I love this couples’ tradition of taking family photos around the first birthday of each daughter… they love the story it has become and how it shines the light on this moment in their lives. Travelling and living all over the globe, these girls have some wonderful experiences to share, and my Sunday morning in their current home in London was the best fun… they performed, they played, they twirled and they filled me up with a whole lot of girly-ness.

Thank you for letting me be part of your tradition and tell the story of your wonderful girls.

Lovely Eddie is at that wonderful age of loads of smiles and fabulous noises…

These guys just love being a family… so much love and adoration.

When I took these photos of our boys for a prompt as part of the Art & The Heart workshop, it stirred something inside me. I loved the intimateness of them and the essence of childhood they gave. Initially I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that made these portraits different from others I have of the boys. It’s was probably the monochrome palette & kinda film like feel, which is different from what I usually create. But there was something else… our boys are relaxed… there is a sense of comfort… so was it to do with the location?.

This got me thinking about how children feel & act when they are in their parent’s bed. I remember the comfort of it as a child. If I was ill, I would lie in there with the telly on, so cosy and warm… and Sunday mornings were spent around my parent’s bed, cups of tea, reading the papers and me hanging out with my Beano.

Children do behave differently in their parent’s bed. I see it with the photo sessions I do & with the time capsules I create. They turn it into a playground… jumping or making games in there and there’s sensory experience; the feel and the smell is familiar and reassuring creating a relaxed environment.

There’s also the scale of the bed against the child… a small newborn baby laying on the duvet, or a toddler lost in the pillows or an elder child stretched across the length… it shows that moment in time beautifully.

This place is like an island to them; to play, laugh, relax, have fun, be thoughtful & just be… I want to discover how different children react on their parents’ island.

I’ve photographed a few other children already for this project, which I look forward to sharing in the coming weeks. Today I’m also putting the call out to those who might be interested in having me photograph their children and how they explore their parent’s island.

The idea would be I would come and photograph (maybe video too)… exploring this idea and make a series out of it. Please contact me for more details or if you know a family who might be interested, please send this link to them.

Can I tell you my bliss?. Hanging out with a family, getting to know them, being part of their day. Noticing the little things… the things that I imagine will be important to recall in years to come. Take photographs, not just fancy “hey everyone, look at me” portraits but the ordinary moments, where you’re focused on something else… where you almost don’t notice me. Then record some video, so you can remember what you sound and move like, how you smile or cry… you know, the stuff we take for granted.

“The details, that’s what the world is made of. Those are the paints” – Wes Anderson.

This is my bliss.

I’m very grateful to be in a position where I make my own time capsules of our family life… and I’ve guided lots of people in Creating Time Capsules, sharing my process so they can create their own magic of their memories or for other people, and it’s so amazing to see how everyone approaches it so differently.

Lately I’ve been making these for other people, really getting inside their everyday – their ordinary moments, being part of their family life and recording it forever, giving them a time capsule of that moment in time. Something for the whole family to treasure forever.

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Meet the Harvey – Hopes. My In-laws. And one of the most fabulous families I know. They have very kindly let me share this peek into their lives… and this is the message they sent me after receiving their films –  “Thank you! Really, so special and wonderful, brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart – these photos and films make me remember all the good bits! Thank you.”

Here are their time capsule films – Split into two parts, because there was too much magic to squeeze into one…

And here is a selection of my favourite images (some are in the time capsule, some are not).

Wanna make your own time capsules? Find details here – or let me share my bliss and invite me to capture your family, just contact me & I’ll send you details of this investment.

New mama and her sleeping babe. Moments like this always make me smile.

Vanessa & Leon were the first couple to trust me to tell the story of their engagement and then their wedding. I was so honored to be part of their day, and since then we’ve become good friends. Vanessa wrote an email to me shortly after she saw her wedding photos, she signed off with this…”and I seriously can’t wait to have a baby so you can photograph my bump!!”

Fast forward a year or so, and they were pregnant! I was thrilled for them. With Vanessa’s due date looming we managed to find a morning last month, to take some photos, have a cuppa and talk babies. They had the nursery ready and were positively beaming with excitement.

Here are a few of my favourites…

Leon and all his wonderful silliness was with us for the start of the session…

Then the pace calmed down… as Leon left us to it.

Vanessa was so serene and dream like, I had to get the lensbaby out for a few shots.

Last week their daughter Lyla Rose arrived and apparently this new family are doing well… I can’t wait to go and see them all.

A new mama and her baba… there is nothing more beautiful.

Carly & Ben are waiting for their first baby to join them and their 3 chickens. There was much excitement and anticipation… I look forward to meeting the baba soon and I wish them all the best for their journey into parenthood.

Nothing quite like a beautiful bump and an adorable couple so excited about the arrival of their first child.

{More to come from this session}