My love of storytelling came from my days working at the BBC in the Natural History Unit (that’s nature programmes to non-TV people), and later in Documentaries. I absolutely LOVED my decade at the BBC, it was full of so many amazingly creative, fun and wonderful human beings. It really is a special place, and yes, Sir David Attenborough really is as utterly lovely as you would imagine. 

Picking up a camera and telling a story are the same thing to programme makers, and that is very much the case for me too. I see everything as a story, every moment, day, week, year. Stories are what binds us as families, friends, colleagues and even the vaguest of acquaintances. Stories help us to make sense of the world around us (even the currently bonkers Covid world). Humans need connection, and stories are the threads to those connections. Covid has reminded everyone in a not so subtle way that contact and connection with other people makes us all feel so much happier and alive! 

When I photograph a family, I want to capture a tiny fragment of their ‘now’ story. The children will never be this small again, the family will never have quite the same dynamic as it has now, there will never be another today. We are all changing, endlessly but minutely, and photography is an opportunity to freeze those feelings, memories, moments and stories. And every time you look at those photos, you can instantly return to that time. It’s a form of magic and time travel all wrapped up in a small but mighty image. 

Stories come in many forms, some can scream and shout with bells and whistles, others can be quiet, subtle, intimate, and there are every type in between. I love to capture laughter, smiles, playing, hugging, glimpses, tickling, talking, silliness, tantrums and stillness. I love it all because life has it all. No two moments are the same, just as no two families are the same. What an amazing thing life is! And I love to have the brilliant opportunity to meet interesting people, spend time with them, and be a tiny part of this.

So, that’s my why, and hopefully you can relate. 

Over time I’ll be sharing some of my family photo sessions here in this blog, and it might just be my parents who read it (thanks guys!) but now that I’ve taken my first step on the blogging highway I’m really excited about it! I’m looking forward to seeing the lovely faces of families that I’ve photographed, and hopefully you will love it too, seeing the images I’ve created and understanding a little about the stories behind those photos…