Katy's Blog » Serendipity Photography

An Exciting New Chapter

Katy — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:47:07 +0000

I started Serendipity Photography in January 2008 and have had an amazing 3 years running a business which I am so passionate about. I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful couples and families as well as businesses and up and coming models/singers.
Every shoot I have done over the last three years has been individual and special. I have got to know a lot of families really well as I have photographed their little ones with my Shutterbug shoots. I hope that during this time I have created some very special memories for those familes, I know I will treasure these times.

It is now time for an exciting new chapter in my life. In December I was offered a very exciting job working with the wonderfully talented Julia Boggio and her husband James Derbyshire in their photography studio in Wimbledon. It was too good an opportunity to say no to as they want me to come on board to work with developing their business which focuses on baby and children portraits as well as Vintage Boudoir.

“We are proud to announce that Katy Thomson is joining our expanding team. Katy’s job, aside from taking beautiful photographs, will be to assist us in managing the rapid growth of our studio & to help open more studios in the future. Having looked for someone that would be a perfect fit for over a year, Julia & the team are thrilled to have found Katy, a trained teacher as well as a talented photographer.” Julia Boggio

It will be hard to leave Sheffield which has been such an important part of my life. I studied here at Sheffield University and then then stayed on for a further 3 years. Sheffield is the city where Serendipity Photography & Shutterbugs was born and nurtured. I have a lot of wonderful friends here and have made some fantastic contacts through all the networking groups I have belonged too. It has been a great place for me to start my business and has taken me to where I am now….ready to move back down to London and continue my photography journey.

I am passionate about photography and taking wonderful photos, especially of children. This new chapter is going to enable me to continue to do this whilst also working with one of the best photographers in the business. It is a real priviledge to work with James and Julia and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me in my business I have loved every single minute. I will keep you all updated on my progress as I move to the home of tennis and wombles. : )

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 24th December – A Winter’s Shoot

Katy — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:00:48 +0000

On the 24th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Winter’s Shoot.

As my Strawberry Advent Blog comes to an end it is with great pleasure that I post this final shoot. When I do family photoshoots I either go to their homes or to a chosen location. In this case the family who I was photographing were from Preston in Lancashire. They had been given a voucher to have a family photo shoot when their little boy was born. Some of their family live in Sheffield so they travelled over to Sheffield to combine their shoot with spending time with their family. We started the shoot off in my “studio” and then wrapped up warm to head out to a cold and snowy millhouses park to take some photos of them together.

I love doing shoots in the snow as the light is amazing and as long as you’re wrapped up warm you get some fantastic shots. With all the snow that we have been getting over the last few weeks it seems only right that my last blog on Christmas Eve is of a shoot in the snow.

Cheeky Grin

Peek-a-boo

Time with daddy

Bubbles with mummy

Family Time

Playing in the park

Giggles

Blue Eyed Boy

Baby Portrait

Watching

Giggles with mummy

It's too cold!

Thank you for taking the time to read my Strawberry Advent Blog. I have loved sharing with you some of the great shoots and weddings that I have been doing over the last few months. I’d like to take this moment to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and to thank you for all the support you have given me and my business in 2010.

As we move into 2011 there are some exciting changes about to take place so I am looking forward to sharing those with you but in the meantime let me wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here is to a fantastic 2011.

Merry Christmas from the Strawberry Photographer

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 21st December – A Family Wedding – Peacocks & Birdcages

Katy — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:00:22 +0000

On the 21st day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Family Wedding.

Today’s blog isn’t one of my official shoots but I just had to include it as one of the 24 blogs in December. The reason I wanted to share these photos is because they are of my sister’s wedding and it was a truly special day for them and all of us in the family. Fiona & Bill got enagaged last December so this year has been spent planning their special day in London with their closest family & friends.

Their day started with a lovely ceremony at Chelsea Registry Office with a small group of immediate family & friends. We then jumped in cabs and made our way down to the River Thames where we boarded “Pride of London” which was to be the location for their 2nd ceremony. As we made our way down the river towards London Bridge to collect the rest of the wedding guests, who had all been told to be ready to board at 3pm, we had lunch and got Fiona changed into her wedding dress for the ceremony. Fiona wanted to break all traditions with her wedding dress and opted for a beautiful gold gown which she made with my mum. She looked absolutely stunning and with the accessories of her fascinator with birdcage veil made by Imogen’s Imagination and lace fan & garter made by my mum she looked radiant.

I was bridesmaid for the day but couldn’t resist taking a few photos….I had to have a few memories of my sister’s wedding. The offical photos were taken by Stephan Gregoire, it was so lovely to step back and let him get on with capturing the day.

The Pride of London

Final touches

The gorgeous golden gown made by my mum & sister

Birdcage Veil

Mum's handmade lace garter & horseshoe

Lace & Peacock Feather accessories

After the ceremony on the boat we sailed along the Thames past all the main London landmarks before mooring up at Chelsea Harbour to head to the reception at Imperial Warf. Whilst we had a few hours on the boat the guests enjoyed drinks & photos plus a few fun games to get all the guests talking.

Mr & Mrs Frost

Happy

Love at the Tower!

Fiona & Bill with his best men

Once we moored up all the guests gathered on the docks for an “everyone” photo before walking to the pub where we all enjoyed a wonderful meal and fantastic evening. Fiona & Bill had themed the room with peacock feathers and flower arrangements in beautiful birdcages. They also had a “superhero” theme to go with Bill’s love for Marvel comics so all the tables were named after a superhero. The cake was topped with a tardis to show Bill’s love (obsession) with Dr Who.

All the wedding guests

Dr Who inspired Wedding Cake.

After the meal & speeches Fiona & Bill did the most amusing first dance to Basement Jaxx. Their dance turned into a bit of a dance off to the hilarity of all the guests! To keep the party spirit going my cousin Ben & I put together a photo booth area where the guests could come along and have their photo taken wearing ridiculous hats & wigs. It was a great end to a wonderful day.

The Frosts

Sophia with my parents..my dad suits that hat!

The bride & her bridesmaids...Sarah, Fiona & me (Katy)

The girls

Gorgeous

Dejected?

Ben & Claire

Fun times

It was a very special day and it was so wonderful to see my sister so happy. We are all so pleased to have Bill as part of the family and I now have the brother I always wanted.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 20th December – A Teenage Beauty

Katy — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:00:40 +0000

On the 20th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A teenage beauty.

I often get told that I should never work with animals and children so when I got asked to do this next shoot I should have walked away! However I love both animals and children/teenagers so when I was asked to photograph Laura with her beautiful dog I couldn’t say no. It was Laura’s birthday so her parents had wanted some up to date photos of her and she wanted to have photos of her and her dog.

I love photographing teenagers. I have met all sorts of different characters from the confident Britain’s Next Top Model wannabes to moody, quiet and very shy individuals. When I do a portrait I am really keen to take some time to get to know the person I’m photographing. I really want them to feel comfortable with me as well as to feel confident and happy in front of the camera. Laura was quite quiet initially but as we got into the shoot she relaxed and enjoyed her shoot. I posed her and constantly gave her pointers about how to stand. I wanted her to feel gorgeous and special. We had a great afternoon and both her and her parents loved the results.

The birthday girl

Smiles

A teenage beauty

Laura

Beautiful girls

A model pose

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 16th December – A Vintage Bride

Katy — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:00:13 +0000

On the 16th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Vintage Bride.

I am very excited to be sharing this shoot with you on the Strawberry Advent Blog. It is one of my favourite commercial shoots of the year not only because of the end products but because of the amazing mix of people who I worked with to get the photos that we all loved.

I was approached by Laura Green from Little White Book who was helping to organise a wonderful Vintage Brial Soiree at the Chimney House in Sheffield. She was organising the event with Hansley Beard Events, Coco Catering & Swallows & Damson Florists. They were looking for images to use for the marketing and PR for their event. I was asked to take some beautiful images that could be used on blogs, press releases and in adverts. We approached the Chimney House, where the event was taking place, to see if we could do the shoot there. It is such a stunning location and I was really excited to be using it in the shoot. Laura then organised a beautiful vintage dress from Choola and the most stunning bridal bouquets made by Debbie from DCBouquets. We then asked the stunning Laurra from One Life Ceremonies to be our model.

We had a fantastic morning taking these photos and I loved every single second of it so I can’t wait to share this advent treat with you.

Vintage Bride

Bridal Bouquet by DCBouquet

The Chimney House

Beautiful

Vintage Beauty

Bouquet & Headband by DCBouquet

Chimney House

Natural Light

Window Light

Chimney House Staircase

Laughter

Reflection

A beautiful shoot in a stunning location with fantastic suppliers and organised by the talented Laura Green. I feel very privileged to work with such wonderful people in Sheffield. The Vintage Bridal Soiree took place in September and was a fantastic evening. Well done to everyone involved.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 15th December – A Little Flower

Katy — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:00:03 +0000

On the 15th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Little Flower. One of my favourite subjects to photograph are babies…my little Shutterbugs. I have always loved children and so to be able to photograph them and get images which their parents treasure makes my job the best in the world.

This little Shutterbug in today’s Strawberry Advent Blog is a cherub and my precious little goddaughter. She is daughter to one of my best friends so I loved to be able to spend a morning with them both and get these gorgeous photos.

Blue Eyed girl

Giggles

Mummy Cuddles

Beautiful Girls

A Little Cherub

Modelling is fun!

Peek a boo

I might be a little biased but isn’t she gorgeous!

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 14th December – Sunshine & Lantern Wedding

Katy — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:00:05 +0000

On the 14th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Sunshine & Lantern Wedding. This summer was full of beautiful weddings and it was great to be able to be part of such wonderful days. We didn’t get much of a summer this year so the weather was a challenge although I have yet to use the wedding brollies! In August I photographed Zara & John’s wedding at Tankersley Manor in Sheffield. They had a beautiful day including blue skies and sunshine. I am thrilled to be sharing their day with you for the Strawberry Advent Blog.

I met up with Zara & John before their wedding to check out the venue we were going to use for their wedding photos. It gave us the chance to get to know each other and for me to get an idea of the sort of photos they were thinking of for their wedding.

Zara & John

The lovely couple.

As the wedding day dawned I went over to Tankersley Manor to see Zara as she was getting ready. I don’t think I have met a more calm bride. Everything was in order and she was quietly having her makeup done and getting excited about the day ahead.

The dress

Bridesmaids & the mother of the bride.

Getting into the dress.

Whilst the girls put the finishing touches to their outfits I went over to meet with John and the boys and get some photos of them as they waited for the guests to arrive.

John & his best man arrive.

Relaxed and ready

Time to get married.

A very proud & emotional bride & father of the bride.

A happy groom

A happy bride

Man and Wife

Bouquets

Let the celebrations begin

As the guests enjoyed a few drinks I took the bridal party off to get some photos of them all together before taking John & Zara off to a secret location for their couple shots.

The girls

Jumping!

Beautiful

Summer Love

Reflections

Once back at Tankersley Manor the guests enjoyed the sunshine before inside for the wedding breakfast.

Blue Sky

Relaxed

Drinks in the sunshine.

A little hockey star in the making

Excitement!

Last minute touches

Little Details

Speeches

To finish off the evening Zara & John took to the floor for their first dance before heading outside to set off some Chinese Lanterns into the summer evening sunset.

First Dance

Chinese Lanterns

Setting off

Make a Wish

Zara & John had a beautiful day for their wedding and I wish them all the happiness as they start married life together.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 13th December – An Actor’s Life

Katy — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:00:04 +0000

On the 13th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….An Actor’s Life. As part of Serendipity Photography I don’t just photograph weddings and children but I also do corporate shoots and actor/model head shots. In September I got a call to do a set of head shots for a young actress who needed a selection of images and a portfolio to send to agents and auditions. We had a great afternoon doing a selection of different shots with a number of outfit changes as well as poses and backgrounds.

Here is Katie….hopefully she is one to watch out for in the future.

Katie

Pretty

Head Shot

Smiles

More Smiles

Cute

Attitude

I wish Katie all the best as she sets out on her dream of becoming a successful actress.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 11th December – Perfect Pink Wedding

Katy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:00:20 +0000

On the 11th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you…..A Perfect Pink Wedding. This summer was full of wonderful weddings and today’s blog post is definitely one of them. Ali & Paul had a wonderful family wedding in August and although the weather might have been grey and gloomy it didn’t dampen the celebrations of the day.

I used to teach with Ali so it was wonderful to be able to photograph her wedding to Paul. I spent last year photographing Ali’s niece Erin in one of our Shutterbugs “Bump to 1st Year” packages so I knew the family really well and love that I have photographed some really special occasions for them.

The day started off at Ali’s parents where she was getting ready with her sister, niece and her 2 god children. The 3 little ones made very cute flower girls & a page boy.

Getting ready

My competition

Final Touches

Flower Girls checking the rain

Whilst the girls finished up at home I popped up to the church to get some photos of Paul and the boys whilst they waited for the ceremony to start.

Paul & his best men

Here come the boys

The boys

Super Hero Socks

Arrival of the bride

Cute pink flower girls

An emotional arrival

The vows

Ali & Paul had a beautiful service in a stunning little church. It was quite an emotional ceremony but wonderful to see them become Mr & Mrs Cantle. After the ceremony there was time to greet guests and then as all the guests made their way to the reception I took Ali & Paul & their immediate family to Ali’s parents home to take photos in their garden. Ali’s dad had spent months on his garden in preparation for the wedding so it was great to take photos of them all there. We did have to dodge the rain showers but we got some lovely photos.

The new Mr & Mrs Cantle

The beautiful gardens

Happiness

Love Seat

Beautiful

After some photos with the family we made our way to the reception venue to meet with the other guests and enjoy the celebrations. As we arrived at the reception we were greeted by a steel band. Ali and her family have spent most of their summers holidaying in Barbados so it seemed only right to have a steel band at the wedding. I lived in Barbados as a child & then my parents were there again when I was in my late teens so Barbados is a second home to me and I absolutely loved going around taking photos of Ali & Paul’s wedding whilst being accompanied by the steel band…they made up for the lack on sunshine on the day.

Steel Pans

Laughter

Girls

All enjoying the day

The bridal party

Ali & Paul had 3 very cute little ones as their 2 flower girls and page boy. I couldn’t resist taking photos of them as they were adorable and loved the day.

Playing in the fountain

Playing

Flowergirl .. one of my first little Shutterbugs

Fun

Flowergirl & Page Boy dolls

As the celebrations continued the friends & family enjoyed a wonderful meal and then were treated to some emotional & amusing speeches before partying the night away with dancing, limbo and a casino table.

Father of the bride

Here's to the happy couple.

Emotional speeches

Laughter & Tears

The First Dance

Congratulations to Ali & Paul, it was a beautiful day and I wish you both lots of love and happiness as you start your married life together.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 9th December – One Stylish Lady

Katy — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:00:35 +0000

On the 9th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….One Stylish Lady. Today’s advent blog brings you the very lovely Natasha Lyons who is one of the UK’s up and coming young stylists. I have worked with Natasha on a number of occasions and as a result we have become good friends. She is fun, loves fashion and is definitely a great friend to have when it comes to shopping & making yourself look good.

I first met Natasha when I won a 4 hr personal shopping voucher at a networking event. I spent 4 hours with Natasha in Meadowhall shopping…what more could 2 girls want? Natasha sat me down and talked to me about my job, what I do, what I enjoy, what clothes I own, what I want and most importantly how much I wanted to spend! We then wandered around the shops trying on different outfits and spending my hard earned cash. Natasha had me trying on outfits I never would have looked twice at, she opened my eyes to different styles which would suit me and I bought some amazing pieces for my wardrobe.

Since my shopping treat I have spent more and more time with Natasha. She worked with me on the Paul Pashley shoot as well as my maternity cupcake shoot (still to come on the blog), it was great working with such a creative professional. Natasha is definitely a stylist to watch out for in the near future. Due to her skills & style she was approached by a local paper to do an article on her so she asked me to come and take some photos to go with the article. These are the photos I’m using for today’s blog.

If you’re a photographer or someone in the creative arts and need a stylist for your shoots or you’re somebody who is desperate to have a new wardrobe then drop Natasha a line she is definitely worth talking to.

Natasha

Stylish

Accessories for a Stylist's wardrobe

Clothes

It's all about accessories