Our Story

The other day, I posted a photo on Facebook as a public reminder to me to write a blog that is way overdue. I get excited about putting pen to paper (I need to write it out the old fashioned way first!), and setting a blog post free from the confines of my head, where the ideas will have been swimming around for some time. In this case, a year. Like I said, long overdue!

Me and Suzi had been chatting about making a film about our portrait work. We wanted to talk about our shoots, show the interactions we have with families, and how we cherish our own childhood photos. The photos we like best are the ones that truly reflect us as kids, not those posed school photos sporting freshly cut fringes and itchy roll neck jumpers!

We worked with the very lovely Chris and Raphael from Rogue Robot. We felt very safe in their hands, knowing that they would film in a way that would reflect our style of photography. As I've said before on here, I'm much more comfortable behind the camera, so I struggled a little bit at first on the other side of it! Here's a bit of a grainy phone photo of us in our 'sound booth' recording the voice over!

We wanted the film to show one of our shoots, and we couldn't have picked a better late afternoon to take images with Rebecca, Simon, Harry & Jemima. We've documented their life together since Jemima was a baby.

I've put a link to our film at the end of this post, we hope you like it. We called the film 'The Storytellers' and the ridiculously talented Euan Atkinson composed a tune for us after watching the edit unfold. And here are some of our favourite images we took on the shoot. Magic late autumn light and the backdrop of Widdop reservoir.

We love those moments, those sparks.

A short film showing us at work on a shoot, what makes us tick as portrait photographers, and why we're so passionate about documenting life in pictures.

We're passionate about documenting your life together, and we'd love to tell your story.

Christmas At Home - Ethan's Story

So, like it or not (and I do, a lot!), we are in the Christmas build up. The tree in Hebden Bridge has been put in its place, the shop windows are being dressed & titivated, and there is a fresh chill in the air.

But this is Ethan's story.  We've been documenting his life through the seasons over the past year.  We've had a spring shoot in the bluebells & celebrated his third birthday in the summer. But our journey started last year when we photographed the family's Christmas preparations. I have to say the low light played its part that day. Just seeing the family together in their home getting ready for the festivities, was a lovely thing to be a part of. There was dressing the tree, the opening of advent presents through Ethan's excited whispers, and time out for orange juice and colouring. We ended our shoot by having a wander into Leeds, looking at the shops, and stopping at their favourite coffee kiosk for a cuppa.

Although this all made a beautiful backdrop, it really wasn't about this. It was about their time together. A few times I caught myself holding my breath at those little moments. Those glances, the hugs & kisses, and the beaming smiles. And now there's a new addition to the family, and we're looking forward to welcoming her into the world on a shoot together next week.

What do you like to do as a family in the run up to Christmas? If you'd like us to document your preparations, it would be lovely to hear from you!

Stories of the Everyday - Diya & Amba

A couple of months ago, I started a hashtag on Instagram - #storiesoftheeveryday. Folk have been sharing everyday moments of the little and big people in their lives, and what they've been getting up to during the day. It's a little community, but it's growing, and I've been really struck by the stories people have shared.

One Monday morning, I had the pleasure of spending time with these two. Diya & Amba are sisters, confidantes, they watch out for each other, they're sensitive beautiful souls. I documented their morning routine getting ready for school.

I love photographing life at home, especially at this time of year - cosy family time. I found this quote recently and it struck a chord with me; 'Home is people, not a place' (Robin Hobb).

So - let's celebrate the everyday! If you'd like us to tell your story, it would be great to hear from you. And if like me you're an Instagram addict, you can find me here. It would be great to see your images on #storiesoftheeveryday and I have set up a page too if you'd like to follow.

For now, I'll leave you with Diya & Amba.