Since starting my photography career in 2009 with a Nikon D60, I’ve mostly worked with digital cameras. Yet, the timeless appeal of 35mm film photography has always intrigued me. Although I own several film cameras—Nikon Fm2, Pentax K1000, and Yashica Electro 35—I had never used them for portrait sessions. Recently, I had the chance to explore film photography during a portrait session, thanks to my friend Liam, who lent me his beloved Canon AE-1, a favorite among enthusiasts. Liam, who is also a wedding photographer, planned to process the film from this shoot.

For this session, we chose Kodak Portra 400 film, known for its fine grain and vibrant colors. Unfortunately, the excitement quickly turned to disappointment when the developed scans revealed that most images were unusable. It appeared that a lens issue and chemical processing errors compromised the film.

Fortunately, not all was lost. Along with the film attempts, I captured several portraits using my Leica M, a digital rangefinder. These digital images thankfully preserved our session, allowing me to share results with friends who volunteered for the shoot. Below are some highlights captured with a Leica M240 and a 50mm Summilux lens

The shoot took place in the serene Castle Gardens in Leicestershire, with Liam Bowler assisting me . It was a learning experience that reminded us of both the unpredictability and the unique charm of film photography.

For more insights into my portrait work or to explore my portfolio, please visit my Portrait Photography page. I offer a range of portrait packages tailored to various needs, each designed to capture timeless memories.

Stay tuned for more updates from my upcoming ventures into the world of film photography!

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Who? : Disha & Michael

What? : Couple Portraits

Where? : Coventry Cathedral

When? : October 2018

Photographing couples and their love for each other in a shoot is one of my favourite things to do as photographers. Here is a great session of portrait photography with the lovely couple Disha & Michael.

For those currently engaged, an engagement shoot is a beautiful way to celebrate becoming engaged to the one you love, you will have beautiful photos to share with family and friends, and for many couples – these can be useful for Save-the-Dates! Whether you’re looking at a solo engagement session or my wedding packages with one included, you will love the photos we create together!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to keep up with my latest work HERE.

You can check out another city couple shoot HERE.

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A lovely session from the Montjuïc Cacti Park in Barcelona with Sergi & Carolina. I am not a fan of big cities, but there is one exception which is Barcelona. I photographed many couple sessions around the Midlands Coventry, Leicester, Birmingham etc. but there is always something special about Barcelona. Having done, plenty of beach and city shoots here I was looking for an unusual location for this session.

A friend of mine recommended me to take a look at Montjuic Cacti park. I was impressed straight away. Hidden in the mountains of Barcelona and with Views overlooking the Barcelona harbour, this location is a gem! But finding the way to the park was a mission using google maps. After a little getting lost and some help from the locals, I got there eventually. I must admit climbing to the exact location of the cactus area is also a good cardio workout! Fantastic place for photos and well worth the effort!

I forgot to mention this place was full of mosquitos, and they liked my blood too much!! Overall a great session with the lovely couple Sergi & Carolina.

You can check out my engagement portfolio HERE and you can check out another Couple shoot from Spain HERE.

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Here is a photo shoot with the lovely couple John & Li at the Barnsdale Hall Hotel and the surrounding areas of Rutland water.

John is originally from Leicester and Li from China. And with their traditional Nikah being in China a few weeks later. I’ve had the opportunity to document their love in the beautiful Barsdale hotel which offers spectacular views over Rutland Water.

Firstly starting with some portraits inside the hotel, we then walked closer to the lake. As the sun was setting, It was an excellent opportunity to infuse some artistic sun flare into the pictures. Indeed, you can see I was happy with the results from the image at the top of the page.

Below are a few examples from this shoot.

Check out my Engagement page for more information on pre-wedding shoots in Leicestershire.

You can check out another Engagement shoot HERE.

The post John & Li | Couple Photoshoot Rutland Water appeared first on Ashok Suren Photography.

So, Last week I had the joy of photographing Kristine and her daughter Jana in an outdoor shoot. A mother-daughter photo shoot is something that I haven’t done before, but when Kristine approached me with the idea and after showing me some sample photos, I was wondering why it took me so long to do a shoot like this? On the other hand, Working with children can also be tricky, but I was up for the challenge.

I usually work mostly in the natural environment rather than the traditional white background studio setup. I also love working with natural light especially just before sunset, when the light is perfect.

So, after finding a beautiful field in Leicestershire with a very friendly farmer who didn’t mind us being there. We had a great session, and I am so happy they could get these photos done together!

I hope you Enjoy browsing through these photos – Ashok 

Gear: Sony A7 + 55mm + 85mm

The post Kristine & Jana | Family photoshoot Leicester appeared first on Ashok Suren Photography.

Location: Central London, China town, Tower Bridge, Leicester Square
Gear: Leica M + 50mm

Documenting one’s milestones in life is necessary because it gives a chance to appreciate the accomplishments we share. In this case, the photo shoot was about the first wedding anniversary of two great people and friends. It was fun to have been there to document the first-anniversary photoshoot of Efra and Damaris.

THE STORY

It is a story of two Spaniards who met and fell in love in London. So, you can see why the city is of particular importance to them. Before leaving home, the couple took the time to plan their first anniversary. So they got in touch to schedule the photo shoot. Efra and Damaris had some locations in mind: Leicester Square, China town, Tower Bridge, Piccadilly square- the places they visited together at the start of their friendship.

THE SHOOT

As with all my shoots, I try to capture the special moments with my clients without distractions and with the best light available. You can guess why this was going to be a challenging shoot in central London because of the crowds of people, mostly tourists around the famous London attractions. Although a faster camera would have done the job nicely, my Leica M was the camera of choice for most of this shoot. Instead of shooting fast the Leica allows me to slow down and carefully compose every shot.

The three of us spent several hours going around the centre of London, from one metro station to the other, trying to recreate some of the magic Efra and Damaris experienced some time ago. To make sure they will never forget some of the best moments they share. When the evening fell, we even managed to get some cool night portraits.

Check out their pre-wedding shoot in Spain HERE.

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Photography and making portraits is fun and Shooting it away from Leicester in a beautiful place like Lulworth Cove or Durdle Door is even better! So, I’d like to share with you a pre-wedding shoot from one of my favourite couples of 2017 Dimuthu & Kumudi. A lovely Sri Lankan couple who are now living in the U.K. but these locations didn’t feel like we were in the U.K! I had no idea we had places like this in England, I can’t wait to go back again.

The day before the shoot, I’ve travelled to Durdle Door and stayed there in a hotel so I can get up early morning for a sunrise shoot. Overall, it was a lovely morning in every sense. We walked so much that I was in aches the next day. I will get around to blogging their two-day wedding soon, hope you enjoy –  Ashok.

Remember to follow me on Instagram to keep up with my latest work HERE.

UPDATE: Link to Dimuthu and Kumudi’s wedding can be found HERE.

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Hello, I like to share one of my portrait photography collaborations. Earlier this week on a cold morning In Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire. I’ve had the opportunity to work on a portrait Session with the talented Singer Lexie. From a photographic point of view, I was happy to wake up super early to catch the golden rays but have to credit Lexie’s dedication, her easy-going nature and for braving the cold so we can get pictures we wanted.

Gear Used: Sony A7 + Leica 50mm Summilux.

Remember to follow me on Instagram to keep up with my latest work HERE.

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