Natural Family Photography

The world is an amazing place when you are four: all paths are there to be explored, stones to be collected and thrown into rivers, fallen logs are there to launch from, running everywhere is essential, walking is just too slow! A younger sibling, watching his brother with quiet admiration, taking things slowly and carefully finding his own way. Two wonderful parents, answering questions, gently guiding, creating a wonderfully secure and loving framework to allow all that boundless enthusiasm and curiosity to keep on growing. A little snapshot of a wonderful young family exploring the river on Dartmoor. Me there with my camera to capture it.

"Thank you so much, we had such a lovely afternoon and thought you were amazing with the boys (and us!!!)... it will go down as one of our most treasured memories... we are so looking forward to the photos of what was such a fab afternoon."

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Family photography on the beach in Dorset
An extended family shoot on the beach in North Devon
Newborn family photography at home

Cadhay Manor wedding: Kat & Benedict's French themed celebrations

At this weekend's French themed wedding at Cadhay Manor, I was treated to a whole mixture of wonderful things, including a flower crown, the most incredible lace and crepe wedding dress, beautifully delicate flowers arranged in vintage French glass jars and bottles, long wooden tables and chairs in a marquee decorated so prettily, and most importantly, a bride and groom just beaming with happiness.  And a greenhouse!  I loved the greenhouse... Congratulations to Kat and Benedict - it was an amazing celebration and a complete pleasure to photograph.  Here is a little preview of their day...

An extended family session on the beach in Devon

"Hi Helen. Just want to say a massive thank you for meeting us yesterday and giving us such a good afternoon! We had such a laugh and you were brilliant. Cannot wait to see the pictures. Thanks again from all of us."

"Thank you for sending us these pictures and so fast as well... We have fallen in love with every one of the pictures and we have no idea how we are going to choose. Thank you again for such a lovely day."

I recently met with this lovely extended family on the beach at Westward Ho! to capture them all spending time together, celebrating Mum/Grandma Lesley's birthday.  Small children and beaches are always an amusingly unpredictable combination - great fun and beautiful for images, but things never seem to run smoothly!  Last time I was in North Devon for a family shoot, we had a (fully dressed) two year old knocked off her feet by a big wave, shortly after her toddler cousin had rubbed a whole load of sand in his eyes.  This time, one year old Isla didn't disappoint, and managed to dive into a huge pool within the first ten minutes!  Despite that, she was an absolute superstar, and ignored her soggy clothes to carry on stomping around the beach in her wellies and having a wonderful time.  We played with bubbles, threw stones, splashed in the water and narrowly missed being taken out by the incoming tide on more than one occasion!  I always love photographing families on the beach - despite all that pesky water and sand, it is always beautiful and it is always good fun!  Here are some of the images that we created:

Pynes House, Exeter: a gorgeous Devon wedding venue

Last weekend I had the exciting experience of visiting Pynes House, Exeter, for the first time. It is an amazing Georgian country house that has been beautifully refurbished over the past few years. I am photographing Tessa and Steve's wedding there in December, so we popped over to have a look around. I always love visiting a wedding venue that I haven't been to before, as it gives me the opportunity to start visualising each couple's wedding, and getting a real feel for how things will be on the day. Pynes House is really spectacular, with incredible spaces inside and gorgeous gardens around the exterior. I was so completely wowed that I had to grab a few images along the way. I loved so much about it: the light streaming into the rooms, the gorgeous colours, the original ornate plaster work and the huge windows looking out across the gardens. The grounds are beautiful, with gentle views across the Exe Valley - despite being less than ten minutes from Exeter city centre, you feel that you are completely in the middle of nowhere.  There were even friendly sheep with gorgeous lambs that came to say hello to me!  So I'm completely smitten, and I can't wait to photograph Tessa and Steve's winter wedding there later this year.  For now, here is a little peep around the house and gardens...