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Modelling portfolio shoot

I was so pleased to be asked by budding model Jemma if I would take some pictures for her portfolio. We decided to go for the challenge of taking these in Woking Town Centre at the end of a college day for Jemma. Not the place that immediately springs to mind for pretty backdrops! Fortunately we were able to catch a bright sun a little while before it set and had good fun getting a variety of moody shots. Check out the rest of the shoot in the customer galleries section.


Here's Jemma's comments about the session:

"I've had a photo shoot before - but it wasn't half as good as this one. It was so enjoyable! The presentation my CD came in was fantastic. Sarah, thank you for everything you've done! I felt so comfortable and the photos are just incredible!"

I'm sure we are going to be seeing more of this gorgeous girl in future!

Romantic Engagement Session in the Surrey Snow!

I've been in my absolute element this week not only having fun with the girls making snowmen and sledging but out and about with the camera bag too! The local stretch of canal is now completely frozen over and makes a great backdrop for wintery outdoor portraits.

The loveliest bride-to-be you can imagine, Trudi and Paul, her England Rugby scrum half fiance had an impromptu engagement session in the snow this week. We had the idea way back in the summer that we'd hold off doing the pre-wedding practice session in the feint hope we might get some dreamy snow pictures over the winter. And the dream came true! See the truly romantic results in the clip above. Paul and Trudi are SUCH a pleasure to photograph - so clearly in love and such a fab, fun couple! (I really can't wait for their wedding!)

The place we took these pictures is very close to my base in Woking and I would happily take any intrepid couples or families down there and 'make hay while the sun shines' - or rather take pictures while the snow lasts! Infact I've been there again this afternoon for a family of nine having a birthday photo session (a gift from my friend Kevin's wife for his 30th birthday).

Please contact me asap if you'd also like some photos in the snow, before it melts!

Christmas Newsletter Now Out!

You can view it online here. To receive the newsletter in future please subscribe.

Testimonial - Thank you from Dean and Suzi

Sarah, you have so completely captured the essence, atmosphere and emotion of our wedding day and when we look at the pictures not only do we see pictures which we are thrilled with but it's like stepping back into the moment and feeling again what we did on that oh so amazing day!

Your meeting with us us before the wedding to talk through the whole day, the photos we wanted and to give us some preparation about posing was absolutely invaluable as you then understood exactly what we wanted - and you delivered completely! It was also helpful to get used to posing and what not to do prior to the actual day.

On the day Sarah you did such an amazing job and worked quickly and professionally.

Our pictures are beyond all expectations and we can now look back at what was definitely the most fantastic day of our lives and relive every moment through the pictures. We all look so stylish, glamorous and fabulous, but still totally relaxed - I simply cannot believe it - you have captured everyone perfectly!

Aside from the photos you are such a warm and wonderful person, you put everyone at their ease and had them smiling in no time! Your wedding photographer is someone who is around and by your side all day - and there during some of the most intimate and exciting moments - you are exactly the kind of person a Bride wants around!

Testimonial - Event photography for Naming Ceremony

Sarah took truly amazing photos at our daughter's naming ceremony. She totally captured the essence of the day, taking all the shots we expected and stunning us with ones of things we had missed. Sarah is an inspirational photographer-when we looked at our photos, we found it hard to believe it was us! Sarah's relaxed and friendly manner put us and our guests at ease immediately, resulting in some fantastic pictures. Post shoot, Sarah could not have been more helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and I would not hesitate in recommending her to anyone.

Sally Gilby

5 Tips for a Relaxed Photo Session

It's been encouraging to hear from so many of my clients that they value the friendly and tailored service that I endeavour to provide. I often hear that they, and especially their children, appreciate my preferred approach to taking pictures using natural light in their home (or at a favourite location) rather than the artificially lit and unfamiliar environment of a photographic studio.

Here's 5 tips for your making photo sessions even more natural and relaxed.

• Look for where it's nice and bright in your home, as natural light makes for great photos.
• Organise clothing and tidy up the night before your photo session, so you and your family are not frantically ironing or hoovering moments before your shoot!
• Avoid clothing with bright stripes, logos and very bright colours as these will distract.
• Have a change of clothing available to give variety to your photos if you'd like.
• Have favourite toys and treats on hand to keep kids happy.

Testimonial - 'at home' family portrait session

'Sarah came in and took photos without you even realising she was there. She really captured special moments beautifully without us feeling posed and unnatural.  I was particularly impressed with the speed with which we recieved the photos once the order was confirmed.

The photos are absolutely fabulous!'

Rachel Glasgow

Caring for Your Photographs

We came across some helpful tips from the National Trust's photographic materials adviser that we thought would be useful guidance for our customers:

• Try to avoid touching the front of photographs because the natural oils in your fingertips can leave permanent marks. Hold a photograph by its edges instead.
• Have copies of your most previous photographs made for display and store the originals in a cool, dark place or in an acid-free box.
• Avoid placing photographs in direct light, near heat sources or potentially dusty areas such as working fireplaces.
• Use glazed frames to display prints rather than keeping them out loose.
• Avoid using 'magnetic' albums with sticky pages intended to hold prints in place. The adhesives are a source of pollutants that will cause damage. Choose good quality albumns with acid-free paper pages.
• To attach photographs, use photo-corners that are adhered only to the album page rather than those which are attached diretly to the photographs.
• Remember to label photographs on their enclosures or on album pages so that future generations are able to identify and enjoy them!

Our product range can help you further protect your images:

1. Firstly, another way to help ensure the longevity of your prints, is to use top quality materials in the first place. All our photographic prints are printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper which provides:

• "Unrivalled image permanence.
• Brilliant colour reproduction with accurate colour rendition and smooth tones.
• Brilliant highlights and outstanding whites.
• Enhanced sharpness with excellent definition.
• Processing stability."

2. Also, we certainly agree with keeping two versions of your images - e.g. digital and physical, or two copies of the physical prints, for safekeeping. Ideally these should not be stored in the same location in case of fire. We practice what we preach: once we've taken your pictures, we immediately make two digital backups. Once we've processed them and uploaded them to our website, we also automatically make three further backups on our archive networked storage devices.

3. We offer a beautiful range of frames which are only available to professional photographers. These include the option to use conservation glass. This is identical in appearance to standard glass, but has a UV coating on one side of the glass, which prevents harmful UV rays from passing through to the artwork. As a result, the artwork is preserved from light damage for longer. Normal glass will reflect about 50% of UV light, whereas Conservation Glass reflects 98%.
Ask use about this when you place your order.

For further advice on looking after your photos, consult the National Trust's Manual of Housekeeping or a professional conservator via www.conservationregister.com

Autumn Newsletter Now Out!

You can view it online here. To receive the newsletter in future please subscribe.

Here's an extract....

Firstly I'd like to say 'thank you' for your interest in Sarah Aires Photography. It's been great year! I've had the privilege of photographing a wide variety of subjects; new babies and their families at home, engaged couples along the canal, in the woods.... brides and grooms in the UK and abroad, family reunions, birthday celebrations, corporate team pictures and even a family tree formation 50 strong, from the top of a cherry picker!

It's been exciting to see my photographs in print in the Evening Standard, Baby Surrey magazine, trade press magazines and even Hello!...

Testimonial - Andrew and Becky

Thank you Sarah for creating memories of our special day through your photographs. They capture amazing moments that we can treasure forever. Thank you for your hard work and patience as well as your creativity and sense of fun. You made us feel special and cared for and we knew we could absolutely trust in your ability. We would (and do freqently) recommend you to anyone!
Once again, thank you so much.

Becky and Andrew Brown

Baby Surrey Magazine - Bronwyn in the Cornfield

After a period of not taking quite so many beautiful babies in order to concentrate on blushing brides over the summer I am back with the team at Baby Surrey magazine providing imagery for some of their features. Deciding on the image to use for our ad is always hard but we felt it was our 2nd daughter, Bronwyn's turn to have a picture this time as Imogen has been our little mascot more than once before!

HELLO! magazine

I was tickled pink to hear that a couple of my photos appeared in Hello! magazine this week! One of the loveliest brides of this summer, Sarah Wood sent in some photos from her and Ollie's wedding and they've been published in their real life weddings section (page 134).

As Ollie said in his Facebook link to the article 'Cheesy, but we like it'

Miracle Mum Michelle featured in Evening Standard

The Evening Standard last week covered the wonderful story of Michelle's discovery that she had cancer while pregnant with twins. She was advised to terminate the pregnancy to save her own life but she refused, the twins are both healthy and Michelle is rid of cancer (hopefully for good!) I do love hearing miracle stories like this!
The story was accompanied by a picture I took of the family during an 'at home' portrait session last year - so I now can say 'as featured in the Evening Standard' and that I'm a press photographer??

Bless you and your lovely family Michelle.

Day off...??

Took a day trip with Kevin this weekend to Brighton (without the kids and pushchair and nappies and all....!!) .. a little break from running the business in every spare moment at the weekends. Couldn't bring ourselves to 'travel light' though by leaving the camera behind (even for one day!) Kevin especially loved taking the speedboats while I sheltered from the rain on the pier and we practiced taking urban portraits. We had great fun - and realised we both love photography SO much we just can't switch off from it. Maybe what we really need is three weeks in the Maldives rather than a day in Brighton!!!

Corporate Lighting

I recently spent an unusual evening photographing lighting installations. Sarah had received a commission from a friend of ours who needs images of his electrical work for his portfolio and website. It was very different to the kind of photography we usually do, with lots of very long exposures (up to 30 seconds!) as it was 1am by the time I left. It was great to have a challenge. Here's my favourite:


Click on the photo to zoom in on the spider! :)

Testimonial - Claira and Paul

We are so pleased that we asked Sarah to take our wedding photos for us, we really appreciated the time she took to get to know us and find out exactly what we wanted on our wedding day - the engagement shoot was a great success, what a marvelous idea! On our wedding day Sarah blended in with our guests effortlessly, and took so many great photos it's been difficult to choose our favourites. We wanted minimul fuss, and Sarah was so relaxed and easy to work with that we had great fun, she really made the day that much more enjoyable and truly did her best to ensure that she captured us and our wedding at its best. I would highly recommend her to any future bride.

Claira Bannon

Testimonial - Family Tree Photograph

'As this was an unusual event - creation of a family tree with real people in a field - I needed a photographer who was up for it! Sarah proved to be just that person! She was very ready for the challenge, turning up with her step-ladder, and her assistant, who went up in a cherry picker.
Lots of fun and laughter and positive energy was contributed by her to make the event a great success. And the photos are great too!'

Sarah Westcott

Off to Spain for Suzi and Dean's nuptials!

I am getting excited as later in the Summer Suzi and Dean have their three day wedding celebration with friends and family in Spain, and I'm their photographer!

We had Suzi and Dean's Engagement shoot way back in July along with a quirky session for a truly original invitation design dreamed up by Suzi. We had fun in the evening sun in their back garden and took some pictures that are firm favourites of mine! I know there's going to be so many beautiful pictures I'd better stock up on more flashcards to make sure I don't run out of memory as I am bound to get carried away!!

Testimonial - Sarah and Ollie's wedding

We were so pleased we picked Sarah Aires to be our wedding photographer. She had already come highly recommended and we were certainly not disappointed - she exceeded all of our expectations.

Sarah is very friendly and relaxed and listened to what we wanted and also made suggestions taking into consideration what we liked and what we were comfortable with. She put 100% effort into our day with detailed contracts, a practice photo shoot and visiting our venue; Wotton House. On the day, Sarah got all the shots we wanted and took such breathtaking pictures of the chapel and us. She took pictures that truly captured the emotion of the day and how we were feeling.

Sarah has such a keen eye for detail and takes shots that other people might miss and also has a very good technical grasp on lighting and angles! The result is so original and unique and really illustrates her style and identity.
Sarah and Ollie Wood

(Thanks again Sarah for creating such a beautiful collection of memories for us.)

Testimonial - Sue and Nick's Wedding

Really enjoyed capturing the wedding day of Sue and Nick who had their relaxed reception for family and close friends in the dreamy village of Peaslake near Guildford - another wonderful sunny May afternoon. The children had free run of the hotel garden and I was in my element taking pictures of them having fun while they grown ups were taking their time over the Wedding Breakfast. Here are a couple of the kind messages I've had..


...Just to say a huge THANK YOU for all your help on our big day - whether it was organising me, making me drink, helping with my last minute make-up or some friendly "directing" at the reception. You fitted in so well and your whole approach to the day was exceptionally thoughtful and very helpful. We're really pleased with our photographs and they show your special talent for taking pictures of children.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

All the very best

Sue and Nick

Dear Sarah

Just a quick note to say what a fantastic job you have done with the photos for my sister's wedding, we were absolutely delighted with them. It was a pleasure to meet you and wish you all the best from bonny Scotland.

Regards

Nick and Rhona Garrad

PS - Now the whole world will see what an Englishman keeps in his sporran!

Ed and Pip - Wedding warm-up session

It really looked like we were going to get rained off on the Bank Holiday Monday morning we'd earmarked for our 'wedding warm-up portrait session' but we were blessed with the most fantastic weather (bright but cloudy). And although we had a plan to wander round the nearby Goldsworth Park Lake we didn't get further than the back garden! Pip and Ed are a terrific couple, so at ease with each other and naturally fab for the camera! Without masses of space to move around the photographs turned out to have a gentle and intimate feel to them. A result I am very pleased with!

I am so thrilled that it'll be me taking the photos of Ed and Pip's Woking wedding in September. It's going to be a great day....

Sarah and Ollie's Wedding at Wotton House

We had the fun task of photographing Sarah and Ollie's purple extravaganza of a wedding a few weeks ago at Wotton House in Dorking.




These two were so clearly besotted with each other and that shone from their wedding throughout....a highlight for us was their releasing two 'love birds' from the temple in the house grounds... (this is one of Sarah and Ollie's favourite images)

I especially enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture the care that Sarah had so obviously taken planning every last ornate detail of her day in the various regal hues - and not forgetting the elaborate floral displays and bouquets by Lily and Myrtle.

Testimonial - at home family session

Thank you so much Sarah, for the material you sent - an excellent portfolio of varied shots. Everyone concerned was suitably impressed both with the shoot and with the results.

Hope business continuing to be buoyant, and wish you and yours every success in the future.

Once again, thanks again for your flexibility and proactivity with my original request, and for the superb pictures of my grandson and his family . . . .

Kind Regards,

Richard Thomlinson

If you go down to the woods today...

We race to the Bluebell Woods when we know the flowers are out. Apart from the lovely little (scented) walk that delights my two little princesses (they were, this time, convinced it's Hundred Acre Wood and that Owl and Kanga might be found lurking behind a tree) its just too photogenic for words. We took our great friends from next door and the girls' cousins too... A fab afternoon out!

Testimonial - at home family portrait session

We loved our experience with Sarah. She made us feel us so relaxed. We never felt self-conscious and Sarah is WONDERFUL with children. A big plus! She uniquely captured our afternoon for all time because of her willingness to listen and learn about us before she even took out her camera. Although we'd just met, she managed to discover and capture our family spirit that we will treasure forever. Thank you!! Christina C.

Testimonial - at home family portrait session

We appreciated the friendly and relaxed manner in which Sarah mingled in with the family and took natural shots making us all feel comfortable including the kids. The photos were really well displayed on the website and this was an easy and effective way to chose and order. The final prints were fabulous and a lovely quality.

Anna B.

Church website relaunch

We blogged a little while ago that Kevin went out snapping in Woking TC to get local pictures for our church's website revamp. The new website launch is this week - a great website with loads of resource links and nicely presented information in an up to date whizzy format. Smashing!

Testimonial - The Leason's at home family session

We felt self conscious about having our picture taken but Sarah helped us to relax. Sarah was very friendly and didn't mind the distractions caused by two young children.

We are thrilled with our photos and friends and family have already commented on how fantastic they are. We would highly recommend Sarah.
Katie and Jim Leason

Out and about in Woking

The Coign Church are in the process of updating their website, so Kevin went out and about in Woking to take some general "townscape shots" for them. Really a bit late in the day for these kind of shots, and a little bright, but we were on a tight schedule, and the low sun provided some interesting effects.