The First Fall of Snow - 2010

On the week starting 29th November we had some of the heaviest and earliest snow in the South East for 40 years. This lasted all week with accompanying disruption. I was there at Sittingbourne Rail station to record the effect.

Gift Vouchers

I am now selling Portrait Photography Gift Vouchers in values from £20 to £200. So if you are stuck for an original Christmas of Birthday precent, why not purchase one? The all the recipient has to do is call me and book a shoot.

They are valid as full or part payment towards any kind of portrait photography (see my websites Richard Cook Photography and Boudoir Chic Photography) and can be redeemed at any time.

Please contact me at richard.cook111@blueyonder.co.uk or call on either 01795 478522 or 07765 256354

Christmas Special Offers

Christmas is getting close now, so why not give a present of a family portrait or any other type?

Until 18th December I am offering 20% off of the overall cost of a portrait or personal glamour shoot upon presentation of the voucher downloadable from my sites.

You can download the vouchers and find out more on these pages under 'Christmas Special Offers: http://richardcookphotography.yolasite.com/christmas-special-offers.php and http://boudoirchic.yolasite.com/christmas-offers.php

Sittingbourne Paper Mill Site, 21st October 2010

I recently was asked to photograph the demolition and revitalising of the old Paper Mill site in Sittingbourne.

The Paper Mill has formed part of the town's social and industrial history for 150 years plaus and the idea is to sympathetically create something on the site that echoes the signifigance of this.

The project will take until 2014 to complete and I hope to be able to record the progress from start to finish

Availability for Shoot on 23rd October

I have a last minute cancellation for a shoot, in any style, on 23rd October.

Please get in touch if you would like a shoot at a special rate (deposit already paid).richard.cook111@blueyonder.co.uk 01795 478522

Last minute availability for Sunday 5th September

Due to a last minute cancellation, I have availability for a portrait shoot on Sunday afternoon 5th September at 2.00.

Good rates. Anybody interested?

Send me an email or give me a call richard.cook111@blueyonder.co.uk 01795 278522

Price Drop on Frames and Canvasses!

Here's the big news......I have just had word from my suppliers that as a result of new equipment being installed at their premises they have been able to substantially reduce the price of Frames and canvases by as much as a 1/3 in many cases.

My new price list now reflects this. For example an A4 hand framed print behind glass and ready to hang is now just £67.20 when purchased after a photo-shoot.

Passport and Visa Pictures

I now offer a passport and visa service adhering to European and US guidelines.

Price is £15 for European and £20 for US. Please allow up to 3 days from shoot to receive the images.

Fundraising Event on 14th August

On August 14th I am giving away as a raffle prize, a photoshoot worth £75 as part of the "Stop for Tea Summer Fete fundraising event" in aid of the NSPCC and in particular the 'Baby P Tribute Fund'. A Worthwhile cause, I'm sure you will agree.

The event is SUMMER FETE In aid of the NSPCC – The Baby Peter Tribute Fund Saturday August 14th 2010... Holy Trinity Church Hall, Sheerness, Between 1.30pm –5pm

COME ALONG & MEET & GREET SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS & PEPPA PIG(Entrance 20p pp)

Shoot last Sunday

Special thanks to Sian and Aysha for the shoot last Sunday. They both wanted shots to add to their portfolios and in Aysha's case to send to an agency. These girls will be going places I'm sure.

Award Winner

I can at last call myself an "award winning photographer"

At the weekend Sarah and I attended the 25th Annual Gala Awards of the BIPP - NW in Warrington, Cheshire.

I had submitted 4 pictures for the Chairman's awrd but hadn't given it any more thought. Imagine my surprise when my name was called out as the winner of the Chairman's award! The chosen picture was the shot of mother and baby illustrated elsewhere on this blog.......Fantastic, I just need to keep up the momentum now.

And the Winner is......

After much deliberation the winner of the best name for my Boudoir Glamour site is Ingrid Pretis with "Boudoir Chic Photography"

Well done Ingrid and I will be contacting you shortly with your prize details. It was a very close-run thing, the runner up was Emma Smisson with "Red Velvet Boudoir" and because of this I will becontacting Emma also.

Thanks to all thos who participated.

I need your help

Hi folks

Spring is here and I've got to thinking about a fresh new name and look for the Boudoir/Glamour side of my business.

Currently, it's 'Naughty but Nice Photography' but I don't think it's catchy enough so any new ideas greatly received. There's a free mini boudoir shoot in it for a successful suggestion, which can be used at any time.

Work leading to more Work

They say that word of mouth and self promotion is the best kind of advertising. A couple of weeks back I ran a £20 portrait offer at the Top Dog Network meeting in Sittingbourne. I had a couple of takers and one couple, Heather and Roland Nowak of Nova IT-Solutions called me on Monday to do some more at full price to illustrate their website etc and to show off their industry awards. Great stuff and once again I was happy to picture them.

Family portraiture is another one of my specialities and when Lloyd and Corinne came to me to picture them and their young son, Dylan, of 4 months I was very happy to oblige.

Dylan was a little star and an absolute natural in front of the camera.

What a week!

Well what a week it's been. Just when I thought it was just a bit too quiet along comes a raft of new work........

On Monday I got a call to do some corporate portraits for a chap in the yachting industry, Wednesday I was able to produce some work in conjunction with the Network meeting Top Dog and yesterday I had a passport shoot that turned into a full blown photoshoot. I've also taken 2 new booings for family shoots later in March and had several enquiries all down to the fact that I've now learned how to apply keywords and meta tags to my websites for the best advantage.

A Little Photoshop Magic

Occasionally we are asked to work a little "magic" using Photoshop or in our case, Paint Shop Pro X2.
Peter Apps, an author from Sheerness, wanted some pictures to illustrate the cover of his new novel, The Long Way Round".
There was one request however and it was an important one. He has a lot of moles across his forehead and he wanted them removed or to use modern parlance, airbrushed out. It was a challenge that we undertook and the results were far better than expected. So that‟s another service that we can add to our repertoire of know how.
"The Long Way Round" by Peter Apps, is to be published on
1st March 2010.

Cook by Name........

In December we got a commission to shoot publicity material, for Cooks Kitchen on Eurolink Way in Sittingbourne.

For anybody unfamiliar with the company, they specialize in creating and preparing frozen food with a twist. Everything is made fresh exactly as you would if you were following a traditional recipe, with no additives or preservatives used.

They asked for everything from a "Madness" style group (see above) for use on an advertising hoarding in Tonbridge (I must go and see what it looks like!) to pictures of the Chefs at work and individually for their own leaflets and newsletters.
It was an extremely satisfying job and as you can imagine with all that food around, I got very hungry.