Makelight in Kew

Last month I shared with you my Makelight adventures on my photography walk in Hampstead. This month I joined Emily and some other makelighters on a walk around the lovely Green and Gardens of Kew.
I have visited Kew before but have always travelled by car, this time having worked the morning I travelled by train and got to explore some of the beautiful roads and gardens around the station.

Arriving early I was able to explore for some time before meeting up with Emily & Co on the village green. Along with snapping lots of doors I was also able to capture some favourites of this month - Roses. From Aprils blossom, to May's wisteria I have loved capturing natures floral seasons each month.

As well as some beautiful gardens and blooms, Kew Green also houses a gorgeous pond.  Considering how close to the road the pond is, I was amazed to see a family of swans setting up home, complete with a brood of signets. I spent awhile watching them on and off the water, a very loving family.

On meeting up with Emily we set off for a wander around the green - i'm not sure what the villagers and the locals in the pub thought of us with our cameras and i phones out snapping doors, windows & foliage.
We entered Kew from the Elizabeth gate where we passed the Nash Conser vatory which was being set up for a wedding. The following day I read that a TV presenter from channel 4 married in Kew the previous day!....

We walked up-to Kew palace where another family of ducks and signets were resting under a tree. Normally I am a flower girl but the trees at Kew fascinate me. There size, age and the shapes that they grow are stunning.



A trip to Kew wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Palm house - which really is like a mini rain forest, the heat and humidity is replicated so that the palms and plants that live within are exactly as they would be in their natural environment. I even ventured up the spiral iron staircase to view the planting & palms from above.

After a leisurely coffee it was soon time for our walk to be finished and for us all to head home to review all our images taken. As with previous walks & workshops with Emily I learnt lots and my confidence with my photos is growing. I met some lovely ladies and I am enjoying seeing their images on social media.
I look forward to further Makelight adventures.
Here's some of mine from previous walks & workshops with Emily.

Make-light in Hampstead

A few weeks ago I spent a fun filled Saturday afternoon exploring and

photographing the streets and heath of Hampstead with a dozen other ladies. I had never visited Hampstead before and grabbed the opportunity to explore this lovely little corner of London with Emily Quinton. I met Emily a couple of years ago when I attended one of her photography workshops, I enjoyed it so much I spent a day food styling with her last year. Emily has now added photography walks to her make light portfolio in some of London's most loveliest of places.

The walk started early afternoon and although the day was a little cold and overcast it didn’t spoil the fun that the groups of us girls had in the lanes and side streets of Hampstead. I'm not sure what any of the residents thought of us snapping images on our phones and cameras of their front doors and gardens, but I fell in love with many of the houses and gardens as we walked around.

 No time with Emily would be complete without a prop or two and a beautiful bunch of blooms from a local florist added much fun and silly image opportunities for some of us along with video fun from E herself.


After a good couple of hours of walking, photographing and chatting we finished the day off with tea & cake in a local restaurant, swapping images, instagram accounts and details. I enjoyed myself so much that I came home and booked for the next walk which will be within the grounds of Kew gardens.

Prior to meeting up with the makelight ladies I spent an hour exploring the heath and the surrounding streets leading to the high street. 

Some of my favourite images from the day are of a man and his gorgeous dog….

Food styling fun....

Last Saturday I joined 10 other ladies for a day of fun, photography and  food styling with Emily Quinton and Catherine Frawley, both photographers and instagrammers that I have admired for some time. I met Emily last year when I attended a styling workshop with her.
The day was held in Emily's new Makelight studio in West Dulwich which is a glorious space filled with the most amazing light, perfect for a day taking photo's...
The day started with coffee and an introduction to the day, as well as exploring the studio before the fun began!
Each attendee had a lovely place setting at the work table to use during the day and then take home to play with.
Along with a glorious space to utilise during the day Emily & Catherine provided some amazing props to use to style the foods provided. I fell completely in love with the suitcase of vintage cooking and baking props along with glorious cakes, marshmallows and macarons  from Reshmi at  Anges de Sucre. 

Catherine started by showing how an old door could showcase macarons complimented with jasmine. by building up the look. Taking shots at each stage it allowed us to see what works and what doesn't to make a great shot, viewing each shot on the PC to see in detail the staging and cut off parts of the photograph.

Catherine's 2nd demonstration was with a box of doughnuts a lace napkin, a bread board and vintage cheese plate. 1. loaf tin, baking parchment. 2. add a vintage cheese plate. 3. cutlery and additional doughnuts. 4. doughnuts on the board. 5. final styling complete with a scattering on sprinkles. I loved this image styling, and to see it come to life was gorgeous, a simple box of doughnuts to a fabulous display good enough to eat.

After Doughnuts it was time to play with Marshmallows in a vintage baking tin, muslin clothe and a scattering of flower heads..... simple effective styling complimenting the sweet treats perfectly.  Along with a host of sweet treats C&E also showed us how to style simpler everyday things from the vegetable rack & salad bowl.  Tomatoes and the Broad beans being my favourites.

After lunch it was time for us to play with our camera's and i-phones.  I loved the old vintage French feel that the macarons and bake-ware and silverware created against the wooden background and fabric. So much fun with sugar.

Emily has a glorious old wooden cabinet in the corner which provided the perfect backdrop for a spot of afternoon tea and biscuit styling.... Jammie Dodgers looking yummy. The tea flask and retro cup complimented the cabinet and styling perfectly along with a strategically placed peony... one of Emily;s signature style floral props. 

Growing with confidence it was time to play with something a little grander, and Anges de Sucre's 3 tier extravaganza was perfect. This chocolate dripped, popcorn,macaron, marshmallow confection was a dream to shoot. With milk bottles, paper straws, and doughnuts accompanying the styling I had so much fun playing with this candy creation.

My final style for the day was with my favourite Eat Cake for Breakfast journal and Reshmi's mini macaron & popcorn creations in glorious pastels.... complete with macarons,milk bottles & straw accompaniments the only thing left to do at the end was sample the mini confections.

Emily and Catherine hosted a fabulous day and I met some lovely ladies along with learning lots.

Here is a cute little video that Emily shot of the day.... 

If you are a fan of gorgeous pictures, then I urge you to follow Emily and Catherine on instagram for a daily dose of flower and food loveliness. More images on instagram of the day on #makelightworkshops

Thankyou Ladies, I had a fabulous day and I am learning to love my camera lots and have fun with photos.

Shooting Snaps & Styling with Emily

Earlier this year I discovered a fabulous blog which I started to follow that was beautifully photographed and styled. The blog belonged to Emily Quinton at The Start Up Wife. Emily is a photographer who now specialises in lifestyle and styling, previously having been a wedding photographer, all this and a mum of 4 small children!.. I'm not sure how she does it. Last month I featured Emily's blog on my Social Media Sunday post as one of my favourites from March.
Having seen that Emily runs photography workshops, I booked myself onto one. A couple of years ago I bought a bridge camera, the in-between digital SLR. As with most cameras's the accompanying book is just jargon to me, and have up until now only really used the auto settings on it. I really hoped that by going to a day like this, I would learn to love my camera more, make greater use of its functions and understand the jargon in a language that made sense to me. I can say that Emily met all these expectations and more!

The workshop was held in a warehouse in east London, easily accessible from both Liverpool Street station and Old Street. Along with myself, 4 other ladies spent our Saturday together with Emily, all with different reasons of being there.
The day was split into practical sessions, tip sharing, formats for social media and blogging. I learnt lots about light, styling and can now confidently turn the auto button off my camera!... Emily also shared lots of tips on making the most of your i-phone and the best Apps for picture formatting etc. The whole day was relaxed, informal, Emily is incredibly patient asking all our questions and sharing lots of practical advise along the way.
Along with lots of styling props and beautiful spring flowers I made use of my Kate Spade mug & notebook to add a little bit of 'me' to the finished article... here's some of my snaps from the day.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day and look forward to following my fellow photo buds on Instagram and other social medias as they utilise the tips they learnt.
Mary Ellen - Hop Interiors - Blog & Instagram
Katie - My Style Diary - Instagram
Karina from PlastiKotes - Facebook page
and Emily herself - Blog, Instagram & Pinterest.
If this has wetted your appetite for a fun Saturday styling & shooting great pictures then check out Emily's blog for her Makelight workshops.