– Need some new branding photos for your business?

My mini brand shoot days are a great opportunity to get some fabulous new headshots and branding photos that you can use for your website, social media and marketing (without booking a full personal branding session).

I’m running my next mini brand shoot day at beautiful Pomalo this October – a stunning house and event location near Tunbridge Wells. It has both indoor and outdoor space to use, so lots of options for photos (see link below for details).

Each session is around 45 mins which allows time to create some headshots and other branding images with a few different backdrops, so you’ll get a variety of images to choose from.

There will also be a hair and make up artist on hand if you would like professional hair and/or make up before your session and I’ll also give you tips on what to wear.

Location details

Pomalo is located at Pembury Hall, near Pembury/Tunbridge Wells. It has a courtyard area, converted stables, art studio and gardens – all beautifully styled so there are lots of lovely backdrops to use. There is plenty of parking available and coffee on arrival. Find out more about Pomalo here.

Hair and make up

The very talented Deborah Hall, of Hall of Fame Styling will be on hand if you would like professional hair and/or make up before your session. I have worked with Deborah for a number of years now and can highly recommend her.

If you’d like to find out more about what it’s like to have your hair and make up done professionally and read some tips, please have a look at this article.

Timings and cost

The sessions are each around 45 mins – please contact me for available time slots left (please note 12th Oct is now FULLY BOOKED).

Please note that you’ll need to arrive about an hour beforehand if you’re having your hair and make up done (half an hour if just hair or just make up).

The cost is £150 and this includes 5 edited high res images (to be chosen from your gallery). Additional images can be purchased afterwards if you decide you would like more.

In addition, you’ll get consultation time beforehand to help you prepare and advice on what to wear.

How do I book?

Please contact me (preferably by email) to book a space or for more details – claire@littleolives.co.uk

Currently the mini brand shoot day on 12th Oct 2023 is FULLY BOOKED.

However, please contact me if you are interested and I can put you on a waiting list. I am also hoping to run another one shortly and you can be the first to hear when the next one is arranged!

Find out more about regular headshot and personal branding sessions here or have a look at the branding gallery to see images from other sessions.

“I recently booked a branding shoot with Claire, I wasn’t sure what to expect having never done one before. Claire was so helpful and shared lots of tips on how to get the most out of my shoot. She supported me through the whole process, from thinking about my branding colours, the images I needed, what I wanted to convey and my outfit choices. She booked a hair and make-up artist who helped me to feel at my best for the shoot. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and felt relaxed and at ease with Claire. She is a gifted photographer and has created the most beautiful photographs I feel so proud of. I feel she really understood what I wanted to convey and has captured my message perfectly. Thank you Claire” 

Samantha Goddard Rapid Transformational Therapy, Sevenoaks Kent

– So are you thinking about booking a branding shoot and wondering what is involved? Or maybe you’ve booked your session and are starting to prepare. There’s quite a few things to consider, such as choosing the right location and deciding on your outfit choices, but what about hair and make up? Should you book a professional hair and make up artist or is it fine to do your own?

I get asked about hair and make up a lot when helping to prepare clients for their shoot, so thought it would be useful to put together this article. The photos are from a recent branding shoot with Samantha Goddard who opted to book a hair and make up artist. Sam specialises in helping people with anxiety and eating issues using Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and needed a new portfolio of images for her website and social media. We did her shoot at beautiful Pomalo last autumn (scroll to the end to see some of the images from her shoot).

I hope you find this article helpful, whether you are still considering a branding shoot or preparing for an upcoming session.

Should I book a professional hair and make up artist?

So is it worth booking a professional hair and make up artist (HMUA) for your branding shoot? Well this is completely up to you of course – some clients are confident doing their own hair and make up and that is absolutely fine.

However, having decided to invest in a photographer to create some lovely new content for your business, I think it’s definitely worth considering professional hair and make up as this can really help you feel confident and to look your best on the day. It can also take some of the stress out of getting ready as you can just turn up to your session and let someone else do all the work!

I work with a lovely HMUA, Deborah Hall from Hall of Fame Styling (pictured above and below). I’ve been working with her for a few years now and she meets us on location before the shoot which is really convenient for everyone. Some artists specialise in either hair or make up, but Deborah does both which works really well for a branding session.

I asked Deborah to provide some tips on how best to prepare if you are having your hair and make up done. She’s also given some tips for anyone doing their own…

How to prepare if having your hair and make up done professionally

Here are some tips from Deborah on how best to prepare if she will be doing your hair and make up on the day

• Please wash and blow dry your hair the night before or on the day and avoid using any additional products, especially serums.
• If you need to do a little taming with a straightener, that’s okay, just don’t overdo it. You want your hair to be as natural as possible.
• If you need to tie your hair up or back beforehand, do this as loosely as possible, so as not to flatten your roots.
• In terms of skin preparation, do your usual skin-care routine, but it’s a good idea to gently exfoliate your face the night before, and drink lots of water!

On the day itself…

Deborah says “Please arrive without any make-up on, as starting with a super clean face will save us time”

“Let me know how you usually wear your hair and make-up and feel free to show me pictures if that helps. Let me know if you have any worries or concerns as I’m sure I can answer these and help put you at ease”

Hair and make up products…

Deborah says “The make up products that I use are all premium brands that are cruelty-free. Your make up will be applied in a way that shows on camera but still looks really natural, so you will look and feel like yourself. This is especially important if you do not wear much make up on a daily basis.

I also use several different products and tools to help style, tame and finish your hair on the day itself.

I will be very happy to answer any questions you may have and provide my professional point of view and advice before we start”

Tips for doing your own make up for a shoot

Here are  some tips from Deborah if you are doing your own hair and make up

• Always apply your make up using natural light e.g. near a large window (but avoid being in direct sunlight as this creates harsh shadows and uneven light).
• Use a primer if possible to help achieve an even finish and Deborah recommends a light to medium foundation, blended well.
• Avoid make up with any shimmers as these reflect light back towards the camera. This includes eyeshadows, bronzers and even some foundations. Avoid using a highlighter for the same reason.
• Don’t overdo it with foundation and eyeshadow – less is more, particularly with more mature skin (although 25 years and over is classed as mature!)

Find out more

If you are intersted in booking a branding shoot then please don’t hesitiate to get in touch for a no-obligation chat to discuss your requirements. I would love to hear from you. You can find all the details on my headshot and branding session packages here

You can find out more about how to prepare for a branding shoot in this previous article How to prepare for your personal branding shoot – 5 Top Tips

Find out more about Sam Goddard and Rapid Transformational Therapy on her new website here

Finally huge thanks to Andrea at Pomalo – such a stunning location which was perfect for our shoot. Find out more about Pomalo here

Thank you for reading!

– So last autumn I did a personal branding shoot for the lovely Jess Gibson who runs the TN card. We had such a fun morning, it was brilliant working with Jess and I wanted to put together a blog post with some of my favourite images from the session. So here I am finally getting around to it!

The TN card is a reward scheme that supports local independent businesses in and around Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. You can join as a business (TN partner) or as a member to enjoy exclusive deals when you shop local and this in turn helps the local community. I have used my card over and over in cafes, shops and restaurants and even to save money on theatre tickets. It’s well worth joining!

We discussed the images Jess wanted, outfit choices and potential locations over a consultation call before the shoot. Jess opted to do the shoot in Tunbridge Wells, mainly around Chapel Place where there are a number of independent shops and cafes that are TN partners. We met on a chilly morning in October and Jess chose a black dress and stunning camel coat which just looked fabulous and worked so well for the autumnal feel of the shoot.

We started in the Pantiles area and then worked our way down to Frampton’s cafe bar and kitchen on the corner, which was a great backdrop for some cafe shots (I love shooting through cafe windows!). We then headed up to Chapel Place – actually one of my favourites parts of Tunbridge Wells with it’s cobbled pavement and eclectic mix of cafes, bars and boutique shops.

Jess collected some shopping bags from some of the TN partner shops so that we could feature them in the shoot. Many thanks to Gray and Co, The Silver Sheep and Gabriella Jewellery for the loan of the bags. We took lots of shots of Jess ‘shopping’ around Chapel Place and then finished up with a coffee and a few photos outside Hudsons cafe.

It was great working with you Jess, what a lovely morning it was. Jess now has a range of images to use on her website, marketing and social media. I’ve enjoyed seeing her images popping up everywhere and they have been particularly integral to the launch of the new TN card app. You may also have seen them on banners advertising the TN card (and the new app) around Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells.

If you are a local independent business, do consider joining the TN card as a partner and everyone should join as a member! As well as supporting local businesses, the TN card actively supports West Kent Mind, with a percentage of membership fees going to the charity. As a TN partner myself, I currently offer £25 off a family, headshot or branding session.

So if you are in need of some new headshots or branding photos to showcase your business, make the most of the TN card reward and get in touch. Autumn is the perfect time of year for some outdoor shots (or combine indoor and outdoor in a branding shoot). Find out more about business and branding sessions here and do contact me for an informal chat, I would love to hear from you.

Huge thanks again to the independent cafes and shops that featured in the shoot.

– So here we are in the midst of the third Covid lockdown in early 2021. I’m unable to do family shoots at the moment due to the pandemic, so thought I would catch up with writing some blog posts (something I don’t get around to often enough!) and I really wanted to write a blog about this very special family shoot from last autumn.

Melinda and her family are originally from California but work has brought them over to live in the UK. I actually met Melinda through a local mums in business networking group. She runs a very successful aromatherapy business and has authored two books on essential oils, a subject she is very passionate about.

This is the third year that I’ve done a shoot for this family and each year the theme has been different, so when Melinda contacted me about booking in another session, I was excited to hear what she had in mind. 1950s no less! Well why not? And so the preparations began.

Location and styling

The first thing was to set about finding a location which is perhaps the most challenging aspect to get right as the setting is so key to the final images. We also had the Covid pandemic to contend with of course, so had to factor that into any decision about where to do the shoot.

One option was to see if we could get permission to use an old vintage railway station but then we would have needed decent weather and as it was the end of October, this couldn’t be guaranteed. Melinda had also suggested the A21 American Diner in Kent so we contacted them and luckily they allowed us to hire out the whole restaurant for a couple of hours after closing.

Melinda then set about finding a hair stylist who could do 1950s hair and ordering suitable clothes for everyone. She also sourced props like old-fashioned Coke bottles, popcorn tubs and vintage suitcases.  So much effort was put into all the little details and they all looked absolutely stunning on the day!

Day of the shoot

On the day itself it absolutely poured with rain so we were very relieved that we were doing the shoot indoors! We had to wait for the last customers to leave the diner and the staff to clean down and tidy up before we could start.

By the time we got going it was twilight and not long until it was practically dark outside. The restaurant was also quite dimly lit, so flash was needed throughout the session. I used on-camera flash for ease as we were moving around a lot (and bounced it off the ceiling to soften the light).

The shoot itself was a lot of fun athough we had to work quickly as we only had the diner for a couple of hours. I must thank my lovely friend Karen Cain who came along on the day and was such a huge help with adjusting the lighting in the diner when needed, setting up props and mopping up after the odd coke bottle got spilt!

After the shoot

We were actually really lucky to have been able to go ahead with the shoot as on the following day (Halloween!) the Prime Minister announced a second lockdown which came into effect just a few days later. So the shoot was in the bag and considering the many challenges, I was really pleased with the end result.

Melinda had wanted this shoot to be special, as a couple of the girls will be off to university later this year. It was such a great project to work on and I’m sure they will all enjoy looking back on the photos as the children grow up and go their separate ways.

Thanks Melinda for this lovely testimonial that she wrote afterwards…

“I love working with Claire. My demands are far from standard and she is always up for the challenge.

I don’t have a lot of photos of myself growing up. I think there are maybe 3 photos from my first 2 years of life? And not that many more until I was maybe 5 or 6. Those were not good times for my family, so I understand why there aren’t a lot of photos capturing it. But I still long for it…

 My annual photo shoot is literally one of my most precious things. The kids know they can return to sass the following day, but on family photo day it’s all about me. And they graciously accept this and give it to me. I treasure it… Thank you Claire for giving me precious memories”

It really does mean the world to me to be able to capture these important memories and milestones and this was such a fabulous shoot to work on, certainly one I won’t forget.

Slideshow

You can see a few more images in this slideshow.

Thank you for reading and if you’re interested in a family session then please do get in touch, I’d love to hear from you! You’ll find all my contact details here.

– So have you discovered Kingdom yet?

If you’re local to Penshurst or Tunbridge Wells then the chances are that you’ve heard about it, even if you haven’t been there yet.

Set amongst 13 acres of woodlands high up overlooking Penshurst, Kingdom looks like an ancient treehouse. It has become a unique destination for walkers, cyclists, runners and friends/family alike to meet, relax and enjoy some fresh air and nature in a beautiful outdoor setting.

It seems to have become more and more popular and being in Penshurst, we find ourselves popping up there all the time. A couple of weeks ago I decided to take my camera with me to capture it looking at its best with all the autumn colours. Hopefully the photos give you an insight into all that Kingdom has to offer.

Cafe/restaurant and wedding/events venue

Kingdom is home to a café/restaurant which is usually open 7 days a week and is a great place to meet for morning coffee or lunch/brunch.  The whole ‘treehouse’ can also be hired out as a unique venue for weddings, parties and other special events. I photographed a 50^th birthday there earlier this year. You can see some of the images in another blog post here.

Health and fitness

Kingdom also has all your exercise and wellness needs taken care of. It houses a yoga studio (run by Verity of Verity Megan Yoga), has a purpose built outdoor exercise area (you can find out more about classes with MZ9 Fitness here) and is even the setting for a weekly Park Run on a Saturday morning!

There is a track through the surrounding woodlands that makes a lovely walk but is also used as a running track (do as many laps as you like!).

The Hidden Hut

There is even a shop hidden underneath the ‘treehouse’ selling beautiful homewares and gifts, known as the The Hidden Hut (usually open Fridays-Sundays).

Personally, I like to head up there for brunch on a Sunday or a mid-week coffee with friends. We might have a walk afterwards and the children can play in the ancient ‘Seven Sisters’ chestnut tree or enjoy the swings in the woodland.

Kingdom during lockdown

We are currently mid-way through the second lockdown of 2020. With our options for places to go and things to do being so limited, it’s wonderful to have somewhere like Kingdom just on the doorstep.

Adapting to the lockdown measures, they are currently doing take away hot drinks and ‘click and collect’ meals. They’ve also opened up a food market selling fresh local groceries and other artisan products in place of the restaurant which has temporarily had to close.

So whether you’re after a walk, somewhere to exercise or simply a ‘socially distanced’ meet up with a friend, then you should definitely give Kingdom a visit.

And if you’re reading this past 2020, here’s hoping this pandemic is behind us and we can all enjoy the full benefits that Kingdom has to offer. I can’t wait for that!

Find out more

Find out more about Kingdom on their website here.

Find out more about family shoots with Little Olives Photography here

– As I sit here writing this, we have just entered the second lockdown of 2020 and with all the restrictions that entails, it’s actually quite hard to conceive of friends and family gathered together for a party at this moment in time.

Deborah and Gary were so lucky to be able to go ahead with this fabulous party back in February at Kingdom in Penshurst. It all looked quite magical on the night and I was delighted to have been a part of it.

They both love skiing and so Deborah came up with the idea of an après-ski themed party to celebrate Gary’s 50th. Kingdom in Penshurst is just like a tree-house amongst the woods and was the perfect venue for it.

The party ideas were brought to life by the very talented Estelle and Aphrodite of Dilly + Diti. They styled the venue so beautifully and on a chilly February evening, it really did feel like being in the Swiss Alps!

There was an Alpine inspired dinner, including a wonderful fondue, cake by the amazing Claudia of Purple Flour and the evening was finished off with music downstairs and lots of dancing to the incredible Abalicious, an Abba tribute band.

The party was a surprise for Gary so we all had to keep it hush hush in the run up to the big day. Deborah invited friends from far and wide and I think Gary was absolutely blown away by it all. Happy Birthday again Gary and thank you Debs for inviting me along to capture it all.

I have really missed the weddings, parties and events this year. Here’s hoping we can celebrate again with friends in the not too distant future.

If you would like me to document your party or special occasion then do get in touch. I would love to hear from you! You’ll find all my contact details here.

The silhouettes have once again appeared in Penshurst Church. This moving installation, known as ‘There But Not There’ was created by Martin Barraud, local artist and photographer from Penshurst and first installed in the Church in November 2016. The aim was to “take the names off the wall and bring them back into the village psyche” and to encourage visitors to the church and the Remembrance Day service as attendance had been falling over recent years. We had no idea then, that the idea would eventually evolve into a national project and a new charity with the silhouettes appearing in churches not only nationwide but across the world.

We have visited the installation each year and every time I find it so moving. The children come along and ask lots of questions about the silhouettes, why they are there and what happened during the war. It helps them understand the significance of this part of our history. There are now 52 figures in Penshurst Church, representing 51 men that were lost from our village alone, with another figure that has no name (representing the 526,675 soldiers who have no known grave). Each figure has a name block, with brothers and cousins sitting together.

This year (Nov 2018) the installation has even more significance as we approach Remembrance weekend which signifies 100 years since the signing of the Armistice agreement and the end of the First World War.

‘There But Not There’ has now evolved into a national charity, ‘Remembered’ that is raising funds for a number of veteran charities through the sale of table-top sized Tommies (see below for link if you would like to purchase one of these).

As we approach Remembrance weekend, life sized Tommies have been appearing all over the country, from St Pancras Station in London to The Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. Silhouette installations have also appeared in churches up and down the country, and can even be found just now in St Margaret’s Church next to Westminster Abbey. Perhaps even more incredible is that the project has gone beyond our shores to the United States, Canada and Australia.

The project aims to ‘Commemorate, Educate and Heal’. The Tommies are made by ex-service veterans employed by the Royal British Legion Industries, and so far the There But Not There project has raised over £2 million for veteran charities.

To think this all began in our little village is quite an incredible story and as a photographer I feel compelled to try and photograph the silhouettes each time we visit (not always that easy!). So I thought I’d put this article together with some of the photos I’ve taken, to help tell the story of how the silhouettes first came about.

This week is Armistice Centenary week in the village and there are a number of events to mark a hundred years since the end of WW1.

On Friday 9th is the event ‘Voices – a centenary war scrapbook’ – you can bring and tell your own family stories, letters and poems from WW1. There will also be drama featured as well as conversation with the artist himself, Martin Barraud about the ‘There But Not There’ project and how it all began.

On Sunday 11th at 6pm there will be a special Candlelit Armistice Evensong at the Church. This is to be followed at 7pm by the lighting of the Penshurst Beacon outside the village hall and then a special village centenary event ‘Penshurst Remembers’ in the village hall itself. Tickets are available for this at the village shop. All other events are free to attend.

There will also be a WW1 exhibition in the village hall all weekend and the silhouette installation will be in the Church until 6pm on 15th Nov.

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Penshurst but if you do nothing else, please make sure you visit the ‘There But Not There’ installation in the Church. I promise you will be moved by it and your children will take a lot from it as well.

If you would like to find out more about the There But Not There project or purchase a Tommy from the Remembrance Collection, please visit https://rbli.co.uk