Naomi Lloyd | Portsmouth Hampshire Photographer

It is only recently that i realised how behind I have become in regularly updating my blog . I bumped into a family whose photos I had taken a few weeks ago and they casually mentioned why they had not appeared on my blog. So, here I am making an apology to all my clients who are not on this blog -I have a long list on weddings, bump shoots, family portrait and engagement and commercial shoots which I will try to add on as soon as I can or add at least the ones who i know would enjoy reading and seeing their photos on here.

Of course, not everyone wants their wedding or bump or certainly not boudoir story on here!

Just off to meet Jo and Alex for an engagement shoot at Cams Hall. But i will try to blog more often!x

Amy and Charles Stubb chose to keep it local with their lovely family wedding in Fareham. Julian met Charles and his “suits” for a walk to the Clinkers Pub for a pre-wedding celebratory drink whilst I spent some time with the arriving guests at The Holy Trinity Church.

What was so lovely about this wedding was the variety of the day. After the church service we took time out with the newly married couple to take some photographs in the tropical remembrance gardens whilst the guests made their way to Antonios Tapas restaurant.

Julian and I were even treated to some lovely spanish chicken after spending some time having fun with the guests and discreetly taking photos of the details and the guests enjoying the wedding meal along with the speeches.

The Wedding party then moved to The Bugle Inn in Titchfield where the took over the whole place as well as the newly converted barn for more food and dancing. I was already excited about the first dance as i knew one of Charlie’s friends was performing “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls – my  all time favourite .song and Amy and Charles danced to it in such a romantic way, singing to each other the whole way through!

I met Josephine and Chris last Autumn and knew then that their wedding was going to be something special and just that bit different!

Jo and Chris are both teachers and not surprisingly very organised so it came as no surprise to me that we would be meeting up for a pre-wedding engagement shoot a few months before the wedding.

I always enjoy to sit with a couple over a cup of coffee and chat about the day before the wedding so that we can put together a full wedding itinerary with all the timings of the day.

So we met in February at The Watermark Restaurant in Port Solent, Portsmouth, to have a chat and then took a stroll nearby to take some casual photographs of the two of them together. These shoots can be very useful both for the couple who may never have had their photographs taken professionally together before and it also great for me to spend some time with them working out what makes them click in front of the camera.

Jo and Chris had chosen to have a Signature Board for their wedding day instead of a guest book so that the guests could sign their good wishes to them around a mounted photograph of the two of them from this engagement shoot.  It looked great at the wedding next to the cake and the guests enjoyed signing the photo as something different . An image of this is shown below.

On the 3rd April we decided to maximise our time so whilst i was with Josephine, Julian went down to Hayling beach to meet the guys all suited up and looking cool so he could capture some groom prep and have some fun on the beach.

After a lovely intimate ceremony at Portsmouth Registry Office, the guests made their way to The Watermark Restaurant on a big yellow school bus supplied by Jo and Chris whilst Julian and I took advantage of the shelter at The Hot Walls for some romantic shots of the  happy couple.

Jo and Chris were so much fun to photograph together and they were all smiles and laughter despite the April showers.

Back at The Watermark we were treated to a fantastic music medley by Chris’s Dad and Chris himself along with Jo’s brother Ben.

Happy Honeymoon in Jamaica Mr and Mrs Armstrong!

Lieutenant Holly Henderson and Lieutenant Commander Philip Dennis could not have picked a more fitting wedding than a ceremony at St Ann’s Church in The Naval Dockyard followed by a stunning wedding breakfast at The Royal Marines Museum. The couple met aboard HMS illustrious and  they never looked back.

Julian and I were very fortunate to be chosen as the wedding photographers for such a lovely couple and Phil’s speech to Holly almost had me in tears – of course I had to hold it together to get those emotional moments  on camera!

In between the ceremony and reception we spent some time with Holly and Phil at The Hot Walls in Old Portsmouth which is by far one of our favourite spots for all weather conditions and wonderful lighting conditions.

We were pleasantly surprised to see one of our photographs featured  in a half page spread in The Times Newspaper on March the 27th – only a week after their wedding. Thanks for giving us credit  for the photo Phil and Holly.

Shane Lewis and Sarah-Jane Robinson put together a gorgeous wedding and braved the January cold last week. Their ceremony was held at All Saints Church in Catherington followed by a family focused reception at The Langstone Hotel in Hayling Island.

I had met up with S-J and Shane before the wedding for our pre-wedding consultation in the middle of the BIG FREEZE and had put together some ideas fro Plan B if the snow continued. Luckily, it all thawed in time and we really enjoyed being a part of their day with them.

The lovely husband and wife team Jackie and Bill from Hampshire Wedding Videos were also there and they even persuaded the couple and close friends and family to take part in a music video singing along to “A Perfect Day!”.

Here are some of our favourite moments and well done to Sarah-Jane for being so brave in the cold!

I can’t deny that it will be a welcome relief when the sun returns for our brides this year but as a wedding photographer, winter weddings can be a really magical experience. This is where you can experience dramatic sky lines and challenging conditions as guests are desperate to get inside even though the bride is braving the frost with her shoulders bare.

We were very fortunate that The Royal Marines Musuem in Southsea came to our rescue on a particularly rainy day on the 23rd December. The bride and groom wanted to capture some family moments with their children before their ceremony at Portsmouth Registry Office and the prospect of even hiding under the shelter of the arches in Old Portsmouth was becoming daunting.

Fortunately, Zeenat Turner, the lovely wedding organiser at The Royal Marines Museum was very kind and allowed us to use their beautiful rooms and staircase for thier photographs. Julian and I love photographing weddings at this museum and are regualr visitors here as well as having one of our albums in their waiting area so this worked really well

Charlotte and Guy and their children got into the festivities for theirChristmas wedding and it was a very happy hour and a half to spend with them before moving on the Registry Office for a very moving service. Below are some images from this lovely family wedding:

Family portraits in the comfort of your own home are ideal when you have young children and babies. I remember the careful monitoring of sleep and feeding times and working out when your child will hopefully be in a more energetic mood.

This month i was lucky to meet the gorgeous ten month old Henry and his mum and dad who invited me into their lovely home on a wet Sunday morning. Henry had just woken up from his morning nap as i was setting up my studio in their living room and he was a delight to photograph. All smiles and giggles and was lovely to capture Henry and his Grandad together .

 

Just as much fun were two year old Rebecca and 6 year old Matthew who loved my giraffe and elephant ears. Seeing me dancing around with funny animal head bands on and making embarrassingly bad animal noise impressions was the perfect “shoe” for their  sense of humour. I juts had to stop dancing in time to capture their reactions. I love this job! A cool apple juice drink and a little chocolate treat in the break kept me in favour with my young models too. We will be able to get some lovely Christmas cards for their family from this shoot.

Happy Birthday to Carys who invited me to set up a studio in her house and teach her and her friends some key fashion modelling tips in front of a camera. They were all fantastic models and great fun to work with. Photo Parties are a really unique party idea for teenagers and i often get phone calls from very happy mums who are relieved to find a professional photography studio brought to their own home.

Last Sunday i had the pleasure of meeting lots of new brides and grooms who are due to be married in 2010 or 2011 who visited Marwell Hotel to get some ideas from local wedding suppliers. It is a lovely hotel with very professional wedding organisers which is why i was more than happy to be commissioned for a brochure shoot for them last year.

I am already due to meet a numebr of bride and grooms to discuss being their wedding photographer after speaking to them at the exhibition – there are some lovely forthcoming weddings both at the hotel and at Marwell Zoo itself complete with giraffe and penguin encounters – fantastic photo opportunities. Julian and i are already looking forward to Lee and Ali’s wedding in August next year. They have chosen to be photographed with the giraffes and are a great couple.

Below are some wedding images from the interior and exterior of the Marwell Hotel taken by myself.

I am finally back to blogging after a busy busy summer which is turning into a busy but fun Autumn. My favourite time of year…..like a child, Halloween, Bonfire night and then Christmas. What could be a better time of year. It also means wedding exhibitions and a chance to start business planning for the following year. We have a very busy diary for 2010 already and some great wedding venues to look forward to being the wedding photograhers at such as : The Marwell Hall at Marwell Zoo, The New Place De Vere, The Royal Marines Museum, The Langstone Hotel in Hayling Island, Portchester Castle and the Gosport Explosion Museum, Southampton Art Gallery, Camms Hall in Fareham, HMS Excellent on Whale Island, The Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth and The Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea.

Happy Christmas to all – here are some smiley Christmas card photo images of our lovely boys.