Regular readers will know Greenwich Park is a favourite spot for me, but it’s also a favourite spot for J, who regularly enjoys a run around the place. One of J’s favourite views is the view from the park across London. I could not agree with her more!

Thank you to J and F for being such great subjects!

And here they are with their extended family who were visiting:

The weather was overcast, but not raining, so we managed to get lots of photos into the mini session. Here’s a few with T’s cousins:

The children all did great, and were posing right up until the end:

It was lovely to work with you, P family. Enjoy your photos!

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!

It was a high risk pregnancy and we weren’t sure how things were going to turn out, so it was kept very low key all round, hence no announcements on here that I was expecting. I started my maternity leave at 29 weeks at the end of February although I stopped doing sessions at the end of January as due to SPD (back and pelvis problems) I felt I was no longer able to give my best for customers. It took forever to get up off the floor after this shot with my children!

End of April, this little man was delivered via c-section:

Here he is at just four days old:

And here are a few more of him at 12 days old – firstly being prodded by his big sisters:

Trying out my new cocoons:

As you might expect, given I won’t really be working now until probably November, there will be a lot of this little fellow and his big sisters to come over the next few months!

I will probably start taking bookings for future work in late November (no guarantees for Christmas) by August/September time.

In the meantime I can do a few urgent sessions here and there in special circumstances and/or subject to quite a high minimum order (payable in advance) as I can only take a few limited days out of my maternity leave by law to work, so I wish to use them carefully which I am sure you can understand.

If any existing customers wish to order prints/products etc from a previous session, they can do so at any time – please contact me to reinstate your gallery.

I am looking forward to getting back to work though, and photographing all your amazing and gorgeous families again!

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..

Greenwich Park is a wonderful location, and this great family live right next to it – how envious am I..

They’ve recently had their first baby, S, who is just three months old and a complete sweetheart. He was a little grumpy in the middle of the session but it was plain to see he’s normally a very cheerful chap and he gave so many cute smiles!

This was only a mini session, so time was short, but we managed to fit in a good variety of locations in the flower garden.

It was really lovely to meet you all, you were great to work with and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

He was born just a few days before the new year, to absolutely thrilled new parents K and C:

He was by far the sleepiest baby I have ever photographed, much to the surprise of his parents as until now he’d not been a big fan of sleep at all!

He slept through anything, including posing with his dad:

He is a complete sweetheart and his parents were very enthusiastic about the shoot so I ended up with so many great photographs. It’s been really hard work narrowing them down!

Congratulations H family on such a beautiful baby boy! I hope you have enjoyed your sneak peek and I am very much looking forward to working on the rest of your images.

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!

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.

Meet the baby! Isn’t he a sweetie?

He had had a busy day, and probably wanted to rest a while but obviously with a mini session there isn’t quite the same amount of time to wait for moods to change but he did a wonderful job considering!

I leave you with a final shot of this brand new family, who are excitedly waiting for their first Christmas with a child!

Happy Christmas, J and Family!

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!

Even if it’s too late for newborn photos, or if you just want more photos later on, this session proves there is still plenty you can do with a slightly older baby! Not fancying driving (or parking!) in Central London, I was fortunately still able to carry my baby poser and blankets in on public transport which meant we had the best chance for some great photos.

Their apartment was blessed with fantastic natural light, which makes my job a lot easier!

I love taking photos of baby feet

We got through plenty of dress changes and poses – including this fabulous fun outfit:

Family shots were important to the family, so finally here’s M and his gorgeous family all together:

It was a very enjoyable shoot with a fun and creative family, and I am looking forward to processing the remaining images!

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.

Time was at a premium, as they were flying out on Tuesday evening. The scheduled session on Sunday evening had to be cancelled due to poor weather, and the forecast for Monday afternoon looked good, so we thought we would give it a go.

The R family, with their gorgeous daughter Samaira

Alas, the British weather did what it does best.. torrential rain at inconvenient moments! We were undeterred though, and in between showers I grabbed shots here and there.

Cute as a button Samaira with her gorgeous mother Sunaina

After doing Hyde Park Corner, we hopped in a black cab down to Westminster. What photo session in London is complete without Big Ben?

Mother and Daughter and some iconic London images

And of course, the London Eye!

Father Vaibhav with sweet Samaira

Finally, on Embankment, it was time to finish up, just as the sun decided to consider a reappearance! I leave you with a heavily stylised romantic photo of the parents:

Vaibhav and Sunaina at Embankment

It was great fun to photograph the R family – despite the horrible weather, they were full of enthusiasm and smiles and kept on posing no matter what! It was lovely to meet you, R family, and I hope your flight home was a good one. There are plenty more photos where this session came from, and they should be ready in a week or so!

Regular followers of my work here may have noticed that these photos are not my usual style. Well, the R family wanted something a bit different, and I was more than happy to oblige as some of the styles here are ones I am familiar with as I use them for my own personal photography. If you’re a future customer and you like this sort of thing, do let me know!

Newborn Baby Z having an interesting dream

It was also a chance to try out my new baby poser, which is suitable for children from newborn until they can sit unsupported. It was very easy to use and a worthwhile investment, along with the sheepskin rug I used for the photo below:

Newborn baby Z contemplates life on a sheepskin rug

He also got to try out my new basket too!

Newborn baby Z in a basket

I also took some photographs of Z with his parents. These have come out very well – here is one with his gorgeous mother.. I could not believe she’d recently had a baby!

Newborn baby Z and his mother

We did some family photos as well (he has an adorable older brother S who is two and a half who did brilliant “cheese”s for me!) which I will maybe share at a later date. The family were very enthusiastic and had lots of great ideas – it was great fun working with them.

In the meantime, I leave you with a photo of a very sweet Z in this gorgeous hat. Handmade by Jo at Halobaby (take a look, she has some fabulous stuff!) it really suits him!

Baby Z in a hat made by Jo at Halobaby.co.uk

Despite the gloomy light (thank you British summer!) we managed to get a lot of great shots, which I am very much looking forward to sharing with the family soon!

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!