Interview with Madelaine: Pinny Princess
Madelaine contacted us with a very specific 'look' that she needed for headshots on her new updated website Pinny Princess. It's nice to do something different; I don't usually shoot in black and white for starters!
If you are on Instagram, you may have already heard of Pinny Princess with an impressive 20k+ following. Alongside working from her home workshop near Morpeth, she is also super mum to her two young boys and manages to effortlessly bring glamour and style to the farm.
Can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to work in Northumberland?
I'm Madelaine from Pinny Princess, I was born and bred in Northumberland. I am greatly passionate about the area and love working here. I try my hardest to build a creative and flexible environment in our rural home for my kids, as my parents did for me.
Which part of your job do you feel most passionate about?
I feel the most passionate about my loyal customer base. I still pinch myself every day when someone from around the globe purchases something from Pinny Princess in little old Northumberland.
What tips would you give to someone starting out in your industry?
I would say focus on your ideal customer!
What is the best feedback you have ever had?
Great customer service. I pride myself as a small business to be as friendly as possible.
Who do you admire most in the world and why?
My mother. She has brought me up with the mindset that I can achieve anything I want, even with huge obstacles.
Do you have a favourite quote that you turn to for inspiration?
"Life's not fair"
My dad always said this to me so it has stuck with me and always grounds me!
What is the biggest challenge you face in business?
Being dyslexic is always a challenge. I am great with numbers but reading and spelling are difficult on a daily basis.
How will you use your headshots or how do you feel they will benefit your business?
I will be using them on my new website & social media platforms, I have never had them done before, so I am hoping they will create a professional look.
Headshot for Alistair Birkett, Farmer and Minister
Alistair popped into the studio on the off chance of getting a headshot done for the about page of Rural Ministries of which he is a pastoral support director. We went for a casual look so that his headshots could also be used for his farming business in Norham and for some of his social media pages like LinkedIn and Twitter.
A gorgeous autumnal wedding at Dryburgh Abbey Hotel
Erica and Jamie celebrated their wedding on a gloriously colourful October day. The weather wasn’t too kind but we managed to (mostly) avoid getting wet outside and Erica came prepared with her sparkly wellies.
The day started at Erica’s parent’s home in Ancrum, Jedburgh with some photographs of the bridesmaids and family that were there. It wasn’t far to go to get to Dryburgh Abbey Hotel in a shiny Mercedes car.
The ceremony room was set out beautifully with simple acorns and white chairs to incorporate the autumnal theme.
The theme also ran through the Order of Service booklets, table plan, and other literature throughout the day - a really nice touch.
The humanist celebrant gave a beautifully meaningful and emotive ceremony with a hand fasting ritual.
After the ceremony everyone retired to the lounge areas for coffee and nibbles then out we went for some quick formal family photographs, the next photo here includes ‘the best family’ and the bridesmaids, I loved that idea!
I then stuck my head out of an upstairs window for a group shot of everyone before heading out with Jamie and Erica to Dryburgh Abbey next door for the first photographs of them as husband and wife! (It’s also nice for them to take a break away from everything and regather just after the ceremony).
Soon after it was time for the wedding meal and some great speeches.
As you can see, the Scottish ceilidh dancing was a big hit. The first dance was rather impressive too - I’m sure there must have been some practising.
I loved the colours of this wedding, from Erica’s dress and the contrast with her mum’s outfit to the warm tree-lined drive at the hotel, I can’t wait to see Erica and Jamie show them the rest of their photographs.
Bamburgh Castle Wedding in Windy and Beautiful Northumberland
The day started with a quick visit to Bamburgh Beach. Julie and Mark were not concerned with tradition and were happy to see each other before the ceremony - it was lovely for them to spend some time together with the children before all the events of the day. You really can’t tell how windy it was in the photos on that day - it was actually insane!
We headed back to the Castle for a few more shots around the grounds before ‘the finishing touches’ of getting ready and welcoming all the guests to the Grand Kings Hall. The ceremony included a beautiful sand ceremony and readings from both mums.
After the ceremony, Mark and Julie jumped on their tandem bike for a hilarious ride around the grounds. Julie’s blue veil left her hair but fortunately, the wind blew it right back down and into my hands! We all walked down to another part of the castle where there were fish and chips served from a van and cake and drinks were served inside.
The very next day I attended their wedding reception at Crusoes, Tynemouth - its the second time I’ve photographed a reception here and it is a fab location!
This has been quite a long blog, mainly because Mark and Julie have opted for a USB digital photo only package so I didn’t get to create a storybook album (and I love putting the pictures from a wedding together to create the story of the day), its great to look over their wedding again and this has been the perfect way to enjoy it.
Birthday Celebration: A Wee Family Photo Shoot in the Scottish Borders
The Dodds Family from Ireland came over to Allanton in the Borders for a lovely wee relaxing break. Martin got in touch a few months before to arrange a family photo session at the holiday cottage as part of his wife’s birthday celebrations.
“Our decision to use Sarah from Pictorial Photography proved to be an excellent choice - we were holidaying near Berwick upon Tweed when we wanted our family photoshoot and booking the photo session was very easy, it involved just a phone call.
I was especially pleased that Sarah was able to take the photographs at our holiday cottage which meant that we were all much more relaxed. There were eight adults in our family group and we all enjoyed the experience.
I was delighted by with the final results and the quality of the photographs themselves. I will treasure these memories of a happy family occasion for a long time.
”
Two Women in Yellow Frocks Making Pretty Pictures
Pictorial Window Illustrating by Katie Chappell to celebrate Stage 3 OVO Energy Tour of Britain coming to Berwick!
Berwick is hosting the start of stage three of the 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain on Monday 9th September. The cycle race will start from the centre of Berwick on Tweed and will cross the Old Bridge as the race heads away along the Tweed Valley and onto Ford and Wooler. The route will race along the Northumberland Coast, past Bamburgh and Warkworth castles, showcasing our beautiful area through worldwide television coverage.
The people of Berwick are planning on hosting the warmest of welcomes to spectators and cyclists by decorating all the shop windows and displaying fabulous brightly painted bicycles at local visitor hotspots and roundabouts in the Northumberland colours of yellow and red.
https://berwicktrust.org.uk/tour-of-britain-comes-to-berwick-upon-tweed/
After wracking my brains on how Pictorial Photography could take part and coming up will all sorts of crazy ideas, my sister (a super talented illustrator, Katie Chappell) suggested that she could simply paint the window, amazing!
Katie created a digital design for me over the top of a photograph of the window, the design showed exactly what the window would look like before she even started (you can see a printout of the mock-up in the picture below). Once I was happy with the proposal, she came in to paint it, the whole process took around 5/6 hours and it was fascinating to watch, people were stopping in the street to watch and coming over to see it all happening, we set up some time-lapse videos and I took some photographs so you can see the progress happening.
We had the best day together, the matching dresses were totally unintentional, I hope you like our little windy photoshoot in front of the storefront display at the end haha!
Check out Katie’s website for more information on storefront illustration and window illustration https://www.katiechappell.com/liveillustration
https://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/
Please let me know your thoughts on yellow dresses, bike races and window painting in the comments below, I’m here for the chat like.
Product photography session in the studio for prop hire business Get Knotted
Product photography in the studio on a plain grey background to show the quality and detail of some of Get Knotted's prop hire items for their website and blog.
Get-Knotted is a wedding and prop hire company based in Earlston, Scottish Borders. They offer floristry, styling and have a fantastic working relationship with many of the bigger wedding venues in the borders and Northumberland.
“It is always great to work with Sarah. We have collaborated on many projects and she is always great fun, massively talented and patient. I recommend her not only for wedding photography but also commercial work.”
Michael and Annalise's Engagement Shoot on the Riverside, Berwick
Last week, I took a lovely relaxed walk along the riverside with newly engaged Michael and Annalise. We visited Berwick Castle and That Boat, a beautiful boat sculpture made out of driftwood by a local resident. You don’t have to go far in Berwick for some truly stunning backdrops and locations.
Written by Sarah
Victoria and James amazing 'Mad Hatters' themed wedding at Coldingham Priory and Fleurs Farm
So much thought went into Victoria and James’s wedding day, the Mad Hatters theme was sewn into every detail, from the buttonholes with keys to the decor, outfits, floristry, favours, order of service, cake design and menus. There was even a large ‘Wrong Way / This Way’ maze in a barn to get into the reception marquee.
Coldingham Priory is a stunning place to get married! The village also has my favourite beach in the area - Coldingham Bay. Victoria’s family farm (where the reception was held) has its own secret little spot of beach which is very special to them so we headed down there for some couple’s shots while everyone was milling around and enjoying canapes.
Louise and Mark's Wedding at Doxford Barns, Northumberland
Doxford Barns in Northumberland have cottages on-site for guests and family to stay for the weekend, making it easy to find everyone and capture some photos of the getting ready stage at the start of the day.
Mark and Louise tied many of their favourite things into the wedding day, so it was multi-themed, with their love for dogs and their own dogs making an appearance with matching dyed leads.
The wedding was in a barn and on a farm but the tablescapes were coastal and the decor symbolised the sea and love of the surf. Apart from that, most things sourced were local; from the ice cream cart with Doddington Dairy produce to the flowers and even the bouncy castle.
Landscape Magazine Commission: Northumberland’s Dramatic Coastline
I was commissioned by Landscape Magazine for the third time. I’m so excited to have my work published in Landscape again; I love this magazine!
Working with journalist Angie Aspinall, I created images to illustrate her article ‘Where Sea Meets Shore’. The article was published in the June 2019 edition and spanned 13 pages of the magazine so a lot of images were needed.
I met some great folk with my camera and enjoyed a day around the dramatic Northumberland coast.
Firstly I met Mary, who set up Barter Books in Alnwick. https://www.barterbooks.co.uk/
Then Trevor, the head gardener at Alnwick Gardens. https://www.alnwickgarden.com/
Across in Craster, I found Neil Robson of the famous Craster Kippers. https://www.kipper.co.uk/
Neil happens to be based right along the street from Mick Oxley in his stunning art gallery. https://www.mickoxley.com/
Julia Linstead exhibits her glasswork in Mick’s gallery but I photographed her separately in her own studio. https://julialinsteadglass.com/
I then travelled to Seahouses and met up with William Shiel for a quick shoot in the harbour. https://www.farne-islands.com/
After that, I visited the Grace Darling museum to meet Marleen the heritage development manager. https://rnli.org/grace-darling-museum/
Last, but certainly not least, I went to Bamburgh Castle to photograph Karen, the events and marketing manager. https://www.bamburghcastle.com/
What a day! Enjoy more photography from the day below!
Lynley and Adam's Wedding in Benagil Sea Cave, Portugal
Hands down, the most fun wedding to photograph ever.
Also, we were the only other people there. And it was in the Algarve!
The photographs document the story of Adam and Lynley’s day from start to finish. (I’m so glad I wore a dress rather than trousers as we didn’t realise until we arrived that we had to wade through the water to get into the boat to travel to Benagil cave, it’s not accessible by land)
Reception took place at the stunning No Solo Agua beach club, Portimao.
Take me back!
Maria and Euan's Military Wedding at St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh Castle
I must say, I do love a military wedding - those uniforms are soo smart!
It was a tricky start for me in Edinburgh, trying to find a parking space in the city centre on a Saturday afternoon (I ended up somewhere along the bottom of the Grassmarket)! I ran up the Royal Mile with my camera gear, dodging tourists all the way.
St Margaret’s Chapel is super tiny but so pretty. It was rather windy outside at the top of the castle and the views are stunning. Back at the barracks, there was so much space and the weather was so calm! The decor inside was traditional but beautiful and they had hired dodgems for outside as well as a full casino set up for the guests before a lively ceilidh toward the end of the night.
Tim and Jodie Married in Rothbury, Northumberland and celebrated in Gavinton, Scottish Borders.
Happy 5th Anniversary to Tim and Jodie! This wedding was just stunning, the weather started out beautifully at the church but when we got to Gavinton the heavens opened! Crazy amounts of rain waterlogged the field, so much mud that all the guests had to be transported in tractors and 4x4s to the marquee! You would never have been able to tell though, it didn’t ‘dampen the spirit’ at all.
Casting Headshots for Child Actors
Casting Headshots for Child Actors
Recently, children from drama classes ‘Scripts to Stage’ in Berwick have been selected and signed up to an agent; so I have started taking portfolio head and full body shots which bring out their individual looks. These images will appear in Spotlight magazine, which lands on casting directors’ desks all over the world. It is a very exciting opportunity for them and I hope the photographs will make them shine from the rest. Fingers crossed for some great acting and extras parts!
Steph, Scripts to Stage https://www.scriptstostage.co.uk/drama-classes/
Agent Michelle: https://www.vanartman.co.uk/childactors