5 children so i know what it's like to have lots of feisty children to contend with. It's not necessarily an easier job for the photographer being out in the open because lighting is still important to get right and of course they will still try to get children to look at the camera from time to time, not to mention the ridiculous positions i have to get into to get certain shots i rarely come away from a park shoot without dirty knees and looking like i have just been dragged through a hedge backwards, but a relaxed child and adult is a happy one and this brings about the best images in my opinion so all the climbing and laying down is worth it. Take the children in the photos below for example i don't think for the whole hour Ethan was still once! there were a lot of missed photo opportunities due to how fast he was and his sisters of course were much easier to capture being a lot older than him but i managed to get some fantastic shots of him still and looking back he won't be remembering his photo shoot as being stuck in a studio he will remember having a wonderful day out at the park with his mum and sisters a memory that will stick with him for the long run.

so next time you are thinking of family pictures stop and think before you take up that special offer given out for the big corporate studio, check out the  hidden costs they apply afterwards for photos of your own children some are just mind mindbogglingly expensive. Instead look toward local family based photographers  such as myself that do package deals (where there are no hidden costs) there are lots of us out there and go for location shoots especially if you have little ones who you know won't sit still for long periods of time, you won't be disappointed!

My Brand new Blog

Welcome to my brand new Blog. After months of debating i finally decided to say goodbye to my old name of Hocus Focus Photography and go back to basics and just be plain old myself :). i want to thank all of my  friends, fans and basically anyone who has supported me over the last few years and hope you will all join me in welcoming in my change of name, website and blog.

much thanks and here's to the future of Rachel Gosling Photography! x