Many people don’t realise that we photograph just as many teens and young adults as we do toddlers. We have an increasing number of parents contacting us because their children are about to go to Uni or even travel to other side of the world and photographs are a fantastic way to keep a record of a really exciting time in their lives with lots of changes going on.
We thought you might like to see our latest family portrait shoot for the Reeves family…
National Pet Month is running from 7th April until 7th May this year, and the aim is to make people aware of the benefits of having a pet in your life, and how to be a responsible pet owner. You can find out more info about it and the events that are being run in your local area here and follow on twitter at #nationalpetmonth.
We are celebrating by offering both our natural pet photography sessions and our styled dog sessions at 50% off the normal session price, plus we will donate £5 from each session booked to the RSPCA. The session must be booked and paid for within National Pet Month itself (so 7th April to 7th March 2012), but can be taken between now and June 30th 2012. You can find out more about our pet photography here.
Here are a few of our favourite pet pics to get you inspired…
K&J
p.s Don’t forget you need to get in touch and book by the 7th May.
p.p.s Immanual Kant once said “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals”
By total chance we picked the week with the most amazing weather to have a break with our boys down in Dorset in March. You wouldn’t believe it now, but we got to spend some great time out and about with the boys, on the beach, and yes, even in the sea. As you can see below, Kat went slightly mad with the Instragram app on her phone.
Some research commissioned by the National Trust hit the news last week because it stated that “UK children are losing contact with nature at a dramatic rate and their health and education are suffering”. When our boys are going crazy, it is usually because they are penned in indoors and the change when we are out in the fresh air is incredible. We are really lucky in this country, and in the Midlands in particular, to have some fantastic green open spaces and we use those to their fullest potential when we are on shoots with clients – especially for family portraits. Woods, Parks, National Trust properties and client’s gardens, the variety is what makes it interesting.
Children are naturally more relaxed and happy to be snapped if they are having fun, and we have never regretted our decision to focus on that style rather than on studio based photography. It enables us to be more creative, and is the reason we also don’t set a specific time limit on our sessions – as a result our clients love their photos even more. Even the lack of a hot sunny day does not deter us, and a bit of cloud cover can be handy to stop you squinting into the lens. In celebration of the coming (yes, hopefully we have not already had it) Spring, here are some of our favourites, both Kat’s from our holiday, and some from our family portrait collection…
To find out more about our family portrait sessions, take a look here and give us a call on 0121 680 0110 or email kat@jamescrockford.com to book.
Have a great Easter Holiday everyone.
We are really lucky to be able to meet and work with some lovely people with great businesses – and Lisa from Little Pooch Boutique is one of them. She asked us to photograph her beautiful Lhasa Apso Daisy and her gorgeous King Charles Cavalier Izzy, and we decided to use some of the outfits available from her boutique for part of the shoot.
Unfortunately not long after this shoot, Izzy was taken ill suddenly and passed away, so this is in memory of her…
I am hoping to get a new law on to the statute books – ‘every wedding should have a Mariachi band’. I shall be writing to my MP to see if I can get it debated in the Commons and get it enshrined in UK law.
Susana and Gary got married last weekend at the spectacular Compton Verney, and even without the Mariachi, it was a very special day. It was a particularly apt day for Gary’s family – who were from Ireland (it was St Patricks day) and Amadeus Catering had shipped in plenty of Guiness for the day. Susana is from Mexico (hence the choice of band), and through travelling and studying they have friends from all over the globe, so it was a very international affair.
I saw both of them in the morning at the Hilton Warwick (Gary had popped in for a drink and lunch, and Susana was getting ready there) before the short drive over the Compton Verney. After the civil ceremony we were able to get outside for some drinks, but the guests were also able to spend time in the galleries with some incredible artwork (it is very well respected in the art world). As the guests sat for dinner they were entertained by the three Mariachi musicians (and the Mexican side of the family had a good sing too).
One of the great things about my job, is seeing the real variety that you get with weddings, and this one will be remembered by the guests for being warm, friendly and fun.
Here are some images of what went on (see my Facebook page for some more too)…..
Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday falls on Sunday March 18th this year. Although we should be telling our mums that we love them every day, sometimes it takes a little nudge to remind us to do something truly special for them, and remind them that we think they are wonderful for putting up with us…
Every year I try to coax Kat out to sit in front of the camera with our gorgeous boys, and I make sure we have special frames made up to display the results proudly on our walls by Mother’s Day. Here are some of my favourites of her and the boys.
Contact us for info about our shoots, or (even easier) simply purchase a voucher for a shoot to say thank you to the mother in your life – it might be your wife, mum or grandmother, they will all love the photos. I promise.
p.s As it is such a special day, we have added in a complimentary DVD of the photos set to music for you.
p.p.s Offer only on until March 21st 2012 – we added on a few extra days in case you forget to get something on Sunday
Every bride and groom have their priorities for their wedding day – for some it is the venue, for others it is the food or decor. For Sam and Tim it was having their gorgeous chocolate Lab, Gizmo, with them when they got married.
Even the pre-wedding shoot was as much about Gizzy as it was about them… actually it was more about the dog than them… It was also Gizzy that sent out the invites to everyone. So, not having him there wasn’t an option.
I spent the morning at Sam’s parent’s house as she got ready with her bridesmaids (and I must say the bridesmaids dresses were beautifully made by a family friend, who also rescued a poorly fitting bridal dress, and turned it into one of the best fitting dresses I have seen in a long time). I then met up with Tim at the church in Essington, along with Gizmo, who sat very quietly in the aisle during the service, before heading up to The Moat House Hotel, for the reception and evening party (although Gizzy did go off for his own party at a Kennel for the night). They also had a beautiful looking cake courtesy of Ben The Cake Man, who never fails to impress.
So, here are some preview pictures for you – you can also see some on our Facebook page – just click on ‘Like’ to view them.
We are working with the fabulous people at Archant ‘Life’ Magazines, to offer a great competition for anyone who lives, works or just loves the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire & Wye Valley.
Just tell the Life Magazines your favourite location, send a pic and some words about why it means so much to you, and you could win a portrait shoot with us at that site. The weather this weekend is perfect for visiting the great British outdoors and taking some photographs. You can enter online or by post.
Hurry though, the deadline for entrants is Midday Wednesday 29th February (what a way to use that extra day you have this month – making sure your submission is in on time!).
You can find out more info, including where you can email your photos to at:
Herefordshire & Wye Valley Life
Have fun
J&K
Winter weddings are becoming really popular, and Lindsay & I-Chun decided to have theirs in January of this year, surrounded by their closest family and friends -which meant travelling over from Malaysia for some of them.
Their wedding ceremony was at the picturesque local family church of St Peter’s in Bickenhill, and the celebration continued at the impressive Wroxall Abbey.
p.s a special mention has to go to their cousin and her friend, who made the edible flowers on the cake – wow
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Poodles in the Park (well, the house & garden anyway)
We were recently asked to photograph three gorgeously different coloured poodles – Millie, Truffle and Ruby, along with their best friend, Tinkerbell the cat. We are always up for a challenge and a bit of fun, and here are some of the results…