Do you know where the best and most magical bluebell woods are in Northampton?

For the first time yesterday, I felt spring in the air. I was outside gardening in a T-shirt… only for 15 minutes granted, but it was enough time for me to dream of what is to come.

At this time of the year, I start booking my bluebell photo shoots. I already have some sessions filled, but with them being limited to two weeks, booking early is a must.

I’ve been doing bluebell photo shoots for nine years now and tend to use the same two woods. And it’s got me wondering, which are the best bluebell woods in Northampton?

So, I thought I would have a look and see what else is available in our county.

Everdon Stubbs

Probably the most known bluebell woods in Northampton. An ancient forest with carpets of blue in mid-April, it is one of my favourites. However, it does tend to get busy and with that unfortunately comes a lack of respect from its visitors.

Badby Woods

Just over the hill from Everdon and forested over 700 hundred years, this is also a popular location for bluebells. Know as one of the best bluebell woods in the area this too can get busy with seasonal visitors.

Bucknell Woods

This is a lovely wood on the edge of Silverstone village. Like most bluebell woods in Northampton there’s limited parking and the walk to the carpets of blue are longer than others. They are tucked away at the back end of the wood and can be more difficult to find.

Grange Park Wood

Closer to the town, Grange Park Wood is a smaller woodland probably better for little legs.

Coton Manor Gardens

Famous for their bluebells, Coton Manor is a private home and gardens that you have to pay to enter. That said, with plenty of parking, a café and toilet facilities it’s a great shout to make a day out for the kids.

If you are looking at taking advantage of these beautiful flowers, please bear in mind this important information.

Bluebells are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells.

If you would like to enjoy their beauty, show them respect by sticking to the paths. It takes an ancient bluebell wood hundreds of years to produce the blue carpets that we all love so much, so do not trample on them.

Likewise, if you have a dog that likes to run around, keep him on a lead. I’ve seen masses of bluebells flattened by dogs.

Bluebells can take years to recover after footfall damage. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, they die back from lack of food because they can no longer photosynthesise.

If you would like a magical photo shoot in a bluebell woods in Northampton, you can find out more here.

A professional photographer like myself, can make it look like you are submerged in a carpet of bluebells, even if you are stood on a path.

With the right angle and lens we can get you the desired effect you want.

Below are some examples of my work. Contact me here for more details.

I get to see many local wedding venues on my travels as a wedding photographer.

So, I thought it might be useful if you have just got engaged, to see My Top Northamptonshire Wedding Venues.

Below I explain why they are my favourites and what makes them special for wedding photography.

Just to add I am not on commission, and this is not a paid advert. These are my own opinions based on working as a wedding photographer .at these specific places.

There are so many top Northamptonshire wedding venues out there, it’s hard to know which one is right for you… I hope this post can help.

1.   The Granary at Fawsley – This is my favourite. If you are wanting a relaxed barn style wedding venue in the middle of nowhere, this is the one. Family run with stunning surroundings; this has some great outdoor features for your wedding photography. The sunset location is perfect, and their quirky extras like the drinks horse box look great in photos. Their 5 * service has won them numerous awards and they also have some rooms to sleep your guests.

2. Kilworth House – A large hotel on the Northampton Leicestershire border, this is my favourite venue for photography. With lovely gardens and views across the rolling hills, they have thought out some great features. Even the smoking hut looks like a roman temple and the corridor floors by the toilets have character. I could take photos here all year and never get bored.

3. The Barns at Hunsbury Hill – Another beautiful barn style venue which sits just on the edge of Northampton town. I love the fact they close the side blinds in the barn for the ceremony. I know this might sound odd, but for a photographer it’s the little things that help make your photos fantastic. Too much light coming in at an angle can cause blown out highlights and uneven lighting. There’s lots of rustic charm and pretty locations for your wedding photography here, but no rooms to stay over.

4. Fawsley Hall – You can’t beat this hotel for history, character, and scenery. A stunning period property, with oodles of great photography locations. Rolling fields, lakes, a Tudor Hall, and grand entrance are some of my favourite places. Fawsley sits in the top end bracket price wise but is definitely worth the splurge.

5. Dodmoor House – A barn conversion with a bridal suite attached. This looks so pretty all lit up at night, which is perfect if you have an Autumn/Winter wedding. It has a cosy feel with plenty of character for a smaller wedding.

6. Sulgrave Manor – A 16^th century Tudor Manor house set in its own landscaped gardens. Full of character and history and a story of George Washington, it’s a romantics dream venue. There are plenty of beautiful locations for your wedding photography.

7. Plum Park Manor – Just on the outskirts of Towcester this is my most local top Northamptonshire Wedding Venue. A Victorian manor house set in its own grounds; it is another stunning location for wedding photography. Lovely for a sunset and has a beautiful grand staircase which is great for indoor shots. It also has 12 bedrooms for you and your guests to stay the night.

I hope I have helped in your search for a Top Northamptonshire Wedding Venue and if you are still looking for a wedding photographer, please feel free to contact me here

I love my job, but one of my all time favourite sessions is to photograph extended families.

It’s always a challenge getting big groups to look great in photos. But I actually really enjoy rallying around getting everyone organised and in position.

Biggest challenges can be grandparents who can’t walk too far and excited kids that haven’t seen their cousins in weeks.

I don’t charge any extra for more than one family like most photographers do. In fact, the more the merrier! Even pets are welcome…

What will happen on your extended family photo shoot?

First of all, we will choose a location that has a hand full of different backdrops, close together. That way we are not walking too far to get a variety of shots.

Below is a list of what I normally try to capture at each location.

• A whole family group shot
• Each individual family
• The kids with the grandparents,
• Kids together
• The kids separately
• If applicable any pets.

I also like to try and get at least one shot of each couple, then the older siblings together and another with parents.

But if there is anything else specific you want, just say and I will endeavour to fulfil all requests.

Did you know having an extended family photo shoot could even save you some money!

If you are wanting a family photo shoot yourself and can’t afford it at the moment. Why not get your siblings to club together to buy the session fee for a gift for a family member.

An extended family photo shoot voucher would make a great birthday, wedding anniversary, or Christmas present.

Then if each family set gets involved in the shoot, you can share the image collection cost too.

I always advise my extended family shoots to get their heads together to view the images, instead of buying a collection each.

If you club together to buy the whole collection and have four families paying, it only works out at £125 each.

For extended families that buy the whole collection, I also add a little extra gift for you too.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact me here.

The longest day has been and gone and people are starting to look towards their photo shoot this coming summer holiday.

So, now is a good time to give you some advice on what to wear on a summer photo shoot.

Things to remember this season.

The leaves in woodland are thick and lush, it can be dark, so light, and airy clothing are best.

We are in the UK, it can, and does still rain in the summer!

None of my Summer photo shoots are on hard standing ground, so make sure you wear sensible footwear.

High heels, wet ground and tree roots don’t mix. Remember you can still look good in flats.

Don’t wear bold patterns as they can draw the eye away from the subject. Instead wear plain fabric clothes.

If you are having an extended family shoot, get your heads together and try to match.

If you find this difficult and don’t want to buy something new, wear neutral colours that everyone has…

Try blue jeans, blue denim shorts, white shirt, white T shirt, white or blue dress or skirt.

You don’t need to spend a fortune to look great together, but it will make a difference to your images.

At some point I will have you sat down, whether its on the ground, a tree stump or a bench.

Bare that in mind if you are thinking of wearing white.

Here are a few of my favourite Summer Photo Shoot colours to wear.

White, cream, beige, lemon, light grey, baby blue or light pink.

Colours to avoid would be.

Black, dark brown, dark green, navy blue.

If you decide on a neutral colour theme, feel free to add a splash of colour with a neck scarf or sun hat. Flowers and flower crowns in hair also look cute.

I have shared a few Summer Photo Shoot clothing examples below.

If you are interested in a photo session and would like to see my prices, please click HERE

Or if you still have a voucher to take, please email me to get booked in.

You’ve started a new business and you have some great ideas to get it up and running. But have you thought about building your branding pack?

I must admit I was 4 years in before I realised, I had a viable business, but my actual brand was nonexistent.

So, what is branding?

It is the promotion of a particular product or company advertising by using distinctive colours, keywords and logo specific to them.

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that distinguishes one seller’s product or service from those of others.

In a nutshell a branding pack is a set of digital and physical resources developed to establish a brand’s image. A folder of colours, images, and keywords to help make you stand out from your competitors!

So where would you start when you design your own branding pack?

A Pinterest board can help towards your finished result. Save all your favourite colour samples, designs, and materials that you feel connect you to your business.

Once you have decided on these it is hard to change them in the future, so make sure you take the time to decide what projects the best for your business.

To get some ideas on colour scheme you need to think of two things. What you love and what works with your business.

Colours could make or break your branding so choose wisely. Here are just a few examples below.

Neutrals are always a good call; they are classic and don’t date. But they can also blend into the background and don’t stand out.

Blues and greens are calming. Great for mindfulness and projecting outdoors businesses.

Reds, oranges, and yellows are energising. These are active colours would be good for sports, finance, and food products.

Purples and pinks are quite spiritual. Great for yoga and wellbeing practices.

Blacks and golds portray luxury and would be great for jewellery designers and wedding stationary businesses.

If you know your base colour you can seach complementary colours in Coolors here.

Whatever colour you choose, make sure you love it. Hopefully, it’s going to be the shop front of your business for many years to come.

Once you have decided on your branding pack colour scheme you will need a logo design.

If money is tight, you can do this yourself with online software. Or you can choose to use someone to design it for you.

There are plenty of graphic designers out there, but I can highly recommend Kate at Bee More Design who specialises in brand design.

If you are having trouble choosing your brand colours, she can help with this too.

Your logo is what people would see first if they searched you online. Before they look at your product or before they see your face.

So, it needs to show who you are and what you do in a split second. You also need to decide who you are aiming at and what your pricing is compared to your competitors.

As an example, my logo could have had a camera in it to show I am a photographer.

But, after doing my homework and searching photographers online, I decided I wanted to come across as a more upmarket brand to reflect my prices.

I could see that many photographers with cameras in their logo had designed them themselves and had a cheaper pricing structure. Portraying a cheaper market.

A lot of photographers just have a signature logo, they look more professional and had higher prices.

I decided I wanted to aim for a more upmarket clientele. Aiming a people who appreciated my work and understood they need to pay a bit extra for a qualified and award-winning photographer.

So, my logo was designed with all these aspects in mind.

My brand colours are a mix of sage greens for the outdoors family photography.

Calming and natural, green is my favourite colour and makes me think of being outside.

Then blues and teals for my brand photography.

Blues are renowned for making people feel like they can trust you, it’s also a relaxing colour. I want my clients to trust me and feel at ease in front of the camera.

Once you have designed your branding pack, you have your colours, logo and keywords ready. You can build your website, social media platforms and print your marketing materials with confidence.

If you are interested in some fabulous photographs to compliment your brand, please contact me here

Welcome to Nature’s Gifts.

This is something I have been planning for a few months and I’ve not got around to until now.

A little more about me…

Photography isn’t just my work and my passion; it is also my hobby.

I love nothing more than being outdoors photographing our beautiful country and its nature.

I’m lucky enough to have family up in the Peak District, meaning I can capture some stunning landscapes.

My garden is my sanctuary in the warmer months, so I get to photograph all the flora and fauna that brings.

I have a partner who is just as passionate about wildlife, and we love to go hunting for some of our countries more unusual habitants.

So, it is about time I put these photographs to good use and set up Nature’s Gifts.

Here you will be able to buy a range of printed gifts for you or your loved ones, starting from just £10.

You will be able to choose from a standard print or a fine art print that you can frame yourself.

Or why not treat yourself to a lovely piece of wall art, with a mounted print, framed print, or canvas.

If you like wildlife, landscapes and flowers and would like an unusual print for your home check out Nature’s Gift Shop here.

I may even start printing other gifts like calendars, mugs, and tea towels, so please let me know if you have any interesting ideas.

Much of my work in the shop is award winning and I can’t wait to share more with you in the future.

If I can turn my awards into products, it will help me justify the time and patience it takes to submit to competitions.

Being halfway through the year already, it would be great to benefit the Christmas market with some reasonable priced gifts for nature lovers.

So please feel free to share the love, take a look, or even buy one of my prints. As always, your support is always very much appreciated.

This weekend has been all about making memories with the whole the nation.

The queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations saw each city, town and street make memories that will last through the generations.

I’m actually old enough to remember the silver jubilee back in 1977. I still have those memories even though I was only 5 years old at the time.

We filled the whole school street with trestle tables and chairs, we ate sandwiches, cakes and drank squash.

It’s a shame we don’t have any photographs to mark this occasion!

Thanks to my great grandad Harry Gill, we do have lots of old photographs of the queen as a princess and some older royal celebrations that we can look through.

However, it would have been good to have our own family photos to mark the occasion.

It made me aware of just how important it is to record our lives and that of our growing families.

Luckily being a photographer, I record all our family events and celebrations. I make sure I store them well and even still make prints to save.

This weekend we especially enjoyed watching the Jubilee Pageant, with all the busses from the last 70 years.

It was good for my kids to see some of the memories from my childhood, spanning the 70’s to 90’s.

It gave them a glimpse of my past and hopefully made them aware of how lucky kids are now.

It’s great to look back and share family memories, and that is why my job is so special!

I give my clients the gift of capturing and making memories, so they can share them with generations to come.

If you are interested in booking a photo shoot to capture your own special family memories, please contact me here.

Let’s talk Part Day Wedding Photography…

It’s getting a bit tough out there for us all, with prices rising and incomes not. In fact we are heading into the worst financial crisis in decades.

So, I thought I would remind everyone that I do offer part day wedding photography for couples who want beautiful quality, without the full day price.

This is a great way of recording your wonderful memories, without all the pomp and ceremony that wedding photography has become.

To put it bluntly, the media have whipped bride and grooms up into a frenzy of unnecessary needs and wants.

They produce lists in bridal magazines, like “the top MUST HAVE photos on your wedding day”.

Social media platforms like Insta and Pinterest share unrealistic ideas of “what you should expect from your wedding day”

I take on limited full day weddings now. Not because I don’t enjoy them, but because full day wedding photography has become so demanding.

Here’s a few things you need to decide before you book your wedding photographer…

Do you really want them turning up at 8am to stand around for hours shooting bridal prep. When in reality you only need a couple of touch up shots before you leave for the ceremony.

Question whether it’s a nice idea to have photos of your bridesmaids walking around half naked in the morning, their hair all over the place.

Decide if it’s important that a photographer stays until the end, recording images of drunken antics that you wouldn’t dare share with anyone.

26 years ago, when I got married a photographer turned up at the church and left after taking the confetti and group shots.

Believe it or not, Part Day Wedding Photography WAS NORMAL!

We got to choose 40 images for an album which was more than enough for us to record our special day.

Did we still love the photos of our special day? Of course we did!

I believe that now we are in a financial crisis, we all need to step back and decide what really is most important.

Do you really need 500+ digital images? When in reality, you won’t look back at them as much as you think you will.

I do worry we have lost sight of what weddings are about.

Surely it is about two people in love wanting to share their marriage with their nearest and dearest.

It shouldn’t be about how expensive the dress is, or how big the party is, or how many photos you get.

So, if you are looking for an award-winning wedding photographer with many years of experience, that can tailor a package to help you save some money.

You can find out more here.

I charge a set price of £175 per hour and depending on if there’s travel between the church and venue 3-4 hours should be quite acceptable.

For this you would get:

• Groomsmen arrival at church, flowers, buttonholes, rings, and any group shots wanted.

• Bride arrival at church, bride with bridal party and any specific group shots there.

• Ceremony and signing of the register.

• Confetti shot.

• Any specific group shots in the churchyard or wedding venue.

• Bride and Groom creative shots for the album or wall art.

• Candid shots of guests and yourselves.

• Possibly speeches if they are before the meal

If you are having a civil ceremony at a venue, I always suggest you do the speeches before you eat. That way I can cover those too and leave when you sit down.

You would receive approx 50 digital images per hour and I suggest 3-4 hours should cover the above photo list.

I also offer a range of bespoke Italian albums that you can add on before or after your special day.

To give you an idea, all images below are from my part day wedding photography collections

If part day wedding photography sounds a good idea to you, please contact me here.