Chloe Photoshoot December 18th 2010

We had the pleasure of photographing Chloe in the studio today. Although quite a late booking, we managed to squeeze quite a lot of shots into such a small space of time.

Chloe was very patient as we took time to alter lighting and moving from set to set, but hopefully we got a great portfolio set from the shoot.

Here are a few sample images.

 



If you would like to book your family in for a portfolio photography photoshoot at our studio in Stockton on Tees, Telephone 01642 887630, email portfolios@amethyst-photography.org.uk or visit the website.

Featured Wedding Supplier ByGina

As part of our blog, we are now going to feature selected wedding and event companies, and our first feature is "ByGina".

 

Tell us about your business, when did you start and why?

ByGina offers handmade Swarovski jewellery and Wedding stationery. 

 

I also offer and Event and Wedding planning service.

My website went live in September 2010 after 6 months of planning. I designed and made the jewellery and stationery ranges before building the website by myself. I have worked with websites before but I had never been involved in the build, it was very interesting but challenging! 

I worked as an event planner in hotels and missed working in the wedding industry after I left. I decided I would like to continue to work with weddings but didn’t want the unsocial hours that come with the hotel industry. I then decided to make wedding stationery and when I had mastered that I started to make jewellery. That was 4 years ago now.

What is it that is unique about your service?

ByGina uses top quality materials but doesn’t charge a premium for them.  I only use Swarovski Crystals and Pearls and Sterling Silver fitments in my jewellery so it can be worn time and time again.

My stationery is made using the finest card, Swarovski Crystals and Beresford ribbons.

I believe that you can have top quality products without paying a premium for a designer name.

A lot of wedding suppliers believe you can charge more because it is for a wedding...I believe in letting all couples with different budgets have the same quality without compromising on their dreams.

I also have the same strategy with my planning service...I charge a % of a couples total budget so it isn’t only the big budget couples that can afford professional advice.

What is the best thing about doing what you do?

I love to know the bride and groom are happy with their order. I pride myself on making sure every item is made to the highest standard and I’ll not send anything out that I’m not 100% happy with. Because of this I have received some lovely feedback from couples. I always ask for a photo from their wedding day too...and I have a pin board to put them on so I can see how lovely they look and how happy they were on their big day. Knowing I have contributed to that is the best feeling ever.

When planning an event...there is nothing better than watching a groom’s face as the bride walks into a room. And witnessing their vows always causes a lump in my throat.....I am so privileged to be able to be a part of peoples wedding days and I will never loose the feeling of being part of something very special.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

My aim is to have a gorgeous boutique in Tynemouth, were I live. I would love couples to be able to come in, sit down and talk through all their hopes and dreams for their wedding day in a consultation room. I also aim to have a shop front in the boutique displaying all our handmade jewellery and stationery...I would also love to have other handmade items from local wedding businesses in the boutique.

Weather Update

With the current inclement weather, we have been unable to undertake several of our planned shoots.

Firstly we had to cancel the family portrait session we had planned for Sunday as WE were snowed in.

This was followed by a model shoot cancellation today, as the model couldn't get to us.

Finally it now looks as if tomorrows commercial shoot with a local charity will have to be cancelled, as the shoot involved taking photographs of a Newfoundland dog and a Chihuahua, and it's looking likely the Chihuahua would be hidden in the deep snow.

Hopefully this won't last too long and Amethyst Photography can return to normality soon.

If you have a shoot booked with us, and are worried that the conditions may force its postponement, please get in touch.

Christmas Gift Vouchers

With the festive season almost upon us, why not consider an Amethyst Photography gift voucher for a friend or loved one.

With prices from £25, the vouchers can be redeemed against any portrait photography sitting or photography package or even as part of a payment towards one of our training courses.

If there is a budding photographer in your family, then the courses we offer are extremely good value and we can do gift vouchers for specific courses if required.

So get in touch now, and sort out a prezzie or two at the same time.

Studio Photoshoot November 20th 2010

With a busy day in the studio, we managed to fit in a few childrens portrait shoots today.

The day started early with two boys Ben and James, before an afternoon with Jess, Grace and Daisy.

Here are a couple from the day.

If you would like to book your family in for a portrait photography photoshoot at our studio in Stockton on Tees, Telephone 01642 887630, email portraits@amethyst-photography.org.uk or visit the website.

Photoshoot with Jennie Nov 17th 2010

Today saw us catch up again with Jennie, who came in for a portfolio shoot.

Jennie last came to the studio a few weeks ago as part of a group shoot and we arranged for a one to one session, so we could work on a few new ideas, that we didn't have time for last time.

Despite a few teething problems, we finally got the shoot underway, and although we had a slight boudoir theme to the shoot, we were much more selective with the shots than normal, working from a set plan of shots.

If you would like to book in for a portfolio, makeover, boudoir or portrait shoot at our North East studio in Stockton on Tees, and we regularly get clients from Newcastle, Sunderland, York, Darlington and other areas around the region, then telephone 01642 887630, email enquiries@amethyst-photography.org.uk or visit the website.

New website design

It's been a little bit hectic over the last few days, as we worked to design our new website.

Aftrer attending an SEO course last week, we felt the site wasn't working well enough in search engines, so decided to revamp and rewrite the content.

With a new layout, we hope to attract more photography clients across the North East for weddings, portraits, maternity, makeover, boudoir, model portfolios, events and commercial work

If we can be of service to you, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Telephone 01642 887630, email enquiries@amethyst-photography.org.uk or visit the website

SEO Training Course

As a professional photography company, we know the importance of maintaining a good web presence.

With that in mind, we undertook a day long course at Blackwell Grange hotel, normally one of our wedding venues, in search engine optimisation.

The 8 hour course went through the basics to the more advanced methods of enhancing your online presence, and also incorporated internet marketing, such as google adwords, and similar tools.

Despite the long day, a lot was learnt and we hope to implement the changes to our website very soon.

Stockton Firework Display Nov 5 2010

With my daughter, Hannah, I was at Stockton-on-Tees firework display for most of the day, photographing the build of the stage area, followed by the musical show, starring Joe McElderry, of X Factor fame, and the Real Radio breakfast team, Gary Philipson and Lisa Shaw.

Also appearing were newcomers The Cosmic Girls.

We had a great day and night, and here are a few photos from the show.

If you would like us to cover your event, then please feel free to get in touch. Email: events@amethyst-photography.org.uk, Telephone 01642 887630 or visit the website: www.amethyst-photography.org.uk

Learning to Network using Social Media sites

Since the weekend, we've been trying really hard to use social media sites, such as Facebook, Twiiter and Linkedin to gain a bit more exposure for the company.

Amazingly, it has had a good effect, we have already gained a few followers and also contacts for business networking, which is a great start to our learning curve.

Having used Facebook for many years, learning to use other sites is a little daunting at the moment, knowing the etiquette of posting, and all the other things such as tweets, retweets, mentions, its like learning a whole new language.

If you'd like to follow our progress, or even give us a few pointers, then feel free to add us on any of the three sites, Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, we look forward to hearing from you.

Group Shoot October 31st 2010

We had another of our group shoots today at the studio. Working from 9am to 5pm, we had a collection of photographers and models, coming from all around the North East and Yorkshire working through the day in all of our sets, creating some fantastic images.

As usual, it was great to see some friendly faces we have seen before, but it was also nice to meet new friends too.

After a long shoot, we all left, tired but happy, with cards full of photographs from the day.

Violet Photoshoot October 17th 2010

Violet, who had been for a shoot 2 weeks previous, returned for another shoot today.

We had discussed a few new ideas and spent several enjoyable hours in the studio.

Here are a selection from the latest shoot for Violet.

If you would like to have a photoshoot with us then email: boudoir@amethyst-photography.org.uk, telephone 01642 887630 or visit the website: www.amethyst-photography.org.uk