Philomena – Portrait Photography Birmingham

When this young lady approached me to take a portrait of her, with the instructions ‘nothing too fussy’ my response was ‘just pop the kettle on, I’ll come round for an hour & it will all be very relaxed’ And that is exactly what happened when I met Philomena. And what a wonderful lady she is. Her beautiful, kind spirit shone through the instant she opened her front door to me. It turned out she has a keen interest in photography herself, so we chatted about film cameras & the good old days. She showed me some beautiful photographs, many from years & years ago & it was so great to meet someone who loved actual prints & not just digital files emailed or stored on a computer. Yes, real life proper prints – remember those? Philomena had a real respect for Photography & the skill in capturing great images. On this commission I didn’t bring along lots of gear or specialist lighting, I didn’t want anything that would detract from establishing a real connection between myself & my subject.

She wanted to get a nice image of herself to frame & present as gifts to her children. What a wonderful & generous thought. I set my camera up & we just chatted away. It’s important in my work to show real emotion & connection. Images that are too forced always stand out a mile & usually for all the wrong reasons. Everything was very relaxed & natural as I wanted to capture spirit & emotion. I wanted an image that would stand the test of time & sit comfortably amongst all the other many prints of many family members. I left with a hug & a warm feeling inside. Not just from the delicious chocolate cake she kindly gave me but from knowing I had captured an image that showed the kindness & generosity of a very special lady.

I am based in Birmingham but travel throughout the UK. If you are looking for a Portrait photographer then you can see more of my Portraits here