1. A great location.
This can be anywhere that has an uncluttered, or neutral background with preferably soft even lighting.
The lighting can be natural, or artificial, but always avoid having any harsh shadows across the face.
2. Don’t overdo your make up.
Choose quality products including a good foundation and powder, that way it will prevent you looking too shiny.
Better still ask the photographer to use a professional make-up artist.
3. Choose the right outfit.
Plain colours, with no large logos, mid tones are always the best choice.
Don’t overdress it’s always best to look yourself.
4. Choose a hair style that most looks like you.
Always give your hair a good brush to sort out any stray hairs, adding some waves and curls always look great for head shots.
5. Always get to know your photographer.
Listen to what they are telling you to do, and relax you are going to look great.
If you don’t understand what they are asking, get them to show you, it’s a partnership.
ajmphotos can take professional headshots in a studio, on location, as well as in your home, or office. The sessions are relaxed, and flexible, so that they can work around your busy schedule. They are ideal for meet the team photos for websites, and end of year reports, profile photos for social media, and other business organisations.
This set of headshot photos were taken inside the European Parliament in Brussels for Sugarwise.
I have worked closely with Sugarwise for several years, travelling around the country to photograph key events for them, including the Sugar Summit at the House of Westminster, award ceremonies at the Excel, and the ground breaking work they have done at the laboratories in Cambridge University.
It’s always nice to receive a testimonial from your client, especially when they appreciate how much you care about really getting the shots they need.
"Andrew is professional and we always use his services whenever we want a guarantee that we will get some excellent shots that can be used in the print media where his shots have repeadedly been featured, I'm so happy we found him"
Rend Platings
CEO Sugarwise
You can find more about the amazing work that the Sugarwise charity do by checking out their website.
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I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend the day at Denmans Gardens at the end of September doing a stylised photoshoot with the extremely talented Isabella Josie Bespoke Millinery, and a small group of fellow creatives.
Organising the shoot with Isabella in these challenging times was never going to be easy, maintaining social distancing, and keeping the group size as small as possible, and within the rule of six to ensure everyone’s safety was our main concern.
Our hosts at Denmans Gardens were incredibly welcoming and allowed us to use all of the garden, as well as giving us access to some areas usually off limits to the public. The hats, outfits, and accessories that Isabella had made herself, and the accessories she had chosen for the shoot were wonderful, and the garden made the perfect location for afternoon tea. We were so lucky with the weather, when the sun came out and everything just came to life.
All the suppliers who helped put this photoshoot together are based in West Sussex, and offer an incredible selection of bespoke products at affordable prices. For more information on these talented people please check out the links to their websites at the bottom of the page, they would really appreciate your support during these difficult times.
Isabella’s millinery skills are incredible, the hats she makes are so unique and she really does have one for every occasion. Isabella’s hats are not only worn at weddings, but also at many local events including the Goodwood Races, Festival of Speed, and Goodwood Revival.
Afternoon Tea with friends
The small group of models we had were incredible, taking care of their own hair and make-up, arriving and leaving their allocated session times perfectly, making it a pleasure being part of such a fantastic team. For some of them it was their first time modelling at a professional photoshoot, but I would never have known. We were fortunate to have a professional hair stylist to help with our bride’s hair, Emma Richardson who did a fantastic job creating the exact vintage look we were looking for.
Vintage Wedding Afternoon Tea
The Rose Petal Cake Company provided the scrumptious cakes and sandwiches for the afternoon tea. Becky who has been running the Rose Petal Cake Company for 3 years also brought along some of her vintage china which completed the look perfectly. Rose Petal Cake Company are based in Ham Road Worthing, where they create their stunning and mouth watering wedding and bespoke celebration cakes for every occasion.
The vintage wedding dress was provided by Bijou Bridal Boutique, and was complemented perfectly with the paper flower bouquets, supplied by Petal and Bird. The flowers looked so lifelike, and the winter theme colours they used to create them were stunning.
Bijou Bridal Boutique is a family run business owned by sisters Ella and Lisa, they have an amazing bridal boutique in Barnham where you can take your time choosing the bridal gown you have always dreamed of. They are open Tuesday to Saturday and have a large selection of wedding gowns on display to suit every budget.
Clare who founded Petal and Bird bespoke paper flowers has been creating handcrafted paper flowers from her studio in Chichester since 2016. Using crepe paper each petal and leaf is cut, shaped and formed by hand so that they will last forever. She also runs workshops, and supplies kits with full instructions so that you create popular flowers from the comfort of your own home.
An explosion of colour with a Rainbow Wedding
These incredible Rainbow Bridesmaid Dresses were supplied by Cherry Vintage and they were so colourful they would brighten up any wedding.
Cherry Vintage offer an excellent range of flattering retro and quirky fashion styles inspired by memories of those iconic eras in history. They are centrally located next to Proposals bridal in St Martins Street, in Chichester.
They always have a unique collection of dresses, hats and scarfs as well as jewellery and accessories to finish off any outfit.
My favourite dress of the day had to be the Vintage Lace wedding dress as I love to see lace used to make dresses and hats. Did you know that Queen Victoria's wore a white satin dress trimmed with British handmade Honiton Lace, from Devon. She chose to support the Lace makers of Devon by using English rather than the more fashionable Belgium Lace of the time, and continued this family tradition with her children.
She has been credited with starting the tradition of white weddings when she married her cousin Prince Albert on the 10th February 1840.
If you are a bride or groom needing bespoke wedding stationery designed that is personal to you, Lemons + Lines can pretty much do anything from graphic design illustration to calligraphy writing. They are all about collaboration, so starting with your ideas and using their creative design background they will create you something stupendously amazing.
A special thanks to everyone who made this amazing photoshoot possible
All photography by @ajmphotos_weddings
Author: Andrew Matthews
FEATURED SUPPLIERS
Millinery, Hats, and Headpieces: Isabella Josie @isabellajosiemillinery
Afternoon Tea: Rose Petal Cake Company @rosepetal_cakecompany
Bridal Dresses supplied by: Bijou Bridal Boutique @bijouboutique12
Paper floristry: Petal and Bird Bespoke Paper Flowers @petalandbird
Rainbow Dresses: Cherry Vintage @cherryvintage2019
Graphics by: Lemons + Lines @lemonsandlines.x
Denmans Gardens: @denmans_gardens
Models: Abi, Becky, Dounia, Hannah, Hope, Katie, Kelly, and Mia.
Bridal Hair by: Emma Richardson
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As I walked over the old Toll Bridge along the riverbank I could see and hear construction work from cranes and diggers hard at work. As I got closer I found that most of the noise was from a digger using an impact driver to remove a section of the recently constructed sea defence wall. I have to say from the effort it was taking and the large amount of metal that had been used during its strengthening it was going to be a difficult task, and hope they replace it when they have finished.
Once over the bridge, as you approach the west side of the river you find that the footpath has been closed and there doesn't appear to be to be an alternative route. This is such a shame as this was closed for a long time while they replaced the sea defences and re-landscaped the whole area. I decided to continue down onto the access road towards the airport which also seems to have been rerouted around the construction work.
I believe that Adur and Worthing Councils have agreed to the closure of the very popular path as they are starting construction of a new waste water pumping station in preparation of drainage work for more New Monks Farm development.
The path has also been closed from the end near the railway bridge, so basically the whole length of the path can't be used by the public, and you are even prevented from walking on the riverbank as the fencing extends down into the river on the south side of the construction site.
Public Footpath No.2048
Written by Andrew Matthews
Date 22/07/2020
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