Do you need a new headshot?
I'm pleased to say that inspite of the horrendous year we've all had, new businesses seem to be flourishing. I've had lots of fabulous business and headshot shoots so far this year and more booked in the diary over the next few months.
Do you need a new headshot? Is your profile picture way out of date? If so, it might be time to get some fresh images created to boost your business for 2021.
Book your business shoot today!
To see more of my business photography, follow my dedicated account on Instagram - Cardiff Business Photographer.
Take a look at some of my favourite recent personal brand and business shoots below:
Eliza Eliza
We had a lot of fun on this shoot! Eliza Eliza, a Cardiff based tote bag and accessory business booked a shoot earlier this year. The shoot was in two parts - one location shoot, to show of the gorgeous bags and one session in the workshop to show how they are made. Visit her website to see how she's used the images!
Est1958
Avril has a fashion and interiors blog and wanted some new images to use on her social media account. She looked absolutely amazing! The shoot took place in and around Penarth. We used the pier, the marina, the bars, the coffee shops, even the RNLI building!
You can see how she's used her images on her Instagram account.
Seventh House
Abi has started a new coaching business and needed a new profile picture for LinkedIn. We had a lot of fun trying out different outfits and using the fabulous location at Bunny Farm Prisk.
Make up by Charlotte Joy.
Cat
Cat needed some new images for her brand new coaching business. We took some great shots around Cowbridge and in the gorgeous new restaurant Rocket and Rye.
Milan Coaching
When Cat came for her shoot, she brought along her friend and fellow coach Michelle. A few days later, Michelle got in touch to book a shoot for herself! Have a look at her brand new website Milan Coaching to see how she's used her images.
Castle Emporium Cardiff
Just before the pandemic started I did a shoot at the Castle Emporium in Cardiff. A wonderful arcade, full of independent shops and businesses. The images were featured by Cardiff Life earlier this year. View the feature online, pages 36-41!
Do you need images for your business? If so, check out my headshot and commercial packages and my business portfolio too!
Want to take your own photos? If you need to constantly refresh your business images, with new stock items, then why not learn how to take better images for yourself?
“How to take better photos for your business” workshop
Book your one to one training session today!
My lockdown highlights
Lockdown may have stopped me from shooting but I've still got some lockdown highlights to share with you!
Since the start of lockdown I've had to postpone so many client shoots. Family shoots, beach shoots, toddler group sessions, school class photos and commercial sessions. It was an abrupt end to what was gearing up to be a very busy Spring season. But, I've still been squirrelling away behind the scenes. It took me a few weeks to get my camera back out again, after trying to establish some sort of homeschooling routine for my kids and worrying endlessly about running out of bread and tea bags.
I started doing some shoots with my children, at home and in the garden. You can see my sessions with my daughter in my blog post - Lockdown photos at home, and some with my son, in How to shoot your own lockdown images.
But that's not all I've been up to. I tend to share news and information on my Facebook and Instagram accounts but not so much on my blog. So, I thought I'd write a post to share my lockdown business highlights with you.
I've been a Cardiff family photographer and Cardiff business photographer for 14 years but I've only recently started to share my work with industry peers. I'm quite shy (although no one ever believes that I am!) and so it's a strange feeling submitting and sharing work to the wider world.
It's such an honour to have my work recognised and featured, both online and in print. See below for my business lockdown highlights!
Italian Vogue
The first bit of exciting news was that I had a some images published on Italian Vogue! It's something I've been trying to do for quite a while and lockdown gave me more time to get around to submitting them. I'm so happy that they accepted these client images, which are some of my favourites.
JUNO Magazine
I also had an article and images featured in the latest edition of the fabulous JUNO Magazine. It's the second time I've been featured in the magazine and this article is all about how proud I am of my son, who is a ballet dancer, so it's even more special.
September brought another feature in JUNO Magazine!
This time, my daughter was featured as part of a home-school series. She's the one with the rainbow of books on the right.
United Art Gallery
My images have been published on the United Art Gallery, which was set up to showcase COVID 19 related art from around the world. I was so happy when they contacted me and asked if they could feature some of my 'Lockdown Ballet' series of images. You can see the whole set in my Lockdown Ballet post. Visit the United Art Gallery website to see some amazing and inspiring work from artists from all over the world.
Shootproof blog
I was also contacted by Shootproof - an amazing company providing an online gallery platform to photographers around the world. They have the most brilliant blog, which I read on a regular basis. They got in touch to say that they loved my personal branding work and that they'd like me to write an article to help other photographers start shooting personal branding images too. It was published online and emailed to all their contacts in May. You can read it on their website.
DIY Photography
DIY Photography also kindly published my Lockdown Ballet article, with tips to help shoot your own lockdown images at home.
This Detailed Life
This Detailed Life is a new professional photography magazine to showcase artwork by photographers around the world, to educate and inform, and above all to inspire. I'm very pleased to have had an image selected for publication in the first edition. The magazine is due out Summer 2020!
British Photography Awards
The British Photography Awards shared my COVID 19 Assignment on their social media pages.
First News
Even my son got in on the act and wrote a little article for First News, the award winning newspaper for children, which was published a few weeks ago.
Cardiff Life Magazine
Just before we went into lockdown, I visited the independent shopping hub, Castle Emporium in Cardiff to photograph the indie shops and their owners for Cardiff Life Magazine. When lockdown hit, Cardiff Life Magazine stopped production for a few months but came back in September! Here's the 6 page spread featuring all my images!
Coming up...
There's a few other things in the pipeline too that I won't mention just yet but I'll come back and add them to the blog when they are released!
Small business photo shoot
Small business photo shoot
"Thank you Gemma for taking so much care over me and my business - it has been an absolute pleasure." Chrissie.
I met Chrissie from Glass at the Spinney on Instagram last Summer. I saw her gorgeous glass wave creations and she saw my images of beaches. So, it was written in the stars that we would meet and end up doing a shoot together!
Our small business photo shoot was split into two parts. First, we shot some of her fabulous creations. She has a lovely range of glass products, from delightful little hanging birds to bespoke scenes. I love the hanging waves and the blue stripey coasters!
The next part of the shoot was to get some action shots of Chrissie working at home with all her magical tools and big sheets of glass. I shot a variety of images around her house to showcase her with her products. We also wanted to shoot images showing the artist behind the work. It's so important to be the face of your business!
Below is a small selection of the images from the session. I included some square crops for her Instagram grid and other sizes for social media use too.
I've combined some of the images together into 9 image grids - there's 3 different grids below. The first one shows Chrissie at home, working. The other two show her products.
If you run a small business and need a selection of images to post on social media, or use on a website, or even a leaflet, then have a look at my business packages.
You can see pricing details on my business pricing page and more examples of my work with other small businesses in my business portfolio.
If the packages don't fit your business, then get in touch for a bespoke quote instead. I'm happy to chat and advise over the phone.
"Working with Gemma was an absolute pleasure. She really put me at ease and gave me loads of tips about how to be in the photos themselves. The whole process was so much fun and really enjoyable." Chrissie.
"The photos Gemma created are beautiful. She really understands and plans out the whole process from set up, props and design to the light and angles themselves. She knows her stuff! Gemma has created the most stunning images that I could never have managed to do myself. My product range has never looked so beautiful!" Chrissie.
Book your small business photo shoot today. Contact Gemma.
Commercial shoot Cardiff for Cardiff Life Magazine
Commercial Shoot Cardiff
I recently visited the fabulous independent shopping arcade - The Castle Emporium - to take images for a feature in Cardiff Life Magazine.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the business owners and taking their portraits. The Castle Emporium is on Womanby Street in Cardiff. Just a stones throw from Cardiff Castle. The quirky venue is an old converted cinema from the 1920's so it has a very unique feel. No cloned high street vibes in here. It's full of character and individual personality instead.
You'll find an eclectic mix of vendors over two floors. On the mezzanine floor upstairs, I visited the framing and gift experts at The Sho Gallery. Then I popped in to visit urban streetwear brand Faded Studios in their new store.
Downstairs, I visited the The Barber Room, run by female barber Sofia. Opposite the barber shop is the Cardiff Skateboard Club, who sell a large array of skateboards and clothing. Next, I visited the not for profit organisation, Heads Above the Waves, who sell 'merch with a message' to help raise awareness of depression and self-harm in young people.
There's lots of other vendors too including the Holistic Haven, situated upstairs. When you need a coffee and a muffin there's the super friendly Finco Coffee.
For business, personal branding and headshot shoots, please visit my business pricing page and business portfolio. Get in touch for further information.
Keep your eyes peeled for the Cardiff Life Magazine edition featuring the Castle Emporium!
Commercial Shoot Cardiff
Heads Above the Waves clothing, available in store.
Cardiff Skateboard Club
The Barber Room
Owner of The Sho Gallery.
Finco Coffee.
Urban Streetwear, Faded Studios.
Looking down at the seating area and Finco coffee from the second floor.
Sofia. Barber from The Barber Room.
Heads Above the Waves.
Look out for the upcoming edition of Cardiff Life Magazine to see more images and find out more about the vendors.
Headshot photoshoot in Cowbridge
The start of the year is always a good time to think about refreshing your headshot. Admit it, it's on your 'to do list' right? I really enjoyed this headshot photoshoot in Cowbridge with Ceri in January.
To start the headshot photoshoot in Cowbridge we met at the fabulous Arboreal Kitchen for a coffee and a chat. We started the session indoors before heading outside.
There were so many different backgrounds to choose from in the lovely little market town. We really did get a great variety of images for Ceri. We took a stroll up the High Street and mooched around, spotting great doorways and colourful walls that we could use. Ceri needed some shots for her new business website and so she opted for two outfits so that she could have both informal and formal images as options.
All headshot photo sessions include a change of outfit and variety of different locations and backgrounds, so that clients have plenty of images to choose from.
"Thanks Gemma. A great experience, you come highly recommended." Ceri
To find out more about my business headshot packages - visit my business pricing page. You can see more of my commercial photography work in my Headshot and Commercial portfolio.
Follow my new business instagram account to see more!
In the meantime, check out Ceri's shoot below.
Gem x
