Bossbabe Aimee
Returning to Indie Fude
Autumn at Crawfordsburn
Benmore Crossfit
Let me introduce you to this dream team. Sarah and John are Benmore Crossfit based in Ballycastle. This husband and wife team are dedicated, passionate and professional in the service they provide and they’re also genuine, authentic & really friendly.
Saturday morning saw the alarms kick off from 6am and by 7.30am we were having breakfast at Applegreens while watching the sunrise in the car’s wing mirrors on our way to Ballycastle. John had contacted me to take photos of their CrossFit sessions after he saw my images from Sarah’s session of the #BusinessPortraitProject.
Mental health & photography
My camera is an extension to my right arm. That little black box of light and mathematics changed my life and so much for the better. For my own personal mental health, photography has got me through my darkest hours and hardest struggles. What was once an escapism for me, is now a passion. It’s a huge part of who I am.
So let’s start at the beginning shall we;
Meet Restore_NI #01BPP
First impressions are important, clicking with people is important. It’s all about the human connection and last Saturday, Restore_NI were the first to take part in the #businessportraitsproject which was all about that!
Human connection & business
Grab a brew, take 5 and feet up ……. Ready? Let’s talk about human connection.
Our brains are developed so we crave human connection. We are social beings and have a need to interact and engage with others. Our neocortex is much larger in humans than any other mammal or animal and comprises of many brain areas like higher social cognition, language, behaviour and emotion regulations, empathy and theory of mind [ - the ability to understand the feelings and intentions of others] - If you’re an autism family you’ll be well aware of this one!
Business portrait project is GO!
So you all know I’ve been toying with the idea of doing another business portraits series and last Thursday night I fired up a complete ramble blog post and tweeted it on #BelfastHour on twitter to gauge a reaction.
As it turned out, it was a great evening of online networking. Feedback was good and interest seemed to peeked. As it was a a complete ramble blog, I thought I’d give you a more defined one now.
Let’s give you guys the details regarding this portrait series.
Be happy with Gabby
A few weekend’s ago saw us at the Walled Gardens in Bangor for Gabriele's 2nd session with me, but the first one for her business, #BeHappyWithGabby
As a new mum Gabby is starting her new venture as a spiritual coach and helping others by aligning their true self.
Her photos are to show about connecting with one's self and grounding yourself with your environment and self being. The walled gardens were perfect for that connection to earth, nature and calming vibes, letting Gabriele be free in herself, her surroundings and others around us while still showing her personality and engagement.
Man’s best friend
“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”
— Annie Leibovitz
We sometimes get a chance in life to meet people who impact us more than what we know at the time. Shirley is one of these people and I honestly knew it the moment we got to meet up in real life, but it really hit home in December last year.
Gabby, Michael & Bump
A maternity shoot with a twist of social distancing meant Gabby and Michael’s session this morning was on location. With ample space to keep our distance on the beach, we met up at Ballywalter and got their session completed by the rocks.
Headshots in the cafe
Caroline got in touch by email to ask if I would photograph her headshots. We had a consultation over the phone due to social distancing and as much as I loved finding out about what she was after (hello noooooo white background!!! She’s a woman after my own heart!), it was not the same to getting our ice breaker over a brew. Instead, that’s what her session entailed.