Documenting the development of families and their children with family portrait photography is a mainstay of Mark Skeet Photography’s work load. We love working with families, seeing the love they have for one another. Helping to tell their story is one of the perks of our job. Extra brownie points on the happiness factor occur when one of these sessions is a gift, and so it was with the Price family.

Family friends, Greg and Rachel, arranged the session with us and a little over a week ago we went to Lee, Jeannie & Charlie’s home in Leeds to capture them at rest and play in their amazing apartment.

Charlie is a such a cutie and so happy, it was our privilege to spend time with the family and check out the great furniture!

To arrange a similar session for a friend or family member or to tell your own family’s story simply drop us a line.

Like many fellow photographers there’s usually a reason we’re behind the camera and that is we’re all a bit camera shy. I was up in Staveley in Cumbria last week for a seminar session at the CPT Studio and hooked up with all my old buddies from various courses.

I do these sessions as the quest for knowledge and insight never ends, I continually want to improve not only technically as a photographer but in other aspects like customer service and outlook. And of course sometimes it’s just good to be surrounded by like minded people. Being in business can be a lonely affair.

In the run up to this session I’d been very honoured to be asked by my good friend, Linda Johnstone, to refresh her biog pics for her website and social media presences. No pressure then taking pics of a fellow photographer!

We had a laugh and a joke and worked for a short period of time to capture the following images (amongst others).

Linda’s a wonderfully balanced, light and cheerful soul and I hope that has come across in the resulting images.

Pennie Bazzoni & Dave Edwards were the lucky winners of the prize draw that we ran at the Harrogate Wedding & Lifestyle Show earlier this year.

Last week we got together ahead of their wedding in September of this year, at the Parsonage Hotel in Escrick, to have a bit of fun and some relaxed portrait photography in York.

Pennie & Dave have lived in York for a wee while now and wanted to create memories of the city they’ve fallen in love with. So we started out at the Minster and spent a short time taking a walk through the Minster gardens, Treasury House and on through the streets of York itself.

Our pre-wedding shoots give our couples a chance to relax and see how easy it is to work with us and how, when relaxed, great images are the result. The last thing you want to worry about on your big day is the wedding photography, so we find these sessions really help couples. Of course all our couples receive their choice of image from these sessions as a mounted image for their guests to sign or as part of a hand-made guest book.

Here are some of Pennie & Dave’s images:

Yesterday, we looked at what to wear on your shoot and by now your shoot is a happy memory. So what happens now?

How long you wait after your portrait photography session before you get to see images depends upon your chosen photographer, how busy they are and their way of working. Here at Mark Skeet Photography we like to let you see 2-3 images the day after as we blog about the shoot and then present your at home feature presentation on our 6′ widescreen within 7-10 days following your shoot.

So you’ve been wowed at how amazing you all look and now the hard work begins. Any photographer’s job is to make you want to buy all the images, your job is to resist! So what can you buy?

As a consumer there is now so much choice available to you. From prints on a variety of fine art papers, frames in a range of materials, multi-image frames, canvas wraps, Acrylics and printing directly onto Aluminium as well as a variety of gallery style mounting options. It can seem like a minefield and your photographer will be more than happy to advise and help you come to a design. And fo course, if you really must have every image then photo books or bespoke designed albums make a fantastic keepsake and heirloom.

Well that concludes our advice series on portrait photography, we hope you found it of use, be great to hear your opinions

On Friday we looked at 10 questions to ask of your shortlisted photographers to ensure that you worked with a portrait photographer who was a good fit for you.

Now the day of the shoot is approaching and there are a few last details to sort out. Namely what to wear?

If you’ve opted for a studio shoot, weather typically isn’t an option and warmth also shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re going for lifestyle portrait photography session and there’s an element of shooting in the great outdoors then you may want to consider options for rain or worse!

If you are a couple or a family try to find sets of outfits that complement one another choosing shades or hues that don’t jar. We’d also tend to advise people to avoid busy patterns and large logos (unless heavily branded clothing is part of your personality). In true Gok style, avoid horizontal stripes if possible as they’re not hugely flattering.

Jeans and white tops (blouses, t-shirts or shirts) are a great choice as it creates a cool modern look and the white of the shirt adds an extra glow to your face. Deep shades can also work really well if they fit in with the time of year.

We always advise out clients to have a choice of 5-6 outfits to hand and we select with them on the day of the shoot.

The key to getting those great images on the day is to relax and enjoy it for the great experience it should be. Having these portrait photography sessions doesn’t happen often so make the most of it! If you’ve selected your photographer following our tips you should hit it off and they’ll have your at your ease in no time.

Whether your session lasts a half hour or even a full day at the beach the final part of this series looks at the end result of all this planning; The after shoot viewing and product selection. More on that tomorrow!

Yesterday we looked at finding a shortlist of photographers for your upcoming portrait photography session. Today we’ll look at questions you might want to consider asking of your shortlisted photographers to further refine your choice.

Here at Mark Skeet Photography we always like to speak to prospective clients. It’s an important part of the process as it allows both parties to get a feel for the other’s personality and to see if there’s a fit. We’d actively encourage you to ring your shortlist of photographers. That phone call can be very enlightening as to the type of service you will receive both on the day and afterwards.

10 questions you’ll probably want the answers to are:

• What days and times does the photographer shoot on?
• How long will the session last?
• Is there a limit to how many people can be photographed?
• Can pets be included?
• What are the arrangements for viewing the photographs afterwards?
• Is there a session fee and if so how much is it?
• Does the session fee include any products?
• What’s the typical spend of other clients?
• Does the photographer have any insurance?
• What types of products does the photographer sell?

Obviously you’ll have your own expectations of the answers to these questions, but by asking them and judging the answers you receive you’ll pretty quickly get a feel for who you want to work with.

On Monday, after you’ve made your choice we move on to the shoot itself. And every girl’s dilemma what to wear?

Yesterday we discussed why people have portrait sessions with professional photographers both in Yorkshire and, indeed, everywhere the world over. We also looked at the first decision you, as a consumer of professional photography, have to make when you’ve decided to have a portrait photography session for yourself or family. So you’ve decided on your style of image (studio or location based) so now it’s time to choose a photographer!

Portrait photography is a subjective and personal experience and product. Therefore you really should do some research to establish the “look” you like.

If you opted for studio based portraits then you need to look for photographers with a studio. Might sound obvious but not all photographers have them. Here at Mark Skeet Photography we fall into that category, all of our work is done on location, for example.

A good search term to use might be: studio portrait photographers in Manchester, for example.

Similarly if you prefer the more natural surroundings typified by location portrait photography, then you should focus your search for lifestyle portrait photographers.

A good search term to use might be: lifestyle portrait photographers in Leeds, for example.

Once you’ve found two or three photographers who typify your style it’s time to pick up the phone or use the contact form.

Tomorrow we’ll look at questions to ask of the photographer before you book.

People engage the services of portrait photographers for a whole host of reasons: to record pregnancy, the subsequent birth of a child and their early years development; kids starting and/or leaving school and eventually leaving home to name but a few.

For most people a shoot with a professional portrait photographer isn’t an everyday occurrence, so how do you maximise your time with the photographer and ensure you get the images that you’ll both want to buy and, more importantly, show off in your home?

Over the next few days we’ll look at some of the key points to follow to ensure you have a portrait photography session that you’ll rave about to anyone that will listen and end up with stunning images.

Studio or location?

This is probably the first consideration and you should think about the style of image you want to look at in the future. Studio is a more traditional choice and typically involves travelling to the photographer to have your picture taken at their studio. A more modern take on this is the ‘high key’ or bright white background style of picture typified by the likes of Venture.

An alternative to this is a location shoot or lifestyle portrait photography session as many photographers label them. A location shoot often takes place at your home or nearby at a location special to you or a combination of the two. Many people find that this style of session allows them to relax and be more natural in front of camera which obviously usually lends itself to more natural pictures.

Which you choose is mainly a matter of personal choice, but it’s step one to great portrait images.

Tomorrow we’ll look at how to select a photographer.

Recently we were commissioned to document the 10th Annual BNI Yorkshire Conference, held this year at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford. This annual gathering has grown year on year and sees hundreds of the region’s business leaders to come together, network and listen to some of the most inspirational and insightful speakers.

This year didn’t disappoint with presentations by Jo Haigh, Dinah Liversidge, Bernie de Souza, Ewan Sturman and Tom “Big Al’ Schrieter. Covering things like getting a grip on your finances and where to get funding from, how to increase you credibility through to phrases that get you into a conversation, the speakers entertained and informed all day long.

Here is a small selection of the images from the day.

Can half the year really be nearly gone already?

As ever things are busy here at MSP towers with increasing amounts of corporate photography in Yorkshire taking place.

Dave Edwards & Pennie Bazzoni of York were the lucky winners of our prize draw (run in conjunction with The Wedding Vine) and we’ll be photographing their wedding at the delightful Parsonage Country House Hotel in Escrick this coming September. Their pre-wedding shoot is in just a few short weeks so we’ll have those images right here very soon.

We busy beavering away on our stand design for the UK Wedding Show at Harrogate International Centre in September as well so it’s very much all hands to the pump. Got some exciting new collections that we’re finalising details of and we’ll be announcing those in the very near future.

And speaking of pictures I took a few more of the girls recently and as the last bunch were well received I thought I’d show you all some more. As always love to know what you think.