A Boudoir Treat for June Brides

Getting married means having the time of your life because your wedding day should be a dream come true – the build-up to the greatest day of your lives where the focus is entirely on you and your fiancée!  Every girl imagines the day their Prince Charming goes down on bended knee (well they don’t ALL do that!) and says those four special words “Will You Marry Me” (or similar!)  Once you’ve uttered the words “YES” and perhaps a few others thrown in for good measure, that’s it – the deed is done and there begins a rollercoaster journey until you finally reach the church (or registry office, synagogue, you name it!) and say those age old words “I do”.

What happens in between is a flurry of activity around your pending nuptials.  The engagement party not to mention the bling ring, invitations, outfits, venues, flowers, bridesmaids, page boys, maid of honour…take a breath!  AND the all-important DRESS!  Then there’s the make-up, hair-do, hair accessories, even your underwear to think of…and you have to make sure that your husband to be scrubs up perfectly.  What with all of the organising, a hen night, stag night for him (not for you to deal with but no doubt you’re trying to unearth all the gory details) and a well-deserved honeymoon – you need to take a break too!

A wedding is all about the Bride and Groom and often there can be stresses and strains leading up to the big day.  You could treat yourself to some pampering, a massage to remove the tension, a facial to brighten up your skin in preparation – a new haircut and some nail TLC but how about really thinking outside the box and give yourself something you’ll NEVER forget and at the same time something super special for your husband to be.

What are we talking about?  How about Bridal Boudoir photography!  It will really bring out the best in you – build on body confidence and capture you looking utterly breath-taking during this incredible time.  Fresh Academy, famous for fashion make-overs, Miss England judging and modelling portfolios has a sensational package for brides to be.  Our Boudoir photography is sensual, tasteful and sophisticated.  We promise you a completely private photographic session with a female photographer in our outstanding studios.  Bring your chosen bridal lingerie with, after all, your dress will have hundreds of photographs; why not get some in your lingerie?  Maybe you’re the maid of honour and you’re reading this post, this makes a thoughtful Hen bridal gift too, and you could treat yourself to a session with your best friend, the bride, a good idea for some pre-wedding pampering fun.

We have some incredible sets to compliment your session including a vintage style dressing table, an opulent bed complete with cushions and throws, old-fashioned gilt chairs, a chaise lounge, various accessories and props all available for you to choose from.  We also have exceptional make-up artists and hairdressers to make you look and feel super sexy and our female photographers will help you pose to make the most of your beauty and show off your body in a tasteful way without being too provocative.  After your Bridal Boudoir session you will be able to view your photographs on our cinema style big screen and see just how stunning you are – it’s here where you can select your favourite images and we will make sure that your chosen pictures are wrapped beautifully in a presentation box complete with tissue paper and ribbon for your husband to be (or for yourself!)

So – put the icing on the (wedding) cake and book in for your Bridal Boudoir photo shoot by calling FreshAcademy on 01923 212 673, speak to Hollie and she’ll explain everything, we guarantee you’ll have an amazing session plus for all blog readers we will give away a Boudoir Photography Session ABSOLUTELY free – worth £150.

Fresh off the press! Model of the Month April 2012 EMMA LAMB

This month we are delighted to have Visual Merchandiser Emma Lamb as our Model of the Month.  We did it differently this time and asked our Facebook followers https://www.facebook.com/freshwatford who they wanted to be the winner and they chose from three of our most stunning girls from the month. Emma came out on top and we've sent her a £25 gift voucher to spend at Fresh Academy.


Emma came into Fresh Academy for her portfolio shots for Face of the Hair Group, here are a few of her photographs and in fact will find out in a few weeks if she is a finalist for this exciting competition. She tells us that she loved updating her portfolio with Fresh and found it fun and fulfilling! Emma has also been a finalist in Miss Black Country back in 2009 http://www.missengland.info/regionals/blackcountry, so she's well versed in modelling competitions.

We caught up with Emma at Fresh Academy and had a great chat.  Emma is also a part time model and has been doing this for 6 years.  Originally from Stourbridge in the West Midlands she moved to Leeds in January of this year.  Emma loves all things art, music and creative and enjoys painting - as another string to her bow, she illustrates too, on a freelance basis.


Emma's attended pageants and competitions including Miss England, Miss Great Britain and High Street Honeys.  All of these competitions have added to her knowledge of working in the industry.  Emma tells us she has been lucky enough to meet so many amazing people on all the projects she has been privileged to work on.  To date, she has modelled in music videos, on location for a swimwear brand, marketing projects for a furniture brand and she's modelled for FHM magazine.  These are just a few of her many modelling appearances.  Emma tells her that her role models are Brigette Bardot and Tyra Banks.  Recently, she had a very interesting offer and was                approached to be a Playboy Bunny at The Venetian Macao Resort!

So Emma has a lot going on and we think she's terrific.  We wish her loads of luck in the future and we know she's going to go far.

Inviting you to the Fresh Prom!

Can you believe that it’s nearly Prom time again, and we are sure that you have been busy preparing yourself for the extra special night.  It could be that you’ve spent months searching out the perfect eye-catching dress, whether it be a safe but stylish LBD or a full on evening dress, strapless or with diamante detail, lacy sleeves or sleeveless, perhaps a skirt with a sophisticated slit up one side or a big, dreamy dress…or maybe you’re keeping it simple, short and chic.  Whatever you’re wearing we know you’ve spent plenty of time getting it absolutely right!  You may have spent weeks looking for the perfect pair of gold and crystal drop earrings, to compliment the colour of your skin or a simple and classic pendant to show off the scooped neckline of your dress.  Perhaps you’ve been to every shoe shop in your area looking for a pair of heels Victoria Beckham would die for!  Of course, you’ve searched high and low for the cutest handbag and maybe even had it dyed to match your dress, we have no doubt that you have gone all out to make sure you look 100% drop dead gorgeous for your big night.

The preparation has been done and now you’re nearly ready to go, how about going the extra mile and letting us take some memorable photographs of you in your Prom outfit that you will keep forever?  Not only will we give you a full professional photo-shoot at our Watford Studios, we’ll give you a fashion make-over with our expert in-house make-up artists and we’ll also have our hairdressers style your hair so you can get a helping hand in making sure you look P E R F E C T.  You could gain some great insider tips too! By having your complete outfit with you, our make-up artists will select the right colours to compliment your dress, your skin colouring and create look you want, from Hollywood Glamour to fashion icon, we can help you become whatever you want.  Our hair stylists will make sure your hair is in keeping with your dress and look – so if it’s a halter neck style, we’d sweep your hair up into a chignon or style it so that you can see the dress detail, we’ll even finish it off with your choice of hair accessory.

You’ll be able to choose from over 30 purpose built sets in our 8,000 square foot studios, and we’ve an abundance of props and accessories to really perfect your chosen Prom theme.

After your photo-shoot, you can view the images on our cinema style screen and choose the images you want to purchase.  You will then have something to remember your Prom day forever, and you will also have all the insider info on how to make sure you look a billion dollars on the night with the pictures to prove it.

As a special gift to you and to make your Prom extra-special we've put together a Prom Offer for May - check back on Facebook from the beginning of the month to see how you can be a spectacular Prom queen at our Studios.

FRESH ACADEMY - CORPORATE PHOTOGRAPHY

Have you heard the expression presentation is everything?  We love that saying here at Fresh Academy, which is why we’re the popular destination for fashion photography and make-overs.  However, there’s another side to us.  Our specialist corporate division concentrates on bringing your business to the forefront.  We believe (and we’re sure you agree) the face of your business is paramount – after all it’s what your customers see so it has to be absolutely perfect. 

We’ve noticed that often, people cut corners with today’s tighter budgets so sometimes the things that suffer are what you may think as the nice little extras but these can actually make or break a deal.  Every business has to look good, whether it’s through the literature that goes to clients to introduce the company, or maybe it’s a website that could be overlooked because there are many others which are so much sleeker?  Take a look at the business cards that you give out, are they dull, a bit tired or lacklustre?  Your letter heads or perhaps the brochure which showcases your company, is it glossy and smart or is it boring and old-fashioned?  It could be photography in your shop display that needs updating.  Whatever it is, it has to stand out from the crowd and make your business look as professional and slick as possible.

Our highly credible corporate division focuses on making other people’s businesses look not just good, but superb.  The businesses we work with are anything from banking to restaurants, event organisers to retailers, online businesses to sole traders.  What we’ve found is that every business, no matter what it does, spectacular corporate photography gives the right impression and takes a company ahead of others.

We specialise in all different genres of corporate photography.  As we already photograph people, we see ourselves as top of our field in this area however, we also photograph buildings, interiors, events, still life and we can even do food!  No product is too complicated, no project too complex.  We are professionals and using a camera comes naturally to our expert photographers.  We’re delighted to travel on location, use your own offices or we can photograph in our 8000sq foot state of the art studio in Watford – where we have plenty of scope with our purpose built sets and abundance of props and accessories.  Our photography is used for advertising, marketing materials, public relations, websites, literature and so much more. 

As far as budget goes – why not call us for a no obligation quotation?  You may be pleasantly surprised at what we have to offer!

Fresh Academy, 01923 212 673

Our Model of the Month for February...

Introducing stunning Hayley Griffin, who we've selected as our Model of the Month. We're sure you will agree Hayley is a beautiful girl and having recently left university, she is also a very bright lady. Hayley comes from Hemel Hempstead (just up the road from our Fresh Academy Studio in Watford). Hayley was an entrant for Miss England and reached the finals of Miss Hertfordshire recently.

We wish her lots of luck from all of us at the Fresh Academy!

The Fresh Studio Sets, making your picture perfect

Have you been into the Fresh Academy Studios in Watford lately? Why not come and visit us to see our ever growing and spectacular photographic sets!  We’ve got over 30 purpose built sets (yes we said over 30!) for you to choose from.  Not only that, our studio boasts 8000 square footage of incredible lighting, scenes, backdrops, and furniture…and we’re fully air conditioned so even on the hottest days of the year you can keep cool and refreshed.

You will have the time of your life choosing which sets you want to use for your photo shoot and then you’ll have even more fun selecting those finishing touches and accessories to go with your chosen theme.  We’ve got a vast selection of furniture and furnishings, drapes, curtains, wall coverings not to mention props and accessories.  What does this all mean to you?  Well, you get exactly the look you want.  You already know that we’ve got resident make-up artists and hair dressers to create your look, but it really doesn’t end there.  Once you step foot into the studio you can go to town with our collection, there’s so much to choose from.  We’ll obviously be on hand to help you with your decision making but we want you to have what you want so we’ll take the lead from you.

It could be a catwalk shot you’re looking for?  Or the good old outdoors (photographed indoors!) maybe you’ve fancied posing with a car…or on the dance floor?  Something sultry?  Try our beautiful bedroom scene and Boudoir furnishings. For the rock chicks we have some funky chains and even a swinging chair.  There’s so much choice we know you’ll get exactly the look that you want and this is your chance to indulge yourself in whatever scene you like, from sophisticated to glamorous to chic, smart or casual.  We really do have something for everyone.

We’ve posted some photographs of our collection for you to see but when you come in, you’ll get to sample all of these pieces yourself.  How about a photograph at our vintage style dressing table?  This is part of our Boudoir collection, with opulent furnishings such as our antique look chair and plush bed complete with plump cushions.  Talking about chairs, we’ve got tall bar stools, outdoor style seating, a chaise lounge and futuristic cubes you can pose on (or in!)  If you want a night time look then we even have a black backdrop complete with twinkling starry lights…Have a look at our photographs for a taste of what the studio has to offer and we hope to see you soon for your Fresh Academy photo shoot.

Give your Mother a brand new and FRESH gift

READ OUR MOTHER'S DAY BLOG FOR DETAILS ABOUT A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU AND YOUR MUM!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, as if you didn’t already know but really, what is a great gift for Mum?  It’s a chance to show our Mum’s just how much we love and appreciate them so it’s got to be first class!

For one day, Mum can relax and take it easy while we do all the work (those are the rules!) so she surely deserves something memorable. If, like us, your Mum doesn’t really put her feet up and have a good rest, then as far as what type of gift, well, that’s easy enough it has to be thoroughly indulgent.  Now, we know that there are so many different gift ideas out there but for something really original and truly pampering where do you look?  It’s definitely challenging finding the right something to show how much we all treasure our Mums.

Fresh has been thinking about special gifts and we’ve spent some time designing something personal.  We’ve now got what we think is a winning gift, it promises a pampering treat for Mum and also, daughter. 

We want to give all Mum’s and Daughters a terrific day out at our state of the art photography Studio.  We’ll give both of you a professional make-over which includes make-up and hair styling and then a fun-filled session in our Studio which you’ll have all to yourselves.  At the end of the session there’s also a chance to look through the result where your images will be displayed on a cinema style screen.  What’s more, this gift will cost you nothing.  It’s our present to you and your Mum, worth £150. We promise you will have so much fun in our Studio.  We also guarantee that you and 

Mum will look gorgeous as we have the artistic expertise to make sure we capture both of you at your very best.

Our Fresh Academy Studio in Watford boasts an incredible 8000 square footage with 30 purpose built sets and a treasure trove of props and accessories so you can have a photo shoot on a disco floor, or in a car, on a bed or catwalk style.  The photo shoot viewing is where you can select your favourite images and maybe treat Mum to some fabulous photographs of the two of you.  We will then take you through all the different product options, from desk prints to wall hangings, even contemporary styled albums and portfolios.  Each one in itself makes a wonderful present and an image is giving the gift of forever because our photographs will last a lifetime.

Call us today to book in and make sure that your Mum gets something spectacular to celebrate Mother’s Day 01923 212 673 quote FRESHMUM.  What are you waiting for?