So much has changed in my life since I began my maternity leave back in February. My baby boy is now almost six months old, and full of character. My oldest daughter has just started school, and my almost 3 year old is growing up too fast too and becoming more mischievous by the day. Needless to say I’ve been pretty busy with my camera during the break photographing my children, and at the end of this post you can see some of my work.

So much has changed with the business too. I’ve also used some of the time over the break to update the site with fresh branding and a new look, better photo browsing, some rewording and reworking, new photos, updated galleries (seriously, check them out!) and a bit of a tidy up. Take a look around the new site and see what is new!

I now have a Twitter feed too – not much there yet, but you can follow me at @SilverAshPhoto – you can see my latest posts off to the side as well. The Facebook Page is still going strong – do “Like” it if you get the chance.

On the photography side of things I’m focusing more on newborn photography and outdoors, on-location photography – these are my strongest talents and what I enjoy doing the most.

On the financial side of things I’ve reworked my pricing - there is now NO minimum order with your order! It does mean I have had to increase the session fee, but at least half of that is a print credit so the increase is not all it appears. Due to the increase, a 25% deposit is all that is required for full sessions to secure a booking now.

New for my return are Studio Session Days. As those of you who had me bring my entire studio to your living room can attest, it is often quite impractical and from my point of view, I know I can get better photos in a larger space. I know many of my customers prefer studio sessions or would like the opportunity, so a few times a year I am intending to hire a large space and set up my full studio gear for the day. I will make a certain number of slots available (length and quantity depending on demand) and then make a dedicated page on this site so you can book your slot. The pricing is likely to be similar to my mini-session pricing and all product prices remain the same.

I’m planning on doing a Session Day in late November, perfect for Christmas presents. It would likely take place in the Greenwich (SE London) area, or at the very least not far away, and should be reachable by public transport.

I’d love to get an idea of interest and preferred days before I commit to a venue, so if this sounds like something you would be interested in, please fill in this form as soon as possible as I will need to book a venue soon. Filling in the form does NOT commit you to anything whatsoever.

I will only use your email address for the purposes of Studio Session Days, mailings will be infrequent and there’s a human being (me!) on the end so you can ask to be removed at any time.

And finally I thought you may like to see some of my recent photos of my children. I may have been on maternity leave, but I have not been resting my camera and I’ve been using the time to practice and further improve my skills! Here’s is just one of the ways that my new site makes sharing photos easier:

I love taking photos of my children but truth be told – other people’s children are easier. So I’m really looking forward to booking sessions again and getting out there meeting people and their gorgeous families, and best of all capturing their precious memories forever.

Tempted to book a session with me? You can book months in advance (with newborns even a rough due date will do) and my calendar is wide open right now so here is a chance to get the date you want. I book no more than one session a week, so my calendar fills up fast. Looking forward to making that first proper return booking – who will it be? Contact me to get things started or to ask questions!

2 year old C looking thoughtful:

4 year old B posing as usual!

2 year old C tries to copy:

Two girls together!

B with her daddy sharing a moment:

Our two usually get on very well!

And finally – a storyboard:

Keep an eye open for some very special photos hopefully coming in around two weeks..

However, that doesn’t mean I’ve put my camera down. Yesterday I “scheduled” a session with my own children, as the weather forecast had been for sunshine. Alas, it didn’t work out like that and we had rain, but I was determined to go ahead regardless and goodness knows the children needed a good run around outside!

Here’s my youngest in the rain, catching raindrops on her nose:

We went to Avery Hill Park in South East London, which has a nice cafe and a winter garden. The park was pretty deserted in the rain:

The children had fun anyway!

After getting wet, we headed over to a nearby Tarn which was very scenic and somewhere I would recommend for future sessions:

Just as the children got tired and too cold, the weather improved – but we were heading home by that point!

I’m planning on doing some studio shots of the children in the next few weeks too, after I sourced some beautiful dresses recently – so keep an eye open!

They are one of two Holiday Mini Sessions I did this weekend. These are quick sessions (30 minutes shoot time, with time on either side for setting up and taking down) in the customer’s home, and fewer proofs to choose from. I use a black background for these sessions, because it is so much quicker to set up for the session.

The two boys did a great job of posing in the short time available – we even managed a hug!

The big boy pulled so many great expressions it was really hard to narrow them down for the proofs.

And the littlest one was such a sweetheart playing with his toys too.

I hope you enjoy your sneak peek, G Family, and have a lovely Christmas!

C and B playing games in the park

B is my oldest, and has not long turned four. She has hair that is impossible to brush, but she’d never let us cut it!

My daughter B

C is my youngest, and will shortly be turning two. She has her daddy’s red hair and is very cheeky!

My daughter C

They’re children, so they liked getting as mucky as possible..

B checking out the flowers

And looking grumpy at the camera. Neither of my two are impressed with me photographing them – other people’s children are a LOT easier!

C does not like to be photographed

They both love the outdoors.. in fact B is developing a bit of a tree-hugging problem!

B loves trees

C loves to ride on her daddy’s shoulders.. and steal his hat for good measure!

Stealing daddy's hat

And of course, there’s someone missing. So I handed the photo to my husband and told him what to do with it!! Here’s something you very rarely see:

Daughter C and me

I hope you enjoyed this “sneak peek” of my own family! And now, back to my regular work! Keep watching for more sneak peeks, and don’t forget about my special Holiday/Christmas packages which I am booking towards the end of November.

M is seven months pregnant, so we took the chance to get some maternity shots as well!

I love doing silhouette photographs, and the light was perfect for it on Saturday:

The family has a little boy who is almost four, who was looking VERY cool in his leather jacket. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of me with a big camera at first, but he did a great job posing by the end!

Here’s a final one with his mum:

I really enjoyed photographing this fun family – the location is beautiful, the lighting was perfect and the family were great!

We arranged to meet in the hour or so before sunset as that is when the light is at its best. Greenwich Park is beautiful, and for this photo we were in the flower garden right at the very top.

Evie is nearly four, and wanted to hold my hand and get me to run everywhere!

Isaac is one, and even though he’s only been walking a few months, he was astounding me with his strong little legs as he was walking everywhere!

Toddler Photography

Evie is like my oldest, and likes riding on her daddy’s back!

The sun began setting, so it was time for a final pose in front of the Royal Naval college. Time for something a bit different to my normal photos!

It was wonderful to finally meet Mary and her family – and afterwards we met up for dinner and I dragged the rest of my family along, and Evie and my oldest got along fabulously! Looking forward to hopefully seeing them again soon.

It was also a chance to try out my new vinyl “wood” floor, and use the pink backdrop in the studio properly as until now I have only used it with newborns and natural light. You can also see my basket and chair prop if you are interested in using them for your session and later on I used my black velvet backdrop for more moodier shots.

Here’s a selection of some of my favourites, enjoy!

B is getting much better at posing

Then again, dressing her in her favourite clothes works wonders!

B loves being a ballerina

C isn't quite newborn size, but loves the basket!

B and C and the basket

B fits in the basket even less well, but she gives it a go!

C is still a little bit too small for my chair prop

A portrait of B, with my black velvet background

And in case you were wondering why they all look so happy, here’s what my children really think of me photographing them all the time:

Other people’s children are *so* much easier as it’s a novelty!!

I have another newborn session tomorrow, so watch this space in a few days for hopefully a sneak peak.

Ruby and her Dad

Sophie is a big cloth nappy fan, so out came the cloth nappies!

Ash and the nappy stash

Faith is the oldest, and did a grand job with posing:

Faith

Faith and her mum Sophie

At the end of the session, the children even allowed mum and dad to snatch a quick pose themselves!

James and Sophie

You can see their full gallery by clicking on the link here.

It was all great fun, both to capture the images and to process them. Thank you again to Sophie and James and their family for being such great models!

I’ve done a few sessions in Greenwich Park over the last few months – Mofette and her friends and a very cold session with James just two months ago. This session was a lot warmer!

Prakriti and her children

Kail has just had his third birthday very recently, and Simran was 7 months at the time (5 months adjusted as she was premature) and both were absolutely cute as a button!

Simran

Kail

The children were very well-behaved and were great fun to photograph too.

Playing with their mother's sunglasses!

Kail from above

Joe is the father – here he is with Simran:

Joe and Simran

The family were good fun to shoot and had a great sense of humour. It was lovely to meet them!

Family in front of the Royal Observatory

And that concludes my free sessions, aside from any maternity/newborns which I still have a few slots left on. More about that in my next post!

K, like all small boys, didn’t want to stay still for a second so it was good training for my marathon to chase around after him!

K runs along a path

His mum caught him at one point..

K captured

Here he is with his mum and dad

K and his family

Occasionally we convinced him to sit still.. he did do a great job with posing when asked!

Steps near a pond

As it’s Spring, the daffodils were ablaze, and what better backdrop can you get?

K and the daffodils

And finally, just as we were finishing up, I managed to catch a close-up..

Close-up

Thank you very much to K and his family for letting me photograph them – it was very enjoyable especially hearing about the wedding memories!

Avalon and Jude

Avalon wanted some photos of both Jude on his own and the two of them together in their local park, which has plenty of memories for them.

As well as tree climbing, Jude enjoyed playing on the play equipment:

And as a bonus, a photo of their gorgeous fluffy cat!

I am always impressed by the energy that pre-teen boys have, and Jude was no exception. He certainly kept me fit chasing after him.. no bad thing!

Thank you very much to Avalon and Jude for being such great models. The rest of the photos will be processed in due course

There was disaster when I arrived when the fuse went in one of my lights, so I was down to one light for the session. Lesson learned about spares there! Fortunately there was a lot of natural light in the room and I also had my reflector so the session was saved.

Faith is the oldest, and was a fantastic model! Not only did she do everything I asked, but also helped out fantastically with the others too. If every child was like Faith, my life would be so easy.

Faith

Ruby is two years old and full of beans.. and opinions!!

Ruby

Ash is 16 months and was sadly getting over a tummy bug so he wasn’t his usual smiley self, nor was he up for many photos, but I managed to get a few photos of him including this one:

Faith and Ash

Faith and Ruby share a moment

Faith and Ruby

Ruby makes her feelings known to her mum!

Sophie with Ruby

James has his hands full!

James and his girls

There are more to come (and also more of Meg and her horse Pico) hopefully in a few weeks.

Coming up soon – a model in glamorous evening dress, and a newborn!

James studies the Royal Naval College

Meet James!

James

James is a very sweet boy, and also *very* lively and I put my marathon training to good use as I chased him around the park up the steep hills and over fences up to the top of the hill!

At the top of Greenwich Park

He particularly enjoyed rolling down the hill afterwards, getting rather muddy!

Rolling down the hill

The sun was just starting to dip behind the trees when we decided it was just too chilly to stay out much longer.

The sun begins to set

It was lovely to meet you both and I certainly kept warm chasing James around!

You can see the rest of the session here

Amy has a very small front room, yet somehow I still managed to fit in the studio although it was rather tight at times. I brought along my new white paper backdrop, and I was very pleased with how effective it was.. worth every penny.

So, first off – Felix.

Felix and his teddy bear, Felix

Felix was rather attached to his teddy bear, and wanted it to be in all the photos. Here’s what happened when we tried to take it away:

Felix without his teddy

He is usually a happy chappy, and was extremely co-operative (especially at first) and did most things we asked!

Felix rolling around

One of the things Amy wanted most were some photos of her with Felix.

Felix cuddles his mummy

This was also a chance to try out my new black velvet backdrop, which also worked incredibly well!

Felix resting on his mummy

Meet Dave – Amy’s boyfriend!

Dave and Amy

We all had a lot of fun trying out various different poses..

Dave and Amy sitting down

Their patented “Staring at the chimney pots” pose:

Staring at the chimney pots

And a portrait of Amy on her own.

Amy

Finally, I decided to experiment with storyboards.. and felt that these photos were a natural fit!

Soppy storyboard

All in all, we had a great time! It took around an hour to set up the equipment (this will get faster as I get more practice) and we were shooting for two hours. Amy and Dave are very pleased with the photos and immediately changed their Facebook profile photos to some of the more soppy ones!

Thank you so much Amy, Dave and of course Felix for being my guinea pigs and being such great fun to photograph

Monday I did a tandem nursing shoot with Jessica.. watch this space!

With the “Silver Birch” backdrop, and a child’s chair that was very conveniently on location:

C on a chair

I then did some rim lighting from behind the hair with my black backdrop:

B is surprised!

A black and white of B

And some with my youngest daughter:

C is thinking hard

Rage!!

Tomorrow I will be visiting a very special little boy and his mummy, so I will have a different child to share here!

And just to prove it’s not all children, here’s some photos of the up-and-coming band The Incisors I took last year in the summer:

I’m just as happy outdoors as indoors with the studio, and I’m very much looking forward to the summer so there are more opportunities for natural light photography!

The paper I bought was called “Silver Birch” and is a warm grey.. almost beige. I also experimented with the flash gels (coloured plastic) I got for Christmas from my sister.

Anyway, children alert!

1. B, my oldest (she is 3)

2. C, my youngest (14 months)

3. With a red gel

4. B keeps mum

5. “Now, look here..”

6. B protects C from.. something.

7. C laughs

8. My new Facebook icon

Paper allowed me to finish 50 photos in the time it would usually take me to do 20. Such a difference!