Children's portraits in W. Sussex

The last truly wet day of summer laid waste to any plans we may have had to run round the extensive gardens of this W. Sussex house, but fortunately we were blessed with huge rooms and moody window light. The five children were on typically boisterous form when all photographed together, but individually they were perfectly calm and very engaging company.

A thoroughly enjoyable morning spent exploring the house looking for attractive light and appealing backgrounds

All shot using natural light on Canon 5D Mark II with 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 and my favourite 85mm f/1.2

Alcolollies

Following last month's cocktail experiment, I was commissioned by the Evening Standard to photograph some amazing-looking alcoholic ice lollies created by the fiendish wizards at Barchick. It was a surprisingly challenging job...

The ices needed supporting in a vertical position, but they had so much alcohol in the mix, they were somewhat prone to collapse, so a gentle touch was required.

The lighting was quite technical.  In the end I opted for a single on-axis fill light, and two rim lights, the one to camera left raking across the front of the lolly, which we doused with water, to define texture.

The lollies were clamped into position by the handle, and then I later photographed the handles sans clamp and replaced them in post.

Needless to say we enjoyed the few remaining spares once we had wrapped.  Most refreshing.

Home-made ice lolly makers can be found on amazon, and here are the recipes

Wedding photography at Hedsor House, Bucks

Hedsor House, in Buckinghamshire must be one of my all-time favourite venues. It is an imposing Italiante villa built in a prominent position, with dramatic views and acres of stunning gardens.

Alex and Melissa were married there in June and here are some of the pictures:

The dressing rooms are beautifully decorated, light and airy, with large windows.

They also afford excellent views of guests arriving

There is a small C of E chapel in the grounds that holds 100 or so at a squeeze

All the interiors are sublime, particularly this extraordinary glass-domed hall, with gallery, which dominates the house.

Children...

The recent fine weather has brought about a brief glut of children's portrait shoots. I absolutely love this kind of work, as it never fails to bring out the (not-so-well-hidden) inner child in me.

There is nothing easier to achieve, or more adorable, than a child's laugh, and nothing pleases me more than the simple delight on their parents' faces when they see the pictures.

All shot using natural light, Canon 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses

Cocktail time

A really fun cocktail-based commission from the Evening Standard saw me visiting the delightful den of iniquity that is 69 Colebrooke Row. I was there to photograph a succession of 25 cocktails, the signature drinks from bars across the capital, all shot from directly above.

The genius of this particular perspective is that, regardless of the size of the glass, it simplifies the picture to a circular, bird's eye view of the colour of the drink and the garnish, which is also the drinker's point of view.

Needless to say as this was a very serious commission, there was absolutely no tasting of the final product whatsoever.

Here are some of my favourites (I mean visually-speaking...)