On arrival at Aislings I was greeted by the smell of cooking sausages, my favourite on a Wedding morning :) Everyone was very calm and relaxed and enjoying the morning prep. A really intimate group so there was no mad headless chicken running around in the offing.

After a cuppa and a bit of a yap and some prep shots it was time to get the dress on. What a lovely gown it was too and suited Aisling to perfection. I had my first live Skype Reveal, streaming straight to New York :)

The service took place in St Sylvesters Church in Malahide. A lovely church, with lots of beautiful light that streams in. The weather Gods were being kind to us so we could relax on that front :) After the service and family shots in the church we headed for Malahide Castle and the walled gardens. This really is a beautiful hidden gem at the back of the castle and is a perfect location for the Bridal Party Location shoot. Caught the groom off guard too with some lovely portraits with a frilly umbrella lol :)

On to the Grand Hotel in Malahide then for a lovely intimate reception. The sumptuous Bridal Suite has the perfect balcony overlooking the sea for the couple portraits. It was fairly windy though so we kept that short and sweet !! As I left the guests were tucking into a very tasty looking dinner and looking forward to what promised to be a wonderful night ahead. Hope you had a ball guys xxx

You want your wedding day to be all you’ve dreamt of and hopefully more !! Well todays wedding was that for me !! I don’t know who was more excited, myself or the Bride, the gorgeous Laura :) When I peeked out my window this morning to see lovely deep blue skies, I crossed everything that the down pour that they were talking about in the weather forecast last night would hold off till 5 o’clock. After that the weather can do what it wants, everyone will be tucked up inside.

And speaking of peeking out my window, I can actually see todays venue out my kitchen window, I’ve looked out over it all my life, Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, the home of the Irish Air Corps. I was so delighted to be asked to cover todays weddings, at the very least it would give me a chance to see around inside the air base, something I haven’t done since I was a little girl.

The Brides Mum had been my chief liaison up until today so I was dying to meet her and Laura and the SIX yes six bridesmaids. I knew that the morning prep was going to be lots of fun with all those ladies involved, and it didn’t disappoint. The ladies were all finished hair and make up when I arrived apart from the cool, calm and collected Laura. Her lovely little girl kept us all entertained with her renditions of the songs from Disneys ‘Frozen’, she definitely stole the show. After some family and Bridal Party portraits it was time to hit the road. After a minor ahem, hiccup with the Bridal Car, the poor divil had to hop into my VW Golf (thank God it was clean !!!), and a rather fast pace we headed for the church so as not to be too late and keep the patient Groom, Ciaran waiting. It was definitely a first for me, being both photographer and chauffeur. Thankfully the Bride remained the picture of calm throughout the whole episode and I got her to the Church, even if a little late, and the fact that it had started to lash out of the heavens, but we were there !!

The ceremony, preformed by the Air Corps own Father Robert was to say the least emotional. It was so lovely, I even shed a tear myself. Such a lovely, warm ceremony, full of personal touches and meanings. None least the location of the air base church full of all its history and military context.

Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time the service was over so that the Bride and Groom could greet their guests as they exited the Church. It also held off for us to do the family portrait session and the Bridal Party portrait session outside the mess hall. The rumbling thunder added some timely reminder that it was time to go inside and mingle for a bit !!

After that came my favourite part of the whole day, an escorted trip to the hanger by the Grooms Best Man and Brother (an Air Corp Pilot, score !!) where the Bombardier Learjet 45 and Casa CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft are housed. It made for an amazingly unusual Bridal Portrait Session location. I have to say I did squeal with delight a few times :) Back to the Officers Mess then where the guest were seated and ready for the entrance of the new Mr & Mrs Curran. They were met by rapturous applause, whopping and foot stamping when they were introduced to the room :) The following safety announcement, airline style went down a treat and was performed brilliantly by the Best Man and Groomsman.

All in all an amazing day, my first military wedding and hopefully not my last, I enjoyed every minute. I’m going to have a look out my kitchen window now because the way that party was shaping up I’m sure I will be able to see them all dancing from here :)

So I decided this morning that rather than doing one of my traditional sneak peeks for Sarah Jane and Brian that I would do a blog post as I cannot decide which ones to put up as their sneak peeks !!!

The morning of the wedding arrived with the sound of rain beating against my bedroom window, not an ideal start, but thats life in Ireland for you in August lol !!

I headed over to Sarah Janes to capture some of the Bridal Prep and was greeted with a beaming smile from the lovely Bride through her front window. Thoughts of the weather went out of my head then, it was shaping up to be a fab day whatever the weather :) And what a scene of ogranisation and calmness. The girlies were all ready, and enjoying their morning. 

After that I did something I don't usually do, I left the Bride !! Eeeeeeeekkk !! Off to the Grooms house for a few quick portraits, at the couples request. It worked out well as it as such a short distance away and lovely to see both parties enjoying their last morning of 'singleness' :)

Back to the Brides house then to start one of the main events of the day, putting on the dress. I love this bit, its a really special moment and I love being there to see how good they feel once its on and all is right. Yesterday was no exception, the dress was fabulous on and suited Sarah Jane to perfection !!

It was time to head to the Church, Sruleen Parish Church in Clondalkin, Co. Dublin. A lovely small, bright church, perfect ! Sarah Jane did not want to be late so we made sure we had her on time, with the usual 15 minute leeway :) It was a lovely service, with beautiful music provided by Blush (http://www.blushweddingmusic.com). Due to the weather we stayed behind in the Church after the ceremony to do the Family Photos, quick and as painless as possible for this part is my mantra !!

Off to Fitzpatricks Killney Castle with us then for the reception. Plans to stop off in Dalkey for pics on the pier were put on hold as the weather had completely turned on us, it was lashing out of the heavens !! We cut a fantastic sight heading up the M50 in three beautiful cars provided by http://www.weddingcarsonline.com, a fabulous Beaufort and two Daimlers for the rest of the wedding party.

The Bridal party were greeted by smiles and brollies by the staff of Fitzpatricks Castle and were escorted into the reception room, which was filled with sweet treats and music. Fitzpatricks Castle provided lovely backdrops for our portrait sessions then for the rest of the evening.

The Bride and Groom then looked set to party the night away to the sounds of Blush. I really enjoyed the day guys and thanks so much for choosing me as your photographer :) 

It’s finally happened, I’ve finally cracked it!!! I’m so excited; I never thought I’d be so excited by a sentence!! I’ll explain myself…..

Back when Linda Clarke Photography was just a twinkle of an idea in the back of my head and I was working it through, bouncing it off a few people (yes you Gregg if you’re reading), there was one thing I couldn’t figure.

All the research I was doing on starting your own photography business and I did A LOT of research, one of the first things it said was ‘Define you style’. That was nearly step 1 of them all!! ‘Your style’ is what sets you apart, that is your unique selling point. Well I’m afraid I skipped step 1 because I could never figure it out. I could never put words on what ‘my style’ was. I could never quiet come up with a definition that I was happy with, one that summed up all my photography, be it babies, families, weddings, events.

But today people, today I was struck by a bolt of lightning!! During ten minutes peace, a rarity with two children under four, all be it in the shower, it hit me. ‘My style’…….. I can tell you the relief is something else; it has driven me around the twist since the very beginning. I am a very organised and methodical person so skipping step 1 has always driven me nuts.

Drum roll please ………………………. The definition of my style is ………………………………………..

‘Clean, natural and not fussy with a little something special on the side’.

All my images as I look through them in my mind come back to this. This is the essence of what I try to do in every photograph. The subject is the subject after all, have that as it should be, as it is naturally, no frills or thrills, just natural. Then add in a little something something, whether it is the location, the pose, the angle, the accessory or the lack of accessory and there you have it, my image. An image I am proud of and one that I hope my clients love and believe that it has done the situation justice.

Here are a few that I think scream this!!!

The relief!!!!

Following on from the great success of our Print and Canvas Bundle I am very delighted to announce a new addition to our Bundle Offers.

After your portrait session or wedding shoot you can now avail of this great value offer !!

This new bundle includes:

Two individual 10*8 pro lab prints hand mounted and framed by a local framer.

One 16*12 pro lab print, this can either be a collage print or a single print also hand mounted and framed.

You can choose from a black, white or pine bevel frame.

The total value of these products when bought seperately is €500, the bundle offer price saves you almost 50% !!!!!!!!!

Bundle offer price €275 !!!!!!!!!!!

This is a wonderful way to display the results of our session together in your home or to give to loved ones as gifts.

Contact me for more details.

I'm delighted to show you two new albums that have joined our family of products. Both of whom are situated at either end of the pricing range but are equally fabulous products to use to display your images.

Expressions One Album

• An outstanding great value album, that comes in an A4 size with 10 Double Spreads. It is available in landscape or portrait orientation. It has perfect lay flat pages and has a printed cover of our design. It is the perfect Coffee Table Album - €150

Traditional Albums

• Poppy Press Vintage Album

Available in four colours, Charcol, Sand, Mustard and Off White these traditionally mounted albums are fabulous. Produced by an Irish owned company, they hand finish these albums to ensure that your album will exceed your expections.

  
• 12x12, (36 pages with 65 images) - €495

I am so please and chuffed and excited to be feature as this weeks WeddingsOnline Real Wedding :) I had a ball shooting Elaine and Bryans wedding in the fabulous Kippure Estate in Wicklow. It was only helped by the fact that Elaine is a fellow photog and friend !! (http://www.elainelavertyphotography.ie/)

It was an honour to be asked to shoot a fellow photographers wedding, not an easy thing to relinquish the control :) Here is the feature article from WeddingsOnline !!

A Rockin’ 50s Themed Wedding at Kippure Estate by Linda Clarke Photography

I am always trying to come up with ways of offering my clients good quality and good value products. After your Portrait Shoot it can be difficult to choose how and in what way to display your shotts. Here is an amazing value print bundle that will solve that for you. Its always a shame to have your lovely portraits hiding away on a disc ;)

The total retail value of this bundle is €370 when these items of print are purchased seperately. When ordered together as a package in conjunction with your Portrait Shoot with me you save €185, happy days :)

Yesterday I had my most wonderful Newborn Photography experience to date! I was lucky enough to be able to attend the first ever Newborn Photography workshop to be conducted in Ireland.

It was held in the fabulous setting of the Trim Castle Hotel, in a beautiful room overlooking the Castle through an even nicer large window for our all-important natural light source! The workshop was facilitated by two amazing ladies, Patrycja Baczkowska-Photography and Magda Christie Photography. I was so excited to be there and it didn’t disappoint! I have spent a long time doing online workshops and courses, reading blogs and researching newborn photographers in the US. Nothing though has come close to the actual hands on experience of yesterday. It has taken the skills I had already and moved them on to the next level.

We had four wonderful newborns to work with. Here is a sample of my work with each of them.

First off we had an amazing baby boy. He was the most perfect model ever and would lull you into a false sense of security that this newborn photography lark was a piece of cake. His Mummy was extremely proud of him, the first of many times I’d say! He slept perfectly in the toasty warm room. To keep our little bundles nice and warm during the session and to aid the sleepiness the room was kept at a balmy 25 degrees by the air conditioning and we also had a fan heater on hand to keep all the babies extra cosy.

Secondly we had our first little pink bundle. This little doll was 15 days old, just a day over the recommended age, which is between 10 and 14 days. She was a star though and once she was asleep we got to spend ages with her. We got to witness our very own baby whisperer (Patrycja) at work.

In the afternoon we were moving on from blanket work to prop work. First up we had another little pink bundle. Her hair was AMAZING; a newborn photographer’s dream. The art of prop work is another story altogether and like the rest of a newborn session the baby’s safety and comfort is the first priority. If the baby is not happy in a prop or a position we move on to another. Thankfully our little model was happy out and slept great for us!

Lastly we had a very special little man. At only 8 days old he was a dream!! His Mummy watched on with tears in her eyes. He had had a tough start after his appearance into this world so she was delighted to be capturing and enjoying these special moments with him. He was a little peanut and we were sorry when Patrycja said that this was the last pose.

Newborn Photography is amazing and it captures those special little features that are gone all too soon. It is an ever evolving form of photography that has to keep the safety of the baby first. Please if you are choosing a newborn photographer; make sure this is one of your initial questions.

Linda x

I normally write my blog on a Tuesday but I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to share this one :) It is always a privilege when someone asks you to shoot their wedding and be part of their day, but it is even more so when it is that of a friend. Last Saturday I had just that honour. I have to say it was one of the nicest weddings I’ve been part of yet. It was definitely the coming together of two lovely people and making ‘official’ the lovely family that they had made together.

One of the most wonderful parts of this day was the details ! I love to shoot the details of a wedding day so that the Bride (come on it’s normally the Bride) gets to see the fruit of her labours. This wedding was no exception. The Bride had a great creative touch and had even handmade her own bouquet and the bouquets of her two daughters ! Not to be left out her little man looked splendiferous in his little tux !!

It was a wonderfully intimate ceremony in the Morans Red Cow Hotel. Minister Tom Colton added to the relaxed atmosphere and made sure he included all the family in the ceremony ! The most memorable moment was when the couple’s eldest daughter shouted out ‘Daddy don’t do it’ just as everyone sat down !!! It was brilliant; you can see her reaction in the shots below J

Following a quick change of room layout and some family shots everyone settled down for the speeches and meal. This was followed by dancing into the wee hours to the DJ’s sounds. It was a wonderful day and thank you so much for letting me capture it !!