Tara Taylor Photography

If you can't sew don't worry, you don't have to.....

2012-01-24T11:54:00.002Z

Last week I spent some time with the lovely Deborah Law of Just Sew Interiors.

All I can say is wow! I saw the most amazing room layouts and designs complimented with fabulous curtains and soft furnishings. I am now totally ashamed of my own curtains and curtain rails!! Debbie has such an eye for detail! She also knows a lot about fabric and how to handle it - I now realise why my curtains don't hang perfectly - its all down to the way you draw them!!

Debbie is in the process of building her new website so we took some shots of her previous work and also some head shots. Great head shots make such a difference to your own website - if you need some new shots, please let me know - I would love to help!

2011 - A Busy Year!

2011-12-31T17:29:00.003Z

A busy autumn has meant a lack of blog posts for which I apologise!

I thought I must see out the year with a selection of my favourite images.

This year I have photographed a local library protest, lots of gorgeous kids and families and some fab weddings, lots of products and had several photos published in the local press.

I have travelled all over the place including a wedding in North Wales, several functions in London and the surrounding counties. I have produced some beautiful Queensberry albums and books along with canvas wraps, multi-frames and prints. All in all a very busy and enjoyable year.

I would like to thank all my clients old and new for their continued support and wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-31T10:48:00.001Z

Yesterday I bought a Fog Machine! I couldn't wait to try it out so got my kids to dress up a bit, carve their pumpkins and then descended down the garden to have a play!

The fog machine was very powerful so I am really pleased with it - the fog was a bit unpredictable as the breeze kept changing direction! We did try to get our black cat in the pictures but he took one look at the fog machine and left rapidly! The dog didn't seem bothered at all so she did get in some shots!

It was good fun, here are some of the images!

Autumn Fruits

2011-09-20T18:58:00.003+01:00

I spent yesterday afternoon at Cross Lanes Fruit Farm near Reading. They have an amazing selection of apples and pears on offer.

I was surprised to see how shiny some of the apples looked on the trees, almost as though someone had been along polishing them!

I went into the shop and saw the girls doing the apple selection where a machine turns and the apples are sorted into size. The gorgeous apple smell really was delicious. The apples were all stacked in fabulous wooden crates.

There were trees laden with quinces and every now and then you could here the sound of the walnuts falling from their tree.

Each year Cross Lanes Fruit Farm runs an Apple Day - this year it is on October 9th. I really recommend you paying a visit. My kids love it and I try to go every year. Free admission and you get to try an amazing selection of apples!

Here are some of my favourite shots of the day:

An old bus,a gorgeous couple and a fab building....

2011-09-07T17:29:00.000+01:00

In August I was back at Taplow House photographing the wedding of one of the bridesmaids from a wedding I did last year. The day before the weather had been terrible with flash flooding and roads closed locally. I was wondering what on earth we would do if the rain had continued but we were so lucky - the weather was beautiful on the day. Phew!The bride got ready at Taplow House, the ceremony was then in a lovely church in Penn and the reception back at Taplow. All the guests were taken to the church in a beautiful, bright red, old London bus. What a great vehicle! It was a bit slow and had to take a long routre round because of the hills and low bridges but I think everyone enjoyed the experience!The couple had a lovely day and here is a sneak peek for them before we do the official viewing next week!

A beautiful Ascot wedding

2011-07-30T16:17:00.001+01:00

At the beginning of July I had the honour of photographing Ben and Lindsey's wedding held at Ascot Racecourse.

I started the day by photographing the girls while they got ready at a nearby hotel and then the ceremony and reception was held at the racecourse and I stayed until the first dance. I have to say Ben and Lindsey had chosen the most amazing menu for their guests and I did get to have some of the food and I can honestly say it was fab!

The staff at Ascot were so helpful and accommodating and did everything they could to ensure the day went very smoothly.

What an amazing venue! The weather was lovely and Ben and Lindsey had a fabulous day.

Here is a sneak peek of some of my favourite shots......

Two delightful sisters.....

2011-07-30T14:04:00.001+01:00

In early July I photographed a couple of sisters. We had great fun, changing into lots of different outfits. The girls showed me their gym moves and some great ballet dance routines.

We took lots of photographs in their gorgeous garden and then went into the park behind where we had lots of room to run about. We also made great use of the cricket equipment which made excellent backdrops!

Here is a sneak peek for Mum......

All images copyright Tara Taylor Photography.

Bump and Baby

2011-07-26T16:40:00.001+01:00

In May I photographed a lovely lady who was positively blooming in her pregnancy. The photographs were taken just a few days before she had a gorgeous baby boy. The fabulous Amy Brandon, a professional makeup artist, came and applied the makeup for me.

We just stayed in the garden and took the photos. It was all very calm and relaxed and I really enjoyed it!

A couple of weeks later I went and photographed the baby - he was gorgeous but just wouldn't go to sleep during the shoot - I think he thought he might miss out on something!

Here are some of my favourite images:

Amongst the Poppies

2011-07-26T16:26:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photograph a little girl who I had photographed at the same time last year.

What a difference a year makes! She was so confident in front of the camera and really enjoyed the shoot.

We had permission to go into a white poppy field. The poppies are so pretty when you see them closeup. They have purple middles. I understand they are grown for medicinal purposes.

We then went into the farmhouse garden - it gave me a good excuse to get my shabby chic chair out again!

Her are some of my favourite shots:

Equestrian Shoot

2011-07-26T16:11:00.000+01:00

Back in June I photographed a lovely lady with her horses and dog.

We had great fun. We did lots of clothes changes had the horses all over the place. There were very well behaved and didn't take any notice of my big flash on a light stand. The first horse is just 2yrs old, I think she is going to be amazing when she is older!

The second horse is a dressage horse and is about 15yrs old.

Here are some of my favourite shots:

Village Brides Prom Dress Shoot

2011-07-26T15:59:00.000+01:00

I photographed a selecton of prom dresses for Village Brides back in June. We were very lucky to be able to use the grounds of The Mill House at Swallowfield.

We had three models, Naomi, Chloe and Jenni. They were brilliant and manage to change quickly.

If you are looking for a Prom dress for next year I really recommend you have a look at Village Brides, Julia has a huge selection to choose from!

A spring wedding in Wales

2011-07-26T15:46:00.000+01:00

Back in early May we drove up to Criccieth which is very near Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. It was to photograph the wedding of Mel and Ryan who are such a happy couple. We really were looking forward to the wedding.

We drove up to Wales the day before, staying in a lovely, very friendly hotel just down the road from the wedding venue.

The scenery was beautiful on the drive up, we saw amazing views with waterfalls. We went near Snowdon itself and remembered climbing it back in 2009.

Criccieth is a lovely place, it has it's own castle and some great restaurants.

The ceremony and reception were taking place at Bron Eifion Country House Hotel. The hotel has the most friendly staff and gorgeous grounds, full of spring colour. The food was amazing.

The wedding was lovely, Mel and Ryan had a fantastic day. The weather was very kind, it managed to stay dry when we needed it to and we even managed to drive to the beach during the evening!

Here are some of my favourite shots of the day:

A few frocks, a beautiful model = day out in the countryside

2011-05-04T11:40:00.002+01:00

What a day I had yesterday! I teamed up with Amy Brandon - a fabulous makeup artist who has done a few of my brides in the past and the gorgeous Kerry Jay Binns who has modelled on a couple of commercial jobs I have done earlier this year. Kerry is also an amazing dance instructor who helps couples perfect their first wedding dance. We certainly make a great team!

We decided to have some fun so contacted Frock and Roll in Reading who very kindly let us use some of their wonderful dresses - you really should go along and have a look, they have a huge selection!

We started off at my house where Amy did the first makeup:

We then set off to our first location which was some local woodland and fields. A quick makeup check and we started shooting. I did a mix of natural light and using flash off camera - Kerry looked great in the 1970's style dress.

We then moved into a more open area, a quick dress change - luckily it was quiet around - and makeup changed and off we went again. The weather was amazing and luckily not as windy as it had been over the weekend.

Kerry is a model and a dancer so can really move herself and do the most amazing cartwheels! We had a lot of fun.

It was then time for a late lunch so we bought sandwiches, nipped back to my house for a dress change and a new makeup look.

We then went down by the river to Caversham Court - what a fab location!! I used my big flash here as well as some natural light shots. I have to say I just love my Broncolor flash - it is so amazing but very heavy so we couldn't have managed it to the woods earlier!

Kerry had an amazing dress here, I just love the way it hangs and blows in the breeze - we did another quick dress change, a makeup change and shot the last dress - a beautiful 1950's style.

We were so lucky that all the dresses fitted Kerry perfectly and were just so lovely to wear and photograph. Amy's makeup looked amazing - she has such an eye for detail!

It really was a great day resulting in some great shots!

Thanks again to:
Amy Brandon - Makeup - Twitter - @amybrandonmua
Kerry Jay Binns - Model - Kerry - Dance Instructor - Twitter - @taketheflooruk
Frock and Roll - Dresses

A Wedding at Taplow House

2011-05-02T15:24:00.000+01:00

On Saturday I photographed a lovely wedding at Taplow House Hotel. The weather was amazing, albeit a bit windy but lots of light and very warm.

This is a sneak peek I promised the bride, just so they could see some images before they jet off to Mexico for their honeymoon.

Here is a taster, more will be blogged once the bride and groom have seen them!

An April wedding baked in glorious sunshine

2011-04-28T11:34:00.000+01:00

I had a great day at J & D's wedding on the 9th April - I have been desperate to blog some of the images but decided to wait until I had showed the full set to the couple - well that was last night, so here goes!

The wedding day was very relaxed and happy. The weather really was amazing, it was so warm. The groom and groomsmen all wore kilts which were looked so smart! The bride wore a beautiful dress that really look wonderful on and her shoes were fab - Jimmy Choos - not sure how she managed to walk in them but she did!

The wedding took place at The Great House at Sonning which is right on the banks of the River Thames. We made use of the river which really did look lovely on such a sunny day.

Here are some of the shots from the day:

A shabby chic chair and a whole lot of bunting..

2011-04-28T11:23:00.001+01:00

I have been planning a shoot for a while - I managed to find a fabulous shabby chic chair on ebay - my kids were horrified when it arrived as they thought it looked so tatty - perfect!!

I managed to find some great bunting from Babyface and Letterbox. I purchased the red heart tea-light holders, heart magnetic board (hanging on chair) and heart bunting from HaaHoos Ceramics in Twyford.

I did the shoot over the Easter Weekend - St George's Day actually - I tied some bunting onto the apple tree in my garden and then shot one of my kids under it on that chair!

Here are some of the shots:

I love Spring...

2011-04-28T11:13:00.000+01:00

This has to be one of my favourite times of year! The garden is a mass of colour and the April weather has been amazing!!

I have taken a few shots in the garden - couldn't resist!

Spring is coming....

2011-03-08T15:24:00.000Z

On Sunday I met up with one of my wedding couples to do their pre-wedding shoot. It was such a lovely afternoon, the sun was shining and it was great to be outside - it was rather chilly though!

The wedding is going to be at The Great House in Sonning which is by the River Thames. We went along the tow path and came across a lock. There are so many great locations, I cannot wait for the wedding!

Here are some of the shots, please feel free to comment:

A fabulous day's shooting!

2011-02-19T22:57:00.002Z

I had the most amazing day's shooting with the gorgeous Jenni and her lovely boyfriend Dan.

We started off with a studio session to get some beauty shots. The fabulous make-up artist, Lindsey Youngman came along and did Jenni's hair and make-up. I think you will agree she did a great job.

I used some gels on one of the lights to create the colour backgroud a pink gel for some of the shots and Jenni loves green so I used a great gel as well.

Jenni was brilliant in front of the camera and I got some great shots. I also got some great shots of Dan as well.

After the studio session we had some lunch and then moved on to a farm. I had permission to use the barns as well a refurbished tractor that had only been used for a wedding since it's rejuvenation. The tractor was immaculate and a lovely blue in colour. We used flash in the barn - the straw bales looked great. I also used a green gel to throw some colour on the corrugated iron walls of the barn.

We then went outside the barn and I took some natural light shots before introducing flash again to create a moody sky. I also altered the white balance on my camera and added a gel to the flash to make everything apart from Jenni and Dan blue. It worked really well!

Once we had finished at the barn we stopped at the edge of some woods and did several natural light shots.

It was a great day and Jenni and Dan were brilliant!

Here are some of the shots - there are just some many that I like! Please feel free to comment:

A sunny afternoon in January!

2011-02-14T10:10:00.002Z

The last Sunday in January was beautiful - the sun came out and it was lovely to be outside. I photographed a family with two grown up sons and a gorgeous little dog.

It was great to get outside and make the most of the fabulous weather!

We started off shooting the family together and then I moved on to do individual shots - the boys were a bit embarrassed, but they soon got used to the camera!

I then moved into the kitchen and used my flash equipment to create some studio type portraits. Dad has lots of interesting tattoos and allowed me to photograph them! Here are some of the shots:

Penny & Graham Get Married!

2011-02-09T12:22:00.000Z

Penny and Graham were married last Saturday at St John the Baptist Church in Kidmore End. They had a lovely church service and the choir sang beautifully - both Penny and Graham sing in the choir normally so it was very special for them to sing to two of their own!

After the service we went to the Swan at Streatley, I must say that the staff at the hotel were all extremely helpful and Norman worked his socks off to make sure everything ran smoothly!

The weather wasn't brilliant but it could have been worse - there was not a huge amount of light and it was drizzling a bit but that did not deter Penny and Graham from going outside for a few shots!

They had the most amazing cake made by Karen Broadbent, it was beautifully made and featured three books with excellent figurines on the top.

The day was filled with so much happiness and laughter. Penny and Graham are just made for each other and seem so perfect for each other.

Here are some of the photos:

Penny & Graham

2011-02-01T09:35:00.000Z

Last weekend I did pre-wedding shoot with Penny and Graham. They get married next weekend so we got together and I took a few shots of them.

It was very cold and grey but we did have a few laughs along the way.

A pre-wedding shoot is a great way to get know your photographer before your wedding and makes you far more at ease in front of the camera on the actual day because you know you have been photographed before and survived! I always include a pre-wedding shoot with all my wedding packages because it is good fun too!

Here are some of the shots from last weekend:

Bath

2011-02-01T09:23:00.001Z

Adrian and I went to Bath for a weekend in January. The weather wasn't great but we had a lovely time. There is a very interesting exhibition of images on display in the street showing amazing aerial photography. There is a website, it is well worth a look: http://www.britainfromtheair.com/ . There really are some stunning shots of our beautiful island!

I did take a camera with me but only took a few shots!

Long Time No Post........

2011-01-20T17:50:00.001Z

Well, it has been an interesting 6 months. My Father was suddenly taken seriously ill in August and spent 7 weeks in Intensive Care, 6 of those critical! Obviously that was all very exhausting but I managed to keep working and photographed my booked weddings as planned. Once I have my camera in my hand I am able to focus on the job - which was a huge benefit!!

I just haven't had time to update the blog, which is very disappointing but, things are back to "normal" with my Father having miraculously recovered, albeit without any legs, meaning that I no longer have to visit the hospital everyday as he is now home.

During the last half of the year I have photographed lots of families, some gorgeous weddings and some commercial too.

I photographed some food for the restaurant Caldesi in Campagna in Bray which was published in Hello! magazine, 6th December issue! I met an astronaught in December when I had to photograph an awards ceremony, he was so interesting!

I photographed the opening of Lloyds Pharmacy in Woodley, where the Mayor of Woodley cut the ribbon. I was unaware that Woodley even had a Mayor so as they say, you learn something new every day!!

Last week I was up in the City of Westminster doing corporate portraits for a large insurance company. I was worried about driving into the City but the TomTom was brilliant and got me there in plenty of time!

I also photographed some beautiful wedding dresses. We did the shoot in The Forbury Hotel - such a lovely venue!

So despite the lack of posts, I have been busy!

Here are some of the shots from last year:

A hot summers day

2010-08-11T13:56:00.000+01:00

Back in July I photographed a gorgeous little girl who had the most amazing eyes and blond hair. We did a couple of different shoots as the weather was very hot but we managed to avoid the sun and get some great shots. Here is sneak peek for Mum & Dad.