Author: vickyjanephoto

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General Blog Update | What’s happening in the world of Victoria Jane Photography?

We’ve been Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

We have been incredibly busy over the summer months and it’s still manic now! We were fortunate enough to be asked to photograph a large number of Warwickshire weddings in July, August, September and October. Of course, when you’ve got two photographers attending it means you’ve got double the number of images to review and edit afterwards! It all takes time and that’s what we’ve been working on until the early hours every night in order to provide all of our clients with their images and albums as soon as possible ….. but without doing a rushed job! We are now working on designing albums for some of our recent brides and grooms and we are still editing images from other recent weddings. We are on top of the work though, so if you are waiting to see your photos from your recent wedding, photo shoot, family or corporate event, don’t worry, it won’t be long!

Our New Look!

The more observant among you may have noticed a slow switch to a new, cleaner and less fussy look. The header at the top of this blog site shows our new more modern simplified logo and colour-scheme. These will now appear of our new business cards, letter heads, price lists, emails, flyers and leaflets etc. hopefully, we’ll be more easily recognised and remembered in future. Our main website will be our next target for change – probably a project for early 2011 !

Fantastic Autumn Photoshoot Offers

We’re introducing two offers related to our family photo shoots:

The first is our standard photo shoot in your home. Priced at a very competitive £75 it now allows you to have a photo shoot in your home for around an hour to an hour and a half and then we will edit a good range of images and provide you with good sized prints of your favourite three images free of charge (free prints are worth £36).

The second is our Premiere photo session in which we will spend around 4 hours with you and your family at your home or at a favourite local location of your choice. This might be a local park, play area, country house gardens etc. We will then spend many hours editing the images to provide you with a lovely selection of high resolution photos that on DVD with your own personal printing license granted. In addition, we’ll provide you with 10 large lustre prints (worth £120) free of charge.

Charity Support and Events

In the last two months we’ve done a photo shoot in Ikea for the Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee morning. We did photographs of families with young children and sold the photographs at an average of £4 each and we raised over £220 that we donated to Macmillan at the end of the day.

I also offered a £75 family photo shoot as a raffle prize for a charity event in support of Myton Hospice. the event was run by a local children’s dance troop who put on a lovely show last week and raised a lot of money for Myton hospice. I’ll be doing an autumn photo shoot for the winner soon!

So what’s coming up over the next few months?

We’ve still got some more wedding bookings – so that means consultations, discussions, visiting the venues and doing pre-wedding photo shoots as well as the weddings and editing afterwards. We are now designing several albums for recent couples who have now chosen their images for their albums. We’re also had plenty of enquiries for covering celebrations over the festive period and we’ve had some every interesting approaches from some corporate venues who we may be doing some work for (watch this space!)

Helpers!

We’ve been approached by several local schools who have requested that we take some of their students for photography work experience placements and we have had several approaches from photography students who want to work with us in order to gain real, practical experience. We will let you know when any decisions are made. If we agree to any of these things, of course, we will do them properly!

Meanwhile, we have had loads of enquiries for weddings next year and we already have double the number of confirmed bookings that we had this time last year! It looks like we’re set to get even busier! So – if you want to book us or if you know anyone who might be interested in booking us it’s better to contact us sooner than later!

 

 

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Carly and Carl | Wedding Photography at The Windmill Village Hotel by Victoria Jane Photography

Carly and Carl got married at the Christ Church in Cheylesmore, Coventry and then celebrated their wedding at the lovely Windmill Village Hotel and Golf course on the A45 just outside Coventry. We were asked to cover most of the day from Carly getting ready at her parent’s home until late into the evening. The weather held for us most of the day although we did have to re-schedule a little due to a torrential downpour in the afternoon, just before we were due to go outside. We were, however, rewarded (or compensated) with some great colours in the early evening. We took photographs for around 12 hours, meaning that we ended up with literally hundreds of images to look through, to select and to edit. We are still working on some of the selected images in order to present them properly to Carly and Carl but for now here’s a taster of what’s to come – enjoy! …….

It was great weather in the morning so we took some of the flowers and shoes outside to photograph

It was already busy, busy, busy in the morning at Carly’s parent’s house when we first arrived

We spent quite a lot of time photographing the important little details, including the dress before setting off to meet the men at the church

Carly had prepared thoroughly, even down to making sure the men all had reminders on their socks about who they were on the day!

Our time with the men at the church flew by and it wasn’t long before the beautiful bridesmaids arrived ….

Your first glimpse of Carly in that stunning dress with her very proud father ….

And just enough time for another shot before going in to the church …..

A little montage of images during the service. Gary was at the back with the long lens and I was at the front ….

Meanwhile, Lola was determined that Carly and Carl wouldn’t be getting all of the attention! 🙂

Just married – and first opportunity to be (almost) alone as a man and wife

And then it was off to the Windmill Village Hotel and Golf Course for some group shots ….

We were worried about the threat of poor weather so we grabbed a few minutes alone before the wedding breakfast ….

Unusually, We were present throughout the meal – because we were invited to join the guests! Thank you – it was lovely! …. and it was also nice that Carl gave us a ‘thankyou’ during his speech. We don’t expect it, but it’s really nice to to have our efforts recognised ! The speeches went down really well and the quiz worked well ….

A glimpse of the important little people – very smart and very well behaved

After a hair raising golf buggy ride (our buggy kept locking it’s brakes on the wet grass!) it was off onto the golf course for 20 minutes with the bride and groom …

And we were rewarded with some great colours as the rain lifted and the sun came out for a last appearance before setting ….

The light faded quickly and we were back inside for a great evening of entertainment ….

And as a surprise we added some entertainment of our own in a side room. We have to be careful about choosing our guests carefully for this ‘photobooth’ shoot but we were pretty confident that Carly and Carl’s guests would be up for a laugh …. and we were right!

We’ll be presenting many more images to Carly and Carl on the password-protected area of our main website in the next day or two. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear what you think of the photos so far.  Please leave a comment by cicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, if you know of any couples who are getting married in Coventry and Warwickshire in the foreseeable future please point them in our direction. We are currently taking plenty of bookings for 2011 and even some for 2012.

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Stephanie and Ray | 50th Wedding Anniversary Photographs by Victoria Jane Photography

It was a delight to be asked to do the photography for Stephanie and Ray who were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary with their family and friends at the Glebe Hotel in Barford, near to Stratford Upon Avon. I was asked to do the photography by their daughter, Jayne, who had also celebrated her marriage to husband, Mike, at the Glebe hotel. I attended on my own on this occasion and I was asked to do some group shots and mixed informal shots of individuals and small groups together. Here’s a flavour of the images for you to view for now…..

There are quite a few more images for the family to view in their gallery on my main website here. You will need the password to view (available from Stephanie and Ray).

I love doing the photography at all sorts of family celebrations and I’m very flexible in terms of the coverage I can offer. If you need an affordable but high quality photographer at your up-coming family celebration please feel free to call me on 07739096632 or email me.

Meanwhile, I’d welcome any comments. If you’d like to leave a comment please click on the green ‘Leave a Comment” link below.

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Judy and Hotshot ‘Steve’ | Wedding Photography at Kenilworth Methodist Church & then The Woodside

We had a great day doing the wedding photography for fun-loving Judy and her Hotshot (now husband) Steve. It was a really relaxed day and all the better for it! Judy and Hotshot got married at the Methodist church in Kenilworth and then had their sit-down reception meal and evening celebrations at the lovely Woodside hotel, also in Kenilworth. We were at the church from about an hour before the start to about an hour or so after the first dance in the evening at the Woodside. It was a day to remember, not least for one of the best ‘Best man Speeches’ I’ve ever heard …. and I’ve heard a good few! Well done Andy! One of the things that I really liked about this wedding was the feeling of being part of a community – and everyone had such a great sense of humour. We were made to feel very welcome and I’m hoping that everyone who sees the images will like them.

The following photos are a taster. There are more images to come on this blog later tonight or tomorrow and I’ll be presenting Judy and Steve with many more images on my password protected website once I’ve finished editing them. Here goes …..

The ‘boys!’ …. colourful character is ‘hotshot’ Steve …..

The ‘Girls’ with lovely Judy in her fab dress far left …..

Time for a few snaps just before the service, Steve was already waiting inside at this point

The service inside Kenilworth Methodist Church – great service, relaxed and fun …

…. and two photographers capturing it from different angles without disturbing anyone.

Just married ….

First time, briefly alone as Mr and Mrs ….

I’m going to add a confetti shot here. Gary is still working on it !!! Husbands eh!

The ‘kids’ …..

And then on to the lovely Woodside hotel only 5 minutes away ….

Big group shot from two angles ….

Time for a few group shots …. I reckon the girls got into the spirit a little better at first!

Bridesmaids looked stunning while the men were very smart ….

After the group shots we had 10 minutes of ‘alone time’

Judy, looking suitably amused by her man. Now, did he put that there?

And back to the celebrations …. and a little beer …. and many laughs …. 🙂

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bride smile quite so much as Judy did! And, to add to the colourful characters we had a few 4-legged friends ….

Then inside for the speeches….

So funny! One of the best ‘Best Man speeches’ I’ve ever heard. Hard to keep the cameras still from laughing! Almost forgot that we weren’t actually guests and had to remember to concentrate on the photography ……Well done Andy!

Don’t ask about this next one! …..

After the hilarity it’s back outside to enjoy the evening sun and to get some fresh air (and bubbles)!

And for the start of several more hours of celebrations in the evening …..

That’s it for now … I’m still working on the hundreds of images that Gary and I took at Judy and Steve’s wedding. If you were there and you’d like to make a comment about these ‘teaser images’ or our photography on the day please click on the green link below. We love comments!

Please Check back here later for that confetti shot. It takes much longer to prepare than others.

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Macmillan Coffee Morning in Ikea, Coventry – Great day, £220 raised!

It’s 10:30 pm and we’ve just got home and unpacked the car after doing our bit for the fantastic Macmillan Coffee morning. We were doing a children/family photoshoot in Ikea, Coventry city centre and were there for 11 hours.

We had a great time and we believe that the children and their parents did too.

We set up our backdrop and studio lights, brought out the bubbles, soft toys, jingly-jangly jester, coloured balls etc. We then took a series of photos for each ‘customer’ and shot tethered to our Mac and Instant photo printer. We were offering one 8×6 print for £5 and 3 prints for £12. Nearly everyone opted for the £12 offer.

How much money did we raise?

We took loads of photos and met some lovely people. We gave our time free of charge and after removing the cost of the media (the cost of the photo paper and dye sub film for our printer) we made a profit of £220 from the print sales and we will be donating this directly to Macmillan Cancer Support ….. a really pleasing result considering we sold prints at an average of around only £4 each!

We were on the radio – Fame at last!
Thanks to Brody Swain who presents the breakfast show on Coventry’s Touch FM local radio station (96.2 FM). He came along to support, spent a good hour with us, had a couple of photos taken and interviewed me and Sarah Harrison of Macmillan for broadcasting on air. He also helped to promote our Macmillan Photoshoot on the radio and via Twitter.

Here’s a slightly doctored snap shot of Brody, Sarah Harrison from Macmillan (on the right as you see it) and myself …

We also believe that we got a mention by John Dalziel on Mercia FM – Thanks John, much appreciated!

Bonus Prize Draw – £300 Family Photo Shoot
We decided to spice things up a little and got everyone who had photos done to enter their names into a prize draw to win a fantastic half day family Autumn photo shoot with Vicky worth, wait for it ….. nearly £300!!

We did the draw tonight and the lucky winner is …….. Mrs Dawson of Coventry!

A Massive Thanks to everyone who took part, Congratulations Mrs Dawson and we’ll be contacting you tomorrow!

Night all!

Vicky x

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Macmillan Cancer Support Photo Shoot at Ikea in Coventry this Friday – Please come along with your kids

This coming Friday (24th Sept) is Macmillan Cancer Support’s Coffee Morning. I am starting to do more and more work in support of Macmillan and I’m doing my bit on Friday in Ikea, Coventry from around 10am. I’m going to be flexible but if there is enough interest I’m intending to be there all day and I’d like to be there after school closing time so that parents with children in school will still have chance to come and see me and have some photos done.

So what am I doing?

In short, a photoshoot. I’ll have my portable studio lighting and some backdrops so that I can have some fun taking photos and printing them out there and then.

Are there any Give Aways or Freebies?

I’m going to be running a draw to win a free family Autumn/Winter photo shoot with me. It will be open to anyone who has photos taken and buys a photo on the day.

Who is it for?

The intention is that mostly children will be photographed. But it isn’t just for children. I’m just as happy doing family shots and couples etc.

What will happen to the images?

I’ll do several shots and you’ll be able to see them on the monitor. If you like them you can buy them and I’ll print them out there and then for you to take away.

Will there be a charge?

Yes – but only if you buy a photograph and the charge will be quite modest. Profits will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Is this an Official Macmillan Cancer Support Event?

Yes – Macmillan have made all of the arrangements and they asked me to do the photography.

What if I want to buy the images afterwards?

I’m going to put some images on my blog site and many images (for children) on my password protected website. More photos can be bought from there if you wish but you’ll need to tell me that you are interested at the time so that I make sure yours are there.

Will Macmillan be there?

Yes – Look out for the green T-Shirts

When and Where is it?

Ikea, Coventry City centre, Friday 24th September from about 10 am and throughout most of the day. I’m hoping to be there to catch the after-school children and parents too. I’ll be located in the Coffee/Restaurant area.

I’m really looking forward to doing this photo shoot in Ikea, Coventry and I’d like as many pre-school toddlers, their mums, dads, grandparents etc during the daytime and older children and families after school. Everyone is welcome to join us and have a professional photo taken. I want to raise as much money for Macmillan as I can on the day. Please tell everyone you know.

Love to see you there! Vicky x

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Emel and Viktor | Wedding Photography at the Forest of Arden Hotel by Victoria Jane Photography

Emel and Viktor got married at the Forest of Arden Hotel and Golf club near to Maxstoke between Coventry and Solihull in Warwickshire and we were there to photograph their wedding – starting with Emel getting ready through to just beyond their first dance. This was a really interesting wedding for us to photograph since we were interested in the two cultures (Emel’s family are Turkish and Viktor’s are Hungarian) and also, Emel and Viktor were very keen for us to try something ‘artistic’ for their ‘newlywed  couple shots’. We really enjoyed doing their wedding photography, despite a few language difficulties during the group shots, and having to dodge the rain after the ceremony! Here’s a taster of the photographs to come. We’ve spent many hours editing images so far and we haven’t finished yet. This will, hopefully, whet you appetite ………

Viktor, dressed in a very smart suit before the ceremony … with best man and usher either side. At this point in the day it was incredibly bright sunshine with no available shade outside, hence the slight squinting ….

The rings (look carefully inside the button hole) ….. being kept safe ….

I’m not sure whether the men were expecting to do a short warm up but I didn’t give them much choice!

Meanwhile, Emel was being made to look even more gorgeous than she already is …..

Here she is, just into her fantastic dress – absolutely stunning! ….

And with her very elegant bouquet ….

Viktor was obviously bowled over by his beautiful bride … and who wouldn’t be? The service ….

Time for a quick plug about our use of two photographers – notice that during the service we’ve got shots from the front and the back. You simply can’t do that if you’ve only got one photographer!

After the ceremony, dodging the rain for some group shots ….

And now for some of the photographs that Emel and Viktor were particularly interested in trying ….

These were taken just off to the side of one of the Greens (it’s a golf club!). Luckily, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and most of the golfers had finished their rounds ….

I was really pleased that Emel and Viktor both wanted to spend some time doing the photography. It was nice not to be rushed and I think the variety of shots we were able to try was better as a result. The ones shown here are just a few….. and we had a few good giggles along the way!

Back inside the hotel. You might remember these images (in normal clothes!) when we did the pre-wedding photo shoot just to get Emel and Viktor used to being in-front of the camera. I think it paid off on the day because Emel and Viktor were both very comfortable in-front of the cameras.

The evening entertainment allowed everyone to let their hair down a little and really show us how it’s done – complete with belly dancer just after the first dance to start things off …..

I hope you liked looking at these images. Of course, we took many more photographs on the day and we are still editing them ready to present properly to Emel and Viktor. If you were a wedding guest and you want to view the full set of images you will need to speak to Emel and Viktor to get the password. The finalised images will be on my main website in a few weeks time; www.victoriajanephotography.co.uk in a gallery devoted to just Emel and Viktor’s photographs.

Meanwhile, I’m taking bookings for wedding photography at the Forest of Arden and many similar lovely locations throughout Warwickshire and the West Midlands. If you want to find out more or if you are looking for a photographer for your own wedding please do contact me on 07739096632 or send me an email.

Lastly, if you’ve looked at these images or if you were at the wedding please make a comment by clicking on the green link below. I love to hear what people think!   Vicky x

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Natalie and Lee | Wedding Photography at Charlecote Pheasant Hotel by Victoria Jane Photography

This was a FABULOUS wedding to photograph! Weve been lucky enough to have done the wedding photography at many weddings in Warwickshire this year and several have been at the lovely Charlecote Pheasant Hotel in Charlecote near to Stratford Upon Avon. All of the weddings there have been memorable and this one certainly lived up to our expectations. What a wonderful bride and groom and a responsive and up-beat set of guests! We knew from the word ‘go’ that this was going to be good!

Natalie and Lee had told us that they wanted some ‘fun’ photographs and they put their faith in us to try something a little different that would enhance their day. They even gave us some sample images they liked from a wedding they attended ‘down-under’ in the hope that we might include the ideas. I’d like to think we succeeded. We came away with a large number of photographs and we are still editing them! For now though, here’s a taster, just to whet your appetite – Enjoy!

What a start! As a present to Lee, Natalie had organised a helicopter ride for Lee, his brother (best man) and his future Father-in-law over the beautiful Warwickshire countyside. Natalie, of course, was no-where to be seen so she will appreciate seeing the whirly-bird (look very closely and you’ll see Lee inside!).

Meanwhile, Natalie was busily getting organised …

What a picture …. Natalie looking stunning in her fantastic dress!

The boys, looking very smart! Lee, far left …

Picturesque St. Leonard’s Church in Charlecote during the morning preparations …

The girls arrive! Stunning green bridesmaids dresses and Natalie looking even more gorgeous with proud dad ….

Lee spotting his beautiful bride for the first time ….. and then the service (photographed from two angles: Gary at the back, me at the front!)

Just married … and the Signing of the register while entertained by a very talented singing bridesmaid …

How inconsiderate of the church builders not to include quite enough arches!

WORK IT guys … Strike a Pose!

Slowing down the traffic … they certainly turned some heads …..

The happy couple, first time briefly alone (apart from two photographers and a few cameras!)

Enough Confetti for several weddings! ……

The amateur photographers with their iphones were on show and helped us to get some nice images like this one (on the left). When we told Lee it might take a few days to see some of our edited images of his beautiful bride he obviously decided that he simply couldn’t wait!

I forgot to mention that both Natalie and Lee had doubles! The likeness was astounding!

Some ‘Girl’ time … getting a little bit cheeky ….

Photo booth – Some fun in the evening …. and this was at the START of the party!

We set up our studio lighting equipment, a backdrop that matched the colour of some of the flowers and brought along some old picture frames. It was a bit of a gamble, but based on Natalie and Lee’s personality we thought it was worth a go. Great fun was had by all …..

The photo frame pictures are great fun if the guests are up for having a go. These guests certainly were!

Virtually everybody had a go, including parents

And the bridesmaids were definitely up for a laugh ….

In fact, just about everyone got in on the act ….

And, of course, I couldn’t finish off these teaser images without letting the newlyweds be the centre of attention again! Looks like they’ve done this sort of thing before!

Right – that’s it for now folks – I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing them!

We took many more photographs on the day and we are still in the process of editing them for Natalie and Lee. It takes hours!! There will be loads more in the coming weeks for them to look at and to choose from for their album. I’ll be posting them on my password-protected website when they are ready. I’ve done loads of weddings recently and I need to work on images for other couples too, so it will take me a few weeks to get them all ready but it’s better to do a good job and to do Natalie and Lee justice with their wedding photography images.

I’ll make a note on here when the images are available to view on my main website and you will be able to get the password from Natalie and Lee.

Meanwhile, if you were at the wedding (or if you are simply looking for interest) and have an opinion about our photograhy or the images above PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT by clicking the green link below.

Vicky x

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Chris and Carrie | Wedding Photography at Charlecote Pheasant hotel by Victoria Jane Photography

We had the pleasure of being asked to do the wedding photography at the wedding of Carrie and Chris at the Charlecote Pheasant hotel in Warwickshire…… and what a great day it was!

Both Carrie and Chris were up for devoting some time to the photography whilst still giving plenty of attention to their guests. They wanted a mixture of quite a few traditional group shots and some more individual photos of just the two of them and with their lovely daughter. I think we got the balance just right. I know that by the evening Chris was wondering how the day had gone so quickly! Well, it does when you are enjoying yourself …. and I know that both bride and groom did just that! Here’s just a taster of the images from the day ………

The Venue – Charlecote Pheasant hotel near to Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire ….. complete with blue sky!

A bit of a warm-up in the morning for the main guys! At least it was better than being chased by wasps, hey Chris?

The rings, safely tucked away …. at least until I got hold of them …

Apart from Carrie, the main young lady of the day ……..

The bride herself! …….

The ceremony – view from the back of the room …… the kiss and they are just married (Congratulations!)…

All done, register signed …..& now the celebrations begin ….

A great time for the Children …….

Just married and time for the confetti …..

Some ‘quiet time’ for Carrie and Chris after the group shots …..

And even a bit of time for relaxing in the baths! …. Yes: TWO baths! …. careful with that beer Chris!

And some ‘family time’ together for Carrie, Chris and their Daughter …. I love this photo and I hope they will too!

Isn’t it funny how a gate always make you wonder what’s actually beyond!

A little later on we managed to go for little stroll around the grounds and along the lane …

Little bridge over the gentle river along-side the boundary for the Charlecote Deer Park ….

Evening time, the youngsters were beginning to flag a little!

Like many older buildings the hotel took on a different look at night time. Meanwhile the party got under way inside.

So that’s it for now! We had a great day and we know that Carrie and Chris did too!  I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at the photos we’ve put on this blog. These, of course, are not the only ones. In-fact, we took hundreds of photos during the day and we are still working on them. We’re sure that Carrie and Chris will love them when they see the full selection but it will take us a week or two since we’ve done several other weddings for other couples during August.

If you were at the wedding and you’d like to see more images I’ll be adding all of the edited images (many more) to the password-protected area of my main website. This probably won’t happen until next week (beginning Mon 13th Sept if all goes to plan). You will need to speak to Carrie or Chris to get the password. Prints can be bought from there if you wish.

Meanwhile, Please leave a comment to say what you think so far by clicking the link (in green) below …..