Urban Portrait Guy

OUR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL, EMILY

2011-11-06T20:00:00.000Z

I know it's been a while since I last posted but I just had to share the photos below of our beautiful daughter Emily, who's almost 15 months of age - how cute is she..? Answers on an e-card ;-) Both pics were taken with my HTC Mozart smartphone this week.

Wedding Preview - Irene & Paul, Theobald's Park 19th August

2011-08-25T20:22:00.000+01:00

Following last Friday's wedding at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire I thought I would give Irene & Paul, plus their families and close friends, a sneak preview of some of the images taken on the day.

Irene (the bride) looked so radiant in her wedding gown and Paul (the groom), plus best man and son, Sav were also looking real dapper in their wedding attire. The occasion was enhanced even more by the glorious sunshine which meant the ceremony took place outdoors.

Battling the ever-changing lighting conditions of a challenging sunny day, myself and my second-shooter for this wedding, Kari Belamy, karibellamy.com were kept on our feet shooting candid portraits, reportage-style images of the ceremony, plus some fun formals and group shots.

Below is a selection of images as shot from my camera. Anyone interested in purchasing prints can contact me by email at milesofsmiles@btinternet.com

I hope you like the preview images - Please feel free to copy and paste the link below and forward it to anybody you know who attended the wedding day celebrations.

http://urbanportraitguy.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=t4ETBDIBAAA.IcRzVtXprhz6aDzTVcoW0A.DfT5cH_El7RbmNmzzd1fFw&postId=2398247331470081310&type=POST

I would like to wish Irene and Paul every happiness for their future together.
Darren

Watford's Original Vintage Fair - 4th June 2011

2011-05-26T07:55:00.000+01:00

Just to let followers of all things vintage know Miles of Smiles will be exhibiting a selection of their Hollywood inspired vintage-style portraits, plus offering you a chance to win a superb competition prize at Watford's Original Vintage fair www.thejoyofvintage.co.uk at the Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford. WD17 1JJ taking place on Saturday 4th June from 11am until 5pm.

There will be a vast array of stallholders selling everything from original vintage clothing and homewares to beauty products and accessories, shoes, handbags, plus the fabulous Betsy's Tearoom serving delicious homemade cakes, tea and cordials. There will also be singers, musicians and dancers, so something for everyone making for a great family day out.

Don't miss out on your chance to win a fabulous Vintage Style At Home Mini-Makeover & Portrait Experience worth £225 ~ full hair restyling plus professionally applied make-up from Champion Hair And Beauty www.championhairandbeauty.co.uk, photo shoot, 5 professionally retouched images presented in digital format, plus a 10"x 8" fine art print for the winner to put in a (vintage) frame of their choice. All you have to do is answer a simple question, enter your details and place your answer in the competition picnic hamper when you come across it on your way round the stalls.

We look forward to welcoming all visitors to the fair and hope to make it the most successful one to date.

For further enquiries please click on the Joy Of Vintage link above, call 07889 397 809 or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Lifestyle Family Portrait Offer - Just £79 All Inclusive

2011-05-24T18:53:00.000+01:00

Miles of Smiles are offering lifestyle family portrait photography for just £79* inclusive of 30 minute location portrait shoot, plus 12 hi-res Copyright-free images on CD for you to print, share, and e-mail as many times as you like. That's a massive saving of £46 based on our current 2011 prices.

*Additional fee of £10 is payable for set of fully optimised web-ready files.

The flyer below gives you all the details you need...

Recent Vintage-Style Portraits - Theobalds Park, Cheshunt - April 2011

2011-05-07T13:39:00.001+01:00

The images which follow below were all made at a couple of recent portrait shoots at the fabulous Theobalds Park Hotel in Cheshunt, Herts www.devere.co.uk/Theobalds-Park in April. Working exclusively with Sam Champion of Champion Hair & Beauty www.championhairandbeauty.co.uk who styled both hair and make-up for all of our chosen models Hayley, Janina, Emma and Sara, plus our assistant for the second shoot, Tom Lovett, we came away with some stunning portraits.

Hayley

Janina

Emma & Sara

If you would like to experience one of our makeovers and photo shoots either for yourself, a loved one or close friend or relative, why not visit us at the forthcoming vintage fair being held by The Joy Of Vintage www.thejoyofvintage.co.uk on June 4th at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Watford. We will be displaying sample portraits and will have some very special show ofers too. With prices starting at just £75 for a taster makeover and photo shoot - including a 10"x 8" quality fine-art print for you to keep and frame yourself, plus a CD containing 5 of your favourite images, professionally retouched - we are not only very memoable, but offer superb value-for-money too!

We welcome your comments either through this blog or through our website at www.milesofsmilesphoto.co.uk If you would like to create some stunning portraits with us, whatever the occasion, please call Darren on 07914 417 069 who will be happy to discuss your ideas.

Vintage Hollywood Style Portraits Come To Hertfordshire

2011-02-17T17:13:00.009Z

As promised, I have added a selection of portraits shot during our vintage style makeover last week.

I have included both black and white, plus a selection of colour images, as both mediums work well with this particular style of photography.

We are now offering vintage and beauty makeovers as photo shoot experiences which form part of our ongoing portraits repertoire. For further details and prices please click on the following link:
http://www.milesofsmilesphoto.co.uk/section470501.html

With the option to purchase clasically framed wall portraits, fine art gift prints and framed desk portraits, there are ample choices to suit everyone's taste and budget.

These striking portraits make a unique and very personal gift either for your loved ones or as a special treat for yourself.

If you would like to experience one of our vintage style or beauty makeovers please call Darren on 07914 417069 to confirm availability and to discuss your ideas.

A selection of portraits from Victoria's makeover and photo shoot in Hertfordshire follow below.

Vintage Hollywood Style Portraits - Now You Can Be The Star...

2011-02-11T14:48:00.001Z

Monday 7th February saw my first collaborative "Vintage Hollywood Style" portrait shoot with the fabulous professional hair and make-up artist Sam Champion, owner of
www.championhairandbeauty.co.uk and our very patient model for the day Victoria Robertson, of "aim 2 heal" fame
www.aim2heal.eu

Sam styled Victoria's hair and make-up to perfection, her attention to detail is second-to-none and having previously worked for the likes of the big-boys such as Covershots, Sam knows how to make every woman look and feel just that little more glamourous...

Here's the first in a series of portraits that will be posted in the next few days. Also see the stunning black and white version below.

If you are interested in having a vintage style or beauty makeover and photoshoot, why not call Darren on 01707 396959 for further details.

MODELS WANTED LONDON AREA

2011-01-31T16:53:00.002Z

I am seeking very attractive female models to pose for some Hollywood-style portraits that will primarily be reproduced in black and white.

The portraits will be used for advetising purposes, promoting a Hollywood-style beauty makeover and photography package that my business www.milesofsmilesphoto.co.uk will be promoting in the coming weeks. Some images will also be showcased on this blog.

To qualify, you do not need to be a size 8 supermodel...! Attractive looks are the most important criteria as the majority of images will be just head and shoulders style portraits, although I will also be shooting full length portraits.

Models preferably to be between the ages of 25 to 35 years - I am looking to make images imitating the Hollywood lighting styles of the 40's and 50's so preference is towards the slightly more mature woman.

Every model will agree to signing a model-release form and agree to images being used for publicity purposes.

You must also be based in the North London, Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire area as these will be the targetted regions for promotional literature.

You will be working on a time for CD basis (TFCD) - I will provide free prints, plus at least 10 professionally retouched images in digital format for you to keep and use as you wish.

Aspiring models must also agree to being photographed in their own homes, thus no expenses will be incurred by you, just an hour or two of your time.

The option to purchase framed wall portraits from your photo shoot at heavily discounted prices will also be given to you in appreciation of your efforts.

Professional hair and make-up artist can also work with us on photo shoot, but please be advised this will incurr a £50 fee payable on the day of the shoot, should you wish to take advantage.

For further information, please either call me, Darren Miles or email me at
milesofsmiles@btinternet.com with at least 2 photographs of yourself attached. One must be a head and shoulders portrait, plus one full length shot - these DO NOT have to be professional photographs, they are simply to assess your suitability for a photo shoot.

EMAILS NOT CONTAINING IMAGES WILL NOT BE OPENED - PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR OWN TIME OR OURS!!

To speak to me and for further details please call Darren on 07914 417069.
PLEASE NO TIME-WASTERS - GENUINE ENQUIRIES ONLY.

Baby Photography In Welwyn Garden City

2011-01-29T18:12:00.005Z

Can you believe it..? My beautiful daughter Emily is now over 5 months of age...
Time goes by so quickly and yet, as a photographer, you'd think that I would be posting images every day, but the truth is I have simply not made the time to do so, tut-tut!!

This portrait was made at home today in our bedroom, just using my Nikon D300 and a camera-mounted Nikon SB600 Speedlight, which was set on TTL and bounced off the white walls. Simple, but very effective.

Minimal post-processing was required - just a quick brighten of Emily's eyes, a few blemishes removed plus a vignette added in Photoshop.

The images below was also shot in the bedroom today using the same equipment and flash technique.

If you would like some professional portraits of your baby, children or family taken either in the comfort of your own home or out on location, then why not give me a call to discuss your requirements. You can reach me on either 01707 396959 or on my mobile number out of office hours and at weekends, which is 07914 417069.

Claire & Julian's Wedding, 23rd October 2010

2010-11-21T12:35:00.001Z

I had the pleasure of being invited to second-shoot at this wedding in Stilton, Peterborough on 23rd October.

Along with lead photographer Mike Davison, www.michaeldavison.co.uk plus additional second-shooter Keng Hay Wong www.kenghaywong.co.uk/blog I made up the team of 3 photographers covering Claire & Julian's special day.

Although the weather was against us - check out the stormy sky in the portraits of Claire and Julian shot outside - this did not prevent all 3 of us photographers capturing the special moments throughout the day.

Following below are some of my favourite images from the day...

Lauren's Portraits on Location in Milton Keynes - 6th September 2010

2010-10-11T19:21:00.033+01:00

Apologies for not posting sooner - baby Emily has certainly been keeping us busy at home - can't believe she'll be 8 weeks old this Thursday 14th October.

Anyway - let's get to this post...

6th September saw Lauren, her friend Sarah and myself in Milton Keynes (my original hometown) shooting some location portraits.

Although the weather was primarily on our side there was a fair wind whipping up so when we ventured outside I tried to use it to my advantage in some of Lauren's portraits.

Sarah is an aspiring photographer with a good eye for a portrait and by coming out on location with me, I (hopefully) gave her a few useful tips on what to look for when composing an image, background distractions and lighting techniques.

The image above was shot inside the first floor bar area at the Encore Hotel, situated in The Hub, Milton Keynes. I used a splash of off-camera flash and added a vignette in post-production using Adobe Lightroom 3. A dozen or so of my favourite images from the day follow.

This portrait was taken also using my off-camera flash to add a "sparkle" to Lauren's eyes.

It always helps to have a relaxed and naturally stunning subject... :-) Lauren was no exception - she's very patient and is a naturally smiley girl who's great fun to work with.

The above portrait was shot upstairs in the bar which overlooks the reception on the ground floor below.

Natural, relaxed and playing up to our cameras... The same image with a vignette added in post-production and turned into black and white using the fabulous Nik Silver Effex Pro plug-in for Photoshop.

At the other end of the bar I tried to use the under-seat lighting to effect, carefully balancing with the ambient light and adding a subtle dose of fill with my off-camera flash.

Lauren did not need much direction from Sarah or myself, prefering to play up to the cameras and having a little fun along the way...

The black and white portrait above is one of my favourites from our session inside the hotel. Lauren is again relaxed - the key to a fab portrait, in my opinion - making our jobs as image-makers far easier.

A few more favourites which I also shot inside the hotel ...

Moving outside, we decided to shoot some portraits just using natural light and a reflector. The seating areas situated around the square, which is surrounded by the bars and restaurants making for some interesting background shapes and colours when thrown out of focus - shot at f2.8 to f4 on my 80-200mm lens.

The final few images were shot further afield by the river just outside Stony Stratford.

By carefully balancing the ambient light with my off-camera flash a more dramatic and

pleasing result is achieved making Lauren appear to stand out against the backgrounds.

Down by the river and just a very subtle addition of off-camera flash lifts this portrait, separating Lauren from the background and adding that all-important sparkle in her eyes...

If you are based in the UK and would like to come out on location to have some "portraits with a difference" taken, feel free to contact me during daytime hours on 07914 417069. I can shoot for your modelling portfolio, for a special occasion or just as a nice surprise for your partner - and yes, that includes you too guys...imagine a gritty black and white portrait of yourself shot in a derelict building or a favourite location.

The possibilities are endless and with a little imagination, the results can be absolutely stunning...

If you are based outside the UK and like what you see I am also

open to commissions abroad - simply contact me, Darren Miles

through my e-mail address at milesofsmiles@btinternet.com

I look forward to hearing from you all and welcome your comments
and constructive criticism, wherever you may be located on this planet :-)

Emily Grace - Welcome To The World...19th August, 2010

2010-08-22T07:06:00.000+01:00

This Thursday 19th August, 2010 saw the single most important event I have ever witnessed - the birth of my beautiful daughter Emily Grace, who entered our lives at 6.37am weighing in at 7lb 13.5oz.

My partner Gaynor endured a 13 hour labour, with the final hour and a half being very tough for her, but she knew at the end of all of her efforts she would be rewarded with her beautiful little princess...

Sleepless nights and years of being out-smarted by 2 ladies now follow.

Meanwhile, here's a couple of images I made - the first was taken when Emily Grace was just 7 or 8 hours into her life and the second taken when she was just 2 days old.

Panshangar Aerodrome - Day 2 With Savita

2010-08-18T11:52:00.000+01:00

My second visit to the Panshanger Aerodrome (the following day) saw me working with another model, Savita, who wanted to get some images shot for her portfolio. Savita was hoping to achieve a kind of Lara Croft "jungle" look and shooting inside the derelict building made for some really nice images.Using my Nikon D300 with the 18-200mm VR lens and the SB600 Speedlight off-camera and bare-faced, the portrait on the left was made using the camera in fully manual mode with the lens zoomed to 34mm, 1/125th sec @ f8 ISO 400

1/125th sec @ f8 ISO 400 at a focal length of 50mm - Bare-faced SB600 off-camera at half power

In front of the old corrugated hangar... Focal length of 120mm,1/250th sec @ f8 ISO 200 with SB600 fired off-camera through white brolly

Out on the field next to the old hangar...shot wide at 18mm on my 18-200mm VR, 1/250th sec @ f14 ISO 200. My off camera flash was fired through the white brolly at reduced power just to add a spark to Savita's eyes. As I always shoot in manual mode on my D300 when crafting these portraits I underexposed by 1 stop to allow the clouds to darken. Black and white conversion made using Nik Silver Effex Pro after minimal post-processing in Photoshop.

Back inside the derelict building and using the off-camera flash fired through my white brolly. I zoomed in tight on Savita - 95mm - in order to create a head and shoulders portrait using the neglegcted interior for my backdrop. 1/125th sec @ f5.6 ISO 400.

My First Post...Portraits at Panshanger Aerodrome, Hertfordshire - 19th May, 2010

2010-08-16T13:25:00.005+01:00

Although not my first encounter with off-camera flash, I thought I would kick-start my blog with some images of a pretty girl, to hopefully keep my followers interest...

My first set of images were shot at the Panshanger Aerodrome, Hertfordshire after obtaining kind permission from Sue Hart. Although I did shoot a handful of images around the old aircraft hangar and on the grass, the majority of my portraits were taken in a derelict building adjacent to the main office and Out of the Box Cafe

Camera: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm VR lens set at 18mm, 1/200th sec @ f8 ISO 200
Nikon SB600 off-camera, manual, fired through white brolly

Contact the North London Flying School on 01707 395593 or click on http://www.northlondonflyingschool.com/ for further information.

18-200mm VR set at 20mm, 1/250th sec @ f9 ISO 400 with SB600 set as above.

Moving on to the images shot in and around the derelict building, I decided to use part of the window frame to act as a natural frame when composing this simple potrait. Although Hannah had never previously modelled before and was initially a little nervous, a little banter and a few laughs later she increased in confidence and the portraits began to start looking very nice indeed...18-200mm VR set at 70mm, 1/80th sec @ f5 ISO 400 - off camera flash again fired through white brolly.

This has to be one of my favourite portraits of Hannah, again using the weathered window frame as a natural frame for this horizontally orientated portrait. 18-200mm VR set at 50mm, 1/125th sec @ f5.6 ISO 400 - off-camera SB600 without brolly but set at reduced power.

The weather-beaten corrugated fascia of the old aircraft hanger makes for an interesting background for some cool-looking urban portraits. Although I set the SB600 manually at a zoomed 50mm and fired bare-faced at full power, I also enhanced this portrait by adding a vignette in post-production. 18-200mm VR set at 18mm, 1/250th sec @ f11 ISO 400

The final image in this set again breaks rules by using another horizontally orientated composition, placing Hannah in the first third of the frame. My bare-faced off-camera SB600 was used here at full power to give the defined shadow, helping to separate Hannah from the corrugated background. 18-200mm VR set at 62mm, 1/250th sec @ f13 ISO 400