Sarah and Nick's Engagement Shoot

Nick and Sarah wanted to send a fun "hold the date" to all of their friends and family - something a little bit tongue-in-cheek and with a vintage feel. E voila...

LexChef Competition Winner

Carl Williams, Head Chef at Man Group, has been named Lexington’s chef of the year at LexChef 2011.

This was such a fascinating shoot for me; I felt like I was stepping into the scary world of Master Chef. In it's fifth year, Lexington Catering run an annual chef competition open to chefs around the country and not only is there a judging panel, but they have a discerning audience of food lovers as well who get to vote for their favourite dishes.

Click below to see more.

Last Big Get Together before London 2012

From left to right: UK Sport Chief Executive Liz Nicholl OBE, Lord Seb Coe and Chair of UK Sport Baroness Sue Campbell

UK Sport’s 11th World Class Performance Conference got underway at ExCeL London, last night (14 November). The three day Conference was the last opportunity for coaches, practitioners and leaders from Olympic and Paralympic sports to share experiences and best practice ahead of London 2012. Click to see more photos.

BBC2 Life's Too Short

The paperback of Warwick Davis's life is out in the UK - check out my cover and inside cover photography! And DON'T MISS the first episode of his spoof documentary by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on BBC2 tonight (9.30pm). Click to read more.

Welcome to Hollington Towers!

They said it couldn't be done. They told us to get a surveyor. They said we'd pay over the odds. They were (and I say this with MUCH relief)...wrong. Thanks to my dad as foreman and a brilliant team of builders (VDK Building and Construction Ltd), we are now very nearly ready to move. The boxes are packed (well, stuffed to the brim), the date is set for the end of November and I'm about to be carried over the threshold (properly this time, no steps up to a dilapidated first floor flat).

My Week's Album Round-Up

The amount of times a couple says to me, "we thought we'd save some cash by doing our own album". Then, on their first anniversary, I hear back from them, jokingly admitting that they never did get round to doing it. And, in the meantime, their most treasured memories - be it of their wedding, a big family celebration, their kid's birthday bash or an engagement shoot - are all stored somewhere on a hard drive, tucked away and never really looked at. Now - I do understand the temptation. After all, there's a selection of online suppliers and shops offering photo books. Click below to read on, *rant alert* 

My Big Greek-Nigerian Wedding

These two met at Uni and their love, friendship and happiness came together in two beautiful wedding ceremonies (one Catholic, the other Greek), a cozy ride in one of London's vintage routemasters, followed by a spectacular party at Altitude 360 in the Millbank Tower overlooking London in the last of the autumn sun. Here are just some of the highlights - click below to see more.

Family celebration at Goldsborough Hall

Eek, I've been naughty and not updated the blog for ages and I have so much to tell you about! Watch out for a heap of entries over the next few days, starting with this beautiful family celebration at Goldsborough Hall in Yorkshire. Thanks to Catherine and Andrew for having me document it all! Here a little teaser - click below to see more.

Westminster Kingsway Graduation

 

Shooting this graduation ceremony brought back lots of memories - being excited to "get out there", being nervous to "get out there" and being hugely relieved at not tripping up on collecting the scroll. Graduating is such an emotional point in time and I hope to have captured that sense of one chapter ending and another beginning, of student friendships, of the anticipation and excitement, as well as that feeling of pride. Here's to the Culinary Arts and Hospitality students at Westminster Kingsway College as they celebrate another fantastic year of results!

Cook with Kids

Rob Kirby has produced a wonderful book, "Cook with Kids", and I felt really privileged to shoot the launch - click on the photo to see the slideshow. All royalties from the book go to the Children's Hospital School at Great Ormond Street. Do buy a copy here.

Felicity and Brad's Big Day at Chilston Park Hotel

I absolutely loved shooting this beautiful wedding and Felicity and Brad were beaming all day - hard not to capture the love between them. Thank you for letting me document it all! Click on the photo to play the highlights of the day - MUSIC WILL START PLAYING.

Photography: Nina Hollington Photography
Venue: Chilston Park Hotel
Church: St Peter's and St Paul's in Farningham
Dress: Enzoani purchased from Hayley Elizabeth
Hair Stylist: The Wedding Hair Company
Florist: Butterfly Flowers
Cake: Creative Wedding Cakes
DJ: Discologic
Wedding Cars: Cars4Weddings

The Big 3-0

This girl knows how to party. I was really excited when Chizoba asked me to shoot her big 3-0, especially when I heard it was 80s inspired. It was all quite civilized to start with...but once the costumes came out, it was time to party like it was 1985! Click below to see more.

Purple Your People

When learnpurple asked me to create a new series of profiles for their website, I was really excited for two reasons: learnpurple were the first company to give me a photography assignment straight out of Uni and being called back felt like coming full circle. After all, it's the best compliment to be asked back! The second reason was that I like a challenge - I was asked to shoot their profiles outdoors, near the offices in Covent Garden and with a learnpurple "twist". Rather than going for the square which is overrun at best, and being wary of the English weather, I chose Drury Lane and not only is the theater a covered spot but the fantastic pillars came in very handy indeed :-) And note: everyone made an effort to wear something purple - from necklaces to nail polish and from tops to purple ties!

Outward Street Party

Outward organised this street party in Enfield to help create a shared sense of community where local people with learning disabilities are viewed as equal and valued members of the community. People who want to be involved and to have fun – just like everyone else.

They've Got The Love

As soon as I met Amanda and Duncan, I was excited about shooting their big day as I knew they'd be lots of fun and up for anything adventurous (thank you both for climbing into the wild lupine bushes!) Click for more!

Gibson Hall Wedding

 

I still can't believe that the groom only had two lessons on the dancefloor -  Andy and Cherry rocked! Here a little teaser of a great wedding in central London with a courtyard ceremony and sunshine thrown in for good measure. 

Dextro Energy Triathlon

Alistair Brownlee wins the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon in London's Hyde Park. And there was further celebration for the British team as Alistair’s younger brother Jonathan produced a strong finish to collect bronze despite the torrential downpours. The elite races were backed once again by UK Sport who commissioned these pics - enjoy the browse!

Kew Gardens Wedding

A July wedding in Kew Garden - well, need I say more? The backdrop was quite something, but James and Fleur easily out-beamed the floral displays with their excitement and happiness. Here a sneak preview - enjoy!

Come on baby light my fire!

Check out the sneaky preview of Abi and Ben's Dorset wedding! I've done the trip to Dorset many times as my mum-in-law lives that way and it's one of my favourite journeys. The rolling Purbeck Hills, a glimpse of sea and even sunshine made this the perfect summertime wedding. Click to see more.

Through the Looking Glass

It was an absolute pleasure to shoot the employment lawyers at Twenty Twenty Law (metaphorically speaking, of course). As one of the top ranking law firms in the country, the pressure was definitely on. The brief as to create images which would fit their new web design featuring looking glasses. Well, what better chance to use a tilt-shift lens and get creative! I hope you like the results and for more about Twenty-Twenty Law, click here.

The Perfect Day

Full-Time Student Guide

 

It helps that Westminster Kingsway College has such an athletic and photogenic bunch of students! For their full-time guide the brief was London (the college couldn't be more central London) and, of course, a good mixture of photos showing both the study and social aspects of the college. Click below to see what we got up to on Trafalgar Square!

Fashion Shoot

Client Testimonial:
Nina Hollington is a brilliant photographer and I highly recommend her. Nina helped me achieve shots I didn’t think possible given a particularly awkward and sensitive situation and kept completely discrete and professional throughout. Nina came up with some fantastic ideas and used her amazing tech skills to merge two images together, which look seamless. Her ability to remain calm and focused while I was going through the polar opposite made her an asset to the shoot and I was amazed to see the first set of shots in my inbox awaiting approval the very next morning!! A million thanks. XX


Credits
Photography: Nina Hollington Photography
Fashion shoot for: Kate Starkey Couture
Styling: Kim Talbot @ Kate Starkey Couture
Styling Assistant: YoungJoo
Model: Miranda Loy

Bridesmaids Revisited

How could I resist when Bridesmaids the movie is out at the cinema this week! Thanks to beautiful bride Siobhan and her gorgeous best mates for indulging me in this tribute to the Bridesmaids movie poster :-)

The next Jamie Olivers

It was a real privilege to photograph students at the Victoria Centre of Westminster Kingsway College; the first UK culinary school founded a century ago. Famous graduates have included Jamie Oliver amongst others and if you haven't tried it, do visit the Vincent Rooms at Victoria, SW1, where the future award winning chefs are cooking up a storm and serving three-course gourmet meals at a fraction of the price. And you'll be in good company - the day I shot at Westminster Kingsway, How-Clean-Is-Your-House star Aggie MacKenzie was enjoying her meal at the restaurant. Here's a short clip - Enjoy!

Lindsey and Paul's Big Day at Dulwich College

Mesmerised by their auntie and for good reason - Lindsey looked stunning in a vintage Hollywood inspired dress. Her husband-to-be Paul couldn't keep his hands off - click below to see a selection of photos from their big day.

My Photos Make It Across The Pond!!

I'm chomping at the bit - my first book photography has made it to the States as John Wiley & Sons are bringing out an American edition of Size Matters Not; The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis. And it includes new photos on the inside!! Warwick was my childhood hero - I can't recount the number of times I've watched Willow - so meeting him in person was incredible. Even if you've not seen any of his films (and that would surprise me as he's been in Star Wars, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter and Narnia), the story of his life at 3"6' is one big (sorry Warwick!) adventure. CLICK HERE to read about the making of the photos and the British edition of the book. Click below to see Ricky Gervais with Warwick talking about the BBC sitcom inspired by the book:

Sneak Preview of Lindsey and Rob's Big Day

Ever since I saw where Rob and Lindsey were planning their Big Day, I'd been drawn to the rapeseed field next to the venue - never mind the fence, hoards of stinging nettles and stickweeds! We made it (*round of applause for Rob and Linds*) and here are some of the highlights from a day filled with laughter, love, a few tears and much happiness. Here's to a gorgeous couple!

My nephew's first visit to London

This is my nephew, Sammy, ready for his first flight to the Big Smoke. Unfortunately, we're separated by 5hrs of ocean, so I've got to document his growing up as best I can. I have to admit I can rarely put my camera down when he's around for fear of missing the next best moment ever. Sammy now points at cameras and says, "Nina!"

It’s A Nice Day For A… Welsh Wedding!

Nice example of synchronised sheep herding and other highlights from Katie & Tom's Wedding - click below to see more pics!

Designer Portraits

Milliner extraordinaire Judy Bentinck

Last week in my new monthly newsletter, I mentioned that I was off shooting (metaphorically speaking of course) some of the amazing designer makers at the Cockpit Arts in Holborn, London. If you’ve not been to this award winning creative business incubator for designer-makers, do visit and peruse the many amazing hand-made treasures on offer! Their 25-year anniversary is coming up and they have several open days in June. Here are some of the portraits I’d like to share with you!

Get me to the ZOO on time!

Well, this was a bit different – a wedding at London Zoo - at 8am on a Friday! I had to drag myself out of bed at 5.30am to be on time for this very unusual wedding.

It was hosted by Absolute Radio’s Breakfast Show, who’d been running a competition all week to find a couple who were crazy enough to want to get married first thing in the morning - on live radio – and with a million people listening as they exchanged vows.

Shooting Stars

Westminster Kingsway College is an amazing place. With a brand new recording studio, a top chef school, and all powered by Macs I wish I’d had the chance to study there! I haven’t checked out their professional photography department but I’m sure it’s second to none.

Own That Dress!

Now this was right up my street, a vintage wedding shoot in East London. My beautiful model, Lillian Tibihikira, was amazing - she really knows how to make that dress hers!