Helen Maybanks Photography - Blog

Natalia and Alex

July 19th, 2010 by Helen

The London Zoo is a fantastic wedding venue and I have been lucky enough to do two recent weddings there - on Saturday I photographed the wedding of Natalia and Alex.

Natalia and Alex

Natalia and Alex

Alex

Alex beams as Natalia arrives for their ceremony

The wedding ceremony

Natalia places the ring on Alex’s finger

Natalia

Natalia

Confetti!

Natalia and Alex are showered with confetti

Alex and Natalia

Alex and Natalia

Alex and Natalia on their wedding day

Natalia looked beautiful in her dress by Picchelina that was given to her by Ale, her cousin in Mexico.

The wedding cake

The wedding cake was baked by Natalia’s friends: Carolyn made all the cupcakes and with Lizzie’s assistance they made the chocolate cake on top. For more detailed shots of the cake, and for Natalia’s reaction on being shown it, click on the thumbnails below.

Catrina figures     Natalia sees the cake for the first time     The wedding cup cakes

The couple on the top of the cake are Mexican Calaveras figurines from the Mexican Day of the Dead. Natalia’s father is Mexican and she spent part of her childhood there, and the wedding reflected the Mexican culture.

The first dance

The first dance

Alex and Natalia

The couple had been to dance lessons and looked great brilliant as they danced to Dance me to the end of love by Madeleine Peyroux.

Dancing     Natalia’s parents     Cutting the cake

For  a larger image please click on the thumbnail

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Kiran and Nader

July 9th, 2010 by Helen

Last weekend I photographed the wedding of Kiran and Nader at London Zoo.

Kiran and Nader

Kiran and Nader

Kiran having her make-up applied

I started at the Dorset Square hotel where I photographed Kiran preparing for the day.

Kiran and her bridesmaids

Kiran walks into London zoo with her bridesmaids, Claire, Zoe and Juliette

Nader

Nader smiles as he waits for his bride to arrive

The wedding

Kiran places the ring on Nader’s finger

Family and friends

Nader’s family, best man and usher enjoying the ceremony

Kiran and Nader

Kiran and Nader

Honey the Kinkajou

Honey the kinkajou was brought to the reception for the guests to see. This Kinkajou had been hand reared and was extremely cute and very popular with the guests.

The speeches

There were some great speeches. Nader laughs during Anthony, his best man’s very funny speech.

The first dance

The first dance. Kiran looked beautiful and they both looked so happy throughout the whole day.

Dancing     Enjoying the recption     Dancing

The guests enjoying dancing during the reception. Please click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.

Kiran and Nader

Nader and Kiran dancing

If you would like to see more of my weddings please look at the Wedding Photography section of my website.

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Helen and Matthew

July 2nd, 2010 by Helen

Last Sunday I photographed the wedding of Helen and Matthew.

Helen and Matthew

Helen and Matthew

The West London Synagogue

The couple got married at The West London Synagogue.

Walking down the aisle

Helen and her father Mike make their entrance.

Matthew under the chuppah

Matthew waits for Helen under the chuppah.

Signing the ketubah

Helen and Matthew signing the ketubah.

Husband and wife

Helen and Matthew walking down the aisle together.

Helen and Matthew

After the wedding everyone went to Lincoln’s Inn for the reception. It was a lovely sunny day and I took some photographs in the grounds of the venue.

Helen and Matthew

Helen looked beautiful in her dress from Joyce Young and Matthew looked great in his top hat and tails.

The Old Hall

The Old Hall, Lincoln’s Inn.

Laughter     The wedding cake     Wedding guests

Please click on the thumbnails above to see larger images, including the brilliant aeroplane-shaped wedding cake by Konditor and Cook in the centre.

Cake cutting

Cutting the cake.

Enjoing the reception     Mini aeroplane cakes     The reception

Please click on the thumbnails above to see more images from the wedding reception.

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Actor headshots

June 27th, 2010 by Helen

I have blogged previously about individual performer’s headshots, but I wanted to show some examples of the headshots I do for theatres. I do a lot of work for the Lyric Hammersmith in particular, and they always like me to photograph their entire cast for the programmes and promotional purposes. Here are a few of the portraits I have taken in the past year:

Matthew Kelly

I photographed Matthew Kelly in Comedians. Matthew now uses this image as his Spotlight photograph.

Tanya Moodie

Tanya Moodie who I photographed for A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky.

Tom Sturridge

A headshot of the actor Tom Sturridge who played William Carlisle in Punk Rock.

Kulvinder Ghir

Kulvinder Ghir, photographed for Comedians at the Lyric Hammersmith.

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Jo and Louise

June 18th, 2010 by Helen

Lest weekend I photographed the Civil partnership of Louise and Jo, in Richmond, London.

Jo and Louise

Jo and Louise

Flowers

The bouquets. The flower arrangements were created by Louise’s sister-in-law Lisa who is a florist, so they looked beautiful.

Applying make-up

I met the couple in their room beforehand. Louise checking Jo’s make-up was perfect.

The Civil Partnership

Louise laughing during the ceremony.

Placing the ring on Louise’s finger

Exchanging rings.

Walking down the aisle

Louise and Jo, about to walk down the aisle to the claps and good wishes of friends and family.

Running

Jo and Louise got married in Richmond Gate Hotel, in Richmond. The hotel has a garden where the reception was held and the couple’s young guests were able to run around to their heart’s content.

Speeches

There were some excellent and heartfelt speeches, including this one by Jo and Louise’s friend Helen.

The reception    Laughter    The reception

The guests enjoying themselves during the reception. Please click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.

Jo and Louise

Jo and Louise

The couple from Richmond Hill

A few moments from Richmond Gate Hotel is Richmond Hill, which is famous for its fantastic views of the Park and the Thames.

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Cheshire Frame

June 17th, 2010 by Helen

This is just a short blog post, but I always like to highlight excellent companies I have worked with. Last week I ordered some frames from Cheshire Frame and to say I was delighted with the service is an understatement. Dave and his team were very quick to respond to my enquiry and helpfully came up with lots of solutions to my questions. The price was the most competitive I received, and the quality of the work was excellent. Furthermore everything was with me within a week of ordering. The frames are for use in a photoshoot, so some time in the future I will be able to show you the finished article. The company are based in Wincham, Northwich, but they will supply to anywhere in the UK.

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Enron

June 11th, 2010 by Helen

I was asked several weeks ago to photograph more production photos for Enron at the Noel Coward theatre. I did my first set for the company back in January, but they had a complete cast change and needed more images.

Enron

On the trading floor of Enron

Paul Chahidi as Andy Fastow

Paul Chahidi has joined the cast to play Andy Fastow.

Sara Stewart

Sara Stewart plays Claudia Roe.

Enron at the Noel Coward Theatre

Enron has lots of stylish choreographed scenes which are brilliant for a photographer to capture.

Corey Johnson

I was particularly impressed with Corey Johnson who plays Jeffrey Skilling

Susannah Fellows     Jeff Skilling     Corey Johnson as Jeffrey Skilling

If you haven’t already, I would thoroughly recommend you go and see Enron - it is brilliant. Even if you have seen it before then you will find lots to enjoy with the new cast. Whilst not yet quite as slick as the old, I really enjoyed the new cast, and many performers brought a new dimension to their roles. The end has also been changed to make it more concise and I really appreciated the alterations. All in all I think it is one of the most original, entertaining and well written shows on in London at the moment.

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Charlotte and Ben

June 4th, 2010 by Helen

Last weekend I photographed the wedding of Charlotte and Ben in Devon.

The bride and groom

Charlotte and Ben

The bride

I started at the bride’s house where I photographed the preparations.

Charlotte

Charlotte travelled to the church in a vintage Bentley. The bride looked beautiful in her gorgeous dress, by the designer Stewart Parvin.

The marriage service

The couple were married at St Margaret’s Church, Stoodleigh.

The bride and groom

Just married! Charlotte and Ben emerge from St Margaret’s Church shortly after their marriage.

‘Can everyone please stand for the bride and groom’

The couple had their reception at Charlotte’s parent’s home. The dinner was held in a marquee in the garden, and everyone stood to cheer as the beaming couple made their entrance.

The best man’s speech

Ben’s brother Nick was the best man, and he gave a very funny speech.

Laughter     The place setting     Enjoying the wedding

Please click on the above thumbnails to see larger images from the speeches.

Magic rings

There was a magician at the reception entertaining the guests.

The first dance

The first dance.

The first dance

Ben and Charlotte.

Chinese lanterns

Ben and Charlotte had 100 Chinese lanterns for their guests to light and release.

Lighting the Chinese lantern

The lanterns are a little tricky to light, but once they have got burning properly the hot air propels the lantern upwards, making a beautiful sight as dozens of lanterns rise up into the night sky.

Lanterns     Chinese lanterns     A guest releasing a Chinese lantern

To see a large image please click on the thumbnail.

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Jamielee McPherson

May 25th, 2010 by Helen

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing the actress Jamielee McPherson.

Jamielee McPherson

Jamielee is based in Glasgow, where she is studying for her BA honours degree, having studied Acting at college for the past two years.

Jamielee McPherson

Jamielee has had a number of roles at college, most notably Imogen in William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, Helena in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, Gwendolyn in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of being Earnest and Abigail in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. She has also starred as Cheryl in BBC Scotland’s River City.

Jamielee McPherson          The actor Jamielee McPherson

To see a larger image please click on the thumbnail above.
To see more of my actor headshots please check out the portrait photography section of my website.

A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky

May 20th, 2010 by Helen

Recently I photographed the production photographs for A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky which is making its debut at the Lyric Hammersmith.

A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky

Lisa Diveney, Tom Mothersdale and Harry McEntire as Philip, the youngest son.

Ann Mitchell, Nigel Cooke and Harry McEntire

Ann Mitchell as the 71 year-old matriarch, Nigel Cooke as William Benton, the oldest brother and Harry McEntire, the youngest brother.

Tanya Moodie

Tanya Moodie gave an excellent performance as Harriet, giving the role a playful edge I really appreciated.

Kirsty Bushell as Nicola

Kirsty Bushell was believably menacing as Nicola

Rupert Simonian and Harry McEntire

Rupert Simonian as Roy with Harry McEntire. This is the third time I have worked with Harry, having also photographed him in Punk Rock and Spring Awakening - he is always great to photograph and I really enjoy watching him as an actor.

Pearce Quigley and Tanya Moodie     Ann Mitchell     Harry McEntire and Lisa Diveney

Please click on the thumbnails above to see a larger image.

‘A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky’ is a new play by David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens, about one family’s experience of the end of the world. The subject matter is dark, it is a thoughtful play, with some fantastic performances - I really enjoyed it. It has received some great reviews and a lot of media coverage and my photos have been in lots of websites and publications including the Financial Times and The Arts Desk.

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