recent eastbourne family portrait.

This is David, Vicky and their children, Daniel and Sophie.. I just love this family shot, intimate and really shows the relationship within this family. 

They partook in the Cystic Fibrosis Trust Charity offer, paying £25 to the charity and getting a voucher for a full session, a framed 10x8 portrait and £50 off the portraits they decided to display on the walls of their home. I can't wait to show them the finished products.

click here to see more offers to visit Avant Photographic

family portraits, Eastbourne Photography Studio

This is Jo, Sean and little Jack.. 

and i love this one of Jack on his own..

recent portraits of Eastbourne families

my new backgrounds are causing quite a stir and people are loving how different they are! No more hi key white backgrounds, more natural and soft, to suit my style of family portraits.

Here are some recent favourites.

This is Jayden and Jasmin.. both so photogenic and the perfect little brother and sister!

The Avant Photographic Cherub Club

The cherub club is a unique scheme inviting new parents to the studio for an amazing offer.

Those first few months of your new babies life are exhilarating, rewarding and fly by so fast. Make sure you capture these cherished moments with high quality photography.

Over the first year of babies life, bring him in 3 times, at 4 month intervals. You will finish the year with a comprehensive collection of stunning portraits of your baby, and Avant will present you with an ART leather folio, with a portrait from each session mounted beautifully, which will show the exciting developments your baby has made in his first year.

Of course, you can buy extra portraits from your session, but the scheme makes it all so easy.. You will even see your portraits straight after the session..

So, what does this cost?

£29,99.

A small registration fee only. That's it.. until you come to buy more portraits.. which we are sure you will.. but you are under no pressure to do so..

To see more cherubs pictures, go to www.avantphotographic.com and click on 'galleries' then, 'babies'.

or to book, call 01323 738 566 or email studio@avantphotographic.com and speak to Phil

recent faves

Here is Michelle, my PA's family, first her nephew, we really liked the Hear-no, see-no, speak no idea from the website and they wanted to re-create it with him, so with a little coaxing, i managed to get him to perform ..

Here he was having a sulk.. but it makes for a great portrait. I don't always want massive smiles. Children are little people too, with their own moods and personalities and we need to convey that in 'portraits'.

More hear no, see, no.. but this time of all the grandkids.. for Michelle's Mummy....

Abigail and Thomas are old hats at this now, I have photographed them many times, and Thomas I think classes me as an equal..!? I am glad to be, i don't think I am much older than him inside anyway?

Abigail has really blossomed, and is the perfect little model now, after a tough age last time I photographed her last time, she is now full of confidence and loves having her photo taken.

Finally...

sorry michelle.....

here is Michelle and her sister......

I had to do it...

thats me in trouble tomorrow!

oops!

Airbourne 2009!

wow, it's here again...

this time of year is so busy but it is also the time when we exhibit at Airbourne. It helps with the awareness of Avant Photographic immensely. We are now so much of a familiar face at Airbourne that we have people visit us year on year and customers also bring their friends to get their voucher, which is probably the best recommendation we can get!

We will be selling our popular portrait vouchers as well as trying to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis trust with our successful charity offer.

see website for special offers.

I can't resist taking a few pictures of the planes too, and hopefully my favourite, the Typhoon euro fighter will make a grand appearance again this year. ( OK, i can't wait to see the Guinot girls again!!!)

Me, Hayley my Mum and a few other helpers will be on hand to help with the strain, but, as the photographer, obviously most people want to speak to me! I enjoy meeting every one but am shattered by the end of the 4 days..

So, if you have been to the shop and wonder where I am, I hope this explains? I will be back in the shop as usual from tuesday 18th August 10am.. hopefully not too sunburnt..!

The Grand Hotel

Me and Hay's got engaged here, and it is a very special place to us, and now we are going to be shooting some events here!

here is their website: The Grand Hotel

Firstly I am shooting a celebratory event in the Great Hall. Amazingly it is a 60th wedding anniversary portrait! 60 years married. Wow. It will be a formal portrait of the couple now well advanced in years, (though I won't say how advanced). I am thoroughly looking forward to this, and the possibility of afternoon tea at The Grand!

Secondly, come the 29th August, I will be shooting a wedding at The Grand. It will be the small and intimate wedding of Steve and Michelle. They are doing it in style, with a short stay in the opulence of The Grand as well as getting wed in the luxuriousness of the Dukes room followed by unparalleled service with dinner and their reception in the Arlington room. It promises to be a very special day, and I thank them for letting me record it for them.

Photos of the events will be posted soon, with permission of course..

I love my studio and the practicality and control it gives me, but as a photographer, I revel in the unpredictability of weddings and events. Primarily I am employed to record the day and show it in the best possible light, and tell the story of what happened. But, anything can happen. It is the level of alertness that keeps me fired up on these sorts of occasions, and why I enjoy them so much.

Recommend a friend!

I am glad to announce that we are running the popular 'recommend a friend ' scheme again. Prompted by more and more requests, I have decided a little drive is required to inform those of you that still don't know, you can recommend as many people to Avant Photographic as you like....

If you have visited Avant Photographic and have friends asking where you had your portraits done? tell them!

All you need to do is tell your friends to quote your name when they book and they will qualify for a free session and a 10x8 print.. What's more, if they buy one more portrait, I will print a favourite from your session as a thank you. You can recommend as many people as you like. If you forward 10 people to me, you could get 10 free prints of your family...! How cool is that?

As well as this great deal, there are loads of new offers on the new website, click the link opposite to take you to it, this also can be forwarded..

so.. get recommending... I look forward to speaking to your friends soon...

Thanks all,

Phil

Tinyest ever!

This is Sebastian. He is the youngest baby ever photographed at Avant Photographic!

at 11 days he beats Payge, who is the star in my banner above in the title header of the blog. A picture a lot of you know, I'm sure. He was so alert, and was when he was born.

He made no fuss when being arranged for the photos and seemed to really enjoy the experience, I know his mum and dad did. I love seeing the babies as young as this, it allows us to really get the great, tiny newborn shots that are so cherished by parents.



This is the whole family together at the end of the session. I love the contrast in size, and this shot seems to translate the attention involved in having a new baby to care for.

Limited Edition Location Shoot

as previously mentioned, spring is here, and to celebrate the arrival of semi-decent weather, I want to be outside...

so, for a limited time, I will be offering location shoots for a special price of £50! This includes a full edit of the images free of charge. For a totally unique location portrait session this is great!
We can go up the downs, or to the beach, Cow gap is a favorite place of mine, but I am open to suggestion. As long as it is in the Eastbourne area.

I know we'll get some great images. The shoot is a 2 hour shoot, so in tha time your family will really relax in front of the camera and if the location chosen is a family favorite some very personal images can be captured.

please call me as soon as possible to arrange a midweek shoot. This will be a popular offer, so please book as soon as possible.

Phil

Wanted: Booking agent/receptionist...

Fancy working at Avant Photographic?

seriously...

Phil is looking for a member of staff to help book in all the enquiries.. This is not cold calling, but genuine enquiries that need booking in. 

I am looking for someone to call clients between 10 am and 1 pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There may be other tasks that I will need help on, but if you are interested, please call me or email as soon as possible for immediate start.

My thought is this would suit someone who drops the kids off at school or nursery in the morning, comes here for a few hours then home to pick the kids up?? It's a fun job, talking to people, and telling them all about how much fun it is having portraits done at Avant Photographic... 

But please, call me if you are interested...

01323 738 566 or email me phil@avantphotographic.com

I look forward to hearing from you...

many thanks

Phil

Argh! Look at Marty!

Marty, my cherub photographer of the year 2008 winning image model, came in again for a shoot today. WOW has he changed. He is still really photogenic and we got some incredible images on wednesday..

Its his expressions, he gives such a look. It's the something different and unique that I love to capture. Kids are a whole lot more than just smiles... If I can bring out and shoot the entire range and not just a smile for nana i am very happy..

Thanks for bringing him in again Jane.. It was great to see you again.

Recent Faves.

Oh well, the new year lull has passed and Avant is very busy again. I was just getting used to the less stressful level of portraits too. I know some of you will be glad to see me working hard again!

I thought  I would post a couple of recent favourites from the studio. Something a little different. Jayke here had a whale of a time. He came in with his family for a family shoot mum, dad and younger brother. These were some shots i wanted to try out, and Mum was nice enough to let me try to work with Jayke. I think i have made a friend for life. A typical 4 year old, he is interested in everything, full of limitless energy, and has stacks of personality. This is why I do this for a living..

Any way, heres my creation from the session.

Some others from this session are in the running for my competition entry this year!

Secondly, here is Harry..

This is a shot from his second cherub session. He is now a year old. We did a family session too. I have to ask his dad but, maybe I will post a shot of Harry pulling out his hair... whilst on his dads shoulders.. it looked terribly painful, and I felt somewhat guilty for dad having to bear the pain! (I am sorry!) It was me that suggested the pose?

This one of Harry is great though, really stark and simple. But full of expression and a stunning, graphic inspired image..

Kodak Portrait Awards 2009

Ok.. for years I have have wanted to get an OSKAR and I am going to attempt to this year. But I need your help.

All great portrait photography starts with the subject. Without a subject its just me, standing in my studio.... which isn't much fun. For your chance be entered as a subject in this years Kodak awards please contact me. 

You have a chance to win £1000 if your portrait wins a category, or a kodak camera. 

sorry, it's £1000...  OOPS!

For competition entry sessions I am offering a discounted session fee of £20 and a free copy of the entry to the competition from your session. (size 10x8)

The Kodak Awards represent the highest level of photography, worldwide. Open only to professional Photographers. Click here to view the competition website, which is currently being updated for this years awards.

Last year I entered the regional awards and won the MPA SE Cherub Photographer of the year, so my aim this year is for the under 5's award, but definitely for the consumer award. Here is my cherub winning portrait 

Its little Marty and I shall always love this portrait. His expression is incredible, and the contact and communication from his eyes is so powerful.

This offer is open to anybody, so please tell your friends as well. It's a great chance to get some cool portraits and maybe win some cash too!

phil

Peter Prior

I had the pleasure of the company of Mr Peter Prior in the studio today. As a hugely competent and accomplished photographer in his own right, he wanted some exposure (sorry) to the modern digital studio. I was happy to oblige, as Peter has supported me throughout the various stages of growing Avant Photographic and has always been a valued colleague when help has been needed.

Primarily a wedding photographer,  just look at his site PETER PRIOR PHOTOGRAPHY Peter came to observe a baby portrait session this morning, and little Oscar Robert's obliged as a perfect model. 

It was Oscar's second Cherub session, and as 8 month old babies are more mobile, his Mum had to be on the ball as body guard, keeping him in the right area of the studio for me. 

I think Peter was surprised at how physical the session was. As many of you will know, I have to interact with the children quite a bit to get the reactions I want, and expressions are best captured by being entertaining to the children and this usually means being on hands and knees and making silly faces and noises..!!!! I have long forgotten my sense of embarrassment, but it was funny to be reminded of how absurd it must look...? 

Here are a couple of images from today's session. 

Pet Promo...

I have just launched our pet promotion. We are raising again for our friends at The Sussex Wildlife Trust.

For a £25 donation you can have your dog or your budgie photographed, your cat or your hamster, or your tree snake.

After your session you can choose a portrait to be enlarged as thanks for your donation and have the opportunity to choose further portraits too! As an added thank you Avant will give you £20 to put towards your first order.....

Here is a portrait of Andrew, a very brave Yorkshire Terrier who I photographed recently for his owner Mrs Janet Tindall.

Airbourne 2009

Woo Hoo! 

Airbourne 2009 will be FREE!! This is great news. As so many of you know, I promote the studio every year at Airbourne, it's where many of you found me. Last year was diabolical, and although we still did ok from it, it was a huge disappointment for Eastbourne.

You can see details about this years show here. It looks set to be a good one. Here's a shot of the Guinot girls from last year.

Mia's Christening

For recent favorites this week I am happy to post some pictures I took for My nieces christening yesterday.

Whilst I do shoot weddings, christenings and event, I do so very rarely because the shop is so busy. However, please don't hesitate to ask if you require me to photograph your family event.

The Christening took place at Eynsford's beautiful St Martins of Tours, a place I had been past many times, but never been in. 

Yes, that is snow on the ground.. we were forecast a little shower, and it gave a gorgeous sprinkle that was only around for a few moments for this picture but gone as soon as the sun came out.

Here's Mia getting blessed, and chewing Mummy's finger! She was incredible throughout the whole ceremony, and the whole day for that matter. She is a very alert baby anyway, but for her to stay awake and not grumble all day was great and allowed everyone to enjoy her, and for Karen and Joe not to stress about her comfort.

One more, just to show the historic font and the setting for the ceremony. After he christening it was back to Karen and Joe's for  a feed and a drink. How Karen got everyone in I don't know!!

Well done to Karen and Joe for the organization of the day.

Christmas cont....

had better put one of me up!!!

Here's me and my Niece's, Evie and Mia. Evie (the eldest) has such a personality, as you can see. My brother (Evie's dad) always pulls faces for photos, so it is his fault that she does too!

I'm just happy to have a picture with them both. I get to see them very rarely, and I love it when I do get to see them.

Relatives are always welcome to come to portrait sessions, they too can choose to get a great portrait whilst you're at the studio.

A recent favourite..

This is the full gang of a very happy dad, Matthew Friend, a local DJ, who hasn't given me his web address!!

The 4 of them were great to work with. His boys were typical fun and lively boys, and not shy at all.. we got straight to the fun when we went into the studio.

Matthew had previously warned me that his daughter disliked photographers. They had had varied results when trying to get their portrait done before, but, as normal, I succeeded in getting some great results.. All it took was the usual mucking about and making a fool of myself, as so many have seen me do on your shoots..(!!)

The knees of jeans are testament to the efforts taken in the studio too get the results!