A Day In The Life - Flemyng Design Photography

Whilst my own creative space has now been packed up in preparation for moving I am sure many of you are very busy in yours, especially as the creative world starts preparing for Christmas. I am excited about this weeks A Day in the Life as I am a keen amateur photographer. This week Katie from Flemyng Design Photography is going to share a day in her life. I will now pass you over to Katie -


Flemyng Design Photography – Katie Holland

Q.How did you get started in photography?

A. My Dad has always been a photographer, so I have dabbled in it for most of my life... mostly with rubbish cameras! A couple of years ago after investing in desktop publishing software (Adobe InDesign) I decided I would produce my own Christmas cards rather than buying them... I made a template I liked and discovered I could adapt it for other subjects. Since then I haven’t bought a single greetings card, but prefer instead to tailor them to the recipient’s interests and tastes.

I managed to sell some of the cards I made at events, and set up a website. Unfortunately this was a non-starter, and I had no takers... so the cards went on the back burner. Earlier in 2010 I decided my little point and shoot digital camera wasn’t really doing what I wanted it to, so I treated myself to a ‘proper’ camera – a Panasonic Lumix G1 DSLR and some macro lenses.


Suddenly I was able to do what I had always wanted to, and never could because I could never get close enough in... photograph flowers intimately and show off their beautiful secrets. Serendipitously I had noticed a growing trend for the writers of some of the blogs I read to make their photos look vintage through the use of filters... and I decided to have a go. From this Flemyng Design photography was born. I discovered that an otherwise fairly ordinary subject (albeit properly composed and cropped) could be transformed with a ‘through the viewfinder’ (TTV) layer which changed the character giving a contemporary image that has a nostalgic twist. I started off on Folksy, but found it very hard to drive traffic there and felt the publishing of the number of sales was off-putting to potential customers as it looked like I was untested. So I decided to develop my own site, which shows the images off to their best advantage and that has been much more successful.

Q. What is a typical creative day for you?

A. As a photographer I don’t tend to have a typical day because it all depends on where I happen to be and the weather conditions. A lot of my photographs are taken locally in my home county of Nottinghamshire... and the seasons are always on the move in terms of flowers, wild or cultivated. Many are taken on trips out or holidays... such as the ‘Of Sea and Shore’ collection which was taken whilst I was down in Cornwall. I suspect I become a pain in the neck on such trips as once I get my eye in I can see potential pictures everywhere, so have to keep stopping to capture them!



Q. What is your creative process?

A. Once my photographs are taken its time to download them onto the computer, scan through initially to find ones I think stand out from the rest and then settle down to cropping. The majority of my final images are square, which I think makes them a bit different from the majority of photos out there, so I need to bear this in mind when I compose the frame. I try to home in on some detail, and avoid getting the subject dead centre. I then work some magic and add my TTV layer, choosing one which complements the colours and subject of the photograph. Images are then uploaded to my various sites and sent to the printer.

Q. Do you create full time, part time or as a hobby?

A. At the moment I would have to say that this was something in between a hobby and part-time. The easy part is taking the photographs... the post production work takes time, marketing and promoting it takes even longer. What I do really enjoy is having a stack of orders which translates into a stack of neatly packed parcels waiting to wing their way out to different parts of the country. I also sew, knit and make jams and jellies, so there is always plenty to be getting on with!


Q. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas/designs?

A. Everything around me. A walk in the garden, a walk in the countryside... a trip round a museum or event like a vintage car rally all throw up endless possibilities! But I am confident that I have found my own ‘style’ now, and am comfortable within that.

Q. Where can your work be found?

A. On my main site  you can get anything as a print or as a card. I have a limited amount of images on folksy and have recently been included in From the Wilde’s exciting new online gallery. Prices start from £2 for a card and £10 for a 5x5 print (incl. p&p).


Thank you very much Katie. I agree it can take time to find your own style within your creative discipline and yours is fabulous.

Flemyng Design Photography

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