How to not pose
It’s completely normal to feel apprehensive about being photographed. Here’s a few tips to read through to help you feel at ease and of course if you have anything booked in with me just get in touch if you want to talk anything through. I’m here to make it as stress free as possible. 1.Take the word pose out of the equation I think the phrase: posing for photographs is so old fashioned. I’m not even sure how to pose myself, would I put my hands down or have them slightly bent and jeeeeez, what about my face angle??? So first tip is simple. Forget posing. 2. Research your photographers style Going on from the above pointer. Some photographers like to get you to pose, they are really great at getting beautifully posed photographs. I’m all about real. Real life laughter, real life glances, real. So my advice here is research who you want behind the camera and what their style is. Choose someone who’s photographs give you a tingle. 3. Tell your photographer about your concerns I love it when a couple or family tell me about any concerns they have. It means that they trust me but it also means that I can help them. It might be that they currently feel very nervous about their right side profile or the fact that they simple can’t be on their feet for long. Knowing these things can make the whole experience better and you’d almost forget that you’d told me because I would always come at you from the left side or I’d suggest we take a break every now and then. 4. Have a pre photoshoot chat For me it’s vital to have a chat at some point. It gives me a chance to get to know you but also for you to ask any questions. I also ask families and couples to fill out a quick questionnaire that gives me some background information. For example, what is the most important aspect for you about your session/wedding? As much as this information is useful for me it’s also great to sit down and go through it together as you will often find out a little bit more about what you want. 5. Forget forgetting I used to say to couple and families: Just forget that I am there, try and act as though you haven’t got a huge lens pointing at you! Well I don’t say this anymore, don’t forget I am there but enjoy the fact that I am there. Think ahead to the finished album and who you are going to share it with. I have never had a couple or a family who have not relaxed, after a while you just become at ease with the camera being there and quite often after a warm up, couples and families can’t get enough! 6. Ask to be directed There may be times especially at the beginning where you may take a little longer to warm up. If you are feeling like a spare part at any moment please just ask for a pointer. I have a long list of suggestions to help you feel relax. 7. Be comfortable If you want to wear stiletto heels and a permed wig I’ll love it but wear something you are comfortable in and have your hair and makeup in a style that won’t annoy you. It’s nice to dress up a little bit, bit of lippy or fresh out the barbers but, one thing for sure is that if you are uncomfortable, then it makes my job so much harder! I think the biggest point to take away is that it’s my job to create the beautiful photographs that you will love. Your job should not even be a job, you are there to have a great time, enjoy yourself. I have lots of jokes, suggestions, locations, outfit tips for different situations and personalities so trust your photographer (me) that they will do a great job and you are bound to feel more at ease. Kate x If you are interested in a family photoshoot, engagement shoot or a family event please have a look at my family brochure.
F.A.Q’s
Here is a list of my most commonly asked questions. Please get in touch if you need answers to anything else. How do we secure a booking? A non-refundable deposit is required to secure your wedding date. I’ll send out the contract with an initial invoice that I will email to you once you have decided on how much coverage you would like and I have confirmed I can make your date! Once the deposit is paid I’m all yours. I do work on a first come, first serve basis and this means that I don’t hold dates in till the deposit has been paid. Do you travel? I am based in Lewes, East Sussex but I love to travel so tell me where you are getting married and we can chat about travel arrangements. It would be an extra for anywhere outside of Lewes for which is charge 0.45p per mile. How many photographs will I receive? I get asked this a lot and it really depends on a few factors. Normally I would say that per hour I photograph you will receive 70-100 edited photographs. What happens if we need to reschedule? I hope that if this happens I can accommodate your new date and make it as stress free as possible for you. I have a section in my T&C’s around this so you know where you stand when you pay the deposit. Do we need to provide a list of the photographs we would like on the day? I have a pre-wedding questionnaire which I will send you before our first consultation. It does not ask for a shot list but instead asks you to tell me what the most important parts of the day are to you. I do not work with shot lists as I shoot in a documentary style and would find sticking to a list would not allow me to work in the way I do. I do however, need full details of who you are having in your group photographs! Can I have all the photographs from the day? The editing and selection process is part of what I do. I have never had a couple ask for the unedited photographs after receiving their digital album and this is not something I would offer. Will we meet before the day? Ah it is so important that we meet before the day. I meet you at the venue, where possible, and spend a few hours going through the pre wedding questionnaire as well as walking around the venue and discussing the set up. If you are unable to meet then the next best thing is FaceTime. We do not like to pose, can you offer any advice? A lot of couples worry about this leading up to the day and after a few clicks of the camera the worry melts away. It’s my job to make you feel at ease and I am all about capturing those real and relaxed moments so would never ask you to pose in a way that would seem unnatural or make you feel uncomfortable. Most of the most beautiful moments are captured when I’m testing the lighting! To prepare you for your day I’ve created some tips which you can have a look through here. Do you offer micro packages? Yes! Many couples love just having a few hours photographed and this is absolutely something I do. Everything else remains exactly the same just the time. Do my guests have to pay to download the photographs? I work slightly differently to some photographers. The price you pay is the final price. You get all your images which you can share with friends and family + print etc… I send this to you on a digital album which you can download and this is what you share with whom you want. The albums stays online for a year to give everyone a chance to download etc… I don’t charge per photograph or watermark images for you or your guests.
Olivia & Connor
Elegant, romantic vibes at Pelham House in Lewes
Emily & David
Emily & David got married at the Cow Shed in Crail on a beautiful sunny Saturday in August; the location felt like the south of France. They organised a lot of it themselves onto a blank canvas venue and it was absolutely stunning. They had around 50 guests which made it intimate yet able to have a great party! For their couple photographs we allocated 1 hour and so drove down to the local harbour and took advantage of the seaside cottages and the harbour wall, we then stopped back close to the venue and use the beautiful golden fields with a stunning sea view. One of my favourite parts of this wedding as their photographer was doing the ‘first look’ with both Mum and Dad separately. It created lots of emotion and smiles which produced some heartfelt photographs. @Stevepage Lighting @Bluepoppyflorist @Virginiasvintagehire @teamdeliciouscatering @Westreamit @thecowshedcrail @Pittenweemchoco @jessicaflinnjewellery & @flinnandsteel
Sam & Mason
Beautiful, Brighton Wedding at The Grand Hotel. “ Kate was a fantastic photographer at our wedding and really went the extra mile to help throughout the day! We cannot thank her enough for such amazing photos which everyone says they cannot stop looking at! We are so glad we chose Kate and would highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for someone to capture their special day!” Sam & Mason
Henry & Anne-Marie
As with many couples Henry & Anne-Marie had to change their plans in line with Covid regulations but the outcome was a beautiful intimate ceremony in a special location which I had the privilege to photograph.
Nosey Mungo
I booked to go and visit Nosey Mungo’s studio before the global pandemic hit and then it was a lot of rearranging dates before we finally managed to get together. Helen is a ceramic artist based in East Sussex, she has 152,000 followers on instagram and if you head on over to her account you can see why. Her colourful clay animals are full of humour but at the same time are made with such skill and detail. It was the first time I had tried out my new light box, I wanted to create a little world in which to photograph her clay babies in and for some use a few props. Here is the face behind the name.
Framing
I make bespoke, handmade frames using locally sourced wood with a natural finish for cherishing photographs and art. Choice of wood include: Oak, Ash, Elm, burnt oak, pine, painted pine, cherry, Walnut. MOUNT BOARD Mount board is used to frame the print and also to provide a layer in between the glass and the piece of art work to protect it. GLASS I can provided two types of glass. Reflective and non-reflective.
Model Chickens
When you think of product photography you quite often immediately think of delicate pieces of jewellery or perhaps a sculpture etc… Well don’t forget that many more things are actually products than you think. My example are chickens, bantam chickens in this case, which to middle class England are worth quite a bit of money and so in this case I chicken proofed my Lightbox and popped them in it!