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.