Posts

Why you Should Book a Graduation Studio Photoshoot!

Are you graduating this year in Newcastle? You may want to consider opting for a dedicated graduation photoshoot with a professional photographer rather than the traditional ceremony photographs. There are many benefits to booking a bespoke graduation shoot which you may have never thought of… 

The first is variety! A shoot with me will be a completely custom and bespoke shoot based on your preferences, ensuring you are receiving images you will love for a lifetime. You can decide on a full length portrait (not offered by uni photographers) or you might opt for the classic headshot or a mixture of both.

I can also give you additional options you wouldn’t get with the traditional uni shoot; you could remove your cap & gown for some professional profile images or have a choice of multiple backdrop colours from neutral to bright, giving your images a pop of colour. If there are other props or elements you’d like to involve in your shoot, it can be discussed when you arrive at my photography studio. 

The next is quality! A shoot with me is not a one size fits all service. As an expert in portrait photography with over 23 years of experience, I’ll ensure your images will be of the highest quality and professionally lit to achieve flattering portrait photos. You will also have the option for some light retouching once you have selected your final images. 

Another factor is time! A dedicated photoshoot gives you the luxury of time, so no long queue and no having to be photographed under the watchful eyes of your peers! This is especially good for those of you who are nervous or uncomfortable in front of a camera, you can take your time to relax around the camera with some test shots.

As a portrait photographer, I deal with nervous clients daily. Most people are not confident in front of a camera, but it’s my job to help you relax and enjoy the experience. So if this is you, you will benefit from booking a shoot with me at my Newcastle city centre studio. 

If you are someone who is nervous around a camera, you may want to read my blog post ‘What Happens at a Studio Photoshoot’ for more information on what a typical shoot at my studio is like. 

These portrait photos will also be completely bespoke, so we can of course opt for something more classic and traditional, but if this is not your vibe we can create completely unique and creative shots! Perfect for the person who likes to stand out and this can be personal to you. You can even go for a mix of both! That’s the beauty of a tailored service, it can be whatever you want it to be.

Finally, the images are supplied are digital! I shoot digitally, so you will have 30 or so images supplied as thumbnails for your selection. Once you select 5 images for the Headshot Shoot or 10 for the Portfolio Photography, those are yours to keep! This is much better than the single image you get from traditional university graduation shoots.

As these portrait images are supplied as an online gallery they are perfect to send to your family and friends all over the world. No more taking a blurry photo of your print to send to relatives! Another benefit of digital images is they are ready to be uploaded to your social media, making the perfect profile image for LinkedIn or CVs. A professional image is a must for your profile as you are venturing out into the working world! 

A graduation shoot is also perfect for any recent pandemic graduates who did not get the chance to attend a ceremony or capture portraits in a gown. Most universities allow gown rental all year. So if you missed out during covid, order a gown and book in and get that celebration photo that you missed out on. It’s never too late!

If you are interested in booking in for graduation photography, drop me an email or give me a call and we can discuss what you are looking for so head to my contact form now on the link below or give me a call on the number above.

Contact me here!

or book here!

 

Introducing Emma!

Wowee! 2018 has been absolutely phenomenal! I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I have amazingly lovely repeat clients who are such a delight to work with such as Centre for Life, John Lewis, RTC North, Guide Dogs for the Blind and AHSN NEC and not to mention fab new relationships with Millie’s Cookies, Fentimans, The Helix and last (but certainly not least) Greggs (oh yes, oh yum)! There is not a day that goes by where I don’t thank my lucky stars for the success of this biz. Pardon my French but I bloody love it!

So with all this busy biz as you can imagine I have seriously needed a helping hand. When Emma Cheng, a Photography graduate from Leeds Arts University, returned to her native city of Newcastle this summer she got in touch asking for a intern position at the studio. I was delighted! Emma’s photography work is fantastic, beautifully executed with creativity, sharp graphic compositions and superb retouching and edit skills. Her work really stood out amongst the many emails of requests for work experience I receive from students and graduates.

Emma specialises in product photography and her eye is a fab match for mine. This studio in fact now has not two but FOUR very arty eyes!! So after a few months of training and learning the ropes over these Summer and Autumn months Emma has recently become my assistant on a regular freelance basis. Emma’s role currently supports me behind the scenes, helping edit my shoots turning around hundreds of raw images a day, as general studio assistant and will be supporting my clients when I take two weeks off in January 2019.  As Emma’s role develops we plan to progress and promote the studio’s product photography together so please watch this space for updates and new work. You see now she is held captive in my basement studio at Clavering House in Newcastle city centre and I am certainly not letting her go!

Emma and I are having a great time getting to know one another, sharing a silly sense of humour, educating each other on ‘good old’ and exciting new editing techniques (I am a dinosaur) and old and new music and radio while we work- yes I like radio 4 Woman’s hour and she likes Kisstory and Radio 1! Emma is of tremendous support to me and and this year it feels celebratory, I’ve worked so incredibly hard on building my photography business, celebrating 8 years this spring, that she is the winning prize! I can’t tell you what a relief it is to be out shooting on location knowing my clients work is being edited with skill and care back at the studio by Emma. I am excited to see her how her skills excel, her role develops and how my business grows, so here she is….. introducing the delightful Emma, please give her a big wave and a giant smile!

Staff photos taken in a Photo studio in Newcastle Staff photos taken in a Photo studio in Newcastle Staff photos taken in a Photo studio in Newcastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff photos taken in a Photo studio in Newcastle

Staff photos taken in a Photo studio in Newcastle

British Bulldog Pet Portraits

This was a fab pet portrait shoot of British Bulldog at the studio! Benjy was brought into Newcastle after a grooming session to have his pictures taken by his owner Chris. He was commissioning me to capture a large print for his girlfriend as a surprise birthday gift.

Benjy was a fabulous subject as even thought he was a bit over excited on arrival and fast movement is always the challenge with pet photography, he was fairly static towards the end so I could get really close to his face with my macro lens. The brief was for a black backdrop however spot lit shots were challenging as it was difficult to get catch lights inside those incredible folds! So softer wider lighting worked better.

For anyone wanting to photograph a bulldog, make sure you work hard at the lighting as it will enhance the details of the face, fur and whiskers. It’s also important to capture their gentle expressions as sometimes they can look cross when they are just inquisitive. Be prepared for some hard editing needed and to work with the owner on which photos show their personality best.

Any pet owners wanting to capture their pet in photos do please drop me a line for pricing or visit my prices page for packages; http://www.sarahdeanephotography.co.uk/portrait-packages/

english bull dog portraits at newcastle studioBritish bulldog portraits copy

 

Portraiture at Sarah Deane Photographic

My portraits are always about reflecting characters and individual stories of a family. This selection of family images show a diverse range of colours and textures using interesting and relevant props.

Whether its birthday celebrations, favourite toys, animal outfits or tutus they all tell something about the person in the picture! Have a look how the colours people wear in their shoot directly gives the images a personal and particular feel.

If you would liek a photo shoo for your family or even your pet, please have a look at my studio’s special offers on this link here and drop me line to discuss availability;

http://www.sarahdeanephotography.co.uk/portrait-photo-gallery/

davies family portraits at newcastle studiohoyle family portraits at newcastle photo studioAnah's first birthday portraits at newcastle studio like venture

AXA Healthcare Campaign

You may have recently seen the AXA Healthcare campaign on Channel 4, launched by digital agency Realise this month featuring the specialist cancer care staff from Bushtree Cancer Hospital in Elstree.

It was my role to capture portraits of the staff on location during the filming of the documentary style interviews. These images accompany those by portrait photographer Alex Telfer who created the powerful hero portraits that head the campaign.

It was incredibly eye-opening working with these people in this environment. You can view my images of these inspiring people on the homepage of the AXA Healthcare website at http://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/

The Realise Group http://www.realise.com/ have beautifully executed this by bringing increased awareness to the ‘Stand up to Cancer’ campaign. For anyone who is affected by cancer, it’s worth a quick online visit this week as there is support and advice offered via live on line chats with the hospital staff.

axa healthcare campaign cancer awareness 2

AXA healthcare campaign staff portraits

And here is behind the scenes…..

AXA healthcare insurance stand up to cancer campaign-surgeon in operating theatre

AXA healthcare insurance stand up to cancer campaign- radio therapy nurse in make up 249

AXA healthcare insurance stand up to cancer campaign- cancer counsellor being filmed in hospital

and just for fun….

(I have always wanted to wear scrubs!)

hospital photography

Sarah Deane Photographic - Sarah Deane on location