About Us: Bubbaloo Photography

The FamilyBUBBALOO Photography is run by enthusiastic husband and wife team, Gary and Hermoine Oakley. The photography studio is based at their home in Worsley which enables mum of one (soon to be two) Hermoine to join forces with Gary and get fully involved with their growing business without comprising home life.

Both Gary and Hermoine studied at Salford University where they both gained creative degrees, Gary in Photography and Hermoine in Fashion, styling and image making.

Kids Confidential talks to the couple about their flourishing business.

 
How was Bubbaloo Photography born?
HO: When Gabriel was born, we naturally took lots of photos of him. Friends who saw the photos, liked them so much they asked us if we could take pictures of their children too.

This went on for a while until one day, out of the blue, a lady from London, who we'd never met before but who'd seen and liked our work, asked if we could do a photo shoot of her children and offered to pay for it.

From that moment on, we realised just how popular our work was and that's what spurred us on to take it more seriously and start up the business.

GO: We then started up a Facebook page and blog and momentum started to grow even more. The more customers we had the larger our portfolio grew. In 2010 we were able to create our website to showcase our achievements and our vision. It's snowballed ever since.

 
What makes your work standout?
HO: We put our unique style into every photograph. We like our subjects to be relaxed and informal. I use lots of different coloured backgrounds and textures and try to keep the look fresh and in keeping with the client’s expectations.

I also use props like baskets and wooden crates, blankets, headbands, hats and I'm totally happy to source props at a client’s request. In fact, I'm constantly buying new things to add to my ever increasing props shelf. It keeps it interesting and up-to -date.

 
How do you achieve the results for your clients?
 HO: We spend a lot of time with customers. Even before we've met them there will be many emails going back of forth, asking them questions about what they want, the styling, if they have any special requirements from us.

Some peoples requests are simple; they've seen images we've done for other customers and want theirs to be similar. Others are more complex and exacting, it totally varies.

GO: There are many photography studios that take photos of families and children but what we try to do is to make our shoots a relaxed and enjoyable experience giving the client more control whilst we achieve the brief.

 
The quote 'never work with animals and children' springs to mind. With this sentiment, how do you achieve your brief?
GO: Photography studios can be daunting to anyone, especially children, so working from a home studio really helps to eliminate any fears or nerves. We try to make everyone feel at ease; kids can play with toys, watch a DVD, whatever it takes really.

 
Who do you market your business too?
GO: We work on family portraits - which are usually in a chosen location somewhere, maternity photos, newborn babies and children of all ages, there’s no restriction on age.

HO: We are always thinking of new and creative ways to capture that perfect image. Other studios tend to offer a half hour slot but we spend up to three hours with clients getting the look we want. We've had people who have come in to have photos of the children and ended up having pictures taken with them too. There are no stringent rules.

GO: Every photo shoot is different as is every child we photograph. Its capturing that personality that’s important. We find that the extra time we take to achieve this pays off.

 
And what do you hope for the future of Bubbaloo?
HO: I want to move in the direction of full styling, having a large wardrobe, as well as my props shelf, available for clients to use as and when. I love to help by making style suggestions and ideas, things that the client may not have thought of before.

GO: We've already worked alongside a number of boutiques like online children’s store Baba and Boo, which we really enjoyed. It gives us the chance to be really creative so we'd like to do more of that.

HO: We regard ourselves very lucky to be doing what we enjoy and are so passionate about as a career. We work extremely well together and both of us bring different skills and experiences to the business. It's so satisfying to be able to help capture a child or families’ special moments on camera.

 
For more information about Bubbaloo Photography visit their website here.  You can also find them on facebook here.