Blogs

Never Work With Children or Animals…

Headshots – First Impressions Count

From corporate lawyers or accountants, to small businesses, to budding actors - creating a great first impression online or in print is an absolute must. Professional headshots should reflect who you are as an individual or brand, and will improve your chances of capturing attention for all the right reasons - whether it's getting more enquiries from your website, or receiving that all important call from an agency.

Here at Hoss Photography, we appreciate how important it is to stand out from the crowd, and to send the right message to your target market. We'll take the time to get to know you, and to create exactly the right image for you. Whatever you have in mind, we'll create images that will surpass your expectations.

Life After Lockdown – Time to Get Together Again

To say it's been a tough year, must be the understatement of the century. We never imagined that 2020 would bring such a global disaster, with so much heartache and loss. The ensuing lockdowns caused untold isolation and loneliness for so many people. On a personal level, Hoss endured the death of his beloved mother, and my own father moved to a cottage within a care facility where he felt totally disconnected from anything or anyone familiar. Of course I realise that we have sufferred far less than many other families.

Now, as restrictions continue to ease, we're once again able to re-open our business, and are looking forward to welcoming our customers back into the studio. Life is beginning to feel just a little more 'normal' and we're once again able to visit and even hug our loved ones. It's a time to reflect on what we've come through, and to truly celebrate just how much we love our family and friends.

We'd love to invite you to remember this very special time of being together again, and have put together an amazing offer for you to enjoy. It even includes a free photograph of your choice!

What to Wear – Our Top Tips

One of the most common questions we get asked by our clients is, 'What should we wear to our portrait session?' Of course, your professional photographs are going to be around for many years to come, and you'll want to make sure you look amazing for future generations to see!

We know how hard it can be to choose the right outfit, especially when it's a large family group, or the ages span across several generations. That's why we thought it might be helpful to put together a few handy hints.

First and foremost - wear something you feel comfortabe in. Don't try to change your style or personality for the portrait - if you feel uncomfortable in something you're not used to wearing, it will show in your images.
Try to co-ordinate your colours. We find that denim works really well for both adults and children, and is very versatile. Using the same colour palette for all members of your family also works well, especially if you're co-ordinating a generational group. Just a word of advice, if you're conscious of your size, wearing white can sometimes make you look larger in photographs, whereas darker colours have a more slimming effect.
Keep it plain and simple. Busy checks, stripes or patterns detract from the main focus of your image - you! Logos, slogans, or pictures have a similar effect - and they'll also date very quickly. What may be 'in' today, may soon become irrelevant.
Remember to consider your home decor and colour schemes if you're hanging your wall portraits in a particular room. It looks extremely stylish if your outfits tone well with your home.
If you're at all unsure, just bring along an alternative. We'll be on hand to give guidance on what will work best in the shoot. We can always photograph you in both outfits and you can decide in your viewing which works best for you.
Personalise! Your portrait session is all about capturing your family’s story so bring along some props with you - musical instruments, sunglasses, hats, teddies, sports equipment, fashion accessories, games….the list is endless. It makes for some fabulous memories.
We love pets. If part of your family includes your adored pet, then bring them along.
A few days before your session, we'll send over a visual style guide. This will give you some ideas on how to co-ordinate your family's outfits. But as always, if you're still unsure, we're just a phone call away and always happy to help.

Coronavirus Lockdown

Like so many other businesses ours was dramatically affected overnight when the Coronavirus Lockdown hit us. We had to close the studio doors and there is no way for us to operate until we're told we can safely return to work.

It's true, we can't photograph anyone at the moment, and we miss all our lovely customers, and meeting new people every day. But in the midst of all the doom and gloom our first Grandchild was born. Sebastian arrived in the world at 7.11pm on 23rd March which definitely gave us something to smile about.

Now, I wouldn’t normally recommend having your grown up children moving back in with you, after they’ve already been gone for several years – I’ve sort of got used to having space and time – and a tidy house!! But due to their house extension overrunning somewhat, my son and daughter in law took up residence with us while the builders got on with the job. Then lo and behold LOCKDOWN happened and Sebastian arrived a week later.

Joy of joys, Daniel and Niamh are now captive in our house and I have the pure unadulterated pleasure of being a hands on Grandmother. What a privilege.

So in future, when I’m too ‘busy’ to call my Dad, or chat with my sister, or just reflect on what a lovely family I have, I need to remember that we have one of the best jobs ever – photographing families together, couples in love, children laughing…

We can’t wait to re-open our doors, and welcome you all to our studio once more.

London Portrait Group

Ever since our early days in business, we’ve been a part of the London Portrait Group – some 25 years. It was originally formed by the very well respected photography partnership Paul Kaye and Michael Freedman in central London as a monthly coming together of professional photographers to discuss their work, their images, and their businesses.

Some years ago when Paul and Mike retired, the London Portrait Group relocated to a venue just a few hundred metres from our own studio, and continues to draw photographers together just as successfully as it did when it first began.

Hoss is often asked by different professional organizations to speak, and in March Hoss was invited to be the guest speaker at the London Portrait Group to give a masterclass on Family Portraits. Needless to say it was a full house, and the group saw its highest attendance ever. Thanks to Janice Nicholson and her gorgeous family for modelling.

More recently (just this morning actually), Hoss gave on online talk on Posing and Lighting.

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