Katy's Blog » Shutterbugs

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: 23rd December – 3 Cheeky Brothers

Katy — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:00:01 +0000

On the 23rd day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….3 Cheeky Brothers.

As we come to the end of the Strawberry Advent Blog I was struggling to choose which last few shoots to share with you as it has been a fantastic few months. I have picked this one as it has to be one of the ones where I giggled and laughed the most throughout the whole shoot. The main reason for this was because I was photographing 3 very cheeky brothers (7, 4 & 2) who had the most infectious laughs. When I said I wanted to take photos of them they got so excited that they ran around sorting out the “background”…their choice of blue blanket. They then posed individually and giggled a lot when I had them sat together for the shot that their parents wanted. There were a lot of “out takes” for this shoot as they all loved to pull silly faces and stick out their tongues. When these 3 grow up I think I might just employ them to be creative art directors for my shoots…they’d be so much fun to work with!

The cheeky 2 year old

Butter wouldn't melt...

The handsome 7 year old

A cheeky smile

The giggly 4 year old

Model in the making

A quiet moment

Brotherly Love

Cheeky Boys

Giddy!

3 very cute boys who I’m sure will be heart breakers when they’re older!

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 22nd December – A very tiny Shutterbug

Katy — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:42 +0000

On the 22nd day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A very tiny Shutterbug.

As you may have seen throughout my December blogs I love photographing babies and children. Shutterbugs is one of the favourite parts of my job as I get to be part of such special times in my clients’ family lives. It is such a privilege to be asked to come into a family home and take photos of their precious little ones especially when they are very new to this world.

Today’s blog is of Baby L who is the youngest and tiniest Shutterbugs I have photographed. He was absolutely adorable and didn’t grumble as I moved him round to capture the cutest photos of him. I am adding quite a few photos to this blog because there were too many to choose from….be warned, your heart may melt!

A sleeping babe

A Father's Love

Mother's Love

Adorable

Wide Awake

A lovely bundle

Baby Blue

Little Bear

Father & Son

Live Forever

A Perfect Family

I hope you’ll agree that Baby L is very cute. I’m looking forward to seeing him again in a few weeks to take his next set of photos.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 18th December – Bumps & Cupcakes…It started with a Tweet.

Katy — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:41:22 +0000

On the 18th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….”Bumps and Cupcakes…..It started with a tweet.”

I am very excited to share this blog with you as it really celebrates the power of social networking and small businesses coming together to support each other. I am a keen Twitter fan and have been tweeting (@KTSerendipity) for well over a year. During this time I have got to know some amazing people and really developed my network of business contacts both here in Sheffield as well as around the country and in some cases, the world. As a sole trader running your own business can be a lonely place so meeting other like minded people in similar lines of work through social networking has been a real godsend. It has been so good to get to know other suppliers and pass work to each other as well as recommened each other for work that we come across. The best part of it has been getting the opportunities to work together.

In today’s Advent Blog I am sharing with you photos that were taken as a result of a shoot that started with a tweet! Over the summer I got talking with Laura from @Geniicupcakes and Philippa from @Kell_weddings. Laura runs her own cupcake company in Southampton and Philippa is a Wedding Planner based in Doncaster. Our conversation started when Laura mentioned that she was coming up with some new cupcake recipes which would be good for pregnant mums to be. She was trying out her ginger cupcakes with lime frosting and was also looking at other flavours based on food which helps with morning sickness or cravings. I had always been impressed with Laura’s cupcakes and her website so I was really intrigued with this new line of cupcakes that she was making. In a fly away comment I said that we should combine her cupcakes with my Shutterbugs photography as we both cater for maternity and new borns. As our tweets were going back and forth Laura suggested a photoshoot and then Philippa got involved and said that she would more than happily model as she was 7 months pregnant and loved cupcakes! Before we knew it our ideas and tweets were becoming reality as we arranged a time in our diary for Laura to come up to Sheffield with her cupcakes and for a photo shoot to be arranged.

I got my friend Natasha from Natasha Lyons Styling (@natashalyons) to help out with the styling of the shoot and Philippa arranged to have the Leopold Hotel in Sheffield as the location for our shoot. Philippa also arranged for a makeup artist to come on board as well. Before we knew it Laura was driving up from Southhampton and the photo shoot was taking place. It was an amazing day and was so lovely to meet Philippa and Laura. Due to all our conversations on twitter we chatted like we’d known each other for years. Natasha styled Philippa beautifully and Laura’s cupcakes looked divine. I was so impressed with the styling of the cupcakes as well as the thought and detail that Laura puts into her flavours and icing decoration.

The photos from this shoot have been used by Laura to help promote her cupcakes and I really hope that her business continues to grow from strength to strength. Philippa has since given birth to a gorgeous baby girl and continues to work as a wedding planner in Doncaster.

To find out more about their businesses have a look here: Laura from Genii Cupcakes, Philippa from Kellington Weddings, Natasha from Natasha Lyons Styling.

If you’re on twitter then say hi and follow us! @KTSerendipity @GeniiCupcakes @Kell_Weddings @NatashaLyons

The Beautiful Philippa

Bumps

Surrounded by Cupcakes

Delicious Cupcakes

Stylish Cupcakes

Baby Cupcakes

Yummy Mummy

It's a boy!

It's a girl!

Just want to eat it.

Ginger cupcakes with a lime frosting

Now I’ve written this blog I want to go and eat cupcakes!

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: 12th December – A Special Family Shutterbug

Katy — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:00:36 +0000

On the 12th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Special Family Shutterbug. Today’s Advent blog has a personal touch to it. I love photographing families, especially as they are celebrating the arrival of a new little one. Today’s newest Shutterbug is actually my cousin’s baby and the first of the next generation in our family. When I was told that they had been bought my Shutterbug “Bump to 1st Year” package as a gift I was really excited about taking the photos of baby Jamie.

Our first shoot took place in August when I went up to Newcastle to photograph Mark, Claire and bump. It wasn’t long after that I was back there taking photos of Jamie as he made a slightly early arrival on this planet. He was clearly very keen to join our family!

Bump

Proud parents to be

On the 4th September 2010 James David Garside was born weighing 6lbs 14ozs. 2 weeks later I was traveling up to Newcastle to take photos of baby Jamie. He was a perfect model and so easy to photograph. Looks like he comes from great stock….but then I might be slightly biased.

Sleeping babe

It's tiring being a model

Tiny

Puzzled

Mummy's Boy

A very happy family

Welcome to the family little Jamie. I can’t wait to photograph you as you grow up this year.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 10th December – A Winning Family

Katy — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:00:36 +0000

On the 10th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….A Winning Family.

Back in May of this year we launched a Shutterbug Competition for a family to win a photo shoot in their own home. In order to enter we asked for friends, individuals & families to write a few lines telling us why they thought their family deserved to win the shoot. We had a lot of wonderful entries and it was very difficult for our panel to choose one family to win the Shutterbug Shoot.

In the end the Wilders family were chosen as our winners. They had had a tough year with redundancies, a new baby & planning a wedding so it was felt that a family photo shoot was just what they needed. They were a fun family full of smiles and great fun to spend a morning with. It was a real pleasure to take their photos.

Baby Portrait

Cheeky Grins

Basket Fun

Beautiful Pose

Giggles

Quirky

Family giggles

Tickles

Toothy Grin

More Smiles

A wonderful blog full of smiles of a lovely family. A Shutterbugs shoot was a great way to spend the morning as a family.

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 4th December – A Strawberry Shutterbug

Katy — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:00:21 +0000

On the 4th day of Christmas the Strawberry Photographer brings to you….a Strawberry Shutterbug. This is a very special post today as this little Shutterbug is another baby of one of my wedding couples. I photographed Clare & Ryan’s wedding in 2009 so I was very excited when I got a call to say that they were expecting a baby & could I come to take photos. I took some lovely photos of Clare towards the end of her pregnancy. It was then a waiting game for the phone to ring to say that Lacey had arrived.

Lacey is a beautiful little girl who was incredibly placid and calm throughout the whole shoot. She didn’t complain once as I moved her around and made her lie in different ways. I can’t wait to carry on taking photos of her as she grows up.

Sleeping Beauty

Fast Asleep

A little smile?

Tiny

Precious

The Strawberry Advent Blog: 1st December – 3 Little Shutterbugs

Katy — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:00:47 +0000

Life has been incredibly busy in our Strawberry Serendipity Photography world so I apologise for not blogging for a very long time! With Christmas fast approaching I thought I would choose 24 of my favourite shoots over the last few months and blog one a day as an ADVENT blog. I’d like to think that my blog is your own Strawberry Advent Calendar with a new set of photos being revealed every day.

To start off I want to share with you 3 little Shutterbugs who are so gorgeous. Shutterbugs is my baby & children photography. I love photographing families with their children and I do a package which allows me to follow a family from pregnancy all the way through to their little one’s 1st birthday. I have spent time with a number of families but here are 3 Shutterbugs who all turned 1 over the summer.

Our first Shutterbug is little Celia. She was born earlier than expected so our pregnancy shoot ended up becoming a newborn shoot. It has to be said she wasn’t a fan of having her photo taken in the first shoot but by the final shoot she was a natural in front of the camera and an absolute delight to photograph. She’s a true little redhead strawberry Shutterbug.

Baby Celia

Cuddle with daddy.

A year later she is a very cute little girl who is on the verge of walking. A true little Shutterbug.

A smiley Shutterbug

Modelling the strawberry hat

Daddy's girl

Toddling Feet

Our second Shutterbug is Daniel. His mum got one of our Shutterbug “Birth to 1st Year” vouchers as a gift when she had Daniel. It was a gift from a friend who lives in Thailand so she saw it as a great way to keep track of how Daniel was growing up & changing. Daniel had a few moments in our first shoot where he needed to let us know he wasn’t happy but after a little nap he was ready for his photo to be taken. A gorgeous blue eyed boy.

Blue Eyed Boy

Cute Baby Feet

A year later Daniel is an inquisitive little boy who loves to play in his sandpit & explore the garden.

Happy Smiles

Modelling the strawberry hat

Peek a boo

It's serious business building a sandcastle

Our third and final Shutterbug is the gorgeous Niamh. I first met Niamh when she was only a couple of weeks old. Like Daniel, her mum had also been bought a voucher for our Shutterbug “Birth to 1st Year” package by the same friend who is out in Thailand and didn’t want to miss out on these little ones growing up. When Niamh was first born she had beautiful auburn hair which she still had for her 3rd sitting but by the time I saw her for her 1st birthday she had a head ful of stunning blonde curls. Here she is as a very little Shutterbug.

Sleeping Beauty

Can't resist baby feet

A year later Niamh is a very cute toddler who is running around the house and making her parents smile.

Happy Smiles

Modelling the Strawberry Hat

Strawberry Shutterbug

Peek a Boo

3 very cute Shutterbugs to start my Strawberry Advent Blog. I loved photographing these 3 littles ones over the last year. It’s such a privilege to be able to see my Shutterbugs growing up from new born babies to cute toddlers.