Gorgeous baby Ted was only 10 days old when we met, he loved having his pictures taken!
Nathan's brilliant Bar Mitzvah and party!
Macmillan
Allie and I met while we were both working at Bar Mitzvah's, me as a photographer and Allie as a dancer/performer.
I met Lucie just five short years ago when she was studying for her Bat Mitzvah.
She is now a working actor and I was so glad to see her again when she asked me to shoot her new head shots!
Wow!
I love shooting all the details at a wedding!
Some of you may know that I was a member of BNI for nine years and when my business changed and adapted, so did my marketing strategies.
Its so nice when I get to revisit past clients, especially at huge milestones like the birth of their first gorgeous baby!
You only get to turn one once...
Charles surprised his girlfriend Tash with a beautiful and intimate proposal at the Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield.
On a chilly day in May Mike, Zara and I went on a stroll through the grounds of Hughenden Manor in Wycombe.
They regularly visit the grounds and after recently getting engaged they decided that it would be the perfect setting for a shoot to commemorate the start of their new journey through life together. I had so much fun getting these lovely relaxed shots and meeting lots (and lots) of local dogs!
I can't wait for their wedding!
Flash you later,
Jo x
James is a huge fan of musical theatre, so what better way to explore this than a tour of London's iconic Theatre Land!
We were lucky to be asked by the lovely Pan Macmillan to cover another of Ken Follett's book launches, this time within the beautiful setting of The Dorchester, London.
The City of London Sinfonia present Died For Love with Sam Lee...
Last night Sam Lee performed to a captivated audience in St John in Hackney.
It is a stunning space, and each note played filled the air with emotion.
Sam commanded attention from his audience, who were sat (some with eyes closed) listening intently to every beautiful melody that he and the orchestra created. His enthusiasm for his craft was infectious, you could tell he truly loved his music and the experience of being able to perform it from the huge smile on his face throughout the night.
Ive never been to an orchestral performance before and from the moment I stepped into the hall, it felt like I had been transported to a magical space. The audience arched around the orchestra, some sat on chairs and others on cushions on the floor, like children waiting waiting for story time to begin. They were guided on a journey through these wonderful swelling and ebbing pieces, reminiscent of great film sound tracks such as Lord Of The Rings.
It was a wonderful evening, and I hope the shots I captured tell that story.
Flash you later
x
Natalie and Owen had a gorgeous winter wedding at the beautiful Woburn Sculpture Galleries.
Kind Of Blue...
Last week Pan Macmillan helped Ken Clarke launched his book, Kind Of Blue, by holding a gathering of around 150 people at London's iconic Ronnie Scotts jazz club.
Guests were treated to canapés and champagne, while a jazz trio played in the background. A local book shop had set up a stall and were selling through their stock of the books at a rate of knots, while Ken patiently sat close by ready to sign copies for the happy buyers. After a few words from the publishers, Ken spoke about the journey he'd been on while writing his memoirs, how he had learned to use a dictorphone and how amazing his granddaughter looked in her mothers shoes!
I love shooting launch events like this, and count myself privileged to be called on by Macmillan whenever they need me.
Flash you later,
Jo x
Happy birthday Nina!
I was contacted by Nina's dad the day before her first birthday and was able to meet this lovely family outside the V&A kids museum in London.
We spent an hour playing in the park with bubbles and streamers, capturing the obvious love Maks and Lena have for this gorgeous little lovely. Then a squirrel decided to steal her cupcake wrapper so she ran after him with dad in tow as she's not mastered walking on her own yet - it was so adorable! :D
I had so much fun with them that day, let me know if you know anyone celebrating a birthday who would like some portraits shot - Id love to help!
Flash you later,
Jo x
Happy birthday Ethan!
Ethan is a dude.
He is the most joyful little man, full of smiles, and his inquisitive nature means he is always at his sisters side seeing what she's doing and trying to copy her.
Ethan had only tasted sugar recently, as we shot this a couple of weeks after his birthday party he had already tried cake, and knew exactly what to do with the one we put in front of him but his big sister helped (just incase!).
Ive known this lovely family for a few years now - I shot their bump session with their first, then her newborn session and cake smash, then their second bump session and Ethan's cake smash.
All their shoots have taken place at their home with a portable studio, which is really easy to clear up from as we can just cut off and fold up the backdrop, taking all stray crumbs with it!
Let me know if you you would like to smash any cakes too?
Flash you later,
Jo x
Tony Robbins' book launch for No Cunning Plan
Tony's book launched at the Union Club in London this week.
His guests included his partner and son, industry professionals from the publishers Pan Macmillan, and recognisable faces like Rowen Atkinson who feature in this book.
It was a great evening, and Tony loved his bouquet of turnips which he was presented with at the end of his speech.
A friend of mine was very excited that I was shooting this launch as Tony is a personal hero of hers, she was even happier that I managed to get her a signed copy of his book - I definitely won some friend-points there :D
Do you know someone who is launching a product or book and would like shots taken of it to spread the word over social media or in the press? Let me know if I could help :)
Flash you later,
Jo x
Lisa and Nick...
So Ive known Lisa and Nick for a little while now, no scrap that - Ive known Lisa for most of my life and I met Nick shortly after he entered hers.
Lisa and I met when we both started going to scouts (if you ask her we were 10 years old, but I swear we were 11...). We hit it off straight away and, as some friendships do, we went through phases of really annoying each other! When we were 16 we went on tour around Israel together for a month, then even though we were miles apart during our uni years we regularly visited each others town and have stayed in close contact until now, where I think its pretty safe to say, she's not going anywhere.
Last year, when she returned from a trip to the US with Nick, we met up at the obvious half way point between our houses (Westfields - one of our favourite haunts), and she started telling me all about their trip. Where they had been , what they had done, and then only 3 hours into our conversation she managed to get around to telling me Nick had proposed. While they were in a helicopter. Flying over the Grand Canyon. She then pulled out a little ring box and opened it to reveal a beautiful classic engagement ring they had bought together while away and casually slipped it on her finger, all while I was still squealing with surprise!
Thats where the fun started.
She asked me to be one of her three bridesmaids and told me that there was no way I was allowed to bring my camera to her wedding, Id have too much to do on the day.
How could I refuse! How could I agree not to bring my camera?!
We agreed that Id help her choose a wedding photographer and asked if I could shoot her engagement session - of course I could!
Lisa and Nick got married at the beginning of September and the day was amazing. The photographer they chose took gorgeous shots, and really put me in my place when I was constantly checking the time and was getting under his feet. I was definitely more of a handful than the bride and he put me in my place perfectly by telling me to go away and just enjoy myself :D Its so hard to switch off out of 'wedding photographer mode' when all you want is to make sure one of the most important people in your life if getting the best from their day, but I found that champagne really helps... A luxury I never indulge in while I work.
So here is a small selection from our shoot around the nature reserve they visit regularly, we had gorgeous light and got some really lovely shots. Congrats again, thanks for letting me be part of the beginning of your journey together xx
Flash you later,
Jo x
Salena and Stephan's Beach Party
So, in case you don't know... Im a big kid has gotten really good at pretending to be an adult... I still get find joy in little things, hopefully that comes across in my work.
One of those times happened this year when I was asked to shoot my first event abroad. I was traveling to Malaga with another photographer to shoot a wedding there for one of his clients, and it came up in conversation when I was delivering a USB to one of my clients. She mentioned that her son was getting married there during the same week and asked if I would shoot two pre-wedding events that they were holding - a beach party and a welcome diner.
After that booking was confirmed I wondered around with an excited grin for aaaaaages - Im officially an international photographer! Squeeeee! (see - massive child) Thats one more goal ticked off for my company, but don't worry, theres more where that came from.
Here are some of the shots I took at the beach party in Bora Bora, Malaga- enjoy!
Feel free to let me know if you have any weddings or events abroad that you would like covered - don't worry though, Im completely professional while Im shooting, I promise!
Flash you later,
Jo x
This weekend Michael and Chris were married at the glorious Wilton's Music Hall, and they kindly asked me to shoot their special day for them.
We had a great time at the engagement session on top of Primrose Hill last summer, and I was so looking forward to shooting their wedding! The day was full of nods to their love of cabaret, film and glamorous bygone eras, with both the gents looked classic and timeless in bespoke suits.
Here is a small selection from the thousands of images we captured from their day, enjoy!
Flash you later ;)
Nancy...
I met Nancy through swing dancing, she is a lindy hop teacher, a burlesque performer and all round thoroughly good egg.
When she arrived at Unit 8, which is a studio I occasionally rent in Tottenham, she was armed and ready with a suitcase full of sequinned basques, sparkly head pieces and shoes to die for. We spent around an hour shooting a range of shots she could use for marketing her shows and lessons, from intimate head-shots to full lengths we covered all bases so she could use the images for everything from promotional flyers to Facebook adverts.
We turned the tunes up and had so much fun, I hope you like what we came up with :)
Flash you later,
Jo x
Ben and Dom's Wedding...
This joyful couple were married in Islington Town Hall at the beginning of the month.
All their family and friends joined them in Islington for their ceremony, then on to a reception at The Angelic pub followed by a party with more friends and family in the Earl Hague Hall in Crouch End.
It was the first time that their parents had met due to Dom's family living in Poland and Ben's living in Sussex, but despite a small language barrier they got on instantly. Everyone bonded over all the DIY hand made decorations, pinata's, retro video games and karaoke. The bride donned her rollers skates during the reception and then the couple did an amazing first dance as they are both excellent lindy hop dancers.
You can see from the pictures how much these two enjoy each others company and it was such a pleasure to shoot their day for them - congrats again guys!
Flash you later,
Jo x
Supporting Cast -
Dress - bespoke, designed and made
Suit - Saville Row
Wedding venue - Islington Town Hall
Reception Venue - The Angelic, Angel, London
Party venue - The Earl Hague Hall, Crouch End, London
Cake - Cakes By Siobhan
Catering - The Earl Hague's in house caterers
Sarah, Scott and Bump...
It was my absolute pleasure to be asked to shoot this couples bump session, after first shooting their wedding back in 2012.
We took a stroll around the lake behind their house, me with my camera and Scott with his radio so he wouldn't miss any of the cricket. We had a laugh as he still hates to have his picture taken so made a point of doing the opposite of any direction I gave - good thing Im a younger sister and have used that technique myself for years!
I can't wait to meet their little one and hopefully take some newborn portraits soon...
Flash you later,
Jo x
Danny and Nicole's Wedding...
Danny and Nicole got married at the gorgeous Barns in Theobald Park earlier this month.
They had blue skies and sunshine through out their outdoors ceremony and reception, then on to a lovely breakfast and disco inside the barn with their nearest and dearest. Family and friends had come from all over the world to celebrate with them and the room was full of love and laughter until the last flip flopped feet left the dance floor.
It was such a pleasure to photograph their wedding - especially as Danny used to be a wedding photographer too! (So no pressure there then...)
I hope you enjoy their images!
Supporting cast -
The Dress -
The Venue - Theobalds Park
The Caterers -
The Flowers -
The cake -
Flash you later,
Jo x
Natalie and Owen are engaged...
Natalie and Owen are engaged!
This lovely couple like to spend their weekends wondering through the markets in Portobello Road, so it was the perfect setting for their engagement shoot. We spent a couple of hours together and had a laugh in the busy street and quiet back streets of west London.
Im so looking forward to shooting their wedding in November!
Flash you later,
Jo x
Joe Wicks' - Lean In 15 Book Launch...
You may have noticed Joe Wicks' face cropping up all over your social media accounts and TV recently, and thats due to the phenomenal success with his first book. I was lucky enough to be asked by Pan Macmillan to cover the release of his second book, 'Lean In 15', which took place at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch.
Recipes from his book were served along with cocktails, before he spoke eloquently about his journey which was live streamed to Facebook. A speed artist created two paintings at the opposite end of the bar which will be used to promote the third book in this trilogy set to be launched towards the end of the year.
Due to his links with social media which helped him launch his career, he had frames and speech bubbles which he encouraged guests to pose with and the whole evening felt young and fresh in its outlook to promotion.
Guests left with a goodie bag which was over flowing with give aways, from a copy of his book to health drinks and snacks - it was a great event!
Flash you later,
Jo x
Rachel, John and Bump...
The lovely Rachel and John were married in Bournemouth in 2014, they had known each other for a little over seven years after meeting at a mutual friends birthday party.
I went around to their house to do their shoot when they were around 34 weeks along. I set up some lights and started to shoot with their plain while walls We spent an hour getting some shots of Rachel on her own as well as with John and what we ended up with was a set of really relaxed set of images that spoke volumes.
Hope you enjoy :)
Flash you later,
Jo x
Moiety kitchens...
I was put in touch with Moiety when they were on the hunt for a photographer to shoot some of their installations for the new website they were making.
Firstly I went into their showroom in Temple Fortune, north London, and took some shots of all the different kitchens they had installed, along with some head shots of their staff. They also wanted shots of their stand at the Ideal Home Show, and an installation in a private home which over looks Hyde Park.
If you know of anyone who needs products shots for their new website or head shots of their staff, let them know I may be able to help ;)
Flash you later,
Jo x
Contact Singapore - Jan...
Jan is a student who has been studying here for the last four years, soon she will graduate and return to work in Singapore.
Contact Singapore are a section of the Singapore government who encourage their students to study abroad then return home with once qualified. They were writing a piece on Jan and her journey in the UK, and they needed some images to accompany the article. So I met Jan outside Imperial College in London and we spent an hour getting some shots and hearing her story first hand.
You can read Jan's story in this linkedIn article - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/goodbye-london-hello-home-kate-tan
Flash you later,
Jo x
Chiraag and Priya's Wedding...
I met Chiraag through a networking group, I was there representing my company and Chiraag was there for his personal training company.
I started training with him as I was trying to shed the pounds before getting into a bridesmaids dress for a friends wedding. We met every week and we were on our way towards our goal when he asked if Id meet with him and his wife to be. They were having a traditional Indian wedding in July and Priya's parents had already organised most of the day - including their photographer. But they still had to arrange their photographer for their legal ceremony which was set to take place at the end of March in the newly refurbished Brent Town Hall.
After meeting to discuss what they wanted they told me they would love for me to shoot their wedding!
Their families met just before the ceremony, then went for an intimate lunch in a local restaurant, followed by the traditional welcome home ceremony to the grooms house. Id have loved to have been asked to shoot their religious ceremony too but Im so happy to have been able to give them some lovely shots from their civil ceremony.
Flash you later,
Jo x
Butterfly Art...
Michael and Jeremy were setting up their website when they contacted me asking me to shoot their art work.
They have pieces in various galleries, hotels and conference spaces and were frequently asked where people could find their work online, but they were yet to finalise a website. We booked a couple of hours in a studio in Rickmansworth, hung and shot 6 of their pieces making sure to capture some overall shots of the whole work, with and without drop shadows, then also detailed close ups as well as a couple of shots of the artists with their work.
The tricky thing about this shoot was that the work itself is enclosed in a clear perspex box, which is extremely reflective. We had to be careful where we positioned the studio lights so we didn't get any reflections, while still lighting it well. It took a little while to set the first shot up but then went a lot quicker once we were all set. We couldn't get permission from the galleries to shoot in their spaces so we got some stock images and I superimposed the shots together to make a composite, this way their customers could imagine the work in different spaces.
You can check out their work and find out where to see them hanging by visiting their website - http://butterflyart.co.uk
Flash you later,
Jo x
Sam came to me speaking some new head shots to represent her on her website, marketing and social media.
She is a fantastic massage therapist, accomplished aromatherapist and passionate yogi, so we spent an hour in and around Alexandra Palace shooting some very natural portraits for her.
It was lovely working with her, and I was really chuffed to receive this message from her once I had delivered her pictures - 'Just had a quick flick through, you're blooming good at what you do!! Thanks you they're so good! x'
Hopefully we will be working together again soon to get her a selection of spring shots :)
Flash you later,
x
This weekend Aimee celebrated her Bat Mitzvah by faultlessly delivering her Dvar Torah in Pinner Shul, and then enjoying an unforgettable evening at The Village Hotel in Elstree.
I met Aimee and her family a few years ago when shooting one of their friends weddings, and it was lovely to be remembered and invited to shoot Aimee's Bat Mitzvah :)
We all took a trip to Camden in February for a pre-shoot, so we could get some shots of Aimee for her benching books and slideshow, then on the big day we did some family portraits at the synagogue, before all their guests joined the family for Aimee's speech. From there, it was only a short drive to the hotel to party the night away - and boy can these guys party!
Here's a little teaser of we shot -
Supporting Cast and Crew -
The Venue - The Village Hotel
The Video - Jon Hackinbroch
The Events Team - Uptown Events
The Dancers - Kat Flavell & Nicky Mase
The Caterer - Andrew Kaye
Flash you later ;)
At the beginning of February Millie celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at the Holiday Inn, over looking the canal in Camden town.
She delivered an amazing Dvar Torah, which made her whole family proud, leaving no excuse but to celebrate in style!
Here is a selection of shots from her party, brought to you by Elliot from London Rox Events,
Flash you later ;)
I don't usually post blogs about post production, but thought I'd show you a 'before and after' from this recent shoot.
I was contacted by Danny, who I have worked with repeatedly over the last few years, when he had finished building his first set of show piece Mini Wall Art collection. He had the great idea of slicing up and reconditioning old Mini's for display as art pieces, with working lights and everything - so cool :) While building the website, he realised that he needed to show these cars off in their best light so asked me to photograph his first four off the production line.
I went to see him in his warehouse and what you see above is the result of the shoot. If you up for a little game you can play a little 'spot the difference' between the first and second shots then see if you can find all the spots I retouched. (I would give you a number but there are too many to count!)
…And, if you want to cheat, you can read this list of what I played with...
There were a few marks on the wall I needed to clean off, as well as the reflections in the bodywork (if you look really closely you can see me and the rest of the warehouse), the struts holding the car to the wall that you could see through the windows, marks on the glass, remove the wall to the left, and the soft box on the top left, the light switches on the right and then smooth the body work, retouch the hot spots and get rid of the power cable, then finally, brighten, sharpen and colour correct.
The post production took far longer than the actual shoot, almost four times as long, but short of remaking the struts and repainting the walls each time there was no way around it - one of the perks of shooting on a digital camera!
If you are interested in having a look for yourself, feel free to contact Danny through his website - http://www.vehiclewallart.com
flash you later x
I met Becca and Eli through mutual friends some years back, and was thrilled when they asked me to do a bump shoot with them!
We shot at their home when Becca was about 35 weeks, then again soon after Sydnie was born and was 6 days old. Last week we did a first birthday shoot at their house and I bought along some balloons and a nice big chocolate cake for Sydnie to enjoy :)
It was so cute to see how excited Sydnie was to get presented with the cake, but even sweeter to see how much of a lady she was about it! After delicately touching it, Eli showed her she could get stuck in (fist first!), Becca got stuck in face first (with a little nudge from Eli!) and then Sydnie went to town covering everything in sight with chocolately goodness!
It has been so lovely to get to know the family better and watch them grow over the past year, I am looking forward to seeing them again soon for more photo fun :)
Happy birthday to the gorgeous Sydnie, I hope she is having a fabulous day today and hopefully her sugar rush has subsided by now!
x
This gorgeous pair are Theo and Josh and I met them when they were just 6 days old.
They were the first pair of twins I shot, and they were so gorgeous! Mum, Jo, was brilliantly relaxed and they boys followed suit. As they were delivered early and so young they are very sleepy and content to be moved around - which made it easy to get some lovely shots of them.
Hopefully these boys will be the first of many twins I get to shoot, Im looking forward to seeing them again when they are bigger too.
Flash you later,
Jo
x
So Im always going on about taking pictures of the ones you love. How important it is to capture all the good times you spend together because you never know whats going to happen.
As I was growing up my mum was on hand at every poignent moment, every specially occasion and every not so special occasion, with a camera and a smile to capture all our lives delt us and everything we did.
She would snap away and document everything, then wait patiently for the film to be developed before sticking the prints into albums with little notes and reminders, to help her remember what she had done and where we have been. Album number one contains all her pictures from her school days, friends and family from back then and is annotated in exactly the same way as her albums today. I think her latest album numbers somewhere close to 300, and at the moment mainly contains pictures of her lovely new grandchildren and the recent months she has spent watching them grow.
At every gathering friends and family would come over and, without fail, at some point in the evening an album would be pulled off the shelf and gathered round so we could all remember what fun times we had last time we got together.
This project is a document of my mums life but doesnt often contain pics of my mum. So Ive taken it upon myself to make sure she gets in as many pictures as she takes! They dont always make it to the album, but atleast she exists in images and has a document that she was there not only through the pictures she takes!
I recently got my grandma and mum together so I could have a play with some new techniques and take some pictures of the two most influential women in my life.
So let me introduce my Nana, she is feisty and spirited, and the font of all knowledge when to comes to dress making, Yiddish swear words and has a wicked and dirty sense of humour. My Mum can tell you anything you need to know about cross stitch, traditional jewish cooking, can fix any ailment with a magic kiss and has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.
Together these ladies have educated our family about the importance of being strong, independent, loving, giving and kind.
They are both beautiful people and I love them lots x
So I decided to make a new website and its been a hell of a journey putting it together myself!
My original website was made for me by a chap called Bobby from the amazing beeuneeq, back in 2008. He did an amazing job for me, I loved the site and I couldn't have been happier. A lovely lady called Mel of Words etc did my copy, and together they made me a very professional photographers website. And it worked!
It was great to be able to talk to prospective clients, direct them to the site so they could see what kind of photography I did, then once they became clients I could upload their images into passworded galleries and they could view and order online without my interfering. I could freely change all the images on the site but not the copy, but hey, who has time to re write a website!
Then six years later, I realised I hadn't changed a single image, not a single image, in six years.
I realised I was pitching to clients and then sending them to my site and then not getting jobs. The discrepancy between what I was showing them online, and what I was not producing and showing them offline, was massive. The gap was staggering. My style had matured and changed so much that I was just confusing potential clients, to the point they wernt sure of what they would get from me, and therefore they wernt confident in booking me, and therefore WERE NOT booking me.
I had to change this.
I had to make sure potential clients felt confident to book me, confident I was established, had years of experience, knew they could rely on me for all those little extras as well as exactly what they were hiring me for.
Most of my business comes through word of mouth and I needed my online voice to mirror what my clients were saying about me, rather than contradicting it, so I made this site.
The purpose is to be clear and concise about who I am and what I do, what I can give you, and most importantly, why JRP is worth your valuable investment. Ill be posting regularly to this blog to keep you updated with the kind of work and people Im shooting and if you have any questions about anything then please get in touch.
So there it is.
I hope you find this new site transparent and useful, and hopefully Ill flash you later ;)
Jo x
So this is blog malarky is all new to me!
Not really too sure on how this is ganna go....
Hopefully well!