Honoured to share with you my latest commission for the Prince and Princess of Wales: a birthday portrait of Prince George as he turns 10. As with my previous portraits of Prince Louise, Princess Charlotte & Prince William, I took this portrait of Prince George in the grounds of the Windsor Estate, a few months later.
I love how this image captures the confidence, maturity and charm of Prince George – and gives us a glimpse of what lies in store as a future king.
For more examples of my children portfolio, click here.
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.
One of the highlights of being a portrait photographer, is meeting so many interesting and inspiring people. As such, this latest shoot for Country Life to capture a portrait of Alice Temperley in her new studio in Ilminster, Somerset.
The 28,000 sq ft semi derelict victorian building Alice bought cost the same as one year’s rent in her Mayfair office! Not only has this move provided her with a lot more space for a lot less cost, it has enabled her to connect with local artisans and producers, which is wonderful for the local community economy.
In due course, Alice plans to convert the rest of the building to include a restaurant, art gallery and a spa. Somerset born myself, and based in Dorset, it’s great to see this injection of glamour and culture in the West Country. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can indulge myself with one of her fabulous designer dresses!
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.
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.
With online digital presence becoming increasingly prevalent, first impressions are often made from your profile image – be this on Linkedin, social media or your own website – is all the more important. A successful portrait will endorse your ‘brand image’ and encourage your prospective client to read on. A weak one may do the reverse.
The brief for this corporate profile was to create an impactful and contemporary portrait which portrayed his wealth of experience and confidence with his cutting edge and innovative approach. Before I even picked up my camera, we researched other portraits – what we felt worked and didn’t work and why, suitable backdrops, poses, clothing and expressions, so that when we went into my studio, we had a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve. The backdrop & lighting created impact, the ‘no tie’ and the relaxed pose on the stool were contemporary, whilst the formality of the suit and expression exuded confidence and experience.
Please contact me if you’re interested in a commercial headshot or profile portrait. With 20 years of experience as a portrait photographer, combined with 10 years as an Account Director in a branding agency, I understand how to achieve unique and impactful profile images, that reflect your ‘brand image’ and help you stand out from your competitors. As a leading portrait photographer the South West, I travel regularly to London, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and happy to travel further afield. Or you can visit my spacious studio near Sherborne, Dorset.
This week’s Country Life Magazine‘s frontispiece features the highly talented and utterly beautiful actor Kate Phillips, who appears in the Downton Abbey film as Princess Mary. You might also recognise her as Linda Shelby in Peaky Blinders.
A special thank you to Paul Ellis who assisted me in this shoot, Mach Management for make up, the Ritz London for providing a fabulous location and a much needed supply of coffee, and Lucy Editor, the picture editor at Country Life for this wonderful commission! Feeling very blessed.
In celebration of the much anticipated arrival of Meghan and Harry’s baby, I have teamed up with my favourite frame supplier, Addison Ross, to run a prize draw in which you can win £250 of your own choice of Addison Ross frames AND 20% off a weekday children or family portrait shoot with me within 2 hours of my home near Sherborne, in Dorset.
To enter, visit the following link to Addison Ross website.
This was a truly memorable evening in aid of www.childbereavementuk.org, with performances & contributions from musicians, actors and authors including: Sir Tom Jones and Jools Holland, Bill Nighy, Ben and Marina Fogle, Brendan Cox, Michael Morpurgo, the Taplow Youth Choir and The African Gospel Choir. As a portrait photographer specialising in children photography, a mother of three gorgeous girls and wife to a wonderful husband, I am aware of how lucky I am. It is a wonderful to give back to a charity providing a lifeline to bereaved families.
This portrait commission for Country Life Magazine, accompanied an article in the issue on 22nd November 2017 about the Country House Foundation which offers grants to help the preservation of buildings of historical or architectural significance. Indeed, this charitable foundation has helped the Nick Ashley Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, restore the St Giles House Estate, Wimborne St Giles, back to its former glory. The earl explained: “During the restoration, we wanted to showcase one room in its unrestored state. The Great Dining room seemed the perfect space to do that, with its bare brick walls and layers of history.”
My aim was create an informal portrait from an angle which best displayed these ‘layers of history’, with particular focus on the juxtaposition between the bare brick and remaining plaster. What you can’t see are the two new layers of history on the carpet where Hettie (taking pride of place on the chair) was sick when she came in!
