Christmas nearly here

Thank god, all prints posted out or hand delivered, wedding albums arranged to be collected. No more wedding photogaphy for a whole month! Bliss!

The Usual Christmas Wedding Album Rush...

Every year, without a fail the same thing happens, about two thirds of my wedding clients from throughout the year sit on their album orders until late Oct or early Nov and then put all of their orders in at once, expecting a christmas delivery.

Albums take time to produce, particularly the digital style book albums so popular these days. I do try to please everybody, all of the time, but I can't please everybody AT the same time! On the very deadline last year I received orders for 8 wedding albums and around 1500 prints. Thanks guys!

Last year I was forced to shut up the portrait studio over christmas which is commercial madness in order to service this last minute rush. I was up until 3 and 4am most mornings for about three weeks. It wouldn't be so bad but I did write to everybody and ask them to get their orders in ASAP.

This year I've taken a very different approach, I've not stated a deadline, but a guideline that if the album order arrives in late Oct or early November, it's unlikely to be received in time for christmas, and wrote to my clients advising them of this.

There was the usual expected late flurry, but this year I'm taking on the portrait work and those who have ordered their albums late are simply just not going to get them in time. It's a shame, but I simply can't fit two thirds of my annual production into two weeks between the end of October and November!

Wedding Season nearly over

It' s been such a busy season I haven't really thought much about blogging or updating my website, it's just been a case of trying to hang on!

The wedding season is finally into it's death throes now and I'm looking forward to catching up with my admin and just taking some time out for life. Just one more wedding to go in December and I'm done for a couple of months, bliss!

I'm exhausted!

I've just completed 8 weddings in 3.5 weeks and I'm absolutely exhausted! Very nice to be so busy but it's been a gruelling time, so glad I don't have another until the weekend after next. Although I do love a good wedding, I'm all wedding'd out!

Fairy Week at Fleet commencing 28th July

Myself and another photographer will be in Hart shopping centre in Fleet next week with a fairy stand and also displaying some of our work. I'll also have a small stock of fairy dresses to buy on the day too.

The fairy dresses had a great success today, I gave one fairy outfit to my little girl and she won the 'best dressed fairy' competition at the Wellington Park annual fairy day. That bodes well for the fairy week starting tomorrow then!

Charity Work

The charity work for my local art and craft club went well. I still don't have the official total of money raised but by my rough estimations of the prints sold it was enough to buy the new piece of equipment they were trying to raise money for.

Very rewarding being able to do this kind of thing in the community.

Charity Work and Supporting the Community

So busy I haven't posted for ages!

Despite an absolute manic summer I approached one of my local childrens activity organisations (art and craft) as I learnt they were desperately trying to raise funds to replace some equipment.

This is a great club for little ones teaching them all about art, they run on a budget of virtually nothing and charge a mere £2.50 per session which has to cover food, drinks and art materials. I don't know how they survive!

Anyway, I pledged my services and am doing a childrens shoot at their next session with 100% of the profit going to them in order to help them raise enough money in order to buy the equipment they need.

Sometimes it's just nice to put something back into the community.