Three Years in the Life ...

I've been running my business for about 4 years now and I'm not going to lie to you, it's been a real roller coaster ride. It's very easy when you are starting out to think that it's going to be easy - you can take a decent photo and people like what you do. A bit of advertising and you'll have a thriving business ... simple. Being a photographer can seem like a very glamourous job but what people don't see is everything that goes on behind the scenes. Yes, you need to be a good photographer but you need to be constantly learning and developing your skills both behind the camera and in the digital darkroom. Then there's all of the business elements ... accountancy, networking, marketing, pricing, legalities, exceeding customer expectations and ultimately attracting more customers. You need to wear many hats in this game.

Sometimes, something happens that really pulls everything into focus (excuse the pun). I got a bit emotional this week. You see, I have a customer who has been with me since almost the very beginning. Whilst putting together a collection of images captured from all of her sessions over the past 3 years it hit me! I am so lucky to do what I do. I am so privileged to be able to capture, not only images of children but to document such a special time in the history of a family. Let me explain ...

Back in 2008, I first met a new family with their beautiful newborn daughter. One of my first newborn sessions and they were delighted with the images in fact I think they bought every image!

Roll on to 2009. and we decided to go to a local park to capture their baby as she turned one. Not the smiliest of days but a memorable one non the less.

And now - 2011. That little baby that so gracefully allowed me to poke and prod her when she was a newborn has turned into the most beautiful toddler. This time we opted for something a little more natural and captured her at play in her home - you've got to LOVE the fairy wings.

And the icing on the cake? I go to meet her stunning baby sister too.

I am so grateful to be invited to revisit families such as this, to capture images that they truly love and capture their children as they really are. It really is an honour and it makes all of the hard work worth while. Not only am I able to see a family growing but also it's a lovely record of the way I have evolved in my work and photographic style!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. x