photoshoot - Victoria Ashman Photography

15/11/201814/03/2024

There and back again

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops/edit?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

There and back again

So my last post was a bit traumatic. I wrote it, I lived it and I never want to revisit it. A few months on and I am much stronger. Life is still challenging as I am doing dialysis four times a day and sometimes its painful, sometimes its gruelling and sometimes its just over with no fuss. Fortunately there is a bit of light in sight. I am going to the overnight machine, which will give me my days back. I cannot wait, as I literally feel tethered to the house at the moment. They are also changing the fluid. Apparently it is less acidic and so will reduce the pain quite significantly, I am genuinely really excited about this new fluid.

After I started the dialysis, my body went into shock and my hb fell through the floor, because of this and because my weight was so low they decided I would not be strong enough to go through a transplant. So, 4 months ago I was suspended from the list. I was absolutely devastated about this. Transplant is my goal, my lifeline. So to be taken off was a blow, (even though I knew they were right.) Three weeks ago I thought they were going to let me back on the list. The meeting was scheduled to discuss my case and my consultant (who had to make sure I was strong enough) told me that he was sure I would be put back on. But I got the call and they told me that because I had been so poorly I still was not strong enough for the operation. So, I needed a bit of extra time and I needed to put on at least 2 kilos. I hadn’t put any weight on in 6 weeks. So for me this seemed like an impossible task. But, three weeks on and I am half a kilo away from my goal. I cannot imagine how I am going to feel when they put me back on the list. Elated springs to mind.

I have continued to work as much as I can. Shoots are still a way off. I get tired so quickly and shoots require such a continued burst of energy, which I just don’t have. I can though work on my digital backdrops on photoshop. I sold one to a photographer I really admire last week and I was chuffed to bits. I am also still doing my stock work. The two combined aren’t bringing me in a wage, but its enough to pay a few little bills and buy Darren a guinness every now and then. Plus, its kept up my skills in photoshop which would have been quickly lost had I not been regularly working in photoshop.

Above is one of my backdrops and here is the backdrop with my niece composited into the image…

The one below is one of my most popular backdrops at the moment.

**Digital backdrop, wicker basket and white fairy lights**

I really hope that my next blog is even more positive and you never know that transplant call might be just round that corner. I don’t think there will be any stopping me then. I am going to grab life and celebrate everything. I am as before so grateful to the people in my life that have got me through this time. Their support means everything to me and it will not be forgotten.

28/02/201828/02/2018

Digital backgrounds/backdrops

Digital backgrounds/backdrops

Spending more time at home over the pass month I have been able to really get to grips with photoshop, using blending modes and gradient maps. Something which I have stayed away from out of fear. But actually, like anything, once you know how to do it, it’s not that difficult. I have also been trying to make sure I create Digital backgrounds/backdrops every day, keeping the Etsy shop active. I have applied the skills learnt and I’m happy with the results. You can see the new work added to my shop here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops

Rocking the greys…

Digital Overlay

Developed this week, an overlay of fairy lights and white wooden floor. At various times in my studio career, I needed an overlay like this. Fairy lights, as most studio photographers will know are difficult to photograph, as studio lights often blow out the fairy lights, (so that they can no longer be seen). Here is an example of the overlay added to this pure white background. This overlay will work particularly well at Christmas and you can change the opacity, so you can change the subtlety of the overlay.

Digital Backdrop, newborn nest with Teddy:

Parents would often bring little teddies to their newborn photo shoot. The teddies often had sentimental value, but also provided a sense of scale. The brown tones of the flooring and the nest match the teddy so well, and the fluffy sheepskin adds to the earthiness of this image.

Here are a few of the other Digital backgrounds/backdrops created in the last couple of weeks. I even had a go at creating an outdoor landscape digital backdrop, which has really highlighted how difficult it is to get the lighting to match the baby.

Digital backdrop/background — Digital backdrop, bluebell flowers in a woodland setting with a baby basket

05/02/201814/03/2024

Change…

I posted this letter to my Facebook page a few days ago. In the time since I have been taking stock, and now I am feeling better about the future. Sometimes the hardest thing is making a tough decision and then afterwards you can deal with it and move forward. The first thing I did after diagnosis was go out and take photographs, it calms me and fulfils me and after posting this I did the same thing.

Hope you are all well. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

After much procrastination, soul searching, defiance and eventual necessity I have decided to give up my studio shoots (not my outdoor shoots). I have been battling with kidney failure for a long time now, but I am now at the stage where dialysis is in my immediate future. I have been on the waiting list for a transplant for 18 months and if I lose any more kidney function I’ve been told I have to prepare for dialysis. The studio shoots are physical and involve a lot of heavy lifting, both before and after, and it is simply getting too much. I have been stubbornly resisting. But last night I was told that the studio space I rent has been sold and I need to vacate by the end of February. So, the decision has been taken out of my hands.

I had a look through the proofs from my shoots a couple of days ago and I was amazed to see just how many studio shoots I have photographed. It must be more than 500, which really makes me smile.

I will continue the outdoor shoots for as long as I can and I am now focusing on selling digital backdrops to other photographers and selling my stock images through image libraries.

Thank you so much for your continued support. I am not going anywhere just yet and now I need to look forward to a new chapter.

Many thanks always,

Victoria x

06/10/201714/03/2024

Timelapse Video, newborn shoot, youtube

Timelapse Video, newborn shoot, youtube

So, I made a timelapse video of one of my newborn shoots. It’s funny seeing me on the video! But I wanted to give an idea of how it looks during the shoot. You can see me shooting away and you can then (at the end) see the finished pictures.

Timelapse video, newborn shoot, youtube…

My newborn shoots take a fair amount of time, primarily because I wait until the little one is comfortable before posing. I work around them and as I don’t have an assistant I always have Mum or Dad helping me. This is nice for two reasons, I know that I can step back and take a photograph as they are in the safest hands possible. It also includes the parents in the shoot and the pictures we achieve from that shoot.

15/09/201714/03/2024

Maternity Shoot

I always enjoy photographing a maternity shoot. I don’t photograph many, so I love it when the opportunity comes along. Its even more enjoyable when there is a sibling (to be) that is really excited about being in the pictures! I am used to toddlers and they don’t always do as I say, which can make it challenging but then so rewarding when you get the shot. Big sister Indy was lovely and I just adore these pictures with Indy and Mum’s bump.

Second time Mum (to be) Lisa was lovely too and up for any of the poses I suggested. She is a fitness trainer so I think this helped keep her so limber. If I remember rightly her son Rafferty was born 10 days after the shoot. I normally do maternity (bump) shoots around 37 weeks so it was a little bit later than usual. I’ve done a few shoots at 35 weeks, but I think around 37 is a good time as the bump is big so you can really see it in the photographs. I’ve also found that Mum’s are still able to do a shoot at this stage. It just gets too uncomfortable any later than 37 weeks.

Maternity Pictures

We took this image with a view to doing a similar shot in the newborn shoot and then posing the baby on the tummy. As I am writing this I have just literally finished editing the newborn shoot and we did get the shot, which I will share at a later date. We also had to get the hands on the bump shot. This proved to be tricky, not for Dad but for Indy, who’s arms wen’t long enough. We got there in the end though.

This was one of the last shots and one of my favourites. You can just see the bond between Mum and daughter. All their lives are about to change and it was wonderful marking this special time.

28/06/2017

Newborn Shoots & (possibly) a model call

Newborn Shoots

So, for the last six months I have mostly been photographing newborn shoots. Luckily for me! as I love photographing newborns. It’s such a precious time for my clients and truly so wonderful to be able to capture this special time. Each year I feel I add to my skills and improve them. Above all it takes patience and calm and following the cues of the baby. This area of my business continues to be strong. I think its because newborn shoots are not about simply clicking the shutter. It takes time. I’ve photographed a fair few photographer’s babies and they tell me that they tried but newborn photography wasn’t in their skill set.

I have been posting far fewer pictures on Facebook though, partly because my clients ask for privacy which I completely respect. If a client asks me to post to social media then of course I am more than happy to oblige. I mainly use Facebook now for news or for offers. For example, every year I offer a model shoot. I am hoping to do a model shoot in August. The pictures I take in model newborn shoots are used to update my website, or to try some poses that I would like to master – but don’t want to do so on my paying clients time.

Digital Backdrops

I am also still adding to my catalogue of digital backdrops. there are twenty or so at the moment. I have added a gallery to my website where you can try some of my backdrops (small images) for free before you buy! If you go this gallery http://victoriaashman.zenfolio.com/p259041982 Click on the picture that has ‘Aura Digital Backdrops’ written on it and then click ‘menu’ by hovering over top left of the picture, you can then click download. If you go back to the gallery the picture next to it is an example of what you can do with the image, and the third image is the high resolution download, which you can download and pay for through my website.

Here is a little video with a few of the backdrops that I have on offer. It includes some instructions on how to use them. I sell them at my etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AuraDigitalBackdrops

16/03/2017

Easter Digital Backdrops

My Etsy Shop – https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/518847367/easter-digital-backdrop-a-digital-prop?ref=shop_home_active_1

Easter Digital Backdrops

Here are a couple of my Easter digital backdrops. I sell my digital backdrops on Etsy in my Etsy shop, and I also use them in my shoots if they are requested by the parents. I’m using my nest again, but I figured I don’t own anything that says Easter like my newborn nest prop! I added some euphorbia flowers, that were taken from my garden and of course I had to use daffodils. The green/yellow combo is particularly nice against the red/browns of the wooden nest.

We photographed the nest on a wooden floor with a damask background. The reddish colours of the wood (in the nest) pops against the wooden floor, I hadn’t really noticed those tones before. I also left a well in the nest so that I could fit a baby inside and it worked beautifully.

I then decided I wanted to do an image that would allow a baby to sit in the nest. I changed the damask background as I didn’t want it to overpower the baby sat in the nest.

I’m looking forward to Easter now, and I have to admit I had some mini eggs yesterday. Photographing digital backgrounds for Easter just made me think of chocolate!

08/03/201730/03/2017

Freya & Jake’s outdoor photography shoot.

Freya & Jake’s outdoor photography shoot

Wonderfully, I got to spend some time with Freya and Jake at their outdoor shoot a couple of weeks ago. As always I love seeing the kids running free, (though I do find it hard to keep up!). We were just in a hotel garden and I found a lovely tree, some nice hedgerows and a bench. It gave us some wonderful backgrounds. The lighting was soft, with no harsh shadows and I was able to shoot these photographs.

I love this shot of Freya, I used the hedgerow as a backdrop which gave us a solid dark colour behind. This helped the glitter to really pop. Freya also had fun, and by the end of the shoot was telling me poses to try! It’s always lovely when the children get that engaged with the shoot.

Beautiful Jake, I look at this shot and I wonder what he is thinking. He has been through a lot in the last year, so I was more tentative when taking pictures of him, letting him come to me. I’ve photographed him since a baby and actually he was quite shy in his shoot then. Even as a tiny baby Freya seemed to love the camera. I have noticed that some children do seem to love the camera straight away and some don’t and in fact I think I would have been in the ‘some don’t’ category. (hence why I am behind the camera… probably!).

I took this picture of Jake before we went outside, he was asking me about my reflector. Jake loves seeing how things work, so I was showing it to him and he was listening quite intently. I just took this very quickly, using the window as a catch light.

Untitled-8 — Freya and Jake’s outdoor shoot

Finally I took some pictures of the Jake and Freya together. Freya is a lovely big sister and is very caring, you can see she is watching out for Jake all the time.

Untitled-4 — Freya and Jake’s outdoor shoot

18/10/201618/10/2016

Family Photo Shoot

I have just photographed a family photo shoot for my brother, sister in law and their children… and their dog. Pet photography isn’t something I usually partake in, but it was my brother’s pet, so, I gave it a go.

The shoot went well, even if there was my two year old niece and a puppy running around my feet at the same time! We started with Madison and I wanted to capture her endless, boundless energy and her enchanting smile. There was no way she was going to stay still, so we embraced that and let her dance around. I adore the sequence of pictures we captured, and love them altogether.

Next up was my niece Taila, she has not long started school, and although she loves it. It is a massive change in her little world. She is a little thinker which I think you can tell from her portrait.

The next two were the girls altogether, I love these pictures but particularly the one with all four of them. I think it is a timeless image.

The poor dog was getting a little restless at this point so it was his turn! He actually did really well, I just had to make a noise and he looked up. He also wanted to run towards me, so I had to be quick!

We did some more family shots, lying down, sitting up and standing. The picture below is my favourite from the family pictures, it just seems to capture them all so well.

Finally we have a picture of my brother and his beautiful wife. We are doing a big wall piece for their lounge, but it’s going to be hard to just choose one. I think we might have to find a wall piece which enables multiple pictures.

Most importantly my littlest niece will be happy. Their last family photo shoot was three years ago and Madison keeps asking where she is in the pictures. Now as she points at everyone on the wall and says their name, she’ll be able to say her name too.

28/09/2016

6 month old Baby Photo Shoot

This 6 month old baby photo shoot with Ava, was a joy to do. Ava’s big sister 3 year old Amy joined in too and we got lovely photos of the both of them. 6 months is such a lovely age, babies are very expressive and Ava was so smiley! She even woke up smiling. I must have done close to 500 baby shoots and you don’t see that very often. Ava was just starting to sit, although she was a bit wobbly. So Ava’s Mum used her hand to prop her up a few times. I was then able to photoshop Helen’s hand out of the picture. We did images on Ava’s back and tummy and also in a prop. Ava didn’t like staying on her back for long, so I had to be quick! I’ve been told babies can concentrate for a minute for every month, so at 6 months babies can concentrate for 6 minutes. There are lots of breaks and I’ve got quite proficient at reading baby cues. So I generally know when they’ve had enough. The shoot normally lasts an hour (with lots of breaks) and I can get quite a few different pictures in that time.

I normally find 3 year olds the most difficult to photograph. They are at an age where they are independent and it’s difficult to get them to be in a picture if they don’t want to do it. They have also found their freedom, so understandably don’t want to sit still. But Amy was great, such a lovely big sister and we were able to achieve quite a lot. This was a lovely 6 month old baby photo shoot, it is usually one of my favourites and this shoot was no exception!

So smiley! and just adorable. 6 month old babies like grabbing their hands at this stage and I love being able to capture this.

Both Ava and Amy’s first teddies are in this picture. I love it when parents bring items that are sentimental and we are able to incorporate them in the shoot.