I was thrilled to hear that N was expecting again, and even more delighted that she wanted maternity photos. Here’s a quick peek of some of the images I captured:

We went to Crystal Palace park as it is a beautiful location, and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to take photos of the whole family together!

I’m very much looking forward to meeting Alexander’s new sibling very soon!

So it seemed right I share a whole bunch of photos I’ve taken recently of my children so you can see for yourselves that winter does not necessarily mean no location shoots!

First of all though – some slightly more stylised portraits I’ve taken of them recently:

And some slightly more cheerful portraits!

Here we are down at Rainham Marshes, enjoying the cold January sunshine:

And because nobody’s children are angels all the time:

And finally.. I leave you with some photos taken in the recent snow in Greenwich Park with my smaller, more portable camera! It’s a Panasonic GF-1 with 20mm lens if people are interested – it’s no way up to the quality of my D700 and lenses but in natural light especially it can do a fabulous job:

I have good availability at present as the winter months are often quiet post Christmas, so as a result I have a special deal on mini session CDs right now (£100 off if you pay before the session). Get in touch soon before the warmer weather and increased bookings makes it harder to get your slot!

This is C, standing in front of the Tate Modern – a bi of a stylised photo for a change:

C was heavily pregnant and not able to travel far, so we agreed to meet up in central London and got some iconic backdrops for her session!

Here’s a selection of some of the others:

I’ll be posting her newborn photos soon, so keep a close eye open!

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!

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!

This gorgeous baby belongs to this gorgeous mother! Here’s a link to that session in fact.

At the time of this new session, this adorable little girl was just five days old, and so tiny and sweet. Here she is with her mother L!

Despite being only five days old, this as-yet-unnamed (I can empathise – it took us three weeks to name our first!) beautiful little girl was wide awake for most of the session, so I got plenty of photos of her gorgeous big eyes.

Like last time, the mother, L, was game for all sorts of props and poses, so I got to try out plenty of the things I bring with me! She is clearly already a wannabe Princess – she seemed very taken with the tutu, and clearly likes roses!

We also tried her in a hat. This very sweet hat, like the one used in this newborn session here, was handmade by Jo at Halobaby who makes many gorgeous and cute baby things!

Finally I had a chance to try her out in the cocoon:

This was the first time I’ve met a newborn from a maternity session, so it was a real privilege. It was such great fun working with L and her family – thank you, and your mother too, for being such good sports, super helpful and very enjoyable to work with!

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!

Josh is full of smiles

Josh’s mother wanted some breastfeeding photos; memories of a very special time. As is my policy, I won’t post those images here as people might be reading this entry at work, however I will be creating a separate breastfeeding gallery soon.

Josh being held by his mother

Josh was really not in the mood for a jolly good feed, however I did capture some which have turned out well.

The session took place in two places – indoors (the photos above) and outdoors in a garden. Josh lay down on a blanket and loved the shapes of the leaves against the sky!

Watching the leaves

I also took the opportunity to grab a few shots of Josh with his mother too.

Josh with his mother

I do enjoy taking breastfeeding photos – as someone who has been breastfeeding babies/toddlers for nearly four years now, I know how special it is.. and I also know how easy it is to not have any photos of that time at all. It’s so easy to forget to and then it is too late.

It was lovely to meet Josh and his mother Suzi – Josh is a very well-behaved and extremely cute little man who gave me the biggest smiles!

Baby Eleanor

Eleanor, like Alexander was born prematurely, in Eleanor’s case she was born at 33 weeks back in April. So although she’s actually a few months old, she’s very close to newborn age gestationally.

In a basket!

Despite this, she’s doing absolutely fantastic – she’s doubled her birthweight and starting to build up some adorable baby fat!

Sleeping

Eleanor was ever so good. Not only did she sleep for most of the session (I’m sure the hot weather helped with that a little!) but she graced us with lots of wonderful expressions when she was awake as well.

What's going on?

It was a real pleasure to meet mum Jacqui, and photograph sweet baby Eleanor, and I’m very much looking forward to post-processing the rest of the photos from the session!

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!

Before I left, I did two more sessions on the weekend before, but until now I have not had a chance to upload them!

The first of these was a newborn session with handsome Percy, who was born two weeks past his due date – what a contrast to Alexander who was born 5 weeks before! Percy is just a few weeks old for this session.

Percy in a basket

Percy was not all that keen on sleeping, despite being so new!

But he was a good sport even whilst awake, giving lots of good poses.

Playing around

Watching the world

Trying to roll already

He spent a lot of time feeding, as newborns tend to do! So when he wasn’t feeding, he was making his thoughts quite clear..

Percy tries the taste of his arm

Percy has a full head of hair too.

Head shot!

Finally he fell asleep, and I managed to get some of him in the basket!

Sleeping in a basket

It was lovely photographing Percy and meeting his mum Chloe (and the rest of their family!) Percy is a gorgeous little chap and it was a real privilege to be asked to photograph him!

She has access to private parts of the college that the public, and even regular students were not allowed to enter, which provided some good opportunities:

R in one of the private college rooms

This was also the first time I’d made use of my portable studio set up – no backdrops, but it’s a flash/softbox/reflector system that I can take with me without needing a car. Ideal for reaching people on public transport if car access is difficult.

After a few indoor shots, we headed outside – there were plenty of opportunities there.

A hut in the grounds

An interesting sculpture

And finally of course I had to reuse a location from earlier with K and his family.. I bet it would look even more spectacular in the summer.

Avenue

A very big thank you to R for letting me photograph her in full gowns.. and it was very nice to see her again and catch up!

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

Sleeping baby

Alexander is the first newborn I have photographed since I decided to turn professional so he is extra special.

Still asleep

I used natural light through a window. Unfortunately the weather was wet and dull, but I managed to make the best of the available light.

In a basket

Alexander is very sweet, and pulled the cutest expressions!

What are you doing with that thing?

For a baby so tiny, he has plenty of personality and it was lovely to meet him.

Peeping up from the blanket

He didn’t sleep a lot, but with the help of his mum, I managed to get a few shots of him sleeping.

More sleeping

I really enjoyed this session – it was wonderful to meet Natasha at last, and Alexander is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you very much to Natasha and Joe for letting me borrow your sweet little boy!

There are plenty more to come, however due to my workload (and marathon training) over these last and next few weeks, I am only doing ten at a time from each session and will return to the rest when it is quieter in April.

I hopefully have another newborn to do shortly, and if anyone knows of any other newborns or about-to-be newborns, I am still seeking them (and maternity) for free portfolio-building sessions – these are the only new sessions I am booking for free at this stage.

To come in the next few days – portraits of Jo in the studio.. the first model for my new lights!

Pico currently lives in a very nice stables in North London, so I photographed him in his yard.

Here’s a peek at some of the photos from the session.

Pico and Meg

Meg is very close to Pico

Pico

A black and white of the two

I actually had two sessions that day. Coming up tomorrow – Sophie, James and their family!