Photographing Ambridge’s Finest

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Just before Christmas 2010 I was invited to photograph Tom Archer from BBC Radio 4’s epic radio soap, The Archers.

Although it was nothing to do with the highly publicised 60th Anniversary of the show, it was great catching up with a leading actor behind the soap opera that has seen through more British history than any other soap on TV or radio.

Tom (his name in real life too) has played a leading role in this quintessentially British drama for 13 years.

Here are a couple of shots from the session.

Mat Smith Photography - Radio 4 Actor Tom Graham (Tom Archer) at home

Mat Smith Photography - Radio 4 Actor Tom Graham (Tom Archer) outside in December 2010 Snow

Simple mobile lighting allows really great results even for family photography in the home. Here is a really tight crop of the first photograph shown above to show the detail and clarity in a higher resolution:

Mat Smith Photography - Radio 4 Actor Tom Graham (Tom Archer) at home - studio quality sharpness

Portraits of a composer: Cheryl Frances-Hoad

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I first took photos of Cheryl a few years back with soprano Natalie Raybould (www.natalieraybould.co.uk) when they formed Golden Hat Opera (GHO on Twitter).

In the last few weeks it was announced that Cheryl won the prestigious British Composer Awards 2010 (www.britishcomposerawards.com) in two categories, Liturgical, and Instrumental Solo or Duo, and I was delighted to meet her in Cambridge for a shoot for album artwork and to promote her new works.

Cheryl Frances-Hoad BASCA British Composer 2010 Award winner, headshot on black

Cheryl Frances Hoad Cambridge Composer Headshot on Black Closeup

Cheryl Frances-Hoad BASCA British Composer 2010 Award winner, headshot on ivy backdrop

Portfolio shots at the London studio

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A mini round-up of some of the studio portraits from the last couple of weeks

I had the pleasure of photographing Ashley from Ebb and Flow (massage therapy) during her visit to the UK.

Emily’s is the face of a new kawaii internet and smartphone application that lets kids talk to a virtual face. Hundreds of photos of different facial expressions were taken which were then wrapped around an animated model that breathed life into the virtual human. The app is soon to be on sale in the iStore…

Lucy wanted some shots for her acting / singing career, and for inclusion in the programs of the operas and plays in which she plays various parts.

Camera of Fun at Tom and Emily’s Wedding

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Tom and Emily’s beautiful York wedding was over the Easter weekend and featured a floral theme of daffodils, expertly prepared by members of the bride and groom’s families. These were some of the loveliest floral displays I have seen – although I am biased because I’m a bit of a daffodil fanatic myself. Colourful flower photos to follow!

After the wedding ceremony, dinner, and speeches, we set to work on the photobooth studio a.k.a. the Camera of Fun. See below…

[pro-player image=”https://www.matsmithphotography.com/photolife-blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/play2.png” type=mp4 width=”400″ height=”446″]https://www.matsmithphotography.com/photolife-blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/tom-emily-wedding-show/Tom-Emily.mp4[/pro-player]

mat-smith-photography-iphone-icon iPhone version here

Official wedding photos yet to be released. Guests – watch this space!

More Tom and Emily – A York Wedding

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So the wedding plans for Tom and Emily’s wedding are taking shape and I can’t wait for the big day in a couple of weeks. Guests will be asked to have their portraits taken (classic low depth of field 85mm on white), carrying on the theme of Tom and Em’s engagement shots so far. Kind of like photo booth meets studio portraits. Naturally, it will be towards the end of the evening, when guests are at their most animated! There may even be the option for guests to actuate the shutter themselves. Fun!