Welcome to my site. I’m a storytelling portrait photographer working across the headshot, personal branding and family portrait genres.
If you like what you see, please follow me on social media (I have three different instagram accounts - so click on them all!) and sign up for my newsletter for latest news and info.
Thank you!
Networking has never been more important. Plus, meet Rebecca Newenham, chief networker and franchise and business consultant
All that is fine, depending on what you use your profile for. But in today’s online business world, anyone employing you as a professional, is probably going to have a nosey around your online profile, so you want to make sure what they see is how you want to present yourself. Think about these things:
Networking in Surrey; bargain offers of headshot shoots at the London Style Show; Autumn in the city and in the countryside; watching Joy; corporate headshot shoots; Personal Branding
Come along to our next networking meeting on 22 November in Epsom and hear guest speaker Sarah Collins talk on communicating effectively with your audience. Fancy a Christmas lunch with other local entrepreneurs? Join us on 6 December at Caballo in Epsom. Finally, see our list of meetings for next year and plan ahead to join us or even speak at an event.
Autumn Mini Shoots are back; Behind the Scenes of a Personal Branding Photo Shoot with me; attending the world premiere of the new Netflix film Joy
Cate Butler Ross speaks at the Small Business Co-Llab networking event this Friday in Epsom. Come along and meet fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners and hear all about how to draw in your ideal client with expert copy.
Ace your personal brand with top tips from the Small Business Collab Networking Group
I realised what a time-saver and box-tick it is for my clients to have a set list of their go-to images. To know that when they are not feeling inspired to post anything else, they can choose any image from their stock and post it within minutes. What a relief that would be. Staying present, without the pressure!
It’s been a busy few weeks at CHARLOTTE WEBB PHOTOGRAPHY with a variety of corporate headshot photo shoots in London, studio personal branding shoots in Epsom; visiting a family and photographing their day for a Day in the Life photo shoot in Wimbledon; a mini photo session in Nonsuch Park; plus I’ve reached round two of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize!
My mother always says there are things in life that are your way of life for so long. You do them again and again, but you never know when you do that thing for the last time. ‘You think it will go on and on, and then suddenly you realise there was a last time that you did it and the moment has passed.’
It’s a reason I am almost always with my camera. Because you never know when something that is so integrated into your life now, is the last time you will do it.
At least with a photograph, you can hold on to those moments that tiny bit longer.
Small Business Co-Llab
Connect. Collaborate. Build a Community
Friday 10th May, 2024, 9-11a, Caballo Lounge, Epsom
I have started a local networking group – the Small Business Co-Llab. It’s primarily based in Epsom, but we are not exclusive and if you are based elsewhere and can make the journey to us, please consider joining us.
We will meet one Friday morning a month at the Caballo Lounge in Epsom. There will be a chance to meet other people in your shoes and to build a community in your local area.
At the moment, there is no membership and no fee. I really feel the benefit of this is to help each other and to connect, collaborate and build a community, as per the tagline. See what connections you can make; what value you can offer and how you can help your fellow entrepreneurs.
We do have a Facebook group you can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1459019894693104/
And follow us on Instagram at @smallbusinessco_llab
Please come along to our first coffee morning on Friday 10th May, 9-11am, Caballo Lounge, Epsom.
And if you know someone who would be interested, please pass this on.
Thanks so much
Charlie
I began taking photos at nine years old, but I didn’t do a proper qualification in photography until 30 years later! I used photography during my Art A Level; Art Foundation and Fine Art degree, but it was never something I really had a handle on beyond point and shoot and hope for the best. Obviously, all those hours and thousands of images I took taught me lots subconsciously, about composition and interaction and capturing moments, but I felt I was missing out on not really knowing how I was doing it.
So, when I was pregnant with Child No 3, I took a Professional Photography Course and learnt how to use my camera properly. I then spent the next 10 years honing my craft, using my family and children as my target practice.
When I discovered the Portrait Masters Awards in 2020, I thought I would submit to see how I fared. I didn’t expect to get any awarded photographs at all, but I was pleasantly surprised when my images made the grade, meaning my ‘work was of high professional standard’.
When you work in an industry where anyone can set up as a photographer, you can feel a bit of a fraud, so I was pleased to get an endorsement, from such a prestigious academy.
I then decided to work for my Associate so I could become an Accredited Member of the Portrait Masters. They hold awards twice a year and I have rarely missed a round. You can find out more here: https://theportraitsystem.com/awards/
So, 51 Bronzes and 1 Bronze with a Distinction later, I have done it. Sooner than I thought, considering I have never actually shot for the awards. Everything I have submitted has been work I’d already had.
You can see some of my awards on my website here: https://www.charlottewebbphotography.com/awards
What’s next? Well, I’ve got the bug and now I’ll try to up my game and go for my Masters.
So on that note, I’m off to plan my next shoot…
See you,
Charlie
As a new mother, I was completely unprepared. I read every book on pregnancy and what to expect in the first year. But I had to ask a midwife how I would know when a nappy was full (!); and I didn’t realise I was meant to give food at all (so I carried on giving milk alone until my eldest was seven months!). Somehow, though, I cracked that stage and for a couple of years there was contentment.
And then the terrible twos coincided with a new baby that cried round the clock and I found I needed a whole new skill set: negotiation; consequences; diplomacy; mediation; patience; calmness; empathy in adversity; love when grief was raw. How to deal with obstinacy; contrariness; tantrums; mess; constant crying; guilt; exhaustion. How to be a cook; a cleaner; an entertainer; a teacher; a caretaker; a soother, a nurse. All without training; example or help. And no matter that you had just mastered that last stage, a whole new set of skills was required for the next.
16 years in, and the struggle, though less physical, is still just that. And I am just as unprepared for so many of the things that crop up daily in our lives. I do and say the wrong things. I read parenting books constantly, employ techniques, forget them; read parenting books…
Being a mother has been the biggest life lesson and taught me more about myself and how to be a human than anything else. It also taught me how to value my own mother better.
Motherhood is a privilege and a treasure, but it does come with its challenges and hard work.
Which is why I think every mother deserves a little treat sometimes. Whether you have a mother, or are a mother (even to pets), I’m offering a special Mother’s Day 10% off to any purchases. A photo shoot includes hair and make-up and a print credit. And especially for Mother’s Day, I am also adding £50 to my credit. Prices from £540 with £450 print credit.
If you would like to book please quote code MOTHER’S DAY 2024. Please see my website for more details on shoots. www.charlottewebbphotography.com
Offer ends Sunday 10th March 2024 at 11.59pm.
Whether it’s for LinkedIn; Insta; Facebook; TikTok; Pinterest or a book cover, here are four great tips on getting the best headshot photo for your profile picture
While I am doing my daily workout, I often listen to The Social Strategist by Michelle Gifford, a great podcast about social media strategy for business. Today’s listen was her 5-Minute Instagram Growth Strategies (see link at the bottom).
The general gist was that if you want to grow on Insta, then this should be your approach:
· Keep it simple
· Be clear about what you do and who you are – both in your bio and content
· Cut the waffle
But the point that caught my eye (or rather my ear) was her advice on Profile pictures.
Like everything these days, finding the best photographer for you can be a bit of a mission. We suffer from too-much-research-possibility and it can be hard to make a decision. A lot of people don’t know where to start; they may Google ‘photographer’ + ‘area’ but how do you sort the wheat from the chaffe? How do you know that the photographer will deliver the images you want?
A great way to find a photographer is by recommendation. Perhaps you admire someone else’s headshot, website photos or family photographs. Failing that, here are 10 top tips to help you find the right photographer for you:
I find clients fall into one of two categories:
a) They have followed my work and know me. They’ve liked what they have seen and they have waited for the right moment to book me.
b) Clients that have that have an urgent unexpected need for photography. They suddenly need a website shot; a magazine headshot; or they need to find someone last minute to cover a birthday celebration.
Whichever category clients fall in, there are certain pitfalls you should avoid when having a photo shoot, whether you are tight on time or not.
