Weybridge Register Office has special place in my heart as it’s where I had my wedding registered. It’s a lovely venue with an amazing garden. Here are a few images from a recent wedding.
I deal with inquiries from potential clients all the time. Usually the conversations are relaxed and it's an opportunity for both me and a potential client to have a chat about what they are looking for in a photographer and the types of images they would like. I am interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me to make sure I can deliver their requirements and to confirm that we are a good fit.
About a year ago, I had a mother make an online enquiry about me photographing her daughter's Christening. I responded back with an email outlining my services, confirming a price and showed them examples of Christenings I had photographed previously. I would charge her £250, which included 3 hours of my time at the church and the party afterwards, editing the images and providing them with the final digital images. She wasn’t sure about an album but that would of course be an additional expense.
When I spoke with the mother, her first question to me was "Why are you more expensive than the other quotes I have received?? I really like your images but you're more expensive. "
Now, I know that there are photographers cheaper than me, just like there are ones who are much more expensive. For the service and quality of images I provide, I am very happy with my pricing . We discussed a few things about how I work, have backups of my equipment, have liability insurance and she saw the reviews left by previous clients. She loved my images but in the end, she went with one of the cheaper quotes. I have no qualms about my pricing; there will always be photographers who charge less than me and there will be photographers who charge far more than me.
A couple of months later, I got a call from the mother. She said that she was calling to apologise for her tone with me! She explained that the cheaper photographer she had booked, had given her images that weren’t edited and the ones in the church were all dark and grainy because they weren’t allowed to use flash. Most of us know that using flash during the ceremony is almost never allowed but we have the skill and gear to make it work.
She booked me recently for her daughter’s birthday party and was very happy with her images and the service I provided!
When booking a photographer, always look at their body of similar work and chat to them about how they work on the day of your event, are digital images extra, is there a set number of images provided, do they carry backups of their equipment, what happens if a memory card fails, are they insured, are you a good fit for each other?
Photo of me, taken by a professional photographer…. many, many years ago!
We’ve been a member of ZSL London Zoo for many years and I take the kids several times a year. I’ve been meaning to join the National Trust for years but never actually gotten round to it…… until the other day. I’m fortunate enough to live an hours drive away from many National Trust locations and it’s always made sense to join. If only to get the kids away from their tablets and Xbox for a few hours!
There’s plenty of fun to be had for young children in the play area, which is conveniently next to the refreshments shop
Claremont Landscape Garden, is in between Cobham and Esher and is only a few minutes from us by car. So, it made sense that we made this our first National Trust visit. It is an amazing place! So much natural beauty with so many picnic spots. There are plenty of adventures for children to go on. There's a play area for young children with a pirate ship and castle fort and then there's an area for collecting logs and building your own forest den.
There are also many points of interest to visit during the walk. The Belvedere Tower is a very impressive building and a lovely place to take photographs. During non-COVID times, you can enter the tower and climb to the top. This is definitely something that we will be doing when the tower reopens. The views must be amazing.
The Belvedere Tower at Claremont Landscape Garden
There is a natural amphitheatre adjacent to the lake and the top has a lovely view of the garden. Whilst walking round, you will find plenty of little activities to do and scenes to admire.
Badgers Basecamp was a highlight. There is a play area but the main activity is to build your own den. There are lots of logs, branches etc strewn about the place. It gets the young minds thinking and gets them to be physically active.
We had a picnic by the lake and saw the famous Black Swan!
Black Swan at Claremont Landscape and Garden. Apparently they are mainly found in Australia!
I really recommend a visit and the kids loved it so much, that we went back there the following day.
