ASPIRE photography course

About 3 years ago I was quite happy photographing landscapes, waterfalls woodlands and wildlife were my subjects until one day I was on a landscape photography course and realised that something was missing from the images....people! I had lost my confidence photographing people and decided that I needed to do something about it. I came home and researched the best place to do this and found a course in the Lake District with Contemporary Photographic Training....I spent a glorious day photographing children and have never looked back since! 

This year I have started to develop this little business and invested in training, my background as a teacher means that I am a strong believer in lifelong learning. As part of my ongoing development I spent 4 days last week at ASPIRE , a fabulous training school for photographers which is run by Catherine Connor and her talented team. 

So what did I gain from this experience? For 4 days I was inspired by the group of people who were on the course with me, and I know I have made new friends, I had the chance to be taught be leading professionals in the fields of photography and business, I learned a hundred new skills at least and I also put on about a stone with the amazing food every day! 

I got the chance to spend time with the ASPIRE team and the fantastic delegates on the course, and then spent the evenings at the lovely bed and breakfast Tythebarn House with Diana and Vic who really looked after me all week - thank you to everyone who was involved.

Heres some of the images from the week - thanks to the great models who let 8 slightly hyper  photographers point their cameras at them! And another thank you to Gary Walsh from Gary Walsh Photography, who made me giggle all day and Stewart Randall from Randall Photography who truly is a genius with digital workflow.

Sarah, Shane and Pearl Jam too!

 I met Sarah and Shane at the beginning of the year to talk about the plans for their Wedding and cannot believe how quickly their Wedding day came round, I knew when I met them that this was going to be a chilled day and I was not wrong, the pair of them just smiled all day long

I met the lovely Sarah on the day of her Wedding at the hotel where she was getting ready with her Mum and her bridesmaids, she had received the most thoughtful present from Shane that morning - 4 cans of Special Brew, a giant sausage roll and an artificial flower! What more could a girl ask for? Thankfully he did follow this up with something special for her so I guess he will be forgiven!

Sarah did have a little case of nerves but as you can see through all of these images she never stopped smiling, in fact she did have a fit of the giggles during the vows, much to the amusement of everyone there!
Shane also looked just a little concerned before Sarah arrived but I am sure his butterflies settled as he saw just how beautiful she looked as she walked into the room - there is just something about Sarah - she really does light up any room that she walks into. It was lovely to see the pair of them smiling throughout the ceremony and holding hands as much as they could. The Town Hall where they were married was amazing - with a sweeping staircase and huge stained glass windows ...... I think that just for a moment Sarah was feeling a little  like a Princess walking down to meet her Prince Charming

After the ceremony we headed outside for the formal.....and not so formal photographs - time for the guests to relax and do the conga - obviously! As the guests left for the reception I spotted the children's playground nearby and could not resist stealing Sarah and Shane away for some photographs with a more relaxed feel to them and later, at the reception we had the chance to get some more portraits of the two of them, this is always a lovely few minutes for any couple to get some chance to spend some time together on their Wedding Day.


So have a wander through the photographs and click on any of them to see them in all their glorious larger size.... and before you get to the bottom - see if you can spot the Pearl Jam clues xx

So, where does Pearl Jam fit into all of this - just head back up and look at the little badge on Shanes lapel and the unique cufflinks he was wearing - I think that Sarah has realised in all the time that they have been together that the band are a very very close second in Shanes affections and I was not allowed to leave without getting a shot of the cufflinks!

Thank you so much to Sarah and Shane, for being such a fabulous couple, and for letting me be part of their day, any Bride and Groom who are happy to jump on a see saw at their reception are a photographers dream!!!!

Lets be careful out there

Recently I mentioned in a couple of Facebook groups full of photographers that in addition to taking a few photographs I am also a qualified Physiotherapist and was curious to see if anyone felt that photography caused any injuries, or pain.....well, I was inundated with tales of painful shoulders, necks, backs, fingers and feet, of heavy equipment and difficult environments. So I thought I would offer a little advice to all you photographers who love what they do but sometimes reach for the painkillers at the end of the day!

• The first thing to always remember is that photography is physical.....sounds like a daft thing to say but have a look at the image of these 2 cuties.....they were full of energy, let loose in the fields and I had to keep up with them, carrying my camera , my beast of a lens and lots of other bits and pieces.  Weddings are the same - working 12 hours, on your feet, carrying equipment, with possibly a long drive at the end of the day. So the first rule is to give yourselves credit that you do a physical job!
• The second rule is to become very self aware - do you already have any injuries that you need to take care of? Is it the middle of your busy wedding season where its difficult to take time out? The common injuries that I have heard of are neck and back pain - these may be longstanding problems that you have had for a while or they could be directly related to what you are doing in your job. My best piece of advice is to take notice of your body - do not ignore pain - if it is not settling then get some advice - get a friend to have a look at the way you shoot - sometimes we get into the weirdest of positions in order to shoot and simple changes in the way we hold ourselves or our cameras can make a huge difference
• Posture, posture, posture ....getting the hint yet!? While you are reading this - have a think about your posture - bet you are all sitting up tall now! How long have you been sat at the computer? When did you last take a break? Staying on one position puts extra strain on your postural muscles, making them fatigue. Changing position regularly does help, looking at the way you use your computer will help - where is your mouse, how far away is your monitor? 

• Eyes - I was really surprised that no one mentioned problems with their eyes - they are part of the tools of our trade and the muscles around the eyes can become fatigued like any other. There is a simple 20-20-20 rule to help with this . every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking at something 20 feet away - this helps us to re focus our eyes away from the computer screen. Also the longer we stare at the screen then the less we blink and this can dry our eyes making them feel uncomfortable

• So, what can be done to manage your aches and pains! Look after yourself, take regular breaks, make sure that you are fit for your job. Again this may sound like very simple advice but it works, if you are exhausted at the end of a shoot and have muscle pain the day after then the simple answer could be to get some more exercise, increase your stamina and fitness and also your strength to be able to handle your camera equipment without straining. Swimming, cycling and walking are the best ways to gradually increase your fitness level and take advice from fitness professionals at your local gym to tailor an exercise programme for you. Obviously if you have any concerns you MUST speak to your GP about starting an exercise programme
• Talk to a Physiotherapist is you have injuries - http://www.csp.org.uk/ this is the governing body of Physiotherapists and there is some great advice on there for you. 

I hope that you have found this useful - it is only some general advice and your GP and Physiotherapist can advise you in more detail.

So, as Captain Furillo used to say In Hill Street Blues- 'Lets be careful out there'!......boy am I showing my age :) 

Double the giggles... and double the grins........

It's double the giggles and double the grins, and double the trouble if you're blessed with twins.

It was a busy day last Friday - we finally moved house after a very long year of waiting and I had the pleasure of photographing these 2....I had met them a few weeks earlier and could not wait to photograph them - a slight hiccup the week before meant that the session was put on hold for a few days - but in  the end the sun shone, the sky was blue and they had a ball..... and so did I! 

We went to the fields behind the farm to see how high the crops were growing

We ran through the fields , picked daisies, and wore the coolest sunglasses I have ever seen, and did impressions of Ben 10 and Sportacus

We looked for the baby peacocks, and for Farmer Brian and Sweep the dog ...... and all the time we were doing this - we looked cute.!

 

....and I was taught the correct way to wink.... by an expert!

But best of all we had fun, cuddles, high 5s..... and I want to do it all again!

If you would like to book a summer photoshoot for your children please contact me ..... there are plenty more adventures to be had on the Farm  xxxx

Childrens portrait photography

I wanted to share some of the childrens portrait sessions that I have done this year - to see if I can tempt you!

I have had such a lot of fun with some great children.... learning the theme song to Peppa Pig, looking for ducklings...keeping a dandelion flower alive just long enough to take home to Mum! We have walked for miles, explored the farm and the woods and played in the fields......and I think that was more for my benefit!

I truly believe that childrens portrait photography sessions should be fun, relaxed and capture the essence of the child, the Farm where I am based allows us to wander and explore and so after a few minutes the children don't even realise that they are being photographed - they love to help me look for the magic bird who lives inside my camera!

So if you would like to book me this summer to create some amazing images then get in touch as sessions are filling fast...... the fee for the session is just £50 for 2 hours on location and prints start at just £7.50 

contact me on jo@jorutherfordphotography.co.uk. Come and see me on  Facebook .

I am based in Lydiate which is close to Formby, Maghull, Southport and Ormskirk - we are in the middle!!

Lauren and Chris - pre wedding photoshoot

Those of you who know me well will know that I keep saying that I don't do weddings..... and then a gorgeous couple come along and I cannot resist being part of their day! This is definitely the case with Lauren and Chris who get married in just a few weeks time.

We have struggled to get a date to do their pre wedding photoshoot but finally managed it last week.I have never know a couple giggle quite so much and I have never done a photoshoot which included owl spotting and trying to decide what a baby peacock is called - we decided on peababy but let me know if you know any different!

See you in a few weeks !!!!

Walkabouts

So....I had a message on Facebook yesterday 'What on earth is a Walkabout and can I came and play!' I love that - they have no idea what we do but have seen the images and want to come too.... so I thought I would let you know a little bit more......are you sitting comfortably - then I will begin!

About 18 months ago a small group of budding photographers and a couple of gorgeous models decided to meet in Southport to practice portrait photography, it was cold, dark and we only had the local McDonalds to head to for coffee and for the models to get changed but after it had finished I started getting requests to do another one....and another one! By the end of the summer the small group had grown to nearly 50 people - models, make up artists, stylists who got together for a crazy day of photography and cake.... cake is always a feature of the Walkabouts...it appears to help with creativity!

 And so the Walkabouts have evolved over the year and now they are more structured and smaller groups so that every photographer who comes along always gets plenty of time an opportunity to work with each of the models. I  start the day by chatting to the group and getting a feel of their levels of experience and then splitting them into small groups. If a group feels that they would like some tutoring then I will spend some time with them looking at camera settings, use of natural light and an introduction to portrait photography.
I also try and challenge the delegates to set themselves a goal for the day - it might be working with a model, experimenting with camera settings or using natural light.

Dan had brought some cards and spent ages flicking them in the air for us to capture....Dan is now Mr International Liverpool and has a Facebook fan page - I would really appreciate it if you would pop along and say hi...he is signed to a model agency and has some amazing portfolio images on his page - well worth looking at

This is Tomas a talented model and performer.... who can jump higher than anyone I know !

Claire and John were amazing - they only came to the farm yesterday to but some fruit and veg and were willing models for us! Claire was a little nervous about having her photograph taken without any make up on but I am sure that you will agree that she did not have anything to worry about!

Luke .... what can I say about Luke - he never stops smiling - until you ask for the mean and moody look and then he looks amazing - he is hoping to do some modelling work in the future and if you are interested in working with him then give me a shout and I will pass your details to him

Corinne, who is an extremely talented make up artist came up with this idea, a poker game in one of the barns - I have to say that the acting talents of all the models were put to good use here!

So here are a few more details, I charge just £30 for the day - this is not a teaching workshop, it is an opportunity to spend the day trying new things, sharing skills and experiences and making new friends. I am based in Lydiate  on a lovely farm. Lydiate is about 6 miles from Southport and the postcode of the Farm is L31 4HD if you want to start planning your trip! There is a gorgeous cafe next door for lunch and refreshments and the Scotch Piper pub is next door - the oldest pub in Lancashire!


I am planning more Walkabouts and events - I have had requests for organising a day with a small group and a very experienced model and have also had requests for stylised photoshoots..... hopefully I can arrange something over the summer. I am also planning another trip to the Victoria Baths in Manchester and there is a previous Blog entry about our last workshop there.

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along yesterday - the models were fabulous, the group had so much energy and enthusiasm and the lovely Corinne worked her make up magic again - if you are ever looking for a make up artist then I can highly recommend her - this is the link to her facebook page where you can see her portfolio Corinne Make up artist

I also want to thank everyone who has ever been on a Walkabout - I have made so many friends, learned so much from everyone and have always been amazed at the level of talent and the willingness to share

If you would like to keep up to date on events - the best way to do this is via my facebook page Jo Rutherford Photography. I hope to see you soon!!