Celebrating each other on International Women's Day { A personal portrait project}

Two years ago I embarked on a personal photography project with the aim of improving my portrait photography and photographing people that I didn't know. I asked people to nominate a woman that they thought was amazing, for whatever reason. For some it was the unconditional support they gave to a friend or relative, for others it was an admiration for the work they did or their dedication to a charitable cause. Whatever the reason, these women inspired other woman in their lives. For me International Women’s Day is a chance to share these stories again and to celebrate the lives of others in our community.

Over the last year this project has been on hold but I am looking forward to photographing wonderful women again soon. I have some lined up in the diary and am looking for more nominations so that hopefully this time on IWD I’ll be sharing forty photos rather than fourteen. To nominate someone please do so using the form here.

These women all have a story to tell. You can read more about them on this page.

Happy International Women’s Day! To all the women in my life, thank you so much for your warmth and support. X

Personal branding photography - Creating a set of images for your business

It seems a while since I was out and about photographing lovely creative people. I’m not even sure how long it has been, I just know that I’m looking forward to meeting people in real life very soon to make some portraits!

I thought I’d share this session from last Autumn with Nina from Edits Styling. Nina was looking for a set of images that showed her out and about as a personal stylist. I love working with Nina because she loves colour! Even though we were in one location we had a variety of backdrops to use and during our shoot Nina styled outfits in different ways so that we got a range of images for her to use across her website and social media platforms.

Here are just a few to show you the range of images that you could achieve in a photo session…

By creating a set of images that include landscape, portrait, close up, mid range and further away we get a set of photographs that can be used in different ways depending on where you are using them.

It is definitely a collaborative process to create your set of images, after all they are an investment for you so your input is always encouraged. That said, if you need ideas from me too, that’s what I’m here for. We can work together to create photographs that you will use with confidence.

New beginnings... a photo project with Wild Rose Flower Company

Over the last few months the opportunity for creating portraits and photographing small business owners in person may have diminished but I have been lucky enough to embark on a new photo project with Rosie from the Wild Rose Flower Company. Fortunately for me Rosie’s cutting garden in just along the road and the plan is to pop along each month and photograph the garden as it changes through the year. I am excited at the prospect of tulips and dahlias as the year progresses but there is also beauty to be found in the colder months. It felt like a crossover between the end of Christmas and looking towards Spring, as seeds were sown and popping up in the greenhouse in anticipation for the year ahead. Here’s how I got in January, on a chilly misty morning…

Personal branding photography - Telling the story of your business

Personal branding photography is more than a set of headshots, although these can make up part of a personal branding session. Good photography on your website, social media and any other online or print presence can really let your clients get to know you and to see the person behind the business. It can help to tell the story of where products are made or behind the scenes of the creative process. For this kind of session I like to work with clients who are passionate about their workspace and to take photographs of them in action.

Annie set up her calligraphy business from her home and the heart of her creativity and design is in her home studio which was the perfect backdrop for some shots for her personal branding photos.

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Headshots are great for enabling your audience to put a face to a name they may have seen frequently on Instagram, but an environmental portrait goes a step further as it sets the scene and gives more to the viewer. This may be your studio or place of work, or actually it may be somewhere else that you think adds to your story. Part of planning the photo session is always to discuss ideas about where it might be.

Depending on your business your personal branding shoot may include a bit more than portraits of you. It could be that we include your products, perhaps you are a designer and love being surrounded by inspiration in your workspace. We can include that, just as we can include images of you at work to give your audience a sense of how you work. Annie’s calligraphy is just so beautiful and I felt a sense of calm just watching her.

The key thing is to make sure that your personality comes across in the images and that you are happy that they reflect you and your brand values so that you can be more visible. That way when clients are buying your products and services they have a connection with you and feel they are supporting your small business. Together we can create images that give you confidence to share more about your business.


My family photos {Family photographer in Leighton Buzzard}

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Over the past few months with no shoots due to lockdown, I have been taking photographs of my family and getting back to thinking about why I fell in love with photography in the first place. I’ve always loved photography and I can still remember my first camera. It was a yellow film camera and I took it everywhere. I even remember doing my photo badge at Brownies where I had to present a selection of photos from a summer holiday in France. Despite enjoying it as a hobby I didn’t take art as a GCSE (one of my regrets) and so didn’t pursue it any further, then life took over, teaching became my career and I forgot about it.

That was until my husband bought us an entry level dslr camera after the birth of our second child and since the day I decided I was going to learn how to use it properly I would say photography has become a real passion. I love that I can capture my family as they are, no posing, just being. Sometimes I ask them to help me out with ideas and depending on their mood it usually involves being bribed with some kind of snack. But on the whole, my favourite pictures are those that I’ve taken to document our days.

Here are a few from our lockdown days…

By sharing a few of my personal photos I thought it might help to show why family photography is important to me. It’s a reminder of our days together now. We all have cameras with us all the time and even when I scroll through my (millions of) photos on my phone I do get that ‘ahhh’ or ‘do you remember the time when…?’ feeling. The photos don’t have to be perfect but they will tell your story.

I can come along and take your photos so you are in them too and you can look back to how life is now. And of course I love to do that, but the everyday is yours to photograph.

If you would like to take better photos either on your phone or DLSR I can help you with that, or if you’d like to book photo session with me then ping me a message. I’d love to hear from you.