Shooting Stars Parties
I want to tell you about my shooting stars parties, they’re so much fun! So I’m going to talk you through a party that I shot last year and then give you some suggestions for other themed dressing up.
The birthday girl (and it is usually girls, although there’s really no reason why boys shouldn’t enjoy a party like this) can invite 8 friends along to their party and tell them what their chosen theme of clothes are. If you plan to bring along food for the party (there’s a great kitchen, with tea and coffee facilities and a fridge) I would suggest two outfit changes, otherwise, if you plan to eat later, we can probably just about fit in 3 outfits, as in this shoot. The birthday girl can choose any outfit theme they want. These girls arrived in bright colours, changed to black and white and finished in pjs.
These were great fun themes and worked really well, giving me a real range of shots.
Once we have warmed up with some group shots and silly poses, I photograph each girl individually. We get the blow-fan out, which gives hair a pleasing flowing look, and the girls really get into their poses, advising and complimenting each other (I love that). I get them jumping too, there’s some great poses to be caught that way
The second outfit change is another chance to capture each girl individually, and having a black and white theme gave us a change in mood and we went a little more stagey and theatrical. Someone had brought along a red hat, which went perfectly with the red chair and monochrome clothes.
By this time, the girls have really loosened up and are usually full of ideas about what to shoot next so we have lots of fun photographing these, it really is a collaborative event.
If you have decided not to break for some food, we carry on to a third outfit change. Every single shooting stars party I have photographed has included a onesie/pjs theme! It seems to work for any age, from 7 to 16, we all love a slumber party. Guests can bring along duvets, pillows and cuddly toys and a pillow fight often ensues. The birthday girl takes this last outfit change as an opportunity to have shots taken with each of their friends individually.
By the end of the session everyone is full of how much fun they’ve had and very excited to see the photos. I create an online gallery which I email round to all the guests and everyone receives a voucher which will cover a 5×7″ print, but of course they are welcome to order any prints they would like. The birthday girl also gets a hard back 8×8″ album including her choice of 40 images from the shoot. I recently had an email from a mum telling me her daughter had gone to bed clutching her birthday album!
What I love about these parties is that they can appeal to a wide range of ages, depending on how you decide you’d like to dress up. For younger parties, how about an animal theme? Or bringing a dressing up box? Fairies, princesses… the list goes on. Older guests might like to come in glamorous ball gowns or just something comfy and familiar.
I have started a pinterest gallery with ideas for dressing up themes, using some shots from my parties and some general ideas. http://pinterest.com/jpjanetpenny/shooting-stars-party-themes/
If you are interested in booking a Shooting Stars Party do give me a call on 07905 053 794 or send me an email to janet@janetpenny.com
You can find out more info about prices and timings here: http://www.janetpenny.com/shooting-stars
Any reason is a good one
A quick scan of Facebook proves that digital photography is everywhere. We can record every aspect of our lives and we do!
Yet we still turn to professionals to record those special occasions: Weddings, pregnancy, babies and landmark birthdays. There’s something about a professional shoot that really puts the seal on those moments that we want to remember. So what makes an occasion special? Countless moments pass us by, wouldn’t it be great to record just one or two of them professionally?
What would your moment be? Passing an exam, moving house, changing schools or losing those all important front teeth…
Warming up
Not every child sits in front of my camera and produces a smile first off. Like many of us, some children are shy and not convinced that they really do want to have their photo taken. I love this sequence because it shows that slow warming up that often occurs – starting with uncertainty and finishing with a very cute smile 
The smiley girls :)
There are so many lovely shots from this session that I found it difficult to choose what to show you. Sisters, I find, are often great at making each other giggle, so I try to rope in siblings to help relax whoever is in front of the camera.
Variety is the spice of life
I am so excited to be showing you this session as it was such great fun to shoot. We packed a lot in to the 90 minutes that we were photographing and our variety of backdrops was matched by this beautiful young woman’s many different outfits! I was full of admiration for how easily she was able to change her look and feel each set. These solo sessions really give me an opportunity to explore different styles with my clients and together we produce a real range of images to choose from.
Cuteness abounds
I know it’s been an age since I last posted, things have been very busy. I couldn’t resist showing you a recent lovely session that I had with this gorgeous girl. I don’t think I have met such a calm, contented and characterful 9 month old in a long time and the session went like a dream.
We got through several costume and backdrop changes with not a murmur of fuss. It was great to try out some of my newer cloths and paper backgrounds and it gave the session a real diversity.
Those eyes! Those cheeks!
Party!!!!!
Last week, 14 girls and I descended on Photoshoot Studio for a photo party. It was my first and I was looking forward to working with so many people at once and with such a high level of energy and excitement. We had a ball! With pop music blaring the girls all looked ready for a party in their posh clothes. After lots of group shots, I took individual photos of each girl, with a fan to blow their hair and a fabulous red chair to lounge on. Time for a costume change and everyone got into their pyjamas (except me!) with duvets, cuddly toys and a pillow fight. My aim was to make each girl feel like a superstar and confident about how fabulous they were. By the end 14 happy girls left and I went home, ready for my pyjamas 
I would heartily recommend Photoshoot studio for a party of this kind, they have great facilites – kitchen, changing rooms, makeup mirror, sound system etc, and the owner Paul is always very helpful. If you’re interested in booking a photo party with me for your child’s birthday or a special occasion, please email: janet@janetpenny.com or call 07905 053 794 to talk about pricing and dates.
Wakey wakey!
This gorgeous girl is just 5 weeks old and SO cute. She also LOVES her sleep (lucky mum and dad!). We spent a lot of time gently encouraging her to wake up, just for a moment so that I could photograph those beautiful eyes. Luckily, Ruby is just as photogenic asleep as awake.
Private portrait – March 2011
I’ve had a run of photographing previous clients recently. I last photographed this fun three over 18 months ago. They’re still full of energy and great to work with.
Private portrait – March 2011
I photographed this beautiful little one when she was just 5 weeks old and this week she was back for presents for Mother’s Day. Here she is back again and as smiley as ever – just like her mum.
January – Private portrait
Toddlers are not the easiest of subjects to persuade round to your way of thinking – and who can blame them? Who wants to be stuck in a white room and have loads of people telling you what to do? Having a big brother with you often helps, and a few of your favourite toys, oh, and plenty of time to really start feeling like a supermodel!
Private Portrait
Way before Christmas I spent a lovely hour with these two bright young things, but because the shoot was intended as a present, I had to keep it under my hat.
I love shoots where my clients come up with as many ideas as I do and that’s what happened here. We had great fun trying out lots of different poses and as a result came out with photos that truly reflected the wonderful personalities of these boys.
December – Private Portrait
I confess, I’m a people watcher, which makes my job such a joy. One of the things I absolutely love about photographing families is watching the way that siblings interact, being able to capture that is the challenge I adore.
December – Private Portrait
There’s something incredibly special about 4 generations of a family coming together. Before Christmas I shot a wonderful session with a family of 13 whose ages ranged across 90 years. Sessions like these are great because there are so many connections between family members to capture. I hired a great studio in Southborough for this shoot because it would have been a bit of a squeeze in mine. It’s a great space and we were all made very welcome.
Private Portrait – September 2010
Getting four people to jump at the same time, pull a smile and not knock each other out is nigh on impossible. Which is why I love white backgrounds and photoshop jiggery pokery, they really help to make and fun family photo.Private Portrait – April 2010
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Kids love to be active, so a great way to get good photos of them is to play on this fact. Jumping, high kicks, gymnastics of any kind all portray that energy that children always seem to have and they look fun too.
Private Portrait – November 2009
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When you run a photo session it’s important to get the balance right. There’s a fine line between relaxing your subject enough to make them feel comfortable in front of the camera and winding them up to fever pitch. I know of some photographic companies who like to create a highly excited atmosphere for the families they shoot but that’s not my style and I find that parents don’t appreciate leaving with children that are hyper.
So, we had great fun on this session and still managed to exercise a little control!
Christmas cards – October 2009
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Private Portrait canvases – August 2009
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I am very proud to finally be able to show you the canvases that I have been working on. They are the result of a complex process which began with black and white photographs with my Rolleicord, then salt prints which were scanned colour adjusted and finally printed on to canvas. Phew! Both the client and I are delighted with the results.
Private Portrait – August 2009
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Another fun portrait session. As you can probably tell, I have a couple of standard poses that I use when photographing three children. One of them is featured above. Sitting the children one behind the other gives them a sense of security, creates interaction between them all and often comfortably turns into a calming triangular composition. The other poses just seem to happen naturally.
The other thing that works is doing the group shots first. This relaxes everyone, creates interaction and laughter and gives individuals the confidence to come in on their own later. It also has the advantage of getting those shots in the bag before fidgety younger ones get bored.
Private Portrait – July 2009
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Call me twisted but I do like to see a client cry.
This gorgeous trio’s mum wanted two large framed photos for her husband’s birthday. When I delivered the final product I was touched to watch her wipe a tear from her eye as she looked at her beautiful children – the best kind of compliment I could hope for.
Private Portrait – November 08
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