The summer holiday's are here!

This is my first summer holiday with children, my daughter finished her second term at Pre-School this morning, the childminder is on holiday and my weeks have grown in length (and my night time work load!!!)

I have found I have been scribbling notes of ideas, things to do, places to visit to keep the Threenager amused so the tantrums (her's and mine) are kept at bay - wishful thinking??

I thought I would share - if you have any cool ideas, please do comment! The days are long ;)

Bookable/scheduled events:

Lark in the Park
This is walkable for us, and opens 22nd July - 6th August. A variety of FREE activities for a range of ages - I am going to pop along tomorrow to check the itinerary so will try to update! You can pre register for these, but last year we turned up for some.

Pets at Home
Pets at Home have 'My Pet Pals' workshops running, again, free. The link is for the store at the Nugent, Orpington. You have to register for these.

Whilst at the Nugent - Hobby Craft
This is exactly my cup of tea and you will find me at these, 100%. Love a good craft! Telescope and dream jars anyone? I can't see a way to book, so think its a turn up jobby!

Odeon have their kids clubs running over the summer - great if there is a rainy day....it's England after all. £2.50 showings, I can't comment on how much it will cost you in pick'n'mix!!

Under1Roof have a wonderful schedule for the Summer! Make sure you check their booking system. Again, great for that Great British weather!

I also have a list of things to do at home...here are my favourites:

Garden Treasure hunt - I have loads of stars cut from my cake smashes, so I plan to hide these around the garden and my 3 year old can have a hunt around!

Make a den - we love a den, inside or out, bedsheets get dragged out, blankets, pillow's galore, we can be hiding from Mor'du (I have a red head...she loves Brave!!) exploring a cave, bust out the slumber buddy and look at the stars!

Bubble painting - I love pinterest for crafty ideas, it is a wonderful source of inspiration!

Chalk on the patio...and up the garage wall...and probably on the studio!!

Baking - whilst Super Chunk naps we can get some tasty treats made, I am thinking flapjacks!

A Nature Walk/Scoot - now, we are SO lucky in this area, Swanley Park, Scadbury Nature reserve, Jubilee Park, Petts Wood, Chislehurst Common, Oxleas Wood, Danson Park to name just a tiny selection of all the wonderful outdoor spaces on our doorstep!

Coolings Green and Pleasant, a firm favourite in this house! Great price (and have an annual pass too) and so much fun for the littles. They have birds of prey now too so check out their events section on the website.

Make a Fairy/Elf garden! Those of you who have been to my studio recently have seen that we are making big changes to our family garden, so this could be my chance to add a bit of fun out there!! Maybe I won't tell the husband about the glitter I've already ordered....Pinterest has a lot to answer for!!

I shall have to blog about our adventures this Summer...Let me know any ideas you have!

Lucy and Sam - London based baby and toddler fashion. I especially like their Elephant print Pjs!
http://www.lucyandsam.com/

Based very locally in Bromley & Chislehurst Pom Pom Baby have some amazing rompers (as well as other great items!)
http://www.pompombaby.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home
 
Viv and Joe - two words, hats and moccasins!
http://vivandjoe.squarespace.com/
 
Tootsa - a bigger brand, but some lush unisex items, ethically made.
https://www.tootsa.com/
 
Bo and Bel - beautiful teething jewellery!
www.boandbel.co.uk
 
Handmade & local - I love This Is Wiss's travel changing mats and waterproof bags!
http://thisiswiss.com

Check out the 'Dude' onesie! Love Muklet's Vintage American inspired designs - 'Little Letterman'
http://www.muklet.com/about/

Crafty Pear's reversible wrap dresses are just the cutest!
http://crafty-pear.webnode.com/

Very local and lovely, handmade clothes for your littles!
https://www.facebook.com/Robinandbluebird/?hc_location=ufi

Super duper close to me, you can visit them then me!
www.kiddirockersboutique.com

If you know of any little businesses, crafters, independent owners, designers, please do drop me a line with details, I would love to continue sharing beautiful pieces with you all!

Little Leo came to see me back in October, when he was a few weeks old, he came back for his sitter session, it was so lovely to see how much he had grown!!

I love seeing clients again, it is such a pleasure to be able to capture these wonderful milestone for them!

I am currently running Easter Holiday Sessions, these are 'Fine Art' sessions, and give you the opportunity to get the kids out and do something a little different, whilst updating the photos you have of your wonderful little people!

​So often after the first year there is a big, big gap in photographs

So contact me to book your Easter session, and capture them how they are now.

Look at this stunner! Her eyes!

I so enjoy photographing this age, when little ones start to sit, their personalities have started to shine through, the grins, the giggles, the moody faces!

Olivia was such a sweetie and came to the studio so I could have a play with a few new props, I photographed her sister a few years ago, at the same age, boy have my photographs changed!

The cutest bunny I ever did see!!

I love that I have captured this wonderful stage for Olivia's wonderful family, from the grins to the moody face, the chunky legs to the glittering eyes. Olivia has since started crawling and will soon be running, time really does go far to fast.

Please do contact me about a sitter session for your little one, I would be delighted to have you in.

I get asked 'What should we wear?' all the time. So I thought that I would do a little blog with my tips for dressing for your photos!

Where are your photographs going to be displayed?
You want your photos to work on the walls, so bear in mind that your colour choice for clothes will be displayed next to your wall colour, try to aim for complimenting colours - not matching!

Pick three colours (one being a neutral)  and put together outfits with those colours only.  More than three colours can seem a bit busy.  For example: navy blue (dark wash blue jeans), light gray, and mustard yellow. 
Neutrals include black, white, gray, khaki, etc.

Think coordinating, not matching.

Use your brightest colours as accessories.  You don’t want the brightest colours detracting from the most important part of the picture:  the PEOPLE! This goes for patterns too - too much pattern will be distracting to the eye.

A good rule is for parents to be more neutral and the kids to be in brighter colours

When choosing your colours, try to stick to warm OR cool tones- this helps with planning for displaying your images, if you living room is warm, go for warm tones. I have some handy colour palettes for you:

But my biggest tip?

Wear something you feel comfortable in!

It is important you feel comfortable in your clothes for the shoot, it will show if you are pulling at your top, or trying to hide!

There are lots of examples on Pinterest, it is a great place to get some inspiration!

If you have any questions or want to get in touch about your family photo shoot, drop me a message via this link.

I love spending time crafting, making something new. Generally speaking, when I am making it is for a shoot - an idea I have. A photograph I want to create. I do, however, work to your ideas too, something a little more personal to a family.

A seaside theme for a seaside living family, for this cake smash the family came to me from the south coast, origami boats, hand cut waves and starfish were definitely in order!

Lots of circles being stuck for this lovely little lady, and a DIY canopy!

I have so many pairs of scissors, in various states of blunt! Blue and stars was what the parents wanted for this one. I still find silver glitter in random areas in my dining room!

This little surfer dude was just so cute! I still have the surf boards I made especially!

This is one I am still working on. It isn't specifically for one client, but I am loving it, and it has progress on to....

...this! I am still tweaking the idea, how I want it to look, making it just so! So more flowers are being made, different paper, sizes, colours.

I will be doing a casting for a young lady to come and help me in creating this image I have in my head, keep your eyes out!

I will also be doing a boy theme too - anything you would like to see?

The end of last week I had the handsome Noah come and pay me a visit! He wasn't the sleepiest baby, but we got some lovely shots!

His lovely Mummy asked to take some photos for his scrap book, which I thought was a lovely idea. This has given me some behind the scenes shots for you to see!

Super sweet sleepy shots!

Mid sneeze! Love capturing all the little faces!

And family shots. I love these beautiful moments...Noah wasn't so sure!

It was such a pleasure to do Noah's newborn photographs - I am hoping I will get to see Noah again as he grows!!

I love a cake smash, I make no secret about it - I love them. From the mini portrait session, to bubbles at the end, the prep I put into the sets, to finding cake in the most bizarre places for a couple of days! 

The shoot always starts with a portrait, it is sort of a warm up for the main event, but also a chance for Mum and Dad to have a lovely few shots of their wonderful baby - often with a cheeky smile.

This time also provides me to chance to create a lovely triptych of images.

Next, the cake! Now, sometimes the cake is a little daunting for little ones! Never fear, there are always a few tricks up my sleeve to encourage some messy fun for the birthday babe!

Oh so civilised to start with!

Others, not so much!

It never fails to make me laugh!!
Each cake smash set is based on your ideas, your child's loves, where you will be displaying your photos...whatever you have in mind, I can work with that!

The photoshoot ends with a bath, lots of bubbles, both in the tub and out!

Please do get in touch if you are interested in a cake smash to mark you little ones first, or maybe second, birthday - I promise lots of giggles!

It maybe time to don the wellies and get out and about - the weather *should* be a bit drier this weekend, and the sunrise was rather beautiful this morning!

This lovely website has some great ideas for some fresh air and adventures with your little ones.
Maybe there is a little pub near by for once you have finished...or before you start ;)

Click here for some wonder places to explore.

​While you are out, you can always find some beautiful spots for some family photos and invite me next time!

Some shots from Mia and Indie's recent sibling photoshoot.

Aren't they just beautiful?
I had a specific shot in mind for these girls, and love the black and white portraits of them. Serious suits them, though there where a lot of giggles whilst capturing these!!

These girls where full of smiles during their photoshoot, though, some of my favourites are the moodier ones!
There is something special about photographing siblings, a quiet importance of capturing a relationship they won't admit to, not at this age at least! I hope once they are grown these images provide them with a smile and wonderful memories of their childhood years together.

With Christmas approaching, I cannot share photos much, as many are for presents.

But I have been super busy seeing lots of amazing and lovely faces!

One of my recent shoots was of the GORGEOUS Emily. She is such a smiler, I had a wonderful time during her shoot, capturing her wonderful eyes, smile and creating images for her Mum and Dad to look back on and remind themselves of this stage of her life.

​Here are a few from her shoot!

I am sorry! I have been and am, SO busy, Christmas mini's have left me with the biggest editing pile ever, plus my regular bookings...It is so so busy for me right now!

I have had families, and Cakesmashes, and mini's and products to shoot! It's lovely to be busy, but sorry Mr Blog, you have been put to the bottom of the pile!

This week I had 3 gorgeous 1 year olds! Here are 2 of them...

More coming soon, I promise!

Eliza was a little older than a typical newborn who comes for a shoot, generally speaking, this makes it a little harder to get those sleepy, curled up shots - but, the positive of it is, more awake shots.

A short nap meant we could get some sleepy shots before some more with big blue eyes.

This little lady was wonderful, and boy does she have a personality!

I love a location shoot. Especially for families with little ones. Being outside allows little characters to shine through, run around and giggle, giving me a chance to capture these beautiful moments between Mummy, Daddy and their lovely teeny.

We walked towards the observatory, the wonderful family admired the views, stopped for cuddles, a quick game of peek-a-boo and some even had a little snack...of stones and sticks!

All walked out, we decided to head back to the family's home and I captured a few more shots of them interacting and relaxing together.

Cannot wait to meet A's little brother in a couple of months time for his newborn shoot, and of course, some more family photographs - this time as a family of four.

To book your family shoot, please contact me!

Little Kara, at just 7 days old was utterly adorable and it shows in every single one of her newborn photos.

As most newborns do during their session, Kara wanted Mummy cuddles and some milk, but she was a star, only becoming a bit upset at the end.

Kara and her mummy and daddy came back a week later for a few family shots, she is such a strong little girl, and so loved. I loved her newborn session, I hope to see her again for a milestone session or a cakesmash maybe!

If you are interested in a newborn session, please get in touch here
Remember to book in whilst you are still pregnant to ensure I can fit you in!

Just one last one before you go...
So very sweet!