A few weeks ago, I photographed this family at the studio - we had spoken in advance about doing something a little different at the end of the shoot and I suggested using finger paint... there were ones with smiles but we all liked this one! If you would like to do something similar with your child, just let me know when booking and bring some old clothes along too as your child is not the only one likely to get messy...
It's hard to believe its 2012 already and I have been reflecting on what a year 2011 was for me and my business.
I photographed many more corporate and charitable events as well as corporate portraits too - this included shooting at the Theater Casino in Zug several times, the Park Hotel in Zug, the Hallenstadion, the Mövenpick and Widder Hotels in Zurich as well as the prestigious Zunfthaus zur Meisen.
I was asked to photograph different things which stretched me as a photographer too-I photographed at Zurich Fashion Days on the red carpet and catwalk which was a lot of fun. I also photographed a group of 65 employees standing on a ladder on a balcony at KKL (they were below in the forecourt...)
I also now lead a photography group of women from the International Women's Club of Zug and it has helped me to learn more about photography by teaching them. I set up onsite studios at three events in Zug this year and photographed couples at gala events and families with Santa. I also teamed up with photographer Ron Sumners and we continue to work on projects together and are sharing a bigger studio space as of January too.
I have continued to photograph even more families this year particularly from September onwards and the studio has become particularly popular with younger families especially when the fog descended as it tends to for a part of the year in Zug...
2012 will be a year for streamlining my systems, getting support but on the other hand continuing to hone my style and develop as an artist.
So this just leaves me to say a huge thank you to my clients, suppliers, friends and family who have supported me throughout 2011 - see you in 2012!! Here is part 1 of my review - these are from several outdoor family shoots which I have decided to concentrate on this post and showcase - part 2 will be families in the studio - enjoy!
My first shoot of the year in the first few days of January was to capture this family with Grandad visiting from the US. Shoot location: Zug by the lake (and it was cold...)
This shoot started at the couple's home in Wädenswil and then we continued outdoors - also on a very cold day in January!
This very lively 18 month old was visiting her grandmother in Zug - I used some of my very rusty Russian on this shoot as she lives in Moscow ...
This shoot with Tala took place in a small park in Zurich with several clothing changes - I have become quite good at spotting large shady trees to use as dressing rooms...
This little boy was a joy to photograph and his parents has just bought a basket which was the perfect fit for him...
We had to seize the day for this family as the two older children are away studying in the US and were only back for a short time in the summer. Location: Villette in Cham
My first twins shoot of the year (and several were to follow) - there were lollipops and matching dresses... location: Villette in Cham
Another family shoot at the ever-popular Villette in Cham - the challenge for me as a photographer is to choose different locations there to make the images look different for each family. This time we had bubbles in the fields...
My first twins pregnancy shoot in Zug...
.
... and here are the twin baby girls! At their home in Central Switzerland.
When I came to photograph this baby at home in Wädenswil, I also delivered a canvas from the family's pregnancy shoot earlier in January.
On location at the family's home in Zurich with a three week old baby ...
On location in Unterägeri by the lake - this little girl was adorable and loved her teddies...
"Look Teddy - there's the world"
As I am meeting with this family tomorrow, I just wanted to give them a sneak peek of a few from their shoot in Unterägeri a few weeks ago. I found this little girl adorable and she obviously thought the same of her teddy bears ...
I wrote an article in the July/August edition for The New Stork Times and it arrived this morning so here is another post from me before we leave for our holidays. I am copying and pasting it into the blog post as my scanner has stopped working... I have also included some images of my children on the beach last year. Have a great summer!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holiday Photography
Before we know it, school will be breaking up for summer and the holidays will begin. Many of you will be booking holidays and hopefully be off to far-flung places for some well-deserved relaxation.
Beaches are a lovely place to photograph your family against. I always plan a little shoot with my family at the beach either at the beginning of the day when it is quieter or at the end of the day when the light is warm and golden. Avoiding the midday sun when it is at its hottest and most challenging in terms of contrasting harsh light is ideal if possible (although if you do take shots at this time, someone holding a well-placed towel against the sun over a child can help). I take down special dresses and fairy tutus for my little girl and make sure that both children have something neutral on or white so the images look fresh. I then just let them play by the water's edge and just capture them looking at shells, playing with seaweed, jumping around, doing cartwheels - just kids being kids. Its nice to get shots of your family down by the beach not in beach-wear and although it takes some planning (and maybe even sweets), it's well worth it-some of my most treasured images of my family have been taken at the beach.
I like to use the surroundings at the beach to place a holiday in time too - for example spelling the name of the resort or the country plus year out in shells on the beach or writing in the sand with a stick. Sandy footprints or handprints once again place a time if your children are young. Other interesting details could include a light-house, colourful beach huts or beautiful rocks. These make lovely feature and detailed shots which can be used around family shots for an album.
One problem you may run into when photographing at the beach is that people will have shadows on their faces (cast by hats or sunglasses). To get rid of the shadows, fire the flash when taking a photograph and the shadows will disappear and your subject will be well-exposed. If the image is over-exposed, you can turn down the flash strength (if you can control this) or otherwise move back slightly as the flash range will become shorter and will lose its impact the further away you are - you may have to experiment a little to get the best image. Squinting can also be a problem too - a method I have used is to ask everyone to close their eyes and then on the count of three, open them - you have a few seconds before they squint again...
Beaches themselves with stormy weather make for very atmospheric shots particularly dramatic clouds and skies (these shots look particularly good in black and white). As always, watch that the horizon is straight and not sloping and play around with where you put the horizon - if the sky and clouds like dramatic, then fill the frame with this and the sand/beach with 1/3 of the shot instead.
Don't forget to minimize too the amount of time you expose your camera to the elements - sand and water particles are not good for cameras so keep cameras away until you are ready to use them - keep a microfiber cloth with you so can wipe your camera body and lens down once you are done.
Most of all - have fun!
I photographed this lovely family a few weeks ago in Cham - the girls had such different personalities and kept me very busy running after them! Bubbles and a lollipop at the end were the perfect way to end this fun shoot.
The family booked the shoot itself to mark the end of their time in Switzerland before re-locating this summer. If you would like to do the same or have family visiting from abroad and would like to include them in the shoot too, please contact me on info@andaleeblilley.ch or 079 654 4115 for more details.
It's been a very busy week with several family shoots (including two families with a set of twins each - sneak previews to follow...) and another corporate shoot for BAT.
So I thought I would show a few images from a shoot I did back in January with two year old very active Anastasia who was visiting her grandmother in Switzerland with her mother Eugenia - the shoot certainly kept me on my toes including me talking to her in my very rusty Russian...
A few weeks ago I had a portrait shoot with Alessandro just before his first birthday. We had to reschedule a few times due to sickness (me and then him) but we finally managed to meet for a walk in the park near his home. Here's a sneak peak of some of the images from the shoot for his mum and dad - looking forward to showing them the rest next week!
With all this talk on snow, I thought it was time I featured some snowy images - this shoot took place in November in Sattel and it snowed the day of the shoot so we started off at home and then took the girls outdoors for some shots outdoors - there is a lovely series of shots on a red chair which would look lovely in a frame of 9 images so I am going to produce a new sample with a template or 9 or 12 images in a frame for my studio. These will be digitally printed instead of the more traditional photographs and will be a new addition to my product line. Enjoy the shoot.. and wrap up warm!
Another sneak peak before the viewing this weekend for Amy Solarz and her family. We met up in Park im Grünen, Thalwil for our shoot and had a great few hours enjoying the autumn leaves and colours.
Amy writes a fashion coloum for the New Stork Times (www.thestork.ch) and several images from the shoot will be appearing in the next edition out in December.
and a fun one to end the post....
Here's another sneak preview this time round for the McHugh family at the China Garden in Zurich. We actually ended up shooting around the park in the end and didn't go into the China Garden area. 11-month old Alex soon warmed up to the camera and was happy to show off his crawling skills - in fact I had to keep shuffling backwards as he was very quick! We also headed down to the lake for some shots as it was one of those beautiful stormy days and the clouds looked amazing.
Contact me if you would like a colourful autumnal shoot - the images make great Christmas gifts... and of course, a photography shoot voucher is a luxurious way to fill a stocking too!
Recent Comments