It's here - the new 50:50 photoshoot package!

In these straitened times, personal photoshoots are probably classed as 'little luxuries' rather than one of life's essentials, so ever one to respond to my customers' requests, I am very pleased to announce the launch of a rather special new package - the 50:50 photoshoot!

£50 gets you a 50-minute personal photoshoot in the location of your choice and a set of 5 final portrait shots. This mini-shoot is perfect for updating your LinkedIn or Facebook profile pictures, ideal for online dating shots and it's a whole lot of fast fun to boot.

It even fits neatly into your lunch-hour. What's not to love?

Here are a couple of recent 50:50 shots. You choose the location and style and away we go!

The appliance of Cyance...

A lot of the commercial shoots I take on involve photographing people at work and my images are often used to help companies project an external persona for their brand on the web and in printed media.

I really enjoy this type of shoot as it allows me to combine photography with a bit of creative thinking and a splash of marketing for good measure. So last week, I was pleased to take the short trip out to Worton Park in Oxfordshire to visit the new HQ of Cyance, a b2b marketing agency co-run by my old friend Steve.

My brief was to photograph the Cyance team, who are often called on to deliver keynote speeches at industry conferences all over the world, and to give them a set of images that they can use on their website and elsewhere to promote their brand. Cyance has a pretty strong brand persona already - 'cyance' is a play on 'science' as the agency's approach to b2b marketing is all about the data behind the campaign, and their offices and website have eye-catching cyan-coloured walls (real and virtual).

But missing from their web shop window was the agency's personality - and let's face it, a company is only as good as the people behind it. I took a whole host of shots on the day, but here's a sneak preview of some of the faces behind the brand, presented as polaroid-style snaps. Check out that superb wall colour!

OX-PA previews LK Bennett's autumn collection

Last night was a bit of a rare treat - an evening of uninterrupted browsing of LK Bennett's new autumn collection in their Oxford store.

I was there to photograph the September get-together for the Oxfordshire PA Club (OX-PA) who complemented the beautiful clothes and stylish environment with champagne and nibbles for the browsing club members.

Once again, for me, it was all about the shoes, but the collection also featured some beautifully structured dresses, silky soft knits and gorgeous tailored trousers. And with a 20% discount on the night, the ladies present were in their element!

Camper vans, cocktails and Cornwall

Summer has literally flown by so it's high time for a blog update. Besides, September is upon us, we have that 'back-to-school' feeling at Iris House so why not reflect on the holidays a bit more before they fade into autumn?

As previously advertised, the start of summer saw us picking up the beautiful Daisy, a 1973 camper van who we took down to St Ives for a week at the start of August. Daisy was on hire from the lovely Vicky at Boutique Camper Van who I can thoroughly recommend.

Re-fitted throughout in yellow-trimmed white leather and with a gorgeous banana yellow two-tone exterior, we really did feel like celebrities on our pootle down to Cornwall as every other car hooted or waved as we pottered by. If you're looking for a retro camping experience with small children, space for gin & tonic in the on-board fridge and a place to shelter out of the inevitable English summer rain, then look no further than a camper van.

On the way down to St Ives, we stopped at the utterly-idyllic Batcombe Vale near Shepton Mallet. A more beautiful and secluded campsite I don't think you could find. I almost don't want to share it with anyone and cannot wait to go back there on another Daisy-adventure. With it's own boating lake and wonderfully-quirky services, Batcombe Vale is a complete treasure.

Then it was back on the road down to St Ives, which we keep returning to year after year. Even though the weather was a bit English and it was packed with August holidaymakers, it is still a wonderful place for a 'proper' UK beach holiday. With the added attraction of Tate St Ives and Martin Creed's balloon-tastic Half the Air in a Given Space to amuse us on a wet afternoon, we really did have a great time.