Merry Christmas.

Christmas has been really lovely in my house this year, the addition of Daniel to our wee family has added a whole new dimension to the holiday season for Stephen and I and we have enjoyed every second of it. Once upon a time 5.30am was 'getting home from a Christmas Eve party time' this year it was 'getting up with Dan to see if Santa has been time'.

I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful time with your families.

No post is complete without photographs so here are some from very early on Christmas morning... Santa's been!!

I'm still here...

... This blog has been neglected, I apologise but I’ve but my poor wee baby has had chicken pox which means that time has been sparse. Thankfully the wee guy has really picked up, in fact, I would go as far as to say that he is completely back to normal.

I’m so glad that he’s doing better, the last 2 weeks have been horrible, nobody warns you about this bit of being a mummy, it was terrible to know that he was feeling so bad and that there was nothing that I could do about it…Apart from lot’s and lot’s off cuddles and love which I have to admit was as much for my benefit as his. Anyway, as I said, he's doing much better now and is going to his first Christmas party tomorrow... Yipee!

Things have been good business wise; I’ve booked more 2009 weddings and have another few couples to meet, there’s been portrait shoots to edit, client orders to get organise and planning new things for next year, such as ‘Outdoor Kids 2009’’ which I am very excited about. (More on that later!)

I'm pleased to say though that there has still been time to get into the Christmas spirit, the house is decorated and looking lovely (even if I do say do myself), the presents are bought (but have still to be wrapped) and I even found the time to make some Christmas Crackers with my niece Ellie on Friday which was fun, fun, fun!

I’ve also taken LOADS of personal photographs over the last couple of weeks so watch this space as I’ll be posting my favourites here.

So, to start them off, here's Ellie on the carousel, taken at George Square on Saturday.

I just love the last one, her face says it all!

He's off!

And very proud of himself he is too!

A scrunchy face smile for Mummy. This is his new thing, it's hysterical, I love it!

So there we have it, at 7 and a half months old Daniel has realised that he doesn't have to rely on me to get him places, there's no stopping him now!

Cochrane Family Portrait.

I had a portrait session yesterday with the Cochrane family, Tanith, her Mummy, Sharon and Daddy, Ian. It was lovely for me to meet the family as there are just 4 days between Tanith and my little boy. Needless to say Sharon, Ian and I were swapping baby stories within minutes of my arrival.

Some of the extended family were present to witness Tanith's first professional photo session so it was all eyes on baby! She was an absolute sweetheart and coped really well with her first experience in front of the lens... A star in the making!

Thanks for having me guys, I hope you like your images... Here's a wee sneak peak at a few of my favourites from the day.

2009 Weddings.

Bookings for 2009 weddings have gone through the roof in the last week or so. I'm guessing that it's because we are fast approaching the end of 2008 and couples want to finalise plans before the new year arrives. I realise that the holiday season is a busy time of year for most but don't neglect your wedding planning if you're getting married in 2009... Give me a call or drop me an email before all the dates are gone!!

It's that time of year again - Gift Certificates.

Can you believe that it's nearly Christmas again... this year has completely disappeared. This time last year I was pregnant with still 5 months to go and now I have a little baby who is getting more and more like a little boy every day!

I have to say that I'm pretty organised as far as presents go with just a few more to get. How are you getting on? Are you stuck for ideas? Why not consider a gift certificate from Julie Vance Photography? The recipient will get a portrait session and print credit to use against the final images... a gift that they can cherish forever.

Certificates come in beautifully packaged gift boxes, they are available at the special Christmas price of £75 and include £25 worth of print credit. Contact me at julie@julievancephotography if you want to take advantage of this great offer.

Beth and John - Ruby Wedding Anniversary

On Friday, at long last, I got to meet Beth and John who have recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Their son Douglas booked this shoot as a gift to them way back in August and I think that we all beginning to worry that the session would never happen; Finally, last week we managed to be in the same place at the same time... Hurray!!!

It was lovely to meet Beth in person as I feel like I've known her for ages because of all the telephone conversations that we've had. It was just as nice to meet John and hear all about their family. They are such a nice couple and it was a pleasure to photograph them together. John is a character, he's got a great sense of humour and clearly still makes Beth laugh after all these years together. I really wanted to convey that in my photographs, I hope that I've succeeded.

Beth and John - Congratulations once again, here's to many, many more happy years together.



Some of my personal favourites from the shoot.

The tenderness in this shot is lovely;

I just love a bit of lens flare;

Kate and Innes - Engaged.

Kate and Innes are getting married and I am going to have the pleasure of photographing their big day!

On Saturday the rain stayed off long enough for us to be able to do the pre-wedding engagement photographs at Kelvingrove Art Galleries. We've previously had to cancel the shoot due to terrible weather and Friday nights rain had both me and Kate thinking that we were going to have to cancel again but, thankfully the elements were on our side and Saturday was dry and bright, an almost perfect autumn day. Kate and Innes were great and did a fantastic job of hiding just how cold they were, thanks guys!

Sometimes as a photographer you just 'click' with the couple, this for me, is one of this times, they are absolutely lovely.

Kate is stunning and Innes isn't half bad himself. I can't wait to photograph them at the wedding in May... Hopefully the wind and rain will have stopped by then!

Here's a sneak peek at some of my favourites from the day.


Love this one...

Thomas.

Thomas likes to chat, he likes to run, play and bounce on the bed. He doesn't like to sit still and pose to have his photograph taken so, you end up with shots like these.

I've said it before but these are my absolute favourite style of shots for kids. Just let them do their thing and be there to capture it. These 3 simple images show a little bit of Thomas' personality... One day, when he's a big boy and his face isn't quite so cheeky it'll be great to look back on these and remember just how adorably cute he was when he was nearly 2.

More of 'Little Miss Blue Eyes.'

Another favourite of mine;

Rachael.

The last time I photographed Rachael was for part of a larger family shoot. Today she came back to be the star of the show, this afternoon was all about Rachael.

I've said it before but this little girl has the most beautiful sparkly blue eyes, they are an absolute joy to photograph. She also has a lovely, cheeky little smile but today she mostly saved it for when the camera was pointed in the other direction (or for her Grandad who was watching from the wings!)

Anyway, I still managed to get some gorgeous shots of this lovely little girl, I hope her mummy and daddy are pleased with the images, it was my pleasure to take them.

Here's a tiny little taster from the day, more to follow tomorrow.


My favourite;