Here's to a New Year "Happy 2010"

I've actually been thinking about my new years resolutions the whole month of December and as much as I would love to say that I will stick to them I normally don't. However, I am going to try my best this year ha ha!!

So here is my list.......

Eat Healthy (will only last a couple of weeks probably)

Loose Weight (it will all be back on by the end of the year)

Start running (that's if I don't kill myself after the first run)

Make more time for myself

Get a six pack (highly unlikely)

Learn to knit and sew (again unlikely with my patience)

Read more books

Learn something new in photography

Spend more time doing stuff I like

Hardly exciting but I am very much looking forward to a New Year and I wish you all the best for yours!

I thought I would add a "awwww pic" just to put a smile on your face x

Merry Xmas

Gosh I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! 

I’ve neglected the blog once again but it’s all been down to being extremely busy all thanks to you guys who so kindly booked me for your wedding, portrait shoots etc. This year so far has been a good one for me in photography terms and I hope it continues and hope to offer new and old customers something new for next year!

The past couple of days have been lovely, spent at home, snowed in and cleaning cupboards.  I feel like we have loads of room now in our house ;-).  Four big black bags later as I de-junked the kids bedrooms I can safely say we are ready for Santa arriving.

So I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you get everything you wish for. xxxx

P.s I got a nice surprise Christmas card in the post today from Alex Salmond!!

Off our heads

When I first started college I wanted to make sure I could use the best models so I searched on Facebook and came across Erin, going through her pics I asked if she would like to model for me on some of my projects. I think Erin modelled for me once and she became more than a friend over the past couple of years than anything else. So anytime we meet up or arrange a night out we always talk about doing a pic together but very rarely get round to taking one.

However, Erin and I had a night out on Fri in which we got "off our heads" (I wasn't that bad in all honesty), just felt real crap with colds, bugs and ill children the next day. Anyhow, after our wild night we went for lunch and ran over some ideas and this is what we came up with.   In all the time I have known Erin she has been one of the most kindest and caring friends I have ever come across and I will really miss her when she moves to London in January ;-(

Air Head

FINALLY today I had the chance to take a self portrait. Actually I think it was 30 mins in total before the school called to say that my little lad wasn't well and could I come pick him up, therefore the shoot was cut short.

On editing my darling little daughter asked what I did with my head and asked if I actually took it off and was really concerned for my brain because it wouldn't be able to breath if it wasn't on my body! lol

Lately I seem to have been a total air head, forgetting things, appointments, you name it I forget it! This idea has been in my noggin for a moment or two, although there is another one that I haven't been able to get out of my head for about 6 months or longer so I must give it a go, however I'm a little scared it doesn't turn out as I envision it.

Yesterday I was sent an email to ask if one of the photography students could come and photograph me for her photojournalism project which would involve documenting my life and my business, feels a little odd to not be in control of a camera and I'm absolutely terrified at the thought.

Anyway, I wish my forehead was as smooth as this balloon ha ha but then again there is always botox right? Bring on the needles I say!!!!!

My Graduation

Yay, I finally graduated on Monday after studying for two years in Photography and Digital Imaging.  Part of me is soooo sad it's all over and part of me still wishes I was learning.  However, it's nice to be at home and not up till all hours of the morning putting my workbook together.

I'll never forget my first day of college .......... I was absolutely terrified and after having been handed what seemed like a million briefs I came home, sat at the kitchen table and cried and cried and cried.  I said to Graeme (my husband) "I can't do this, I don't understand the briefs blah blah blah".   After him having no luck what so ever in calming me down I called Tim (my neighbour) who is a Uni lecturer.  Well to this day I can't thank Tim enough for coming up and explaining what seemed like a complicated brief was actually quite a simple brief.

So here I am after two years and probably a couple of years before that (studying or mucking about with a camera on my own) later and now almost finished in setting up my business, the only thing left to complete is my studio conversion which is in the middle of happening and I can't wait!

I made some great friends, one in particular but I know that I will NEVER regret going back to study.  I also can't thank my family and friends enough for all the help over the two years and I'm sorry for being unsociable and ignoring you all ;-)

Anyway this post is just to show off my graduation picture and to show you all how proud I am of myself hee hee and to say it's never too late to go back to school.

My family

Karen and I (my best friend at college)



















Me

The Girls

How sheep eat!

Yeah I know the title is a little silly but that's kinda where the inspiration for this image came from.  I've been dying to take some new self portraits for a while but just been too busy with other shoots to indulge.  Soooooo, today after my morning shoot with some gorgeous little people I managed to indulge before picking Ritchie up from the school bus.

Now.... Granny if your reading this I really didn't wonder about the countryside naked but I can't tell you on here so if your interested I'll tell you all about it the next time I see you ;-).

I'm very much looking forward to producing some new selfies for a change, it helps to keep my mind insane ;-)

Theeeeeee funniest shoot ever!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing a gorgeous little girl called Marlie.  Her Uncle Lee wanted to give her and her parents something different for her first birthday in November so the idea of a photobook sounded good.  The only thing was getting Marlie to me without Marlie's Mum and Dad knowing, which wasn't so bad as Granny has her on certain days so it was arranged that Granny would come over and we would take some pics.  I don't think I laughed so much in all my life at the cute little faces she pulled as I snapped away.

Anyway I've been dying to upload and share some of these with everyone and now I can as Mum and Dad received the photobook today.  My daughter and I have bumped into Michelle (Marlie's Mum) a few times and it's been difficult to not be overly chatty to little Marlie at times.  I almost died when Amara and I met Mum and Marlie in Tesco and Amara is shouting "Hi Marlie cooochie cooochie coooooo" lol.

These last few weeks have been busy with shoot after shoot, I suppose it's because we are nearing Christmas....... OMG only 8 weeks to go or something like that eek!   Hope everyone has had a Happy Halloween xx

Little Munchkin

Well this has been another busy week.  I was away with hubby and my darling children for a few days in Aviemore which was lovely, but it's now back to madness and trying to get organised for school next week. My house is in total chaos as we are or should I say hubby is laying new flooring in the kitchen, I had no idea how much dust there would be let alone how far it would travel.  So at the moment it means the studio conversion is on hold for a day or two till hubby completes the kitchen complete with the odd four letter rant at times!

Today I photographed another little girl called Murron, this time she was only 4 weeks old and boy was she a little munchkin.  She did not want to sleep but she did want to eat ;-) hee hee.  Anyway she was a little star and I got some great shots of her in the end! 

What to expect

Thought it was time for an update on what my plans are for now and the future and a little insight into what to expect on one of my shoots.

I never seem to have the time anymore to enjoy or take self portraits which is how I started out in photography.  Starting my business seems to have taken over a lot of things as well as trying to raise two children or should I say three including hubby!  I can’t complain of course as things are going well and I’m enjoying every shoot that I take on. Having the chance to do a self portrait allows me to get all those mad little ideas that go on in my head out in the open.  I hope to be able to incorporate these ideas into other shoots that I take on leaving the customer feeling that they have some images that no other person, couple, family have.

The kind of customers I’m aiming to attract and have done so far are those that want that little something different and are willing to work with me on creating the images you have in YOUR head as well as me throwing in my little bit of creativity …..after all the images are for YOUR wall not mine! But don’t worry if you haven’t a clue we can sit down and come up with some ideas together.   This is just all part of the extra service that I provide.  Chances are your sitting fee goes towards a prop that I will use for the shoot anyway.  So you tell me “what other photographer offers styling, locations at the drop of a hat with a vivid imagination”?  Hubby argues that I’ll never make money if I continue to buy as much props as I have been but I’ll do anything for that special shot!  I remember feeling quite anxious when I took my kids to get their photos taken (this was before I became a photographer) I felt silly asking for poses etc and that I should just shut up and let “them” do their jobs.  I never want for my clients to feel like that and what I hope to offer is a relaxed atmosphere with a few cups of tea thrown in for good measure!  There are also many products/framing options available for everyone’s budget.

So what are the plans for the future?

Well I’m in the middle of converting our garage into a studio and very much looking forward to having a wee opening night.  I’ve also been asked quite a lot for Boudoir photography.  Many women of all ages are really wanting to try this and why the hell not?  So whether you’re a mum of five or a bride to be or a hen party or just an average girl wanting some seriously wowzer images then watch this space as that’s coming soon also!

That’s about all I can tell you for now I will continue to strive for originality in every way possible and always stay one step ahead of the game and please, please feel free to ask me anything about anything. x

Vintage Wedding Ideas

I love shopping about looking for things online especially vintage style things and this website www.etsy.com is one of my favourites especially for something a little quirky or if you want to be a little different. It's the perfect place for Brides to look to find anything and everything to add that extra special touch to their wedding day. There is everything from hand made invitations to head pieces to designer dresses and gorgeous shoes and flowers. It's THE absolute heaven of a places to visit. Go check it out for yourself.

Click on Vintage Wedding Ideas ^ to take you to shopping heaven!

A quick glance

Little People

This past week has been quite busy with the little people. I've had great fun on the past few shoots. I have to admit that it's getting colder at this time of year but little Leyton who loves windmills and my pink lady apples was soooooo cute but absolutely frozen. My other shoot was with Joss, his mum and dad were great sports also and mum Louise was like a personal stylist to Joss...... so cute!

Little Leyton



he loved the windmills


I love his little expression on this one


Little Joss and super Dad








These are just a few of my fave's from both shoots.

Now it's time for a cuppa and a biscuit.

A wedding with a difference

On Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing Nancy & Ryan's wedding day which was held at Pittodrie House Hotel. YES ....... it was a wedding with a difference to say the least! I have included some insanely funny photos and it was surprisingly easy to get the guests to dress up especially with the help of Josh, Nancy's son as he was dragging everyone in and dressing them as well as trying to sneak in every shot wearing multiple moustaches and feather boas as hair!!!!

Nancy and Ryan let me drag them all over Pittodrie to take lots and lots of lovely snaps that I hope they'll be happy with.

Here's a few of the willing participants....

Click on pic to view large!


The lovely couple







So if your looking for a little something different for your wedding that is a little insane you've come to the right place!

A busy weekend

This weekend was pretty hectic to say the least but lots and lots of fun.

On Saturday I had an engagement shoot with the lovely Nina and Russell at Balmedie Beach. The shoot was actually meant to be for the previous week but the weather was awful so we postponed to this Saturday just past and oh wow...... we couldn't have asked for better weather. The sky was blue, it was gorgeous and hot, in fact probably safe to say that Saturday will be the last of our summer weather ;-(

Anyway just thought I would share a couple of shots from Saturday.

Pics of a fun wedding to come soon!

Custom made Tutu's

I've been making these for a while now and use them when photographing little girls. They are absolutely adorabley gorgeous and you can basically have them in any colour. I am now selling these so if there is a particular colour you are after then please let me know. Please email for details and prices.



Goodness, I don't think I've posted so many times in one week! ;-)

Presenting Alex Salmond

On Tuesday the 15th September I presented Alex Salmond with one of my images. During the summer holidays I received a phone call from the lovely Rhonda Fraser to ask if I would have an image available which was taken in and around Inverurie or would I be able to do one. Having been quite busy over the summer holidays with shoots, delivering babies and everything else I hadn't had much time to be creative in taking any kind of self portrait. Anyway, I had this idea of taking an image showing Bennachie in the background in a hay field but that didn't turn out so on driving home I stopped at the woods beside my house where I took a few shots whilst being bitten alive by little beasties!!!

The Tuesday of the presentation was very daunting indeed. I turned up to find all these men in suits, so I grabbed a cuppa tea trying to hide the nerves. Rhonda went over what I had to do and I had this vision of tripping up the steps as I presented him with my framed picture. However, all went well and I met some lovely people. Even the men in suits were quite friendly ;-)

Alex Salmond himself was very polite and seemed genuinely pleased with what I gave him, whether he was pretending or not he did a good job of hiding it.

Anyway, I thought I would get this posted as my Granny has been trying to get on my blog and I think she's been looking out for this post! "Hi Granny"

Some pics taken by a lovely lady I met called Kate Sutherland.

A little something for the weekend

Here's some Cupcakes I made this weekend and I have to say they taste as good as they look, especially the chocolate one! They were soooo easy to make and I've included the recipe.




My Favourite



Vanilla buttercake
90g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanill extract
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
2 tablespoons milk

Butter cream frosting
125g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (240g) icing sugra
2 tablespoons milk
50g dark eating chocilate, chopped finely
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pink food colouring

Decorations
Anything you like

1. Preheat oven to moderate (180C or 160C fan-assisted). Line 6-hole large or 12-hole standard muffin tray with paper cases.

2. Beat butter, extract sugar, eggs, flour and milk in small bowl with electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium, beat until mixture is changed to a paler colour.

3. Divide mixture among cases, smooth surface.

4. Bake large cakes about 25 minutes, small cakes about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

5. Make butter cream frosting.

Butter cream frosting

Beat butter in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, beat in sifted icing sugar and milk, in two batches. Divide mixture among two small bowls. Add chopped chocolate to one and sifted cocoa powder. Using colouring to tint one pink.

Tip

I found the icing to be quite thin so added more icing sugar till I was happy with the consistency. Instead of using dark chocolate I used milk chocolate (Galaxy to be exact).

Enjoy........lovely to eat but bad on the waistline ;-)

Products

Some new products now on offer from Amara Ritchie Photography. There are many other options available and with Christmas not too far away (eek)....... Calendars are the perfect stocking filler for Grandparents and family. I'm currently offering the Long Wall Calendar but please ask for more details.



A gorgeous and contemporary and stylish way to show off your images.
Overall size of around 24x24 inches with 9 equally spaced 6x6 apertures.
Your images are carefully placed behind highly polished 15mm thick acrylic blocks and then fixed into each aperture in your chosen order. The product is finished with a high gloss lacquer in three popular colours - red, black and off-white.



Why not send out your images on a Christmas card.....



Alternative framing.....

Beautifully presented in a material lined black display box. Mounting the print to the back of the 30mm block gives a prism effect, allowing you to view the image in different ways from many angles.



Or why not treat yourself to a stylish 12"x12" custom designed Coffee Table Book to show off to all your friends.



Amara Ritchie offers many products with a variety of framing choices, please ask for more details.

I WANT your ideas, I WANT you to tell me what you WANT so that we can work together to create something that you will love.

Cute Bundles

I know I said I would blog more but it would help if I could remember my password to get in. It normally takes me about half an hour or I figure it out!

Anyway, on Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous little girl called Murron. Her name is from the film Braveheart and she sooooo suits it. She had the cutest, little face and was an absolute joy to photograph. It was rather tricky in getting her to sleep with a few piddly accidents on the way but who cares when you get shots as gorgeous as she was. So mum, dad and I sat and waited and chatted and had numerous cups of tea until little Murron fell asleep.

Things have been pretty hectic with me these past few weeks but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Just popping in to say hi

I've been really busy lately.....doing what I don't quite know ha ha!

It's nice to be back to normal and by that I mean no college, kids back at school and my house finally looking like a house rather than a dumping ground. I think I had two years of housework to catch up on. Apart from that I've a good few shoots lined up over the next few weeks and coming months which will no doubt keep me busy. So if your looking for any Christmas photos to hand out to Grandparents or families now's the time to book. Talking of Grandparents I have to say a "Hi" to Granny who now has a laptop and managed to find her way to my website ;-)

Tutu's will be available to purchase soon.....so again if your looking for a little girls gift this xmas why not pre-order.

Last weekend hubby and I went to Lonach Games for the first time, well first time for me anyway! It was brilliant and I managed to grab a few shots of Billy Connolley, but the best part was the March and the Pipe Bands. It always sends a shiver down my spine when you hear those guys play.

Right, I'm off to make a cuppa tea and I do promise to try and make more effort with my blog. Any suggestions that you want to see on here let me know!

Little Man

Not only does Cody have Auntie Joanne to deliver him but he has his own personal photographer ;-), how could I not resist taking his photo? Mum, Dad and Cody arrived just after lunch time in which they were here till about supper time. Cody likes to stay wakened most of the day you see.......... and likes to sleep all night!! Lucky for mum and dad but not for me. We had to wait a good while until we got him into that sleepy, drunk like state that is soooooo cute. Anyone who says photographing babies is a breeze is lying, I have to admit that I do love photographing them though. The hat and wrap were knitted by my 80 year old Granny (Cody's Great Granny), she's on her third one while I'm still trying to knit my first ;-(
Oh we also made the papers today........pic to follow soon ;-)