Lamenting a week of inspiring clients

Sunday afternoon confessional….

Full of gratitude this Sunday afternoon for incredible clients, for them trusting + entrusting their briefs to me.

Grateful for variety, for natural light, cloudy days AND sunshine. For the moments between moments and for getting up every day to work on something I love.

This week reminded me to take my time when something just doesn’t ‘feel’ right, to move around until I feel that synergy with what’s infront of me and if that means taking a breath or a break and coming back, that’s Okay.

Commercial shots, event photography, portraits

YES!! Friday afternoon confessions.......has anyone seen summer?

If so, could you just politely direct it over here please :-) Thanks so much!!

Well, hello Friday!! How’s everyone doing?

This past week has been a super fab, crazy, zesty mix of editing, photography and client meetings with a slithering of yoga in person as a student and gym workouts to get my fitness + stamina back up as weddings approach!! The challenge of sitting to edit photo sessions is real now and I’m having to take a break and step away from my screen every 45minutes - to think pre pandemic I used to sit locked in for hours at a time now seems impossible!!

BUT I am super excited not only to be back right in the mix of photographing an amazing array of FOOD, PORTRAITS, LIFESTYLE and LITTLE PEOPLE + I am stoked to share a few images from this weeks sessions and commercial shoots!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Images above taken at The Greyfriar Pub in Chawton ahead of their opening May 17th and capturing their new menu and staff pictures!!

Whooooo it’s an amazing feeling to be photographing, being creative and mixing safely with clients and friends again :-)

Stay safe everyone and have a great weekend! x

Friday Night Confessionals.......2021 International Women's Day

This year……ZOOM ruled

As International Women’s Day approached this year I had been spending this lockdown online studying my other passion, Yoga Teaching. The love and happiness that flowed out of the screens during class was phenomenal.

I pondered ways to celebrate and appreciate this when it occurred to me we were graduating the day before on March 7th so I asked if anyone would love to be involved and created the #choosetochallenge images for the IWD Gallery and some additional images for fun :-)

Totally amazed it worked and beyond thrilled these amazing souls below were up to experiment and see what would happen, we laughed A LOT and created some beautiful images. Thank You everyone xx My heart is FULL xx

Friday afternoon confessionals......

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!

www.jackieking.com

NEW WEBSITE

Hi Everyone!!

How you are all doing? Happy Friday xx

Sooo after about 10 days of lock down within lockdown where I pined myself to my office chair and designed, un did, redesigned and adjusted, I am thrilled to share my new look, updated website!!

www.jackieking.com

HEAD SHOTS WEDDINGS FAMILIES PRODUCTS EVENTS

Please let me know what you think!!

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 2

JULY 1st 2020 Back at ya photographing!!

So as lockdown eases, mask, hand sanitiser + camera in hand I will be back photographing again - HORAH!

The first couple weeks I will be social distancing with pre booked clients who were moved due to lockdown then from mid July onwards I am taking bookings for outdoor family sessions so please email me or call to book your dates.

I‘m super excited to see you all again and start capturing your summer sessions,

Happy Friday! Hugs Jackie xx

Friday Night Confessionals.....

OOhhhhh Back at it!!

Right after Joe + Joanna’s wedding I took some time off to recharge and celebrate my birthday - a complete treat + such fun :-) I ate cake, saw photography exhibitions and got super inspired, hung out with friends, disconnected from work + hit the gym in an invigorating, right back at it kinda way - it felt amazing + refreshing. I swam in warm outdoor pools, pondered life in sizzling hot sauna’s and slowed down enough to regain that sense of presence, It was such bliss and set me up perfectly for getting back in to work for the last few weeks of the year and Winter.

Mum makes an epic cake + this beauty was totally #Vegan! She even made vegan lemon curd for the filing!!

Duffy at Mottisfont Abbey! An amazing and inspiring exhibition to catch on the last day :-)

Yes there’s no escape lol there’s frost on my car right now + for once I’m hybernating on a Friday night tonight cooking yummy food and delighted to be in out of the cold!

This week I have been chatting over on instagram about getting the most out of your session in WInter and Top Tips on ‘What to Wear’. Not only does this time of year make bright colours pop a little bit more it also can create long shadows + soft golden hours at each end of the day - just like D’s session above as we rambled around London to celebrate her 10 year wedding anniversary!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QzRwlh5I_/

More on both of these to follow this week!

Have a super weekend everyone x

Friday Night Confessionals.......a week bursting with love x

It’s been a week of adventure, of love, fun, laughter, new places, beautiful golden hours, little people sass + checking out angles on a site visit ahead of next weeks commercial photo shoot for an amazing lovely client!!!

So!! This week!! last Saturday I met Amy & John at Kensington Gardens Cafe to explore the Italian Gardens and create pre wedding, engagement pictures for them - they marry in September + I can’t wait!! Our ‘pre-wedding’ sessions give us the opportunity to become a little more familiar with each other, with me directing you + also standing back letting you both be cheeky to each other and chat away as if I wasn’t there + it’s also great for you guys to be together in front of the camera. .

It’s TOTALLY NORMAL to feel hesitant, to even hate having your photo taken, although please don’t say that too loudly or I’ll ask for a pound (£1 - if I had a pound every time someone said that…I should have started collecting them when I first started taking pictures…I’d be sipping cocktails, retired in Aruba by now lol) so it’s my job to help ease away those suspicions and feelings and help you enjoy the whole process so that when it comes to your wedding day you know what to expect and you feel more relaxed….I’ll be posting a separate blog post on Amy & John’s whole engagement + all the sessions mentioned here in the coming weeks :-)

On Sunday I met Bindi & Maarten (who marry in June!!!! + This is going to such a super special wedding!!!) at The Pergola at Hampstead Heath, it was an overcast afternoon and so luscious light and I just had to share this wide angle dramatic shot because I just love how you can see the structure yet to much of the greenery surrounding it feels as if it’s cushioning + hugging the building…..

Monday evening in Greenwich with Joanna & Joe….these guys!!! So late December I photographed Joanna on her new adventure + chapter arriving in London to pursue her acting career + telling me about this guy she’d met - well, hey presto!! They got engaged and Monday we captured their engagement pictures!!!! We also had a celebratory vino afterwards too!! :-)

Post engagement session celebratory drinks……..

Tuesday it was time to catch up with Flynn Austen, 15months young for his one year plus pictures. Crystal Palace Park was our destination + again the light was just gorgeous!! There was A LOT of laughter + A LOT of cheekiness from this gorgeous prince. He’s gotten so tall and just started walking so I’m sure by the next time I see him he’ll be running around all over the place!! :-)

Post session selfie….I’m getting in to this lol

Giggling mummy

and…so Thursday was a prep day, well it was an editing and prep day for this gorgeous shoot next week….I get to spend the afternoon picture taking in this very special and spectacular venue…..+ I’m super excited!!

Friday Morning….Kensington Palace……waiting for my family client to arrive I admired the flower beds with the spectacular tulips!!

Friday afternoon at RIBA photographing their graduation ceremony…my 5th consecutive year + loving the inspiration from their key speaker

I do feel truly blessed as I start my journey with lovely Amy, John, Bindi & Maarten and continue it with Joanna + Joe, Amy + Flynn, it really is magical and looking back on this it’s been pretty busy but it’s been epically amazing to connect with all this awesome souls and visit all the different venues - Heres’s to an awesome long weekend!!! Happy FRIYAY * SATURYAY & SUNDAY oh hold MONYAY too lol that doesn’t quite work lol Have a fab weekend + Thank you for allowing me to share and capture your journey and new chapters xx

Sunday Sass

Just for this week, Friday night confessional moved to Sunday Sass!

Whoooo-eeeee I’m sitting here, Sunday night, Mothers Day, full of delight at having spent a fun, laughter filled day with my parents. Sunday roast, a little trip out around the countryside and a nap when I got home lol well, I did do a ‘Blaze’ class this morning before all this exuberance and I am feeling it tonight :-)

This past week has been full of family photo sessions mostly in London and with gorgeous families with teenagers (as opposed to teeny people) + the energy of London mixed in with young adults really sets you up to have perky, energised interactions and days - up in a super fun way!

On Friday after a session near London Bridge I caught the overland down to Croydon to say Good Luck to Jack at Lives Not Knives. He has been such an amazing influence within the charity with all his work on the schools roadshows and mentoring young people + is leaving to pursue other interests which I just know he’ll be amazing at!!

Whilst in Croydon AND with it being sunny I took advantage of the visit to swing past Katharine Street and check out the Ladies First exhibition opposite the Library. It looks fabulous! and I made a little video for instagram which I’ve shared above :-)

Happy Sunday everyone, Happy Mothers Day + have an amazing week ahead!!

Friday night confessional....Croydon.....

WOWZERS!!!

Last night saw the official launch of our ‘Ladies First’ Photography project and I am so proud it’s up!
I'd love to say I breezed up to Croydon to check out the exhibition, elated and full of delight but truth be told - I was elated and full of delight with my stomach in my mouth as I approached lol - I hadn't seen the prints before they went up so I had no idea what they looked like. I mean obviously I’d worked on them and knew how they looked but just not in print! and there is always that second mental check list “wondering if the highlights were in check, the blacks weren't blocked up” and generally the printing was fabulous.

I was delighted!!!  The prints look epic! Printed on a stunning Matt paper finish, the detail was sublime!

On show until May please pop along and take a look and share a photo or two, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Enjoy xx

Happy International Women's Day!!

TODAY our fabulous exhibition officially opens! Angel & Julia of the Croydonist have written about us https://www.croydonist.co.uk/iwd19/ Please check it out :-) x Have a great Friday Everyone xx

International Women's Day gets closer!!!

Ladies First Exhibition 2019

Soooo more posting, I promised :-) 

I've been working on a project for International Women's Day which goes live officially tomorrow but which has just gone up today in preparation!!

Ladies First Exhibition 2019

is a fresh opportunity to women all together + celebrate the wonderful variety women who live and work in Croydon.

These photos depict + honour extraordinary women in all their glory.

Undercroydon created this project with an aim to alter perceptions of women; bringing positive change to women from all backgrounds, sexuality + cultures.

Ladies First 2019, will be exhibited on Katharine Street, opposite Croydon Library, in the Fairfield Ward.

Credit : Supported and funded by Croydon Council

space is provided by the generosity of R & F Properties and John F Hunt.

Photography: Jackie King

Undercrodyon project: Susan Beresford & Jeanne-Marie Eayrs

This photo is presenting a variety of amazing women I had the absolute pleasure to photograph in Croydon (+ is being displayed outdoors opposite the Library) as a community project to inspire young women + each portrait is A1 size 🙃

If you get the opportunity do pop along, I'll be there hanging out tomorrow afternoon and then heading to the LNK charity event around 5pm if anyone fancies a catch up!! 

Naomi is due THIS week :-)

I am beyond delighted to share a snippet from last weeks maternity session in the gorgeous Hampshire countryside with Naomi.

Naomi is due this week and we had so much fun prepping our session and including a TUTU!! I know right!! OMG As a Ballerina and dancer, Naomi is so elegant and poised and we had a gorgeous white washed wall as a backdrop to create our magic :-) more to follow soon xx

11am on a Sunday.....

I've driven to London and back, had a beautiful photo session + am now chowing down on brunch...Happy Sunday everyone + whilst I can't share the family session right now, I can share some the gorgeous houses we used as our backdrop + the amazing light that was kissing West London at 8am this morning :-) 

Stunning Sunday session location.....LOVE LONDON

Friday Vibes!!!

Channelling these colours!!!

THESE Colours!!!!! Oh my goodness, what a perfect way to end the week!

Smiling looking at these feminine and strong tones. Shirley's dress just pops off the page and it brings me so much joy to look at this session. Shot around London. <3 London 

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

It's been an amazing 10 days....

Talking, chatting, demonstrating, acts of kindness, smiles, laughter, photography, yoga....

Sometimes you go along and you're super aware and engaged with your surroundings and sometimes you're just not, life is hectic, things get in the way, weeks fly by in what seems a blink of an eye or a sneeze and whoosh! it's gone.

I've just gotten over the flu and it was not pretty AT ALL...I was a sneezing, snivelling germ bag walking around in a cloud of garlic....how people came near me I'm not sure, my cough alone sounded like I smoked a million cigars since I was 2 years old and well it's amazing I feel better at all ...lol ok, ok...perhaps I'm tipping in to man flu territory now lol...I digress...

Amongst me feeling absolutely dreadful were wondrous moments which made me sparkle (I knew I was sparkling but I have a feeling the snot hid it for a while!!)  I'm wondering if I noticed them more because I wasn't racing at a million miles an hour and my brain couldn't do its normal multi tasking thing or the universe was just delighted I'd slowed down...I'm not sure BUT I wanted to share these moments because they are so lovely and too good not to share and pass my smile on...share it around, feel the love and delight, warm up on it, beam...

FIRSTLY....I had an AWESOME photo session in London with Aparna & Jayesh...such a wonderful couple, super cute together and so much fun and not only really natural in front of the camera, super playful too and busted out some fab dance moves and brilliant lifts! 

The very next day still delighted with the session in London I headed to the beach! I am happiest like a little piggy in do do when in my shorts and wellies with my camera in hand AND I was doing all this AT. THE. BEACH. sooooo cool! Above is the last shot of the day where Ellen made a funny face and whilst it's soft focus I love it because she is such a live wire. 

This is our annual photo session and I was so delighted when I approached her car to meet her and her daddy, she saw me and just lit up, excited for pictures and to run around on the beach I think..it's really special to photograph little people and watch them grow + I think this is our 5th photo session....so precious.

Wednesday came around that week and I participated in a fabulous night of Photography as part of Photomonth London. Luke Dodd of the Guardian and Observer spoke about the influence of Jane Bown for our 'Girl Town' residence + we followed with a panel discussion on influential women in the industry. The panel comprised of an awesome line up : David McCoy, Creative Imaging Manager at the Guardian, Karen Harvey of ShutterHub, Dan Gaba, Photo editor of the Wall St. Journal, Maggie, Founder of Photomonth, Becky Warnock, Projects Manager at Photovoice and me (Me in action above!!) 

Some of our FAB speakers in action (photo courtesy of Kate O'Neil)

Images: Top: Melanie Eclare, Wendy Ewald, Jane Bown, Bottom: Mary Ellen Mark

OK, so that was just a few days.....I rolled on with the flu.....edited, photographed..AND THEN.....the weekend rolled around and a few amazing things happened. I didn't really tell many people what was on the horizon as to be honest I was a little nervous! I have spoken about photography and taught photography for years so I can stand up and chat away BUT this weekend I spoke for the first time on Yoga. (my other passion!) I was so excited and delighted to be asked to join my wonderful friend Yvonne Bishop Weston and discuss stress and how yoga can assist in managing it. Yvonne is a nutritionist and so these two talks complimented each other perfectly and enabled us to form pieces of a jigsaw puzzle when it comes to healthy ways to tackle stress, OH and the talk was at OLYMPIA...yes the one in London, the big venue lol

IT. WAS. AMAZING.a whole room doing alternate nostril breathing, chair yoga + being given tools to help manage their stress. The goose bumps I had as I left carried me all the way home and well in to the following week. I guess now would be a good time to confess that when I'm not photographing, I teach yoga + I love the combination of this dual career :-) My yoga instagram snap below.

OH + whilst I was traveling by train to the venue, hacking like an old women about to loose a lung, the guy next to me offered me a mint...how kind and what a lovely gesture....for a few seconds I hesitated worried it was drugged or laced with something nasty (because that happens so often right!!! omg!!) + then I quickly thought, it's a packed train, I'll be ok and accepted his SUPER KIND offer and we started chatting. so lovely+ so rare to have a whole conversation on the train, but it was so wonderful, such a lovely act of kindness that I really treasured and appreciated.

Two speaking events, on two of my fav subjects in one week was just incredible. So inspiring and uplifting. London, the beach...photographing in great locations AND......

My dad surprised me too - I've been looking (this is not photo related at all) but I've been looking for a bench to go with my dining room table, a well loved, bashed up a bit, shabby chic number..we've had a few chats about where I could find one and my hunt has been consistent......that was until visiting my parents last week they suddenly said "Oh, we found you a bench"...oh my goodness what a find! What joy...when I asked where, Dad just said he bought me one and as mum led me to the garage she tutted," he didn't buy it, he MADE it"!!!! So in time for my birthday next week, my dearest dad has made me a wooden bench + I love it! No pictures yet as he's still painting it, but what AMAZINGNESS!

Have an awesome week everyone! Smile at everything (without looking like a nutter) + enjoy the incredible array of colours Autumn is blessing us with this year xx

#SHOPEN16

On Tuesday July 5th I had the complete pleasure of presenting at the opening talks for #SHOPEN16 in Cambridge. #SHOPEN16 runs throughout July and has a fantastic line up of Photography Talks, exhibitions and portfolio reviews.

I was talking about my work and recounting fun stories and experiences I've had along my journey and career. Here is a selection of my Lifestyle work :-) Do check out what's on and pop along!!