There’s nothing that makes me happier than when I get to photograph a family over time. Heli and Julian got married last year in London’s Battersea Park (I seem to have not blogged it yet! Coming soon…) and have since had this gorgeous little boy. So I went to their home and nearby Vauxhall Park to meet him and to capture some portraits of him and his mummy and daddy while he was still little. He’s about four months old so there are lots of smiles and cuteness overload. He’s not a newborn and he’s not sitting up yet, he needs feeding and naps and while he is in fact one of the most beautiful babies I’ve ever photographed, he’s not always totally co-operative – nobody is when they’re this tiny! Basically there is no ideal time for a family shoot with your baby because they’re human and messy and so going with the flow and making the most of the chaos is what it’s all about. Here’s a little dose of adorable… x

So here I am, back where I started shooting family portraits while at the same time here I am somewhere completely new. The New Forest couldn’t be a more perfect environment for family shoots with so much to explore from the open heathland to the woodlands and the beautiful coast. This super family trusted me to go for a walk in the forest near Brockenhurst to capture their two very tall (basketball playing) teenagers and their dog Fred. They were all very tolerant of me asking them to sit on fallen trees, jump over rivers and get among the equally tolerant ponies (Fred on a lead of course). It was a new place for them to visit too and I think they’ll be back!