Photographs of children with special needs...

While shooting a group photo for a nursery recently, I was asked to do individual shots for three of the children who missed the last photo shoot.
Two of the parents ordered and I delivered the prints this week.
The girl has "selective mutism", and the boy is autistic. His particular issue (or one of them) is that he will not have his photograph taken, and immediately stops whatever he is doing and tells them to "put the camera away", even when he is engrossed in reading to the other children (!).
When I asked the girl to say "Cheese" for the picture, she did so, even though she will not normally speak. 
The boy came and had a photo taken, and we got the most delightful and adorable picture of him for his parents to treasure, where you would never guess that he has any issues whatsoever.
When I manage stuff like this, it brings me more satisfaction that pretty much anything else that I do, because it makes me realise that a) I am coming across in the right way, even to the little ones, and b) the pictures show a sense of achievement and "specialness" that most of the other pictures I take cannot measure up to, however much they capture a moment, emotion or personality.
I cannot share the pictures, but can assure you that they will stay in my memory for a long time to come.

Rochdale Town Hall, a most romantic place to get married - Wedding photography

I recently had the very great pleasure of photographing the wedding of Kate & Dave, on Friday, 2nd May this year. It was a relatively low-key and relaxed sort of wedding, but they chose one of the most romantic places imaginable to get married, Rochdale Town Hall.
As you can see from the pictures, they put their own stamp on the day, arriving in a camper van and having an afternoon-tea styled wedding breakfast.
The whole atmosphere of the wedding was beautiful, with a lovely bunch of people celebrating Kate & Dave's special day together, with a location of great historic ambience and character.
The local park, a minute's walk from the town hall provided a lovely backdrop to get one of the most romantic sets of couple photos I remember shooting to date. 
It was a pleasure to be a part of the day.

Possibly the best customer comment for wedding photography that I have ever received - Whitley Hall Wedding

I cannot express what a delight it was to receive this email from Canada last night.

"Dear Howard.
The photos arrived on the beautiful memory stick on Thursday and we had a lovely evening sitting down with a glass of wine to view them.
Thank-you so much. The pictures are wonderful and all the little details you have captured reminded us about things we had overlooked in the craziness of the day.
We were honoured to have you as a guest at our wedding, as that's what it felt like. Your style is so non-intrusive that we saw you as a friend within our party. I would be happy to recommend your services to anyone who is looking for a professional service with a personal touch."

Feedback like that lets me know that I am pitching it about right with the service and quality of pictures that I am offering.
The venue was Whitley Hall, near Sheffield, one of my favourites, and here's a selection of the pictures we got.

If you choose to get married at Whitley hall and would like to discuss whether special offers are available for wedding photography at this lovely venue, please get in touch to arrange a meeting.