I’m so excited to share with you another portrait I have taken for the Prince and Princess of Wales: A father’s day portrait of Prince William with his children Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince William, taken on the Windsor Estate. As a portrait photographer with a passion for photographing children, I’m not sure the honour gets much better than this!
I love how this portrait captures the love the children have for their father Prince William. With Prince Louis hugging his father’s neck in true joy, whilst Princess Charlotte and Prince George, with their hands on Prince William’s knees, and laughing adoringly up at him, you can see the adoration they have for their father, and the fun they have with him.
I chose this location for this portrait, not just because of the lovely backdrop and light it offered, but also because of the inscription on the bench: Presented to HM The Queen on the occasion of her 90th birthday 21st April 2016. A mere 7 months on from her death on 8th September 2023, I thought it would be a wonderful way of adding another dimension to this portrait – making it all the more meaningful for the Prince of Wales and his family.
For more examples of my family & sibling portraits, click here.
So honoured to have been asked by HRH the Princess of Wales to take a birthday portrait of Prince Louis as he turns 5. Of my two portraits released by the Palace, this image of Louis in the wheelbarrow with HRH The Princess of Wales, laughing down towards him, is my favourite. It not only captures Louis’ spirit and cheek but also the relationship he has with his mother, and the fun they have together. You can’t but help feeling joy, love and laughter when you look at this photo.
For more examples of my children portfolio, click here.
Ancestry and the National Portrait Gallery are collaborating to create a Nations Family Album – the first ever holistic visual representation of the British population in photographic form. So they are inviting the British Public (all ages, backgrounds, cultures) to submit photos of family members (old, recent, together, separate). The winning entries will not only feature in this online Nations Family Album gallery, but also in an exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery when it reopens early next year.
I am honoured to say that I’ve been elected as one of the four judges on the panel of experts, along with the baritone singer Peter Brathwaite, renowned for his series of photographs on Rediscovering Black Portraiture, the National Portrait Gallery’s Chief Curator, Dr Alison Smith and Simon Pearce from Ancestry.
Themes for the photos are: legacy, belonging, connection and identity – all of which reflect the emotions experienced when looking through old family photos or starting a journey on your family history. You can submit up to 3 photographs per person. And the deadline is 11.59pm on 30th June. For more information, visit the Ancestry website.
I’m really looking forward to seeing all your entries.
One of the perks of lockdown has been testing out my new Canon R6 on my teenage daughters. And practising different techniques and styles for teenage portrait photography. I find teenagers much more relaxed when they can be doing something they enjoy.
I’ve been considering investing in a mirrorless camera for some time now. But when Canon launched their R5 and R6 last summer, I felt the time had come for me to bite the bullet. After extensive research, I concluded that the R6 best suited my requirements. I also invested in two bespoke RF lenses: the RF 24-70mm f2.8 L IS USM and RF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM. I was quite simply blown away with the camera and both these lenses. The speed and accuracy to focus were incredible. And RF 70-200 f2.8 was so light in comparison to my EF equivalent that I could take photos one handed! And what’s more, the quality is every bit as amazing as my Canon 5D iv.
I have since sold all my old cameras and lenses through a fantastic new 2nd hand camera company called MPB. They collected all my kit free of charge, offered very fair prices and speedy payment. An incredibly slick service. This enabled me to invest in the full shebang of RF lenses, including the RF 85mm f1.2 USM. Indeed, I took this portrait of Flora with this very lens, at a f1.2. I love how it throws all the background completely out of focus, despite the fact that this was in fact no further from me than I was to Flora. I can’t wait to share more images with this incredible new camera and lens.
Please visit my website to see more examples of my teenage portraits. And please contact me if you’re interested in a family portrait photography session. Whilst I’m based in Dorset, I travel throughout the UK.
Although many of my photoshoots involve activities indoors and outdoors, there are times when my clients have a specific location in mind. Somewhere that encapsulates an era in their children’s life. On this occasion, the family were moving house and school. So it seemed fitting to have an outdoor children photography shoot in the grounds of Cheam Prep school, Newbury, Berkshire, where the girls had both been at school.
We started the shoot by playing lots of games in the main grounds, using the beautiful avenue and stunning gardens as backdrops. And then headed to the fabulous outdoor play area, which offers an abundance of entertainment. We had so much fun. Playgrounds are perfect locations for outdoor children photography. I love to capture the children’s adventurous spirit whilst they explore, climb, slide and swing. Indeed we explored every nook and cranny, climbed every ladder, slid down every slide, and swung high into the skies. I find static swing shots can look as void of emotion as motion and prefer to capture them moving. This is obviously more challenging photographically but nothing beats that feeling of wind through your hair as you swing high and low.
This shot was one of my favourites. I absolutely love it. There is so much joy, energy and movement. You can feel her excitement at reaching high into the sky. It’s an image that is full of emotion and spirit. It can’t help but make you smile when you look at and remind you of those exhilarating feelings of ‘flying high’ when you were little. This is what I strive to provide in my children photography sessions.
For more examples of my children photography, please do visit my children, teenage and family galleries. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss the possibility of me coming to your home and photographing your children and family.
The saying never work with animals or children would put me almost instantly out of a job! As a children photographer, I find myself working with both all the time, and thankfully I love it! In fact I find the spontaneity that comes with pets often results in my favourite photographs from the day. This portrait from a children photoshoot near Newbury, Berkshire, is a classic example. The way the girl is rolling her head back exudes pure joy, love and happiness. I also love the dog’s crossed paws and patient expression. No doubt this is a result of years of being smothered with love, poked and prodded.
I often start a shoot with a ‘lightly’ staged group shot of you all together. I find it best to do this first thing when the children are fresh and most co-operative. It also provides a fall back if we don’t succeed in capturing a spontaneous family portrait. But I like to spend the majority of the shoot photographing your children at play, inside and outside. This might include cuddling their pets, climbing a tree, riding a bike, a game of cards, cooking etc. Whatever takes their fancy. These provide wonderful opportunities to capture informal and spontaneous images which best reflect your children’s personalities. They are also wonderful ‘story telling’ images which will remind you of their childhood.
Many of my clients opt for a photo album which includes all the images from the shoot. These are lifetime heirlooms which you will treasure forever. They can be any size, but I usually offer 12″ x 12″ as I find square the best format to display photographs. They can be embossed on the front and spine, and handbound in either pellaq or leather. My printer has the royal warrant, so it goes without saying that the paper is lovely and thick and the end result is top notch.
Please do get in touch if you are are thinking of booking a family or children photoshoot. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of children and portrait photography.
This is a candid portrait from a children photoshoot near Burford in Gloucestershire. It also reminds me of the fun we had that day. We bounced on beds, played hide & seek in the laundry basket and cupboards, choo chooed trains along their train track etc. And we did all this before we went outside for more games and a lovely walk. I took this photo during a game of ‘I spy with my little binoculars’. It makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. Perhaps because of the way the younger brother is holding his binoculars in a closed position. No idea what he saw through them. But that didn’t matter as he was pretending to be as grown up as his big brother!
I also take beautiful and timeless portraits of the children together and apart during the shoot. But these candid portraits capture the essence of their personalities. They also create lasting timeless memories of what they loved to do in the home they grew up in. And they are often the ones I love the most as they are so rich in nostalgia.
Our childhood memories are often the most mundane – lying on a favourite sofa with the dog, playing lego, hiding behind our parents’ bedroom curtains, reading a book with mummy, helping Daddy in the garden. So when I’m taking photos at your home, I love to photograph your children both indoors and outside. I often prefer inside light for portraiture, especially on a sunny day. So don’t worry if it’s raining. We can still capture so many wonderful memories inside and there is almost always a dry spell when we can get outside and splash in puddles!
If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.
Today I am sharing an example of my children photography with pets. I took this last summer in between lockdowns for a wonderful family, near Newbury, in Hampshire. This was my second shoot for them. We had so much fun and laughter together. And as a consequence we captured some wonderful, informal, natural and fun portraits which really capture their personalities.
Teenagers can be reluctant starters when it comes to a family photoshoot. But with 3 teenagers of my own, and 20 years of experience as a leading family portrait photographer, I’m quick to put them at ease. On arrival, the first thing we do is sit and chat around the kitchen table, so I can hear about what they enjoy doing, what makes them tick. Or not! I love to include their interests in the photo shoot. This could involve playing sport or a musical instrument, or hanging out with the family animals. This results in meaningful portraits which reflect their personalities. It also makes the shoot fun, which ensures the images are full of spirit and character.
On this visit the children wanted to be photographed with all their favourite pets, which included 3 dogs, 2 cats and lots of chickens. I love photographing children with their family animals, as they bring spontaneity. This often results in fun and unpredictable pictures. I love everything about this image: the light, the composition, the chicken’s tilted head and the boy’s expression. It is a natural, candid moment which captures his sense of humour, spirit and love of animals. It’s such a joy to capture those impromptu moments.
If you would like to find out more about my teenager and young children photography, please do take a look at the link. And if you’d like to book a shoot with your family once lockdown has lifted, please do email me at [email protected]
I started out as a wedding and children portrait photographer in 2000, when I was living in London. Most of my children shoots in those days were in my studio in Wandsworth – the rage then was for clean white backdrops. But I quickly found that these were not so appealing for those living in the country, where understandably parents were wanting the photoshoots at home and in their garden. I have therefore spent the last 12 years, traveling all over the south west photography children in their home environment. Although this is more time consuming for me, I can honestly say that I haven’t looked back.
This not only makes each shoot unique and personal, but it’s also where the children are most at ease, enabling me to capture the best images of your children. I capture them at play inside and outside in their garden, in their favourite places, doing what they love most.
This is an old favourite from a lovely family photoshoot in Hampshire. I love the movement in her skirt and hair, the way she is looking down but flying high, in a world of her own. A timeless moment of childhood bliss on a favourite swing in her garden. It’s full of emotion and energy, and makes me smile every time I look at it. I hope you like it too.
If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.
As a children and portrait photographer, I’m often asked to capture a family together. This is I think one of the most challenging jobs for a portrait photographer – everyone looking good at the same time in a not too cheesy pose! I have however learned over my years of photography that a family portrait doesn’t need to have everyone smiling perfectly at the camera. In fact, they tend to be more compelling if they look more natural and capture a moment. This requires a little forethought – composing the image and then creating the moment.
In this case, the brothers were all sitting on the bales of hay, when on cue, their father ran in to give them a good tickling, enabling me the change to capture a spontaneous image which exudes the fun, laughter and love shared between the father and his sons.
I find these type of family portraits far more meaningful and likely to stand the course of time. Indeed, I hope this photo will remind these boys of how much their father loves them… forever.
