Meet the Artist and Giveaway: Natalie from theshabbyphotographer

Please welcome our next special guest & giveaway sponsor...



Q: Tell us a little about yourself. 
A:  Hay everyone ... My name is Natalie and I am the lady behind - The Shabby Photographer - I am 31 year`s old and live in a little seaside town in South Wales called Porthcawl with my partner Nathan of 14 years and our two beautiful girls Kelcy and Kayley ... Oh and our two dog`s Missy and Snoop.



Q: How did you come to be a professional photographer? 
A: Well I bought my first dslr in July 2009. I have always' been a lover of photography but having young children just couldn't afford to get a nice camera. For my 30th birthday my family all chipped in to get me my dslr and from that day on I have been none stop clicking. I am self taught through the internet and now I am lucky enough to have met a professional photographer to help me even more...I don't know if i would call myself a pro...But I do like the sound of it :D


Q: Do you remember the first photo you took? 
A: ooo that`s a tough one .... mmm when I first had my dslr I can remember being soooooo excited and popping it out down by the beach to try it out.  The tide was high and there were loads of surfer`s out and it had just stopped raining ... I remember looking out and seeing a rainbow and started snapping away ... When I got home and looked through the pictures, I had caught a surfer wiping out on a wave and the rainbow above him.  I was so thrilled with the shot! I think I still have it somewhere too :-)

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Q: What type of camera do you use? 

A: I use a Nikon D90.  

Q: What do you enjoy about photography? What do you find most challenging? A: I love everything about photography ... I love spending time editing my pictures, I love fine detail and I find photography opens your eyes to things you would normally pass by, Photography freezes that moment in time to enjoy for years, a memory you can look back on and smile at.  I find children most challenging they get board easy and fidget a lot... But i still love it :-)

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Q: How do you know when you've taken a really great picture? A: Every picture has the potential to be great ... But sometimes when your out and about shooting you just know that one of your shot`s is that perfect one :-)


Q: Do you have a favorite photo, from your shop or from your personal collection?
A: Um ....  at the moment I am loving my new print :: Dream :: I took the photo a few day`s ago while I was down the beach ... it was in the evening and the sky was a beautiful color and reflecting on the water. I feel the picture has  perfectly caught the light and mood of that evening.


Q: Why did you decide to open a shop on Etsy?
A:  A friend of mine showed Etsy to me and recommended I try it out ... So here I am :-)

Q: What have you learned so far that you'd like to share with other new sellers?
A: Mmm, it`s hard to get noticed ... I find making treasurys every week helps to get more views. You need to Tweet, Facebook, e.t.c as well. I also find that pretty pictures help when listing your items.

Q: What are your future plans for your work?
A: I would love a studio ... I love taking portraits, especially of babies and children. This can be hard to do when there is no room around the house. Living in Wales, we don`t have much nice weather so it`s hard to plan a outdoor shoot.

Buy it here

Q: Just for fun, what's the last thing you bought yourself on Etsy? 

A: The last thing I bought on Etsy was some beautiful resin setting`s from Tomorrowsunknown ... I have been making some jewelry for my shop.  


Q: Is there anything else you'd like us to know?

A: I will be listing my new 2012 calender`s soon so keep a look out, And my new jewelry collection should be ready for late September, all ready for Christmas :-) 

To find out more about Natalie, check out here Etsy shop, Facebook page, and Blog. 

Ready to find out what Natalie is giving away? 

All 3 prints from The Shabby Photographer 
shown in this post!

You are going to LOVE them, I can promise you that! Natalie sent them along with a gorgeous copy of A Pocket Full of Posies for me, so I could have a little preview. Just brilliant...delicate, whimsical & dreamy!

How to Enter the Giveaway:

1. Follow this blog (Mandatory)

and leave a comment here saying you did.

2. "Heart" The Shabby Photographer on Etsy or an item in the shop
and leave a separate comment here saying you did.

Fine Print:
Only 2 entries per household please
1 winner will be chosen September 2nd at midnight PST
Winner will be chosen by random.org
Entries will be validated
Winner will be announced here
Winner will have 3 days to contact me, 
after which a new winner will be chosen
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter