I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, so I had to keep quiet and try not to jinx it for ages…newborn.ie was featured in the Irish Times Magazine today and I just got back from the shops where I picked up 1 or 2 (ok, ok…5 ahem) copies. The article is in the online edition here.

Click here to download templates (2.6MB)

Seeing as it’s Christmas time I thought I’d share some of my storyboard templates. I use them to make quick collages like the ones in Matt and Nikki’s wedding post and this fun one of Eve and her groovy shades back during the summer. You can do them by eye in Photoshop but it’s a bit of a pain so I find these templates make the whole process a lot easier and they really help if you want to use shapes other than straightforward squares or rectangles. Plus, once you have a template you can recreate the same look again and again.

So, if you click the image above it will prompt you to download a zip file. Once downloaded, unzip the files (they are PSD files so they will only work in Photoshop I’m afraid) and you will find 8 different templates to get you started, once you see how easy they are you can start to change the shapes around and create pretty much any shape or configuration that takes your fancy. The secret to using the templates is Clipping Masks and I’ve included instructions with each template.

If you don’t want to download mine, the basic idea of clipping masks is that you create a shape in Photoshop…you can do this with a brush, a shape tool, the marquee selector, text….whatever you use just create a shape and then in the layer directly above this shape paste in the photograph you want to use:

In the layers palette, right-click your photo and choose “Create Clipping Mask”:

Your shape will now look like a window that you can see your photograph through:

and you will be able to move and resize your photo to fit inside it. Easy!

Happy Christmas :o)

Canon 5D, 40mm, f8, 1/125, ISO 800

I had to hold off on posting any photos from this session because it was part of a birthday surprise for Leah and Ben’s dad. This is my favourite, I love the mischief in them both, Leah of course worships her big brother.

Ben told me after I took this that he had been doing his “I don’t have a clue what’s going on” face

Canon 10D, 28mm, f1.8, 1/250, ISO 200

I have a bit of soft spot for photographing newborns…you might have noticed . A few months ago I was sitting on the DART (the birthplace of many schemes and plans) and I had the thought that since I love it so much why not set up a website completely devoted to newborn photography? As soon as I got home I went online and checked to see if newborn.ie was taken…it wasn’t! I quickly registered it and have been working on it over many late nights ever since.

It’s now ready, in fact it’s been up for a couple of weeks as I know some of you have already discovered it, but I’m officially launching it, well, now!

So, what’s the protocol here…do I smash a bottle of champagne over my monitor?

*PS: The beautiful baby that you see in this post is Mike. His parents were among those who kindly gave me permission to use their children’s photos in my gallery. Thanks guys!

(*Part One linky) OK, now brace yourself for lots of photos…believe me I whittled these down but Matt and Nikki’s reception was like being in a sweet shop for me. First off, the reception took place in Ballybeg House in County Wicklow. It started with champagne in the courtyard and I mingled with the guests taking photos of everyone having a good time:

I did manage to steal the bride and groom away for a few portraits…including my favourite…the infamous eyebrow shot:

Meanwhile, the reception area was being prepared, the lighting was spectacular…Matt works in the theatre so these guys knew how to light a room.

On each of the tables were photos of Matt and Nikki on their various trips around the world plus there were gummy worms…genius!

A few fun moments from the speeches:

OK…last one but I can’t not mention the band. They were absolutely brilliant, they’re called Spring Break and they had everyone up on the dancefloor from the start. The best part? The guitarist had his own wind machine:

Thanks so much Matt and Nikki for letting me share these with everyone!

Matt was the first person to ask me to photograph his wedding (outside my own family), so his request kind of set me down the path of wedding photography…something I wasn’t sure I’d ever do. I’m so glad he asked though because I’ve discovered something I really love doing. Matt & Nikki’s wedding was beautiful, they have a musical and creative family and friends so it was full of special touches. I think I’m going to do this in two parts…just because the reception deserves a post all of its own.

The ceremony took place in The Orchard Centre in Tinahely, in a fabulous round room with a huge fireplace and a high ceiling that made it intimate but still with something of a church feel:

The best man and the groom waiting outside before the ceremony starts, great light:

I love this moment between Nikki and her Dad before they make their entrance:

Mr & Mrs (…second part tomorrow!):

Canon 5d, 17mm, f11, 1/400, ISO 200

It’s been a busy few months for me - in case you hadn’t noticed by the serious lack of blogging I’ve been doing! Well, I took on an animation project back in May and it turned out to be a lot more time-consuming than I thought it was going to be. Waaaay more in fact so when I finally emerged from my office a few weeks ago having finished it, everything else that I had pushed to the side was waiting for me to get sorted. I’ve also been very busy with photography work; I’ve been shooting weddings, family portraits, business headshots and babies and I have to say, I’m loving every minute. It’s been a bit of a juggle though and I’m learning a lot about business and balance, not to mention pushing my comfort zones in photography.

So, I’ll post a few photographs over the next little while to try and catch up starting with the lovely ladies in this photo. Back in September a group of women from rollercoaster.ie decided to get together to promote the benefits of breastfeeding and to celebrate the launch of a new website - thebreastway.ie. Nothing militant or finger-wagging, just something to show that it’s normal, natural and all kinds of women do it. Unfortunately Ireland can be a little bit squeamish about breastfeeding and there are a lot of misconceptions out there about it being difficult or embarrassing.

For such a good cause I was happy to join them with the idea of capturing this positive image of breastfeeding and the women who do it. We had the most amazing day for it and about 50 women from all over the country made their way to Cabinteely park in Dublin for the shoot.

Why is it whenever I sit down to do a couple of small tweaks on my site I end up getting engrossed and before I know it it’s 2:30 in the morning?

Canon 5D, 85mm, f2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600

Taken at Matt and Nikki’s wedding in the Orchard Centre in Tinahely, Wicklow. Note to Matt and Nikki…your photos are nearly ready

Yesterday Mary Harney announced the decision to halt the provision of the HPV vaccination to girls aged 12 years, a reversal of a decision made last August. This vaccine has the potential to prevent cervical cancer. I believe this is a mistake and this morning a listener on the Ray D’Arcy show suggested a way to let Mary Harney know what we thought: what if we all sent emails to the Minister with photos of their daughters expressing our dismay over this decision to deny these girls a vaccine which may prevent them getting cervical cancer in later years?

The Ray D’Arcy show has a link where you can send an email directly and it will only take a second. You can do it here: Today FM. Or if you’d like to send a photo of your daughter, the address is minister’s_office@health.irlgov.ie

Other blogs talking about this today:

Redmum
Alexia
Damian
The Cedar Lounge