Villain Thomas, My Other Life, Yes I am cool actually!

I always wanted to photograph bands, it's what the cool kids were doing when I was photographing cute babies and children, something which I absolutely love and feel no need to apologise.  The thing is that I'd just never had the opportunity to photograph a band but I knew one day I would and on that day I would be pretty darn fantastic!  Now anyone who knows me knows I am the queen of a quirky concept, really I think it's probably more that I am the Queen of Quirky but what the hey I'm not going to complain.

So a couple of months ago I received an interesting opportunity, would I like to photograph one of Newcastles rising stars, would I like to photograph the awesome Villain Thomas, aye said she, lets go to a nature reserve on a late afternoon for soft hazy light, well that sort of didn't happen and we ended up at St Mary's Island at mid-day in glaring sunshine clambering over rocks with tons of camera gear, situation and lighting not so perfect but you work with what you've got so I rocked it, well just a little bit, it's taken me a long time to be so confident in my own work but I'm way past the stage of asking if it's good enough.

and so there you have it, an afternoon spent in the company of uber cool band Villain Thomas, I love them, they're having a launch for their EP "The Waters" on April 27th at 8pm at As You Like It, Jesmond, I'll be there photographing it along with a few other photographers but come down, by a copy of the EP, it's pretty awesome stuff!

and onwards to the future and my involvement with another North East Band, a band who are so close to breaking it that it's untrue, I love, adore and cherish this band and think they're quite the coolest thing since sliced bread and I'm not just saying this, I've seen them play live several times now, I have the EP, I know the words to the songs, my husband and I danced to their music just last weekend.  Yesterday they made the official announcement that we're going to be working together and I was so excited that I ran around the house squealing.  We have such big plans for amazing shoots, My Other Life, here I come....  I know it seems like they're just a footnote but you watch this space because this is going to be big!

Occasions with Dr Mariann Hardey at the Cedar Court Grand, York

So what is Occasions, well for the last 4 years I've been shooting boudoir but to me boudoir felt like it should be part of a shoot but maybe not all of it and so Occasions was born, Occasions are for men and women, quite simply you want your photoshoot to be all about you, you want to be glamorous and you want it to be in a chic setting, it's always for half a day so that you have the full treatment, you can choose to give it a fashion edge or do something different or dramatic, it's completely up to you.

And so to my first Occasions shoot with esteemed author and social media expert Dr Mariann Hardey, Mariann is as beautiful as she is clever and she's also quite simply fabulous!

We planned our shoot with the help of the Cedar Court Grand in York, this amazing 5 star hotel has taken York by storm, there's quite simply no better place to stay if you crave for luxury and even if you can't stay you could still hang out in their chic cocktail bar, I recommend a Most Unusual.

The lovely people at the Cedar Court Grand could not have been more helpful and I really hope that I get to shoot there again soon.

So some photographs of delightful and inspiring woman and author of Proper Facebook Etiquette, a guide to living in a web based world, read it, it's a seriously great and informative read.

This one I love because it's got such a film noir feel to it and we're due to do another shoot in just a couple of weeks when the whole theme will be a Facebook Noir

This one was for a headshot to be used in those serious situations, Mariann often works with the BBC, The Guardian and other such publications as a social media expert, even here though Headshots don't have to be boring!

Simply stunning, I think I'd kill to look like this just for one day!!

again, we played with lighting to give a dramatic feel.

Beautiful, nothing more to say!

So do you have an occasion you want to celebrate, half day shoots are available at only £295 for a limited time, to book call 07918 121838 or see my website http://mandycharlton.com for more details and have your afternoon feeling like a model, a movie star or just simply celebrating being the very fabulous person that you are.