Greenwich Park children's and family photographer

Before my recent move to Crouch End, I was based in Blackheath in South East London and so today's shoot was very local to me, taking place at Gemma's home in Beckenham in Kent and also the majestic Greenwich Park.

We started our family portrait session at Gemma's beautiful home, as the morning had dawned with torrential rain and cold, blustery winds. This is never a problem, as we drank some coffee and started our shoot by exploring the house to capture some pictures of the children playing in their own environment. We played in the children's bedroom enjoying all manner of fun games such as hiding behind curtains, eating CDs (perhaps not the healthiest snack, but I do like a shiney surface in a photograph), and generally having a play. It was great fun and Gemma’s beautiful house had great light, which made photography a joy.

Soon the rain began to ease and we decided that we would head outside – Gemma’s family are all very outdoorsy and she was keen to hit the park whatever the weather. As always, I was well-prepared with my trusty Goretex boots and a waterproof coat, so a sprinkling of rain was never going to put me off. I like to think of myself as waterproof when it comes to photography.

By the time we arrived at Greenwich Park, the rain had stopped and the park was ours – the wet weather had kept everyone else away and it felt like our own private garden as we explored. As someone who grew up in Blackheath, I know the park very, very well - I ran there three times a week at least and spent many of my formative years learning to ride a bike and playing with my brothers in the park. It was great fun to introduce the children to some of my favorite trees – each tree in the flower garden has such personality and so many possiblities for wonderful children and family photographs with magical light (and shelter from the occasional showers). The trees also have low branches to climb on and exciting holes around the roots which are obvious hiding places for Gruffalos and other exciting mythical beasts.

We spent the morning exploring the park - climbing, running, jumping and skipping our way around - and the children had a wonderful time as I took children’s portrait photographs and family shots. Here are a few favorites from our family portrait photography shoot taken on location in Greenwich Park and Beckenham in Kent.

I do hope you enjoy this selection of pictures from our morning together and if you would like me to visit and capture some pictures of your own family, please contact us - we would be thrilled to hear from you.

Just One - Tristan - Cambridge newborn photographer

I first met Luca and Emma when we studied Medieval History together at Cambridge University, and so I was over the moon when they announced they were expecting a baby and really excited to visit them today to take some newborn photographs of baby Tristan.

I couldn't wait to get back to London to download the files and share 'just one', a sneak peek while I process the other images from our shoot today.

We had such a lovely time together, chatting away as I took photographs. It is one of the best bits about my job, seeing families in these first few days with their new baby - excited, exhausted, and filled with wonder. It's even more wonderful for me when my subjects are dear friends and I just find myself beaming behind my camera, so happy for everyone and the exciting future they have together.

This picture caught my eye as the files were importing. I love the tenderness and feeling of family unity to the picture. Emma and Luca look happier than I have ever seen them and Tristan is so incredibly cute. I'm so happy for them all and I'm really looking forward to sharing some more pictures very soon.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy this, today's 'Just One' preview image from this morning's newborn baby and family photography session in Cambridge.

Just One - Seiji - Children and family photography in Kensington

Today's blog post is another 'Just One' image from a busy weekend of children and family photo shoots, this time taken on location in Kensington in West London SW7 and another photograph that I am particularly pleased with.

This was my second photo shoot with Megumi and her lovely family in Kensington and it was so nice to see them all again. When I last visited the family, Seiji was only one month old and we had a wonderful newborn and family shoot with his older siblings in Holland Park W11.

The first years seem to fly by so fast - it seems like yesterday that Seiji was a tiny baby and today he is running around, eating rice cakes and exploring the park with his brother and sister. As a London-based baby children and family photographer, it's so lovely to record these different stages and take pictures that the family will enjoy for years to come - photography is great like that, something that really increases in value over the years as memories become caught up in the pictures. Memories for the family - not of a photo shoot with me - but of the many summer days spent at their local parks, the games they like to play and the cuddles and snuggles that make the bond between parent and child so special.

This image caught my eye as I began to download the memory cards from our shoot. I love the sense of movement and space and, above all, absolute joy. I'm sure children experience things to a totally different level, I don't remember the last time I was that joyous and this is just one moment of many in a morning - oh to be two years old again!

I hope you enjoy this image too and do check back soon to see more from this family and children's photography session in Kensington SW7 in West London.

Just One - Max - Family photography in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

Today's 'Just One' image is from my family and children's photo shoot with Fiona and her wonderful family in Bushy Park, near to Fiona's home in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey. It's a shot that I knew was fantastic as soon as the shutter clicked - I was so excited about it that as soon as I got home, I downloaded my memory cards to look for it. It made me laugh at the time and it makes me laugh now.

I was lucky enough to meet Fiona about six years ago when I photographed her family when they were still living in Balham in South London. We had a great shoot and one of the pictures of her daughter Emma was to be seen in my adverts in magazines all over London for a while (a picture I still love to this day). I was thrilled when Fiona contacted us recently to ask me to visit the family at their new home in Walton-on-Thames. Since my last visit, the family has grown and there are now four children - the magic number I always think, being the youngest of four myself - and a real joy for me to photograph. I love the chaos and the comeraderie of a big family so much.

This picture of Max and the duck was taken about halfway into our shoot. We were exploring Bushy Park and heading back slowly towards the car from our recent activity of 'Duck, Duck, Goose' (a wonderful game if you haven't come across it before) and, as if on cue, a family of ducks wandered up to see what we were doing. The children had been feeding the ducks earlier and were keen to offer some more bagels to the lucky birds. Max stood on a tree stump and started feeding them.

It was a moment when all the elements came together - Max beautifully back lit against a lovely simple background with his hair catching in the light, and the single duck looking up - the engagement between boy and bird so clear. I shot this image with a really wide aperture to create a lovely mystical feel to the image and I'm so pleased - it could be a picture postcard from the nineteeth century (cool trainers aside, of course).

I hope you like this image as much as I do. As you can imagine, there are lots of other cracking pictures from our family photo shoot featuring all the other children too, and I'll be sharing those soon on the blog. In the meantime, here's a bit of a personal favorite from our children and family photo shoot in Bushy Park in Surrey TW11 near Fiona's Walton-on-Thames home.

Newborn baby and family photography in Crouch End, London N8

I love photographing newborn babies and their families, and I love Crouch End, my new North London home. I was thrilled when Antonia asked me to visit her family and photograph their beautiful newborn daughter Ava just a week before I moved to the area in North London.

There is something so magical about a newborn photo shoot - there is such an incredible amount of love and wonder in the air as parents exchange giggling glances throughout the shoot: look what we did! Isn’t this incredible! Our daughter is amazing! It’s a real pleasure to be around and I always leave a newborn and family photography session feeling a real buzz from being around such fabulous emotions. It’s a special time and no mistake.

Ava was a wonderful baby to photograph - so alert, she spent almost the entire photo session awake, looking around, and making lots of happy little noises – chatting away to us as only a tiny baby can. It really was a joy to behold.

We were so lucky that the weather was warming-up so we went outdoors for a few pictures too - the first time I have been able to do that with a newborn baby this year. The light was incredible in Antonia and Ross’ Crouch End garden and provided a magical setting for some newborn and family photographs. As a photographer I love working with interesting light and really enjoyed taking these newborn and family photographs.

We then headed back indoors for some more family shots and pictures of Ava on her own. We worked in different rooms throughout the house to maximise the variety of images. I also like to incorporate the environment as much as I can in my photo shoots, as this allows me to produce pictures that are unique to each family and will bring back memories of the time and the house as well as of the special moments with the family. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring back memories as we get older – the squidy sofa, the lamp or vase on the mantelpiece - and it’s nice to include some of these elements in pictures.

We had a great morning together and I’m so thrilled with the pictures from our newborn and family photo shoot in Crouch End, North London N8. I do hope you will enjoy them.

If you would like me to visit and capture some pictures of your own family, please contact us - we would be delighted to hear from you.