During the month of March, Mark and Jackie travelled to America where they spent an exhausting time attending the WPPI Conference in Las Vegas.They are back now and catching up with their in trays (and the dire weather)
Although the Studio has been much quieter with the Boss being away, Pam has kept herself busy.
The completion of a few of our albums have made wedding couples very happy. Gary and Ruth have chosen the large Coffee table album, the creativity of the images plus backgrounds and added text have joined together to make a beautiful album. They are delighted with the finished product (as are we) . Cheryl and Kris had favoured the black leather Jorgensen of Australia album and the images from their big day have culminated to provide a romantic and classic story of their wedding day.
The Studio is sporting some new images presented in contemporary ways which have been wall mounted this week.There are some acrylic portraits which are very eye catching and some new canvasses too . Both designs are presented with the clearest focus and colours.These together with the new sample wedding albums have given the Studio a new and fresh feel.

On Saturday 29th March Pam again set of with her trusted stand and albums to be part of the prestigious Eltham Palace open day in Greenwich.
This English Heritage sight is quite magnificent and we are honoured to be part of the recommended photographers for weddings held there. In fact our new studio album is of the wedding of the beautiful Malene and her gorgeous husband Shariff. This new book caused quite a stir among the visitors and staff which comments such as ’stunning’ and ‘wow’ uttered often.
Because MHP Studios have photographed many weddings at this venue we are able to show prospective Eltham Palace wedding clients what the various rooms will look like and have a variety of images to show them.
Many thanks go to Nicola and Nathalie who looked after us so well and were very complimentary about our photography.

On Sunday 16th March Pam travelled to East Grinstead, West Sussex to the lovely wedding venue which is the Felbridge Hotel.
During the day Kelly and her dedicated team hosted their bi-annual wedding Fayre. The event had been advertised on local radio and although the day was dull and rainy, many brides to be plus their families came to view the refurbished hotel and the very recently finished gardens in the quest of finding the perfect venue for their wedding reception.
MHP Studios were part of many exhibiters who had been invited to the fayre together with a chocolate fountain company(always a popular choice especially with the exhibiters who get to try it out too), classic cars, jewellery companies, cake makers and of course florists.
Many thanks go to the Felbridge Hotel for supplying refreshments throughout the day too. Always much appreciated.

We busy preparing for the forth-coming bridal fashion shoot.

The shoot will be on Tuesday 10th March (just before Mark heads off for Vegas for this years WPPI convention) and will showcase the designer gowns from White Dresses and Tiaras who are based in East Sussex.

The models are supplied from Toni and Guy in Knightsbridge - who will also be taking care of the hair and make up. Many thanks go to Shona who is organising this side of things.

The venue for the shoot is the recently refurbished Felbridge Hotel nr East Grinstead, East Sussex.
Look out for some of the photos on the blog later on in March.

Pam spend a wonderful couple of hours at the bridal shop ‘White Dresses and Tiaras’ in Crawley,East Sussex last week.
The showroom is spacious and modern, with the fitting rooms well designed. The seating area was sumptuous with plenty of space.Also there was a special area where all the bridesmaid dresses were displayed. The staff were very friendly and helpful and special thanks go to Rachel for looking after us so well.
Claire,the owner, also designs and makes the beautiful tiaras that are sold in the shop.
If you are looking for your wedding gown, or a tiara, or shoes or a veil, I can recommend this business to you .

This week has been extremely busy with photoshoots and online orders from previous clients.
Mark spent a couple of days at the Focus exhibition at the NEC. He was impressed with the new acrylic prints so look out to see these soon at our studio. Also there were some interesting canvases that caught his eye.
Pam, in the meantime has been to Olympia to the National Wedding Show. There was everything there from teeth whitening to glorious wedding gowns. Cakes and novelties, the best being a chap dressed in a Roman toga. Not quite sure what he was selling but it was something to do with mosaics.

After Mark and Jackie’s successful trip to Australia last October, they are getting their bags ready again to jet off to the annual international event for photographers held in Las Vegas.

WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) is attended each year by more than 6,000 photographers from all around the world.

Conferences, lectues and seminars are held over a four day period, usually starting around 8.00am and finishing at 10.00pm. Exhibitors from around the world use this conference to showcase thier latest products to the world and it’s important that we attend to keep up to date with the latest products and techniques available.

The print competition allows us to compete against the leading photographers in the world - and to date we have fares well - fingers crossed for this year!

Pam was delighted and surprised in January when her daughter, Bethany, became engaged to her boyfriend of 3 years , Brendan.
They plan to marry in September 2009 with the church being Emmanuel Church in Normanton Road, South Croydon and the reception being at Coltsford Mill in Oxted.

Pam and Bethany have been enjoying going to the various fayres, particulary the Designer wedding Fayre held at Battersea Park on 15th Feb. This week the fayre at Olympia will be visited.
White dresses and Tiaras in Crawley is booked for a session of ooh’s and aah’s as Beth tries on their beautiful gowns. Also Amante of Reigate is a must to visit as they have exquisite wedding dresses.
Of  course the wedding photographer has already been booked……….thanks Mark!

January is normally a quiet month when we take stock of last year business and see how we can improve our service to customers during the next year.

However, this January has been very busy. Mark has worked every day (yes including Sundays!) since we returned to work after the Christmas and New Year break.

We have been shooting a lot of portraits in the studio, as well as model portfolios for which we have had to “call in” our favourite makeup artist from Toni and Guy in Knightsbridge.

We have also been needed by our regular corporate customers for PR shoots.
All this together with the wedding fayres, seeing new clients and the general day to day work has made for a very busy month.

Mark acts as a mentor for photographers from time to time. One of his recent photographers called ‘Big Al’ visited the Studio to shadow Mark and to learn some new photoshop techniques and imagery.

Big Al’s visit conincided with have attended the SWPP convention in Hammersmith during January so as part of his visithere accompanied Mark to the trade show.
Many new suppliers were there who are offering new acrylic albums and frames with different styles and designs.

Al has now returned to the west country and is putting into practice some of the new techniques!