Filtering by Tag: children

Return of the Twins

I consider myself very lucky with my job. I get to meet lots of lovely people, either on their wedding day or when photographing their families and babies.

I photographed this lovely couples wedding day, and this was the second year I photographed them and their beautiful twin boys. When I first met these two little legends one was wearing navy and the other teal, so I could tell them apart. The second time we met, again one was wearing navy and the other teal, so I thought this was going to be easy, but as it got warmer the coats came off to reveal fabulous matching rainbow jumpers. I was going to have to work harder to tell them apart, studying the shape of their faces and which one has the bigger dimples I think I know which one is which now, I hope when I see them again they won’t have changed too much.

We went to Southover Grange Gardens again, as this is where they got married. It never fails to be beautiful there, and the photographs always look different. It’s a lovely space with lots of room for children to run around. I bought along bubbles and a confetti cannon, with little ones it can get a bit boring for them to have to pose for photographs, so I like them to run and play and have fun, then it feels more like a visit to the park rather than a bossy lady making them pose for pictures and sit still. You can still get the posed photographs but they don’t mind.

It makes me so happy when people come back to me, it means they like me and what I do, and for someone that struggles with confidence and belief in myself, it really helps. I want to make my clients happy. I want the experience of having the photographs taken to be fun and relaxing, and for them to love the end result.

Portrait of a family

I recently photographed a family of 16! They had won a £75 photo shoot, that we had donated to a charity raffle. It was such a lovely shoot, as half of the family were living in Australia and this was an opportunity to have a big family photograph taken with everyone in it. 
It was at one the the family members homes and they made me feel so very welcome, even if at times it was difficult to try to get everyone in the photo. I haven’t taken portraits at someones home before, as I usually prefer to be outside, you don’t have to worry about floor lamps and plug sockets getting in the way of your photograph.

It really did feel as if I was doing something very special (especially for the Grandparents), even one of the Grandma's thanked me for giving her such a precious gift, and said how kind we were to donate something so special. That's why I love photography, it's a way of preserving those magical moments that will be with loved ones forever.



Mabel & Elijah

The part of my job that I enjoy the most is photographing children. I find them so much fun and you never quite know what kind of photographs you will get, as it all depends on what mood the children are in. I’ve been very lucky with all the children I have photographed, as they have reacted well to me and my camera. They have enjoyed it. It’s the reason I like location shooting more than a studio as it is more of a fun adventure day out than a pressurised environment of a studio. This time though as Mabel was only a couple of weeks old, location shooting does not work, so I have a temporary studio I put up in my home. As it is a home environment it is still a relaxed atmosphere for the children, so they still enjoy it. The last thing you want to do is make the children feel the pressure of your one hour to perform and you get unhappy, sad children.

Mabel and Elijah were fantastic, Mabel slept the whole time (I got to give her cuddles to settle her for her photographs) and Elijah was a very attentive big brother. We had lots of fun and plenty of beautiful photographs of them. I even discovered that Elijah is fond of saying “Norman Price” in a bad Welsh accent, the same as my husband, so the two of them got on very well, talking about Fireman Sam.

The Boy with the Rainbow Umbrella.

There are lots of things that I love about my job, but the family portrait shoot I undertook on Saturday combined two of my favourites.  

I got to visit the the beautiful setting of Sheffield Park near Fletching in East Sussex. Then In addition I was lucky enough to photograph the most wonderful and delightful children, Harry and Jess.

I adore children and I think you get so much when photographing them. They are so honest and show you their real face, nothing is ever posed or contrived. I feel that is why I prefer non-studio photography. Anything can happen when you're outside, whether it's the changing weather or just passing wildlife. 

We had a hijacker in the form of a sausage stealing duck on Saturday, which made for some hilarious photographs. 

Leaving my previous career that I had been in for fifteen years and starting my own business has been difficult at times. You often wonder if you are completely crazy and if you are doing the right thing, but being out with Harry, Jess and their parents on Saturday and seeing the results has made me think that I'm made the correct decision.