Product Photography For Norwich based Client Glassact.

I was contacted a few weeks back by Norwich based company, Glassact.
Glassact speacialise is bespoke glass products.

They have just designed a range of Mirrors and they needed some professional shots of them to use on marketing materials, their website, and to list on Ebay.

Here at James Neale Photography we can provide you with a range of product shots, no matter what the product or size. So if you have products that you need images of, please get in touch for a no obligation quote.

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Commercial Shoot for Wind Turbine Specialists Red Triangle Energy

A few weeks back I was asked by Helen Alison, one of the Directors of Wind Turbine specialist Red Triangle Energy to shoot a series of corporate portraits for the team.

Red Triangle Energy is transforming the wind turbine market in the UK with the introduction of a highly innovative product - the Envergate vertical axis turbine. With a background in delivering renewables at the highest level, Red Triangle Energy now brings this application to the wind sector. Their goal is to help businesses, land owners, farmers, public sectors and all enterprising areas reduce their energy costs utilising one of the most efficient methods available.

Obviously we couldn't leave without getting a snap of the office dog!

A corporate portrait shoot for your business can cost as little as £99 and can make a big difference to the personal feel of your website. Its a well known fact that people will feel more confident in contacting you if they can see a picture of the person they are talking to. So remove the stock photos from your website and replace them with something a little more personal.

These images are also great to link together your profile pictures on your website, with your facebook, twitter and LinkedIn profiles.

If you are interested in organising a corporate shoot for your team, contact me today.

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Good Imagery is Key to getting your press releases published.

How many of you have sent out a well written press release but not had it published?
I'm sure its quite a few of you.

One key thing to attach to press release is good quality images. Editors don't want the hassle or have the time to search for suitable images or source images from you. You need to make it simple for them.
If you send over a well written press release along with suitable images you are more likely to get your story published.

Here are a couple of examples from one of my clients, Lynford Hall Hotel who recently had press releases published because they also sent along great images.

 Bury Free press

Norfolk Wedding Days

I can supply you with a full portfolio of great images for your business for use with press releases, marketing materials, and social media. Prices start from as little as £99.

If you would like to chat about your businesses photography needs, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

James

07833491550

http://www.jamesnealephotography.com/

Times Gone by of a Norfolk Wedding Hotspot | Lynford Hall Hotel | James Neale Photogaphy

Lynford Hall Country House Hotel is a historic mansion house set in the heart of Thetford Forest. Surrounded by beautiful woodland and lakes, it undoubtedly is a very impressive venue. But what makes it so fascinating is that, as well as acres of magnificent grounds, Lynford Hall is also stooped with history and character and certainly has a story to tell.

The current Lynford Hall was built by Mr Lyne-Stephens between 1857 and 1862 to replace the former hall. Mr Lyne-Stephens Became a merchant banker after he made his fortune by inventing dolls eyes that opened and closed. Madame Lyne-Stephens took possession of it as a widow when Mr Lyne-Stephens passed away in 1860, at the age of sixty. At the time of his death he was considered to be the richest commoner in the reign of Queen Victoria and left one million pounds.

It was at Lynford Hall where Madame Lyne-Stephens spent the greatest part of her widowhood life devoting herself to the duties of a great landowner. She owned approximately eight thousand acres of land which was widely regarded as one of the finest sporting estates in East Anglia. This caught the eye of Queen Victoria’s advisers, who in 1861, had been instructed to acquire a suitable property for her son, Edward Prince of Wales. At that time, the ownership of Lynford Hall was being contested by many claimants and this is said to have put off the royals from purchasing the Hall. They subsequently decided to buy Sandringham Estate as their Norfolk retreat.

Lynford and its grounds changed hands a number of times around the turn of the century and in September 1924 under the ownership of Captain Fredrick James Osbaldeston Montague, 6,200 acres of grounds were sold to the Forestry Commission, which consequently became Thetford Forest Park.

In 1928 a fire in the east wing broke out and destroyed part of the Hall.  This was never replaced and only the basement still remains.

Lynford Hall became home to Sir James Calder in 1930. Sir James Calder, who was the United Kingdom ambassador to the United States, frequently entertained his great American friend Joseph Kennedy and his son John F Kennedy at Lynford Hall. They would regularly attend the chapel and hunt in the grounds. Ernest Hemingway is also said to have also propped up Lynford's Royal Wellingtonia bar in his day.

The government requisitioned the Hall during World War Two and used it as a Hospital for injured soldiers. Some carved names can still be found in trees on the grounds from this period. After the war Lynford Hall was bought by the forestry commission who used it as a training school until 1960. This saved Lynford Hall as after the war many stately homes were being pulled down.

Between 1960 and 1970 Lynford Hall was run as an apartment building, hotel, and a public house. In 1970 it was bought by Gerald F. Rand who converted the hall back into a private residence with some hotel and function facilities.

He also developed a mobile home park to the east of the house with around 40 plots.

It was during his ownership that the hall was used for several BBC programs including Dad’s Army, You Rang M’Lord and what many people do not realise is, it was the home for the great Rene’s Café in the BBC’s hit comedy Allo Allo. The café and market square now houses the hotels court yard rooms.

Today Lynford Hall is owned by Premier Wedding Venues, and is run as a hotel, wedding venue and conference centre. Its stunning location is perfect for wedding couples who want to astound their guests with the wow factor the hall has to offer. Whether it’s an intimate wedding with a select few, or a lavish celebration with many friends and family, Lynford is the ideal place for you, with three licenced ceremony rooms, each of which has its own character, whilst staying true to the heritage of the building.

With 2013 wedding packages starting from just £3500 why not contact Lynford today on 01842 878351 to arrange an appointment with their Wedding Co-ordinator and start planning your unique wedding day.

http://www.lynfordhallhotel.co.uk/

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Business Networking in Norfolk - Whats it all about.

 People often ask me how I get most of my business, and the simple answer is, Networking.

In my first year of business I wasted lots of money on silly marketing, expensive brochures, and lots of advertising. This led to small returns and an empty bank account. It was then I realised that that the saying 'its not what you know, its who you know" is completely true.

My first networking experience was back in December 2010 when my accountant invited me along to a BNI Breakfast meeting. I was a bit shocked when I found out that the meeting started at 6:30am, but went along anyway to see what it was all about. People obviously don't get up at that time of the morning if they are not serious about making money and building relationships.

BNI is a referral based business networking event, it has a structured agenda and procedures in place to maximise the business passed. Its all based on the 'Givers Gain' logic, if you give me business, I will want to give you business.

Becoming a member was a pretty easy decision to make. I could see that the amount of business being passed in the room between the members and also the great business relationships that were being made. I understand BNI doesnt work for everyone. Its a big commitment to make as its every week, its also nearly £1000 per year to be a member, but look at how much you would spend on a year long marketing campaign and it soon becomes clear that it really isn't that expensive and in effect you have around 30 people all looking for business for you. Just like having your own sales force. Also, its not just about the 30 or so people in the room, its also their clients and connections that you may be able to get an introduction to. 

I have been a member now for 2 years at BNI Kett Chapter, We meet every Thursday at Bawburgh Golf Club, Just outside of Norwich in Norfolk. 

You can find out more about BNI by visiting our chapters website, Feel free to get in touch if you would like to visit and find out more about what we do.

http://www.business-networking-norwich.co.uk/

More recently I have joined another Business Networking group called Norwich Kitty. Kitty is much more laid back and informal. I like it because it is the complete opposite of BNI. Members meet up in Pubs around the city, have a beer, and informally network. But whilst its informal, these people are still serious about business, they still want to make new connections, they still want to grow their business, but they do so in a laid back environment. Norwich Kitty has been running for just over a year now, and has 90+ members. Membership is a mere £89, and for that you also get access to the members website, forum and business directory. Meetings are held every week in Pubs around the City. but you don't have to attend every meeting, its entirely up to you which ones you attend.

To find out more about the Norwich Kitty, you can do so by visiting their website 

http://www.norwichkitty.com/

Now there is obviously many other networking groups around, and its all about finding out which one suits you, and your business. All I can say is, if you are serious about what you do, want to grow your business in 2013, Networking is certainly one of the most cost effective way of doing it.

James Neale

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Beginners Guide to Photographing Fireworks

Now its getting that time of year again when you will all be attending firework displays. These events can make for some stunning photos, as long as you follow these tips.

Firstly you are going to need a tripod. The camera is going to need to be kept steady.

How you fire the camera will also make a difference. A remote is best so you don't physically have to touch the camera. Don't worry though if you don't have one of these, Just make sure that you press the shutter button as carefully as possible, or use the 10 second timer feature on the camera.

So you arrive at the display and get the camera on the tripod. Next you are going to have to change some settings.

Put the camera into Manual Mode (M)

Set the aperture to f8 to begin with. If the pictures are too bright narrow the aperture down by raising the f number.

ISO - Keep this low 100/200

Focusing - The camera will struggle to focus in the dark and so you are going to need to manually focus.
To do this, wait for the first firework to go up and manually focus on it. Now as long as you don't move the camera you should be fine for the rest of the display.

Now the shutter speed is going to be a little trial and error to start with, What you need to do is guess how long it takes for the firework to go up, explode and then come down so that you capture the whole thing. I would suggest starting somewhere around 5 seconds and see what you get. Press the shutter button just as the firework is launched.

You should then be on your way to getting some great firework photos.

To learn more about your camera why not book yourself on to on of my Beginners Guide to Digital Photography Workshops in Norwich.

You can book your place or buy a voucher by following the link below.

http://www.jamesnealephotography.com/29poundoffer.html

Stunning family shoot at the wonderful Dunston Hall Hotel

A few weeks ago I met up with this gorgeous people at Dunston Hall Hotel for a Family / Pre wedding shoot.
Its only a few weeks now until I will be seeing them again when they tie the knot at Dunston in early August.
The purpose of this shoot was to get a series of images so that they could then choose one for their signature board.

Really looking forward to catching up with them again in a couple of weeks!
Here's some of my favourites from the shoot.

www.jamesnealephotography.com