Coos and Ewes by Hamilton Kerr

Surrounded by three beautiful Angus Glen's, Kirriemuir is the ideal location for our photography base. We have been lucky enough to capture some of the local sheep and cattle in various seasons.  All of these photographs and more are available to order from our studio at 2 High Street, Kirriemuir Angus. With various sizes to suit all budgets.

Ewes in Glen Clova.
These curious girls show how dense their wool is in the blowing wind.

These Rams in Clova are posing perfectly beneath this old tree. 

The herringbone patterns of these curled, spiraled horns are 

amazing.  

3 Highland Cows in Glen Prosen, Angus. You can almost hear the middle one Moo!!

Above:  black and white photograph of these cows at Kinordy Nature Reserve. When you remove the colour from these impressive animals, you are drawn to the texture of their coats. So thick, with great fringes over their faces. This group of cattle will definitely feature in future works. 

Inspired by the great painter Joseph Farquharson, Kyle has created this image as an homage to his great works and studies of sheep. His use of light and tone is absolutely inspiring........

I hope you have enjoyed this insight into some of the Coos and Ewes that we have captured. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to enquire about our work. Thanks.

Christmas Mini Sessions at Hamilton Kerr

We are now offering 2 dates for our special Christmas mini sessions. Come along to our studio for a fun photo shoot. We will capture the festive feel for you to share with family and loved ones. The offer includes your favourite photograph as a digital file. Ideal for Christmas gift ideas. 
Additional files may be purchased at £15 each.

Bring your little ones along in a Christmas jumper or Christmas outfit if you'd like to add to the Christmas theme. We will have accessories available - santa hats, antlers etc..
These mini sessions give you a taster for our quality and service. We also offer our traditional portrait sessions all year round. These are a much longer session with more of a variety to choose from. 

To book your preferred date and time, please call the studio on 01575573052 or email louise@hamiltonkerrstudio.com
You are also welcome to pop in to see us at 2 Kirriemuir High Street. 
There is a £10 non returnable deposit to confirm your shoot. 

Can't wait to see you all soon! 

Hamilton Kerr, much more than just photography.......

At Hamilton Kerr we offer a full range of services. Not only do we have our in house studio for a variety of photography, we also have a gallery displaying a variety of artwork and include many extra in-house services.

Location shoots are also available, for both portraits and commercial use.
We often travel to hair salons to capture the latest trends for various award entries, including the L'Oreal Colour Trophy and Wella Trendvision awards. Many samples of this work can be seen here....
http://www.hamiltonkerrstudio.com/p/hair-beauty.html


We are always on the look out for new artists with interesting works to display. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to be considered for a future exhibition.

We also offer a bespoke framing service. All frames are made to measure to your specific requirements - all at a very competitive price. From original artworks, paintings, photographs to embroidery and much much more. Including breathing fresh air into old pieces by re-framing them in a more modern style to suit your home.

We have an extensive range of photographic experience capturing a variety of people, from models, to commercial portraits to kids and families. Have a look through our website and don't forget to follow us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hamiltonkerr to keep up to date with up and coming offers and events.

Studio: 01575 573 052
Mobile: 07979720502
louise@hamiltonkerrstudio.com
2 High Street
Kiriemuir
Angus

The Black Paintings hosted by Hamilton Kerr

The Black Paintings, by Alan Reid have proved to be anything but dull! With what can only be called a hugely successful opening night, this new collection of oil paintings was very well received and proved to be very sought after.

For many years Alan concentrated mainly on his poetry.  Achieving accolades, including the Arvon International and the National Poetry Awards. It was always a case of either painting or poetry,one tended to cancel out the other.

Recent events however changed the way in which Alan works. Since the passing of his beloved wife Heather, Alan now has found a way to channel his creativity into both his passions. This collection of paintings are coloured by the death of Heather. The images are created from the state of mind, often subconsciously incorporating elements of Kirriemuir.Each and every one is different, and each piece shows a glimmer of light.The choice of colour pallet is very striking, making this exhibition a must see.

Previously Alan has had 5 solo exhibitions in London.  This is the first exhibition of Alan’s work in his home town of Kirriemuir.

The exhibition runs until the 19th June.

Venue: Hamilton Kerr, 2 High Street, Kirriemuir, Angus, DD8 4EY. Tuesday - Saturday 10am-5pm
Contact:  01575573052  louise@hamiltonkerrstudio.com

L'Oreal Colour Trophy Scottish Finalist - photographs by Hamilton Kerr

The L'Oreal Colour Trophy is a prestigious hair competition that is now in it's 60th anniversary year, making it the longest running live hairdressing competition in the world. 

Showcasing British hairdressing, the competition celebrates hair, beauty and fashion in a unique, creative and inspirational way.





We have worked closely with hairdressers, capturing their creativity and skills. A photograph of their work is submitted for the first round of judging. The winners then present a model in a live final catwalk showcase. 

Samples of recent photographic entries are below;

Hair - Louise Chrystal at Capello
Make up - Rae Mathieson

Hair - Toni & Guy Edinburgh

Hair - Toni & Guy Edinburgh

Rae Matheson working her magic on one of the models.













Photoshoots are available in your own salon or in our studio. Please get in touch for further information. 

Property brochure photography by Hamilton Kerr

Selling your property can be a life changing move forward for you and your family. 
All too often property owners are provided with less than adequate photographs of their home. 
At Hamilton Kerr, we offer a property photography service that focuses on achieving high quality images of your property which will be used online and in print to produce high quality magazine style marketing brochures to raise your property’s profile for potential buyers.

If you are selling your property, don't lose potential buyers - have Hamilton Kerr photograph your interior and exteriors. Whether you have a light, bright spacious new build, or a warm cosy traditional home full of character, we will capture it at it's best and provide eye catching images. Professional photographs enhance a property's appeal, leading to increased viewings and ultimately a sale. 

Get in touch for details, follow us on facebook and twitter

Hamilton Kerr Junior

We are delighted to introduce the arrival of our new son - Cairn Hamilton.
We have been off on maternity/paternity leave recently, so apologies for not posting any recent work.
We are now back open and looking forward to sharing lots of new exciting photo-shoots with you throughout the year.

As well as family portraits, we also provide commercial images for the Hair & Beauty industry. Our premises in Kirriemuir, Angus has a selection of landscapes and fine art for sale. Samples of these can be seen on the website.
We also offer a professional framing service. We have a wide selection of frames to choose from, suitable for your own artworks.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Outdoor Portraits by Hamilton Kerr

As the seasons in Scotland are forever changing, it's great to use outdoor locations as a backdrop for portraits. The changing light also provides great opportunities for more creative images.
The Spring presents a beautiful carpet of bluebells, a perfect soft backdrop as seen in these 3 portraits of two young brothers. This was a great location, no too far from our studio in Angus. It was a great afternoon out for the boys and it produced some really sweet photos.

We were recently asked to capture the character of a fun 9 year old girl - Caitlin. Caitlin loves the outdoors and has such character that we knew the studio wouldn't show off her personality to it's best. After a chat about her favorite hobbies and places, she chose her local woodland and her favorite outfit (wellies included!) and we set off on a Summer's afternoon of fun in the trees.
Her Mum Jo came along too - and kindly sent us some behind the scenes snaps from her phone. In these three photos, you can see how we used off camera flash. This helped fill in any dark shadow areas as the sun was quite strong.  This also created side lighting when extra tonal detail in the shadows were needed.

Caitlin and her parents came in to the studio and chose their three favourite photos. We presented them in one frame as a triptych. Below is the finished design.

The recent introduction of Autumn colours makes for a beautiful, rich, red background for this dog portrait. The rusty tones of the Labrador against the foliage makes for a very striking result.

With winter now just around the corner, watch this space for some new shots, possibly even some snow scenes with families wrapped up and rosey cheeked.

For more examples of our portrait work, please visit the galleries on this site, we also have one dedicated just to dogs too!

Landscape photography by Hamilton Kerr

Capturing the scenery of the great outdoors can be a rewarding experience. Landscape photography is an excellent field of study that can be as creative or as simple as your own individual style. The majority of the landscapes here at Hamilton Kerr are by Kyle Hamilton. Kyle grew up on the Angus coast. He frequently visited the beach and coastal villages up and down the Montrose area. He often revisits favorite haunts from his childhood.  I (Louise Kerr) was brought up in Edinburgh, and still find myself drawn to townscapes and more urban landscape images. We are now based in Angus and are fortunate to have gorgeous glens not too far away. We plan to capture these throughout the changing seasons.

This is Kyle, perched on a rock at Loch Lee, Glen Esk, Angus, Scotland. March 2013.







What's in the bag? There are a few essentials in our kit bag when planning a landscape photo-shoot. A tripod is always top of the list. This not only ensures your images are as sharp as possible whilst out in the elements, it also gives you greater options for small apertures and slow shutter speed and ensures you can achieve broad depth of field. A wide angle lens will allow you to capture more of the landscape in one single frame. A polarising filter is great for both skies and water shots. It can make a fairly plain sky really come alive. It is great for both colour and black & white photographs. It also can help with water reflections. A neutral density filter will cut down the amount of light passing through the lens and give you more control if you require a slower shutter speed, essential for slow moving water and more creative images. Other that that, the rest is usually down to the location, weather and lots and lots of patience.

Using the rule of thirds in landscape photography really does elevate your images to a greater level of interest. It encourages you to be more considerate of composition. It makes the eye roam around the image more pleasingly, plus keeps viewers interest longer. Keep this in mind next time you venture out.

This is another behind the scenes shot from a recent shoot at Loch Lee.  You can see there is a dead ram on the right, with the Loch in the background. We came across this unfortunate sight along our walk. Although this was a particularly unusual subject matter, Kyle felt that this captured the true tale of the harsh winter that both the farmers and the livestock have suffered this year.

This is the final image, exactly as it was shot - in one single frame. 

We will post more landscape images throughout the year. We are happy to visit places of interest that are special to you and your family and capture an image especially for you. If you have somewhere in mind, then get in touch. 

Cake Smash Portraits at Hamilton Kerr Studio

        Happy Birthdays, captured forever.

Capturing good photographs of your young ones special birthday can be tricky, especially with other kids, extended family members, friends, and clutter around on the day. Why not take time out either the day before or the day after the big day, and book a 'Cake Smash' photo-shoot with Hamilton Kerr. 

We provide a fun setting with lots of space to get great, natural photos of kids experiencing birthday cake, often for the 1st time. 

The expressions and fun action shots make a fantastic keepsake to treasure of your son or daughter. You bring the cake and we provide the rest, and best of all, you get to leave behind all the mess!

Our package includes a personalised montage of 16 squares. This is professionally mounted and framed, ready to hang. 

Book your little one's birthday Cake Smash now - 01575 573 052  or contact Louise

Follow us on Facebook & Twitter too

Hair Photography by Hamilton Kerr

Photographing hair is a very specialist niche and is a very different approach to photographing models, in terms of lighting, equipment and expertise. We have many years experience in photographing hair, capturing depth of colour, texture, style, shape and theme. Many samples of this can be seen in our Hair & Beauty gallery.

It's now past the glitzy Christmas season rush and hair salons up and down the country are turning their attention to a spring season update of their photographs/marketing images, and in particular -  hair industry awards entries. Photographs are now a key marketing tool for salons.

It is great for long standing clients to see that you are constantly challenging yourself as well as keeping up to date with the rest of the UK, no matter how big or small your salon is. The press exposure generated from these awards is great both locally and nationally. 

Most salons these days have a website, they also have a facebook and twitter page too. Drip feeding your twitter followers with snippets of the behind the scenes shots from your shoot, building up to revealing a fully finished photograph is a great way to keep your followers interested and interacting with you.

 As part of our photography package, we now include extra images specifically designed with this social media marketing in mind.

Salons become a hive of activity getting their moods boards ready, gathering Pinterest ideas, casting models and finalising the details for a photo shoot to show off their creative team skills. There are many industry awards throughout the year, one of the most popular one is the L'Oreal Colour Trophy, established in 1956. This is one of the longest running hair awards in the UK. Salons can compete in both ladies and gents categories, as well as a young colourist awards and the recent afro catwalk addition. You can imagine the fun and the buzz in the salon creating looks to compete in these prestigious awards. We have produced photographic entries for  many salons and have had great success across various categories.

The Wella Trendvision awards are also a very popular choice for many salons. These awards generate themed categories and gather inspiration from around the globe. The 2013 themes are Fusion, Decibel, Echo & Allegra. The idea behind the categories this year was inspired by sound - The Sound of Colour. This is an extract taken from Wella:
"This year, TrendVision 2013 brings together the richness of the audio and visual worlds, igniting a wave of energy to inspire the artist in you, as you interpret the latest seasonal trends in-salon."

The images produced as entries to these awards are also a great update to your salon website.  Not only does it show that your salon is on trend, but hopefully an award winning salon too.  This gives salons an edge over its competitors in this very saturated industry.

There are many other prestigious annual awards too, including the British Hairdressing awards, Goldwell Colour Zoom, Matrix Destination and many more. 

Get in touch to book your 2013 photo-shoot now. Follow us on twitter and facebook too. 

Etched Self Portraits at Hamilton Kerr Studio

We are hosting an exhibition titled “To see oursels as ithers see us"  by local school primary children from the of 25th Jan -1st Feb.

This exhibition of self-portrait etchings by local schoolchildren was inspired by the line from Burns’ poem and made possible by local artist and teacher Maureen Crosbie. 297 children from Northmuir and Southmuir primary schools in Kirriemuir, Angus, took part in this project, creating etchings on acrylic using a dry point technique.

Always keen to turn her work and experiences as an artist into new teaching techniques, Maureen could see the traditional etching process with acids and other chemicals were not possible in a classroom environment. However, the dry-point method using acrylic sheet was one which could be translated easily to work with children as young as seven.

Using the line from “To A Louse” by Robbie Burns to inspire the self-portraits, the children’s work was of such high caliber Maureen decided to ask us at Hamilton Kerr to donate our space to exhibit the etchings.
We are passionate about the portrait medium and have taken photographic portraits of many of the children taking part. We were delighted to be able to host such a great collection of work.

The exhibition runs from 25^th January to 1^st February and the studio is open from 10 am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday.

I hope a few of you can make it along to view these fantastic portraits.

Portrait Photography

Both Kyle and myself (Louise) have had a passion for portraiture for as long as we can remember. Kyle takes an illustrative approach to the way he produces work. Initially Kyle had an attraction for capturing interesting textures. This evolved into using textures as part of a series of creative portraits, combining the human form with naturally decaying textures.

Below is a perfect example of one of his well known pieces called 'Within'. Many more can be seen in our fine art gallery on this site.

Traditionally the portrait and the texture were shot separately on transparency film. The slides were then placed one on top of the other using the sandwiching technique. A cibachrome photograph was then produced with the 2 images printed as one final portrait.

This particular image won overall in the British Institute of Professional Photography International Photographer of the year, in 2001.









The style of portraits that I enjoy capturing are those precious family moments. We are often asked to photograph family members as a surprise gift for a relative. The feedback and reaction to receiving something so sentimental is really rewarding.

Spending time with families and capturing family portraits, especially of young children, is an area of photography that I especially enjoy.  It is lovely to see families returning for future shoots as their little ones grow up and new additions arrive. 

Now and again we get the opportunity to capture more creative baby portraits. This cute little line up was a group of 9 new Mum's who were all close friends. The studio was pretty crazy that day! 

We offer our portrait services from newborn babies right through to the great grandparent generation. For more information about booking a portrait with Hamilton Kerr call us on 01575 573 052 or leave us a message below.

Follow this blog for special offers and up to date information on all our other services.

1920's Style Photograph

We were asked recently to produce an image with a very different kind of feel. The brief was for a 1920's style, with an up to date, fresh feel. The hairstylist producing the hair and headpiece was Louise Chrystal. She layered up the floral head pieces and created a shape similar to that of a traditional synchronised swimming cap, typical of the era we were aiming for. The different size and texture of the hair pieces added great shape and tonal value to the over all feel. We initially began setting up the studio as you would for a standard white background shoot.

Red gels were added on either side of the back lights. Initially these created a deep red, not what we were looking for, but it made for a funny test shot - this is Kyle at his best!

After a few tweaks we matched the tone nicely with the models skin tone and generated a lovely peachy/pink tone. The background could have been dropped in later in post production, but when working on a shoot like this, we aim to get the photographs as close to the brief as possible in camera.

Traditionally, make-up of this era was quite heavy and chalky. We asked the Make Up Artist Margaret-Anne to use an old English rose colour palette but with a fresher dewy finish instead. The rose pink cheeks and pale undertones work really well with the over all style of the image. Everything came together nicely.
I converted the file and only did a very small amount of post production. Whilst initially we were happy with the way the image was shot in camera, when I had processed it, I thought that perhaps it would look better desaturated to produce a more vintage tone.

The Saturated Image

This is the original photograph as it was shot to let you see the lighting techniques and the balance between the  background and the model.

The Final Image

If you would like to book your next shoot with us, please get in touch and follow this blog for up to date information and more creative photography blogs.

Red Squirrel Playing Peek-a-Boo!

We are lucky enough to live at the foot of the Cairngorm mountain range in Kirriemuir. Kirriemuir is known locally as the gateway to the glens.  As well as the lovely hills and glens we have gorgeous woodlands full of wildlife, including these furry friends:

Whilst in the woods on Saturday, I managed to capture a funny video - here is the link in blue:  video of a squirrel playing Peek-a-boo with me. It was amazing how close it came and how inquisitive it was.
Have a look for yourself, it's so funny. It was taken on my mobile phone so the quality isn't perfect but it came so close to me that the camera and tripod with 300mm lens was far too over the top!

This photograph on the left was shot (I mean photographed - no squirrels were harmed in the making of this blog!) in the low evening sun back in March 2012. I frequently walk the dog through Caddam Woods and I am delighted to say that the red squirrel population is definitely thriving in this area.

My favourite squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) fact: They are mainly solitary creatures but when the temperature drops they can often be found in relatives dreys/dens huddling together and having sleepovers to keep warm.

If you would like to find out more information about the conservation of these animals and what you can do to get involved, please check out the Scottish Wildlife Trust or Saving Scotlands Red Squirrels.

As many of you will know, my other passion for photography is capturing red heads of a different kind - Hair photography. Have a look through our various galleries and please follow our blog for more squirrel activity updates, photography tips and recent projects.

Hairdressing Photography with Louise Chrystal

The first time Louise Chrystal and I worked together was years ago, on a shoot for a make up artist. Louise was styling the hair to compliment the make up looks. I instantly saw that she had an eye for what would and wouldn't work in camera. Since then we have kept in touch and finally we got the opportunity to plan a shoot.

Louise currently works freelance and was looking to produce some new images to use as promotional material to show a more creative side of her work. When we asked about the planning behind her shoot, she told us she was looking for photographers who specialise in hair photography, rather than general photographers who 'give it a go' with little knowledge of the hair industry or how to create a professional hair photograph.

Knowing that Louise had an early passion for architecture, I expected nothing less than a structured avant garde look. She delivered exactly that, and produced fantastic looking hair that I couldn't wait to wrap my lights around. This particular look was inspired by retro 80's pop culture with a contemporary up to date feel. The make up (by Margaret-Anne McKay) complimented this look perfectly with this seasons metallic hues.

Although the model has dark hair, we decided to photograph her against a dark charcoal background. Having worked with many hair models over the years, we know that lighter tones of backgrounds can wash out depth of colour within hair and can dull down highlights.

The model was shot against a charcoal wall in our studio. We placed a background light on the wall down low, creating a gradient effect from light to dark, we then used a blue gel over the top to tone the wall with a blue tint. We placed a snoot in from the left hand side of the shot. A blue gel was used on the snoot to create a highlight down the neck of the model, and to throw some blue highlights into the hair itself. This again, was to add to the 80's pop feel - the technique was used a lot in old school music videos as well as stills. A second snoot was positioned in from the right hand side to give the band of shine around the hair. These concentrated lighting techniques show off the over all structure of the hair style, and define the face from the background. The warmth from Nicole's natural skin tone was toned down in post production as a cooler skin tone worked better with the cold blue lighting effects.

Let us know what you think and please feel free to share it, using the share buttons below

If you would like to book your next hair shoot with us, please get in touch and follow this blog for up to date information and more creative photography blogs.

Photographers in Kirriemuir

Hamilton Kerr Studio is an award winning photography studio owned by Kyle Hamilton and Louise Kerr, based in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. We specialise in Scottish landscape photography, fashion photography, creative portrait photography, pet and family photos.

We have been working from Kirriemuir since 2009 when we took a dilapidated, listed building in the high street and turned it from a disused hardware store (thanks B&Q!) into a beautiful gallery and studio (and our wonderful flat up above!)

We are going to use this blog to keep our customers and "likers" updated of our day to day work and new photoshoots. You can contact Kyle and Louise if you want further info or to book a shoot or drop by our studio for a free sitting.

Wella Trend Vision

We have extensive knowledge of the processes required in all of the yearly hair competitions - Wella, L'Oreal etc because we have shot for winners and runners up for over 10 years.

Even if you are not going to be hitting the heights of the London Finals this year, consider updating your Salon's portfolio and corporate image to help bring in young, new clients to your salon.

All photography and imaging is done in-house in our state of the art studio and central gallery or at one of Angus' beautiful nearby locations.

First Post

First Post Baby!!

Welcome to our new blog. This is the place we will share our new fine-art work, upcoming hair shoots, new photos and maybe even reviews of the latest photographic equipment (or anything else that takes our fancy!).  You'll find some of our previous work on our F@*ebook page but if you want the latest images (including a recently finished shoot with Louise Chrystal subscribe to this blog and share, share, share!!