WhimsyArt Photography

Life is a Fairy Tale

2011-08-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, deep down girls are my favorite subject! Cute dresses, pretty hair, lots of princess play and of course (my secret love) PINK

Taken In Marbury Park, Northwich during a break in the weather (Literally an hours break from monsoon style rain) The sun decided to come out an play with us on our shoot. It may have only been an hour but wow, this young lady rocked the camera! A girl of few words (only for me im sure) Laura's beauty shone through her smiles and well kept guarded confidence ;)

Thank-you so much for giving me the chance to photograph your sweet girl! She was a treasure to photograph!

PS Fairies do exist.....

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

2011-08-28T05:35:00.001-07:00

Why have I not done this before?

2011-08-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today while out shopping for school supplies for my boys, I had a flash of inspiration that could make for some really fun photo sessions with kids! CHALK DOODLES! Yes its all about going back to what kids do best! Doodling on the ground. Why not let the children that I'm photographing set up their own scene and theme? Want to be a Prince? - Doodle a crown. How about a Fairy? Easy! Or hey! Lets do an under water scene!

Buying the most pathetic set of chalk sticks (I'm going to have to hunt down some chunky ones) I set off home and turned my driveway into a world of colour (under the intrigued eyes of the neighbours of course) This bit was alot of fun, as I had my son Jack join in with the doodles which in turn, not only did we have fabulous mummy and JJ time, but it also adds a little extra personal touch to the final images. We followed the the drawing up with some craft camera angles and poses and PRESTO! Our very own fairytale images. The best thing is, you can do anything that your imagination allows you to do! I cannot wait to try out some more!

Me and my dog..

2011-08-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

I took some shots of the boys yesterday with their favourite "teddies" Below is Luke with Benny and Jack with Doggy. The plan is to take the same photo when the boys are 21 and give it to them for their 21st Birthday :)

Benny..

Doggy

I Heart Art

2011-08-03T08:47:00.001-07:00

Beauty in Nature

2011-08-03T08:37:00.001-07:00

It's so Beauuutiful!

2011-04-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Oh My Gosh! The weather has taken a turn for the better and it's so sunny outside! My family and I have been enjoying ourselves by visiting a couple of parks, having picnics, doing some gardening and will soon be off to the zoo with all the family in tow! Yipppeee!

All of my special boys!

Above, I mentioned about gardening. Actually to be more specific, Myself and my boys have been planting THE MOST girly flowers on the planet! Not only are they all pink (well I have one which is lilac) but one of the ones a bought has flowers shaped like little hearts! The species is called Dicentra. Dicentra spectabilis or bleeding heart name is actually – Lamprocapnos spectabilis.

Bleeding heart is a rhizomatous perennial herbaceous plant native to eastern Asia from Siberia south to Japan. It produces wonderfully delicate flowers from long arching stems. It makes a wonderful addition to any mixed border, and can be very easy to grow.

Dicentra spectabilis

Home improvements

2011-04-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

After moving into our house for just over a year now, I have finally gotten around to decorating the kids bathroom. We decided on bright bold colours - Blue, Green and pink! I had lots of fun getting it ready for the boys and of course, I was straight over to my favorite store NEXT to buy all the finishing touches! All Im missing now is something to go on the wall, but I have my suspicions that, that may soon be a problem solved ;) Needles to say Luke and Jack Love it!

Hi I'm Back :)

2011-03-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! Massive apologies for not posting. I have not been lost at sea, I've been hitting the gym getting in shape for the summer. Needless to say, I still look EXACTLY the same now as when I started! Humph! Got to keep at it though as we have finally booked our Summer holidays to Center Parks! A whole action packed week in Sherwood Forrest! I can't wait!

I do though have some good news about my chair. She arrived home a few weeks ago in nearly perfect condition! Hurrah! BUT, typically, I'm still waiting for Royal Mail to refund me the costs of getting her fixed. In cliche RM fashion, they dont want to get a move on - terrible business practice! Anyway, at least the damage they caused was fixable and I got some gorgeous shots with it again!

The Chair

2011-01-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the beautiful antique oak chair I was coveting a few weeks ago? I HAVE IT!...Thats the good news.... Sadly the ......er,....wow its hard not to choose a colourful word here... lets say silly people at Royal Mail broke it! She nearly makes it 100 years old and in a trip from London to Cheshire she gets broken!!

The damage is quite severe, and I'm mortified. It was such an exciting moment to take off all the packaging for only to be spoiled by this...

I mean look at it! What on earth did they do to cause so much damage??! The chair was also broken on the other side aswell. Needless to say, they got it in the neck from me and the seller of the chair.

But, on a better note and risk of rambling, a knight in shining amour has visited during the day, and has taken my beloved chair to get fixed!!

January...

2011-01-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

It's cold, It's foggy, It's wet and It's dull. January is a rubbish month, actually, It's a hateful month for photographers. I think thats why so many of us indulge in our little projects such as "365 days of photos" or "project 52"

My January however, has not only involved Project 52 and new branding, but further honing my post processing skills and finding my style. Im loving soft, whimsy styles and will most likely head in this direct over the course of the year with my editing. Deviating from my usual bright and vibrant images a little more. Maybe its the girl in me thats starting to love the shabby chic side of photography. Who knows. Either way, I'm in LOVE!

Here is one I've edited of my son Jack. I took the picture with my editing style in mind. of course, it's natural light, but I did use a small amount of light from my flash for fill.

Project 52

2011-01-15T04:01:00.001-08:00

Everyday for the next 365 days im going to take a photograph and record each one in a weekly blog post. This should encourage me to get outside more, something I didn't do as much as I'd have like to in 2010. I hope to hone my skills as a photographer, record my own personal life, and have some fun in the process!

Week 2/52

Week 1/52

Week 3/52

Thou shall not covet....

2011-01-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

There are many things in my life that I covet... a Stately home, a Mustang GT500KR, even a slim, toned body of a Goddess. However they are all sadly and currently out of my reach.. My must have thing of the moment, is this humble little chair. Oh how grand it would look sat proudly in a corn field with balloons attached and a small smiling child laughing upon it's seat! How grand would I feel knowing I have this in my store room, ready to crack out for the latest shoot. How sad my hubbies wallet feels knowing the inevitable!..

The Finney's go to the park.

2011-01-02T11:52:00.001-08:00

In the Finney tradition, we went out for our New Year walk over in our local park, and of course Peanut (camera) had to come to.. after all, he is part of the family!

Jack was not very co-operative but I think we got some nice ones!
My apologies for there being so many! I couldn't chose!

Come on Mummy! Lets go!!

OK, so now Im here, what trouble can I get in to?...

Lets start with taking some shots of the scenery,,

Whats moving up there?

ARGH its a squirrel!!!!!

Phew! Mummy will save me!

Wow! that was close... I hope there isn't any more..

I need to get a better view.. you know... just incase..

Well, Daddy looks relaxed enough.. I think they're gone.

Ooops, I forgot to let mummy take some pictures of me. I should let her take at least one of me.. Only my best side though.

Bouncing Buffers! Has she STILL got that camera out!

Whats mummy doing NOW?

Goodness me mummy! I know your camera is big, but do you really need a rest?

Thats enough adventure for today. Its time for home.

If your still here! WOO well done! Thank-you so much for letting me share all these!

Out Takes- pt 1

2010-12-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

Im often asked as to why clients do not see all their photographs from their sessions.... I tell them it's due to some not reaching the standard that I'm looking for or that the subject is not complimented very well... I believe Jack Joseph demonstrates my point perfectly... Thank-you Jack!

Lollipop Lollipop Oh Lolli Lolli Lolli......

2010-12-30T12:08:00.001-08:00

My Year in Pictures

2010-12-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Snow is falling!

2010-12-18T04:45:00.000-08:00

Yippeee! Its about time! As the rest of the country has been getting inches of snow, in typical Winsford fashion, we have managed to avoid anything other than a light dusting. That all changed last night, as we awoke to find we have a decent covering of the fluffy white stuff!

Poorly or not, I was of out with "Peanut" and my pooch Atlas for some snowy fun!

Happy week before Christmas everyone!!

2010-12-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

Wooo! One week to go (well nearly) and I'm so excited!

Gift buying and wrapping has been on a trickle this year due to the Finney household suffering from, what I can only conclude to be a REALLY bad cold, brought on by the yearly conspiracy of the drug companies! Now that some of us are on the mend, we have managed to get cracking on with some wrapping!

Did I mention that I ADORE wrapping presents?! Its easily the best thing about christmas for me! I admit Im a nerd and start planning my colour scheme months in advance, but you cant blame me! Twice now iv bought my wrapping on a whim, and had to go out to buy more as I hated what it looked like! Last year was one of them!

This year I was much more selective in my festive goodies for the eye.. I went with sparkly silvers, and icey blues ... oh and pink - its getting to be a me thing.

Im would have loved to post a picture of my lovely friend, Natalie's present, but I got excited and took it over her before I could actually take some pretty pictures. However, this time with gift number two, my BIL Christopher AKA Uncle Big, his present is wrapped and under the tree. Mostly because Im running perfectly normal temperature of 39.1c and cant leave the house. This does give me the opportunity to crack out my camera (Peanut) to take a nice picture or two :)

New for 2011: Referral Programme

2010-12-15T02:57:00.000-08:00

Participate in my new referral programme in 2011 by issuing out some adorable referral cards to your family and friend after booking with me!

YOUR REWARD
A £10.00 print credit towards your next Samantha Finney Photography portrait session for each client booked in with me! When you refer 4 clients, I will give you £100.00 print credit!

Referred clients will receive a free 8"x10" print of their choice from their portrait session.

Man! Im ill!

2010-12-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Iv had so much time off ill lately - two weeks and counting to be exact. Im sounding more and more like a bad Kathleen Turner impressionist every hour! With having so much time on my hands, the devil did make work for idle thumbs... I looked closely at my branding (again) and decided it was time to focus and change it ready for my big launch in 2011!

I wanted to use my favorite colours, Lime, Purple, Pink and Black. But to be honest, it looked like someone vomited on my screen! So to avoid ensuing head-aches from such a disaster, I went for simple and fresh. A nice reflection of my work.

Tis the season to be jolly...

2010-12-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

........Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Christmas has most definitely been my favorite time of the year and with less than 3 weeks to go my decorations have finally gone up! John has been reining me in for the past few weeks, insisting that I should at least wait to get into December before they all go up! BA HUMBUG!......... I refrained... until the first! Mwhuhahaha!

This year is all the more exciting as its our first christmas in our new house! We (I) have relished in the fact that we (I) get to buy some new decorations and get to put up two trees!! I truddled off over to NEXT and maxed out my (Johns) credit card on some gorgeous new things for our lounge - OK I didnt quite max it out...but I was tempted!!

Custom Photography

2010-08-16T07:09:00.001-07:00

I appreciate your taking the time to read the article below. It may put many misconceptions about our pricing to rest.

In this digital age where everyone has cameras, scanners, and home “photo printers,” we hear this all the time: How do professional (or personal) photographers charge £X for an 8×10 when they cost just £1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the customer is not just paying for the actual photograph; they’re paying for time and expertise. They are paying for a piece of art that can proudly grace the walls in your home and will last more than your lifetime.

The average one-hour portrait session
First, let’s look at the actual work involved:

• Initial telephone conversation {or e-mail correspondance}with client to answer questions about our photography
• Setup the studio, preparation, scout your outdoor location, test shots 30 min prior to shoot
• Shoot the photos
• Put away studio props, and tidy studio after session
• Load images onto a computer
• Back up the files on an external drive
• 2 - 4 hours of Adobe® Photoshop® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, and backing up edited photographs.
• 2 - 3 hours viewing of digital proofs, answer questions, receive order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment, and ship, as needed.
• If images are to be picked up and not shipped, meet clients at the studio/home to review photos.

You can see how a one-hour session easily turns into an eight-hour day or more from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging a £400 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them £400 per hour.

The eight-hour wedding
A wedding photographer typically meets with the bride and groom several times before and after the wedding. And it’s not uncommon to end up with 1,000 - 2,000 photos, much more than a portrait session. Many photographers spend 40-60 hours working on one eight-hour wedding if you look at the time that is truly involved. Again, when a wedding photographer charges £5,000 for eight hours of coverage, clients are NOT paying them £xxx an hour!
(Don’t forget that the photographer runs the wedding day to some extent. A comfortable, confident wedding photographer can make a wedding day go more smoothly.)

The expertise and cost of doing business
Shooting professional photography is a skill acquired through years of experience. Even though a DSLR now costs under £1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most personal photographers take years to go from buying their first camera to making money with photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera, there is a mountain of other equipment and software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, rent, utilities, insurance, etc!

In addition to the financial investment, photographers actually have to have people skills to make subjects comfortable in front of the camera. Posing people to look their best is a skill by itself. You could argue that posing is a more important skill than actually knowing how to use the camera. A poorly exposed photo can be saved, but a badly posed photo cannot.

The low cost Photographer
Low cost photographers (so many are found on town centeres these days) do have their place. For a very cheap price you can run in, shoot some quick photos, and be done with it. But you get what you pay for.

Consider the time and effort that a personal photographer puts into photographs, compared to a quick set up and shoot guy. These sessions last just a few minutes, while a personal photographer takes the time to get to know the people, makes them comfortable, makes them laugh. If a baby is crying, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because everyone is in a hurry.

The real deal
Professional, personal photographers are just that-professionals. No different than a mechanic, dentist, doctor, or electrician. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.

Maybe we need to help clients look at it this way: A pair of scissors costs £1.50 at the store. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair dresser to cut their hair.

The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny.

Conclusion
We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs, created by a Personal Photographer are so expensive.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Courtesy of Shawn Richter Caught on film Photography

Lee and Jenny: The Wedding (St Lawrence Church, Over Peover followed by Tetton Cottages, Moston.

2010-07-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

Lee and Jenny are a fun and very loving couple. There was a great atmosphere throughout their entire wedding day and I don’t think I’ve seen a groom as excited as Lee to play "Maveric" in his Aviators!

Lee and Jenny got married on what thankfully turned out to be a sunny but sometimes overcast Saturday at the end of July. I was old school friends with Jenny, and have been waiting to shoot this wedding for what seems like forever! I adored Jennies gown and sparkling veil - absolutely beautiful! Her look was finished off with a classic but stylish white Gerbera bouquet, it really completed the look - LOVE Gerberas!

I so enjoyed the upbeat atmosphere of this wedding, and I had so much fun hanging around with Jenny (after all this time!!!) and Lee, recreating some timeless TopGun poses!

I really wish you guys all the best in your future, you rock!! -Sam xxx

Mark and Debbie: The Wedding (Grosvenor Hotel Chester)

2010-07-28T11:04:00.001-07:00

could not have dreamed up a more perfect wedding day...gorgeous; madly in love couple, awesome venue, amazingly fun family and friends....! I am so honored to have spent the day with everyone, capturing some really special moments and meeting some great people and ace kids! You made me feel like such an important part of your big day! I feel like I'm rambling, so i'll cut to the point...

I love you guys, I had a blast, and I wish you a life of love and happiness!

- xoxo Sam