In the days leading up to the session, I’ll keep a close eye on the weather forecast.

It’s usually no problem to work around the weather. If we’re outdoors, we can either embrace rain, snow and wind and include it in your photos for extra effect or move to an indoor location. We’ll decide together the best way to deal with it – either reschedule the session, choose a different location or just embrace it.

Don’t worry!

I am really uncomfortable in front of the camera too (or at least I used to be), which I think is why I work the way that I do and why I love storytelling photography. I’m really laid-back and my greatest aim is to help you relax and be yourself because this will result in great photos.

I will give you things to do, think about and talk about to elicit natural expressions, gestures and to take your focus off the camera. I will constantly be hunting for that twinkle in your eye and genuine reactions. Give yourself permission to just be you.

My aim is to capture your authentic personality and body language, not to create a fake persona or to force you to pose in a way that you never would in real life.

We’ll set up a scene and I’ll give you a chance to settle into the situation. You’ll hear me say quite often ‘How would you normally sit in a situation like this?’, ‘Imagine you were just standing here waiting for a friend, what would you normally do with your hands then?’, ‘Is it natural for you to put your hands in your pocket/tuck your hair behind your ear etc?’. Instead of forcing you into a pose, I’ll let your body language lead and I’ll then make adjustments and give suggestions so that it works for the camera.

I want you to keep in mind though, that even if I will do my best to help you to relax, I’m not a magician and my camera isn’t a magic wand. I’ll look for the best light and angles, I’ll do what I can to create the right atmosphere for the type of photo we’re taking, but I see this as a creative collaboration.

You need to give yourself permission to have fun and relax. The more relaxed you are, the more you trust me and my process and the more accepting you are of who you are and how you look, the better the results will be. If you spend the photo session wishing you weighed less, were 10 years younger, or were anything other than the perfect soul you are, this tension and doubt will show in the photos.

If you struggle with this, let me help you. I see your strengths. Let me help you share that. (And trust me, I’ve been there, done that. I know how it feels. I also know that life is too short and your message is too important not to share.)

There’s no one-size fits all list of rules for choosing outfits (at least not in my opinion). I’m happy to give you tips on what will work best for your photos and if you’re choosing between different outfits you are welcome to send me photos so I can help you to choose.

It can be good to have a few outfits for your session (3-5) so that you have some variety in your photos. Since you will most likely be sharing quite a few images on social media, it’s great if you’re not wearing the same clothes in each photo.

Aim to have a different outfit for each story we are capturing. You can even add variety to a story by adding and taking away accessories like jackets, jumpers, jewellery etc.

Some general thoughts:

• choose colours that work with your skin & hair colour (you know, the colours that you instinctively know you look best in).
• wearing black close to your face can make you appear tired and emphasise dark eyes and lines (while lighter colours tend to add a pop of light, fills in the shadows and gives the appearance of smoother skin and a sparkle in your eye).
• I tend to suggest avoiding bold patterns because it can take the focus away from you and it also dates the photos faster (meaning that you’ll get sick of them sooner) – but if you’re a bold-pattern-lover, go for it.
• wear sizes that fit well and that you feel great in.
• if you’re going to worry about the fabric not sitting right or if it’s a fussy outfit that needs a lot of attention to get it looking right, avoid that outfit. I’ll pay attention to the details and adjust if needs be, but in the moment, I’ll choose expression over perfection every time.
• keep your brand colours in mind when you choose your outfits. You don’t necessarily have to wear your brand colours, but what you wear should harmonise with them so that when you share the photos they won’t clash. (Having said that though, don’t be afraid of a pop of colour for contrast.).

Of course! I work with a wonderful team that does great work (and makes my clients feel amazing). Just let me know if you’re interested and I can send you the price and we can book it in.

On the morning of your photo session, my wonderful hair and make-up artist will travel to your home or hotel to get you ready.

We’ll work together to get the timing just right, but you should allow about 1.5 hours for hair and make-up.

At the start of the 12-month subscription period, I’ll send you a contract and invoice with 12 payment dates on it. You will then pay the fee monthly until the end of the 12 month period (you can then choose to continue for another year if you would like).

I’ve set up automatic payments, so the easiest solution for you is to set this up at the start so you don’t need to make a manual payment each month.

No problem! Get in touch and I’ll be more than happy to help.