Blog On Hold

This Blog has currently moved to http://www.susannahfieldsphotography.wordpress.com

Please visit my website http://www.susannahfields.co.uk/ or become a fan of my facebook page for updates. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flashfields-Photography/105407662957

The sound of wedding bells on New Year's eve

............so whilst many of you were boozing in bars, at parties and dinners on New Year's Eve, I had the honour of photographing my very good friend Sarah's wedding to her lovely husband Rob.......what a great way to ring in the new year......

I arrived early in the day at the house, full of ladies running around getting hair and make up done, whilst the father of the bride tried to keep out of everyone's way.....


By the time I got to the beautiful wedding venue, Dyram Park, along icing (but luckily not snow-filled) lanes, the place was buzzing as the band were setting up and guests were lingering in the corridors.

The groom was waiting nervously with his multitude of ushers, and the very glamorous crowd were starting to fill the registry room. When Sarah walked in she looked the perfect bride, stunning, overwhelmed and very very happy. Exactly how a bride should be.

As you can see from the pictures, there were a million lovely moments to capture, and actually simply not enough time to get it all 'on film'. The first dance didn't happen until 10:30pm and the cake (cheese not actual cake!) cutting at 11pm! So by midnight, as my camera finally took a rest, we rang in the new year on the dance floor with all 125 guests still at the party.

By 1.30am it was starting to wind down but not before the ushers let off fire-filled lanterns into the sky and then sent the bride and groom off with an fabulous applause of sparklers outside........

What a lovely way to start the new year - and of course Sarah and Rob are now obligated to have a party every new years eve to celebrate their future anniversaries.......of course providing endless champagne to remember their happy day is a must!

Here are a selection for you to browse.

The full set are under the recent function section of my website. www.flashfields.com/social/index.html

End of the year - where did it go.......?

Well I am not sure what happened to the last two months, I guess I've been busy shooting away, so I haven't had much chance to write - new year's resolution 2010, update blog more regularly!

In the meantime, I'd like to wish all my readers a very happy Xmas and New Year and thank you for all your support and business over the last year.

See you in 2010!

A 'country' portrait

What better place to take a lovely Autumnal portrait then my very own non-private garden, a.k.a Hampstead Heath.

Liz used to work at a company I worked at several years ago and had been on my mailing list ever since. As soon as Liz called me about doing some portraits I remembered who she was and though we didn't work closely together, I remembered her fondly as she was always warm and friendly.

I was excited to hear that Liz had recently left the company and launched her own business 'Pause For', which specialises in consultancy, mentoring and coaching. It's always great to hear of others 'jumping ship' and launching their own initiatives.

Like any good business, Liz called me as she had decided it was time to get some really decent professional pictures of herself that she could use on her website, for magazines and any other time a photo might be requested through her line of work. I suggested that we go for the more relaxed approach - almost lifestyle portraiture - rather than a more conventional studio headshot as the images would reflect more her personality and the philosophies of business. I think the pictures also go rather well with the business strap line "taking time out to find your potential."

Liz wrote to me once she saw her selection of pictures and said this "you did a brilliant job......I'm amazed that I'm comfortable with as many of the pics as I am!" words I love to hear!

If you would like to know more about what Liz does, please see her website http://www.pausefor.co.uk/.

Here are a selection of shots below:

How hard is it to photograph a wedding.......indeed..

......well quite a few of you have probably seen the recent coverage about the couple in Yorkshire who successfully sued their wedding photographer after he completely mucked up their wedding photographs and appeared to shoot pictures at the same level of a small child with a toy camera.

I had to comment of course, how could I not? For years I have been preaching the virtues of using a professional if you want the job done right and not resenting the costs - as you have to pay a professional a decent fee for the quality of work you want doing.

The problem is, Gareth Bowers from Fresh Images, who shot Marc and Sylvia Day's wedding, appeared by all accounts to be a professional wedding photographer. He even had sample albums to prove it. The only problem was it appears the albums were not actually his own work. His price was not so cheap as to raise alarm yet low enough to be more than tempting and, whilst I don't know too much about his character, I assume he came across fairly well - at least enough to convince the couple to part with their cash.

But there really are several ways to get to know the integrity of a photographer and to work out if the work is really theirs, if they care about their clients and will do a great job for you. It's very simple - interview them, as you would a prospective employee. Ask them questions about their work and what their style is. Get them to talk through the wedding albums as they show them to you. Discuss lighting, cameras and potential glitches with them. Any photographer who is decent and confident in what they do will happily talk through your questions and worries, and in fact will be a little disappointed if you don't study the photos carefully and make comment.

Personally when couples come to me, I have over half a dozen different wedding albums for perusal, pictures on my wall, which show my creative photography (this is usually a good indication of a photographer's passion for their work, the fact they actually shoot things for fun as well as the paid stuff) and every single wedding I shoot goes live on my website, so you can see 400-600 quality pictures from each function. The name of the bride and groom is on there as well as their wedding venue so if you were really worried you could even check up on me!

Some people are throwing around the old cliche with the 'Fresh Images' case "you get what you pay for" but I don't actually think that is necessarily true. Someone could buy a Jessops wedding kit, two in fact for back-up, shoot some decent 'reportage' wedding pics, create a package call themselves and pro and charge £3000 for it - does this mean they are now going to be brilliant? No of course not, what happens when it rains and the whole party has to be shot indoors? What happens when the ceremonial room has really low lighting and no white walls to bounce light off? What if the bride always blinks and the groom is camera shy? If the couple's parents are divorced and you have to manage the group photos with sensitivity. If there are a large number of kids and you need to be 'fun'.......you get the point right?

So don't be fooled by price, whether exceptionally high or exceptionally low. The market rate for professional photography is the price to go on and the rest is down to you using common sense when you meet your potential photographer, and taking some real time to study the photographs in question. Then you'll hopefully never come across a problem like poor Marc and Sylvia had to face....I wish them the best of luck I really do, but lets hope some lessons have been learned from this and the general public start to appreciate the work of real professional experienced photographers again, like they used to......That way everyone gets to have a happy ending......

If you are looking for a wedding photographer for 2010 or 2011, please do have a look at http://www.flashfields.com/social/brides.html and feel free to get in touch with zillions and zillions of questions........!

Ten minutes and counting....

It's no doubt every photographer's ideal scenario for an editorial photo shoot would be to be given a brief that includes a creative vision of the photograph they're going to take, an hour or so brain storming ideas with an art director, a prior scout of the shoot location and a few hours on set to bond with the sitter and actually create the photograph......

The truth however is that shooting for a business magazine is not like shooting for Vogue or Times Style. You're dealing with real people, in real jobs, with really little time. Usually you've been given a name, a job title and a some information about them as a person. The subject has been told that a photographer will be taking his/her photo but they probably didn't pay too much attention to this fact, as they're running from meeting to meeting dealing with much more important issues. If you're lucky, they'll remember to pop on their best tie/shirt/dress for the occasion and if you're really really lucky they'll have an efficient assistant who will have pre-thought of a place you can take the photo that's not an office or corridor or at least let you look around for one.

Oh and you have approximately five minutes (ten to fifteen if it's good day) to take the photo, capture the person in a flattering way and leave with a good strong image that will do justice to the words written next to it on the page of the magazine.

Ok, so it ain't glamorous, and it's no 'America's next top model' but it is a good test of photography skills, and an ability to shoot 'on the fly', a bit of an adrenalin rush in fact. I think now it would almost be boring if the shoot was set up beforehand me and all I had to do was direct a little and press the shutter on my camera. If I had an assistant to help me out and test lights for me, a clear concept of what I was going to shoot beforehand and a subject ready and waiting with a stylist, make-up artist and art-director on hand and a few hours spare what fun would that be? Nah, who needs that.

Well judge for yourself anyway - here's my summer's worth of ten minute business portraits, no make-up artist required........oh hold on a minute, I've got to go, I think Vogue's on the phone.....

Rachel Belam - Head of food services - Westfield Shopping Centre

Kiaran MacDonald - General Manager - The Savoy Hotel

Katie Benson - Managing Director - Langham Hotels

Jody Scheckter - ex-Formula 1 champion turned farmer - Laverstoke Park Farm


Gary Rhodes - Chef & Restaurateur - Rhodes 24

Gary Davis - CEO - Village Hotels & Resorts at Village Farnborough

Derek Picot - Regional Director - Jumeirah at the Carlton Tower Hotel

Andew Wilson & Carolyne Vale - Wilson & Vale Catering

Alison Vickers - Head of Business Development - Yo!Sushi

All images above were commissioned by, and published in, EP Magazine www.epmagazine.co.uk

Behind Close Doors.......

Last weekend was "Open House Weekend", a fantastic opportunity for anyone with an interest in architecture to look behind the closed doors of many of London's famous landmark buildings and see what lays behind those grand walls.

As a photographer it's a great opportunity to take photos especially if you can get onto the balconies of the highest buildings and see those wonderful views of London. So it was with great disappointment when I realised I would not be able to join in this last weekend and do just that, thanks to prior commitments.......Instead it got me thinking about the fact that my job actually entails an awful lot of door openings and I am not speaking metaphorically either.

In the last two years I've had the pleasure of walking through these doors whilst on assignment :

The Ritz, Kensington Roof Gardens, City Hall, The House of Commons, Wembley Arena, The Oval, St Paul's Cathedral, The Royal Courts of Justice, Portcullis House, The Dorchester, Buckingham Palace, The Royal Festival Hall and lots of wonderful castles and beautiful manor houses.........

Here are three of my favourite photo opportunities -

Open House No.1 - City Hall - View from the balcony


Open House No.2 - Paul's Cathedral - Christmas Carol Concert


Open House No.3 - Buckingham Palace - State Banquet Set Up
Remember - if you see an open door, do not be afraid to walk inside - you never know what you might discover behind it. You can take that metaphorically or literally - I'll leave that up to you.........

Blooming Marvellous......

I am almost beginning to mark the passing of each year by the annual Estates in Bloom Awards Ceremony that I have now photographed for the fourth September in a row. Before the award winners get the prizes however, it's my job to visit the various estates and take pictures of the nominees gardens and balconies.

What I love most about this particular job (apart from working outdoors in the sunshine of course) is that each year I see even more glorious flowers being nurtured in some of the poorest and built up concrete areas of South London. The gardens I see are a true inspiration, which prove that no matter where you live and under whatever circumstances, you can always improve your conditions even if it's as simple as planting a smiling sunflower in front of your window......

What I've also noticed over the last few years, is that my own interest in gardens has grown a little, and my 6 foot balcony now proudly displays several pots and planters all of my own. Last year I was given beans to plant in a pot, some pink flower cuttings smuggled in from Tunisia (living life on the edge) and a few other bits n' pieces by the local residents. This year they are all blooming marvellously in my own little concrete space and they truly make me smile when I see them. And not just because I can't believe I've still kept them alive.

Here are a few samples from my collection of the award nominees. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and if you do one thing this weekend - make sure you plant a seed or two - you never know what might turn up next spring time....

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside......

.....oh yes I do - and I especially love it when I am there on assignment. Which is why when I got the commission from one of my clients to go down to The Whitstable Oyster Festival, which they were sponsoring, to capture the atmosphere, feature the branding and take some product shots on location, I was especially pleased.

Whitstable is a lovely place, really old fashioned and pretty, with a little bit of the 'unspoiled' about it that you don't necessarily get in other seaside towns in England. And the beach, pebble rather than sand, has a rather wild feel about it, though the harbour brings back some sense of structure to the place.

Everyone seemed to be in a really good mood, helped along by the wonderful long sunny days. One of the days, as I left London, cloudy and grey and arrived in Whitstable it was like a different country, apparently it rained all day back home but not by the sea, lovely and bright, with kids everywhere gobbling down ice-creams and adults enjoying Oysters, fresh prawns and other strange sea-foods. Of course it would have been wrong of me not to take a little break myself and try some of the local ice-cream. Pretty hard to eat whilst balancing two cameras though!

What was especially great for me, as a photographer, was the fact that everytime I went to photograph the kids holding up one of the branded products, the families would line their children up and get them to pose for me. Given some of the hostility photographers sometimes get from people when trying to take shots on location, I was pretty lucky that everyone was so willing to stop and pose for me.

Further on in the week I set up a little photo shoot on the beach of all the products the company were giving out to people.

And on the last day, I captured some ambient shots of the sun setting and the beginning of the 'making waves' event, where they released hundreds of candle lit wishes into the sea using lanterns to light the way....

Taking pride.........

Well I went along to Pride a couple of weeks ago with The London Fire Brigade as they were taking part in the march to demonstrate the fact that gay people are very much a part of London’s fire and rescue service and to show their support as well as educate people along the way about fire safety issues. Before the parade started and I was hanging around, I captured a few people passing by and had to take their snaps. Who could resist?

As the march progressed we seemed to have a tag-along in the shape of the 'Red Bull & Cola Lady' - hard to see from the pictures but hanging off the skirt part of 'her' dress were dozens of Red Bull and Cola Cans. Let's hope 'she' didn't drink them all herself!! Actually that might explain 'her' energy levels!!

And here's one of the LFB staff and friends:

The whole parade had a great atmosphere, full of warm friendly people and The London Fire Brigade received their usual cheers from the supporting crowd.

Fun though as the pictures above are, it's important to remember what Pride is about. A quote from the official Pride London website states that:

"Pride aims to promote equality and diversity through all of its campaigns. The two week Pride festival uses theatre, music, debate, art and entertainment to raise awareness of discrimination and the issues and difficulties affecting the lives of LGBT people around the world. Our Parade is an explosion of Pride in the heart of the capital, attracting over 500,000 people in a celebration of diversity. Through this we aim to promote a sentiment in favour of equality, uniting people in a celebrative atmosphere where all are welcome, and fostering a sense of community within the LGBT population. Overall, Pride London hopes to promote understanding and cooperation, as well as education in diversity, in order to get rid of the discrimination faced by LGBT people."

At the end of the day, it's all about celebrating our differences as human being and making sure that we try to avoid discrimination as much as possible and I couldn't agree more......how boring would like be if we were all the same?

The many faces of Lambeth's younger residents

Well I've been shooting a few local 'fun days' for Lambeth Council over the last couple of months and amongst all the shots I took, I particularly liked the ones of all the kids, showing the many different faces of the younger residents of Lambeth Council.

In between eating candy floss, jumping around on the bouncy castle, making badges & re-usable 'green' bags, (and that was just me!) having their faces painted & generally running around and having a great time, the kids were still happy to stop what they were doing and pose for a quick photo.......here are a selection of them below.......

Heated debate with UNICEF UK's J8 & Minister Ed Miliband

Last week I was asked by UNICEF UK to accompany their Junior J8 team to the Department for Energy & Climate Change in Whitehall where they were meeting with the Minister for Climate Change, Ed Miliband, to discuss how young people can get involved in international decisions on global climate change issues.

I was rather impressed by how articulate and passionate the teenagers were, especially since they were having a really long day and during a heatwave too. Though the fact that we were working in exceptionally hot conditions only helped them highlight the important issues of global warming.

I shot several natural pictures of them 'around the table' as well as some posed shots in front of the department and with Mr Miliband himself.

It was not the easiest conditions to shoot in with a small room and fighting for space with an entire camera crew!

To see the full story and how you can get involved or learn more please visit here: http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/news_detail_full_story.asp?thesource=rssnews&news_id=1343