Happy mother's day to all fellow mothers!

If you're looking for a gift for mother's day, how about one of my portrait session vouchers? I photograph real women, creating beautiful authentic portraits using natural light. I work carefully with clients for the hour to help them relax and feel confident, and am on a mission to prove to people we can all look great in photos, without the help of photoshop. By all accounts, my sessions are good fun too :)

Here's what one happy client said:

"I was rather nervous at having some professional business portrait pictures taken - I don't think I look good in photographs, and was quite nervous at how they'd turn out. However, Mim took the time to find out what sort of effect I wanted - casual, rather than overly formal - and we had an enjoyable hour at the Ashmolean (and a coffee!) whilst she took lots of pictures. I'm really pleased with the results, and so are my family. Seeing good pictures of myself have made me, personally, rather more confident, which is a double bonus!" - Sue D

And above is a beautiful picture of another, taken at her home, with her daughters in the background.

As a special offer for mother's day, and because it is spring (yay/phew), I am offering *** 20% off my portrait session vouchers ***, for the next three days only.

love Mim x

ooooh we're halfway there...

Happy imbolc!  I come up for air and we're halfway from Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox - phew.  My post-festive hibernation is drawing to a close and I am full of renewed commitments to my blog.  This year I hope to fill it with all the work I'm doing, instead of letting it sit fed-up and slightly crumpled at the bottom of my long to-do list.  So watch this space.  And in the meantime, here are some I made earlier, and a reminder of good things to come - last year's snowdrops, shot using my trusted 50mm f/1.8 in Christchurch Meadows.  Yes, the great sprouting has begun, and soon we will be surrounded by thousands of tiny signs of spring.  Enjoy it!

Happy solistice!

Another year has lurched past and what a year it has been.  Thank you for taking an interest in my work over the past year.  I just wanted to wish you all a very happy solstice and gentle ride into a beautiful 2013.  Here's wishing you an abundance of all things good over the coming weeks and months - especially great photos - and for those in the UK, not rain. 

I leave you with a few frosty shots from a walk on Otmoor a couple of weeks ago.  Sadly, it looks like xmas will offer more images of puddles than of snow-covered villages - but at least we'll all be feeling pleased it wasn't the end of the world :)

Go well, one and all, and see you next year.

www.mimsaxl.com

Summer nostalgia - toddler portrait session, Shotover

When the Bee was just 22 months, and the sun was high and hot in the sky (photographic proof makes up for memory fail), we hit Shotover for a day lazing on a blanket under a solitary and well-climbed Oak.  In the company of our trusty and over-heated hound and our good friend Keith, we shared a picnic, picked the occasional berry, and listened to the calls of the Red Kites and buzzing of little planes overhead. 

Keith is one of the Bee's favourite people; they have a really lovely relationship, which I put partly down to his ability to be very much in the present moment with her whenever they meet, interested in everything she shows him, exploring the world with her as if for the first time.  I wanted to capture something of this relationship in photographs, as well as being keenly aware of my little daughter's fast-paced toddle towards two years. 

Below are some favourites, taken again with my lovely Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and D7000.  They already make me feel nostalgic, both for the cloudless deep blue sky and long afternoons, and for my little one-year-old (now my great big two-year-old).  They are also a good example of the type and range of different shots I like to offer portrait clients from a one-hour shoot, including the couple of surroundings atmosphere shots at the end.

Enjoy and happy half-term* :)


*if you're wondering what to do with your kids/parents over the half-term break, why not book a family shoot?  They're great fun, and like all my clients, you'll love the results.  Book now by emailing me to make sure you get a half-term slot.

Thoughtful under the tree

Evidence of enthusiastic berry consumption

The photographer's daughter

Hair clip adjustment (a favourite of mine)

Cuddle!

My brown-eyed girl

In search of berries

Sharing a snack

Banana in the sun

Banana in the sand

Hope

Hot dog

Split down the middle

Summer love

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