It’s been a funny year because… well… *gestures at everything*. I would never have known at the start of the year that I’d be having a forced break from being able to work. In a lot of ways, it was lovely to be able to slow down and take some time with my family. I homeschooled. I foraged wild garlic and made pesto. I put my cameras away for months.
But, it wasn’t easy. I’ve missed working so much. Not just getting to be creative but being around people and having a sense of purpose. I finally got to break the seal and do my first professional shoot since March and there was no better way to do this than a family shoot with a couple I’ve been lucky enough to work with since 2014. First on their engagement shoot, their wedding, a family shoot when they had their first baby and now with their newest arrival. Here’s a little trip down memory lane…
I may sound like a sentimental softie but it’s a funny old thing shooting someone’s wedding… you get to know people so intensely well in a short period of time, you meet their friends and family, you hear all the stories about them and then you leave, not knowing if you’ll ever see them again. I hate goodbyes. So, it’s always such a privilege when I get to see my couples again and even lovelier to get to capture the next stage in their lives. Seeing Alyson and Mike feels like catching up with old friends.
Here’s some of the photos from their latest family shoot…
I hope you’ve enjoyed browsing this post - If you’d like to book a family photoshoot with me get in touch! For now I’ll leave you with kind words of feedback from Alyson.
“Hannah has been taking photos of us since 2014…and if I have my way, she’ll be doing so for many more years to come. We asked her back this time for a family shoot to celebrate the arrival of our second baby. It was such a pleasure to see Hannah again. She is friendly and funny and great with kids – and she just happens to have a camera in her hand while you’re chatting away. Through some kind of dark magic/sleight of hand/wizardry, she manages to capture the smallest moments without you really noticing – it doesn’t feel like “having your photo taken” at all, which is particularly great if you (like me) usually turn into a Chandler Bing-style mannequin in front of the camera. Three hours went by in the blink of an eye –we had a blast. When she sent us the photos, we sat and watched the whole slide show, grinning like loons, and then spent another half an hour just flicking through them all over again.
So many beautiful, relaxed images that really capture our personalities, and make us look like *us* - the sort of thing that you spend ages attempting to capture with a phone camera and never quite manage (particularly with children!). I also loved the fact that the shoot was in our home, so the photos are filled with things we love rather than a blank white backdrop. It feels like a sort of visual time capsule, for us to look back on in years to come and marvel that the kids were ever that small. I love all of the photos Hannah has taken for us, and the consistency of having the same (ruddy brilliant) person to document our lives so beautifully, from our engagement to our wedding, to kids and beyond. I can’t wait for the next milestone so she can come back again!”
