What do you think… colour or black and white? I absolutely love photographing natural maternity shots around the home. The light that shines through a window can be magical and it’s finding those little spots that makes the photographs such a memory as it’s your very own styling and decor. Having photographs in the comfort of your home also means you can grab a drink and a snack anytime plus have several outfit changes. We also have a portable light for those moments the light doesn’t shine or to just to brighten up your day! How about it? If you are due in 2022 or would like a family session just send over a quick message and we can chat about a session that’s right for you.
As the crisp and cold mornings have suddenly seemed to have appeared from nowhere i’ve found myself thinking about how our next location sessions will be different again from the milder, warmer autumn shoots we’ve just been doing. I thought It would be helpful to blog about some of the very best tips and ideas for location shoots as well as answering lots of common questions our clients have about how they work. Location sessions are a really fantastic way to capture unique images that can decorate your homes. Just as pieces of art, prints and posters have their place, Photography is both personal and can be the focal point of many rooms in your home. Throughout the year we see both cool and warm tones, stunning hues of greens, blues, yellows, gold, reds oranges and pops of vivid colour. You can create any look you want by choosing the best backdrop and season for your session and entrusting us to capture the moment. Family photographs outside can really capture those meaningful happy and playful moments within natures beautiful landscapes and are ideal for families who prefer natural caught moments and the unpredictability of what we may find along the way!
Every season offers unique and wonderful opportunities for any family photographs and I feel it inspiring that every time I go to a local place that I know so well, it has transformed in to a completely different backdrop for my photographs. I love to take my two children to our local parks and they enjoy the scenery with me, looking at all the different flowers that have bloomed at the time and the colours, It’s ever changing and it’s beautiful.
To give you some ideas of what kind of images you can capture throughout the seasons I have prepared a selection of Seasonal Photographs to showcase our location sessions plus some useful tips to remember for each season!
Spring
The season of fresh blooms and new beginnings, Stunning fields of yellow daffodils, swathes of bluebells, Spring is a beautiful season for photographs. The weather is finally warming and colour is slowly and spectacularly arriving in abundance.
It may have been 5 years ago but I treasure these photographs of myself with my daughter and remember planning what we both wear, it actually rained during the shoot but the photographs made my Mother’s Day!
Look out for: Flowers in bloom, Daffodils, Bluebells, Buttercups, Blossom
Special Dates: Mother’s Day
Complimenting Colours: Pastel Hues, Whites
Be Prepared: Rugs and Blankets for leftover morning dew, A brolly for a little surprise April rainshower!
Summer
We all love a bit of sun! Photographs can be bright and cheerful and show off our most happiest self. Speaking as a photographer Summer can be our most difficult season to photograph family portraits as the sun light can be harsh on our face and it can be extremely hot without shade. I would have to say though that these two shoots shown below are my most favourite shoots! I love working with backlight (where the sun is behind my subject) and this makes for beautiful light airy photographs. I am very happy working in the sun although I get very hot myself and I can assure you I will jump at the chance of some shade with you between photographs! The best tree to find and my absolute favourite has to be the willow tree. Summer is also prime season for capturing golden light sessions where the glow of the sun creates a soft warm glow on the skin and beautiful hazy portraits. Why not head to the beach for a golden light shoot? (These sessions are typically between 7-8pm at night until sunset)
I had to showcase Cate’s daughter and here she is; a beautiful and graceful little fairy glowing on the beach in the enriching and elegant light of the evening sun “Golden Hour”.
Below are two beautiful and unique settings for a maternity session
Look out for: Flowers, lakes, long grass, meadows, willow tree and wide open spaces, beaches, sand and stretches of water to splash in!
Be Prepared: Sun Tan lotion, plenty of Water, Sun Hat
Autumn
The stunning warm tones of Autumn is one of the most beautiful seasons for photographs. All the family having fun in the fallen leaves and the children throwing them up in the air! Woodland areas can make a great backdrop for your photographs with all those autumnal reds, oranges, yellows and browns. A pathway through the trees can look stunning, sitting on tree stumps or climbing on fallen trees. Hats and scarves can add nicely to the overall look of the images.
Here are my two children in my recent Autumn shoot just look at how many leaves they found!
A scattering of leaves is always fun!
Look out for: Pretty lakes, woodland areas, pathways, rows of trees, Pumpkin Patch,
Special Dates: Halloween, (its not to early to start planning gifts) Christmas
Complimenting Colours: Jewel Tones, Warm Tones, Creams, Whites and Naturals
Be Prepared: Wooly jumpers, hats and scarves, Wellies (If it has rained recently particularly in wooded areas)
Winter
It can be a cold and challenging few months but it can be a joy to wrap up warm and have fun in the winter sun. There can be beautiful clear days with bright blue skies and a stream of rich sun light to photograph family portraits in. Of course if we are lucky we may just get enough snow to shoot in too. A pop of colour amongst a bed of snow can make for a really magical winter wonderland scene; Wearing welly boots, a big coat, hats and scarves can set the scene for some gorgeous natural shots.
If you are thinking of Christmas presents for the family or a treat for the children, it makes for a lovely experience for all the family. You can even bring along your Christmas jumpers and Christmas hats for that extra fun family photo! We can arrange sessions at one of the local Christmas tree farms too for some unforgettable Christmas Photos.
Look out for: Snowy days on the weather forecast, woodland areas, Christmas Tree Farms
Special Dates: Christmas and New Year
Be Prepared: Warm Coats, Welly Boots, Hats and Scarves, Christmas jumpers, Christmas hats,
Complimenting Colours: Reds, Greens, Jewel tones
Let me know what Location you have in mind and we can get planning your session.
Questions and Answers:
What should we wear?
We always advise you to wear what makes you feel relaxed, happy and comfortable. Coordinating with seasonal colours can make the photographs look more harmonious and impressive. Light colours, whites and soft pastels are beautiful to blend in with the softness of spring and the glow of summer. Jewel and warm tones compliment the hues of autumn and winter. Jeans are always a nice combination for any member of the family. Please try to avoid large logos, prints and character tees as these inevitably don’t age well and may end up being distracting once printed and up on the wall. Think about yourselves collectively, do you compliment eachother? Hats and accessories are a lovely addition but we don’t advise wearing these throughout the entirety of the session to ensure you have a variety of different shots, so ensure you pack a small mirror and hairbrush etc if you feel you will need to. Think about the colours of the season and choose tones that work in harmony with the settings we are shooting in. That being said if you are all about bright crazy clashing colours then you do you! We are more than happy to discuss ideas with you and plan outfits.
What areas do you cover?
We cover areas within Surrey, Berkshire and West Sussex. If you would like us to travel further afield this is absolutely still possible and mileage fees will apply so please contact us for more details. International travel is also welcomed. The sky is the limit when it comes to location shoots and we are happy to liaise with different vendors and location owners to discuss shooting there. We are fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country with plenty of choices for places to shoot. Sadly as of 2020 The Royal Parks require a substantial fee and licence to shoot there and as well as this many other popular locations such as the Lavender Fields, Wisley and other private gardens have a photographers fee too. This does not mean we can’t still shoot there but simply this fee must be covered by the client if they choose that particular location. As a starting point get in touch and let us know your dream and we will help to make it reality!
What if the weather is not on our side?
Weather can be unpredictable but it doesn’t always stop us from working with it and as the saying goes; “there’s no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing” We love working with the seasons come rain or shine, however we know that the weather may throw us some curveballs so we will always allow flexibility should the weather be against us and schedule the session for an appropriate time.
Can we bring our family pet?
You are welcome to bring your pet along to the photoshoot, we are highly experienced working with animals and we especially love dogs, ponies and horses! Please check with your location whether dogs are permitted within the area you would like to be photographed as we have been caught out before, some national trust parks have recently put new restrictions in place.
What products do you offer?
We have 3 core packages in place for you to choose your high resolution digital images, these are a selection of your favourites from the session including 10 images, 20 images or the whole session – (that’s everything we shoot from 40-50+ images) this will be sent to you on our own branded usb stick and sent via a downloadable link should you wish to have your images quickly. Having selected your digital package we offer a wide variety of products such as our framed wall art, sequence frames, box canvases, prints and unique acrylic artwork. We have designed additional collection packages that offer a combination of products, prints and digital photographs. You will see examples of the wall art we can create using your images on your viewing Gallery.
We offer personalised Gift Vouchers which make the perfect Gift for your family and friends this Christmas.
If the outdoors isn’t for you and you would rather have access to a cosy sofa with a cuppa tea and a warm fireplace then we can arrange a fun family session in your home.
We have flattering professional studio lighting and we can even plan for a seasonal shoot in the comfort of your own home.
Thank You for reading and I hope this has inspired you for our session together x
With so many new followers to our page and also lots of new changes going on I thought I would pop on and talk more about our stunning newborn sessions!
Firstly if you are expecting, congratulations!
What a wonderful time ahead and as two mums ourselves we know how absolutely precious your little babies are.
Newborn photography is something we feel incredibly passionate about and hopefully our images tell that story. The amount of love and care we pour into every session I hope has been evident to all of our lovely clients in the past 10 years and we cannot wait to meet our new families and continue this journey with you all.
Newborn Photography is an investment, producing photographs that you will treasure forever. We do not rush our sessions, they are a labour of love from the session itself through to the editing process and beautiful art products that we sell once you have chosen your photographs. We also invest in beautiful outfits, props and fabrics from some of the best vendors in our business.
I thought I would pop a few common questions that we often get in regard to Newborn Sessions!
When should I book my Newborn Session?
We advise booking in your session after your 20 week scan.
Our newborn slots get filled very quickly and due to the unpredictable nature of birth we never overbook and only take on a few limited sessions per week. This allows us to ensure that if baby is early or late we always have availability for you!
How much should I budget for a newborn session?
We take a £50 deposit when you book which covers our time on the day, Photographers talent, travel costs, use of all props, fabrics and outfits plus the editing and preparation of your Newborn Gallery.
We offer two beautiful digital packages for you to choose from. Our first package allows for a slightly more focused session which is shorter in length and we will ask you to pre select two of your favourite props and coloured blankets. This is a 1-2 hour session and includes your favourite 10 digital images for £395. Our second digital package is the full newborn session which is a 3-4 hour session and includes full choice of all props and coloured blankets as well as your favourite 20 digital images for £495. Our full newborn sessions also benefit from a £50 voucher towards products and wall art. Our core packages are digital which means you can take away the best of everything we have photographed and show it off to all your family, send it overseas or fill your social media pages with your beautiful images. Your £50 booking deposit will be deducted from your package choice.
We offer a selection of beautiful framed Art work to compliment your home. These can be added on to any of our digital packages and are a beautiful way to display your gorgeous photos. Whats even better is we will show you a preview in your gallery of how your images will look so you can really visualise how they will hang in your home.
Why is there a different pricing structure for Newborn Sessions?
Newborn sessions are specialist not only in the way in which we create your images but also the way we edit them. There is so much love, care and work that goes into every newborn image we make.
We do not rush things and take great pride in all of our photographs. We prefer to take a baby led approach with our newborn shooting so if we need to stop to ensure baby is fed and happy then we will do just that.
We often use composite images (when two images are taken in quick succession, placing a safe hand on baby in a different position) to ensure baby safety at all times, these images require additional editing.
Quite often baby has milk spots, milia, jaundice and other common newborn conditions may need gentle retouching which can be time consuming so this is all included within our pricing structure.
We understand that our sessions are an investment for our families and we want to be accessible for everyone. Please speak with us for more information on our payment plans.
Are Newborn sessions safe at the moment?
Shooting newborns requires close contact and we will ensure we wash hands frequently. We have both been vaccinated and have a strict wellness policy for both photographer and client to keep everyone safe. We completely understand that some families may have concerns so please speak with us if you are worried. We will also take a LFT before your session.
Do I have to have props if I prefer a more natural look?
Definitely not. Every newborn session we do is tailored to our clients. We will always be happy to advise, guide and style your session but ultimately we are here to create images that YOU love.
Newborn sessions can be absolutely natural and stripped back with more of a focus on beautiful newborn details such as hands, feet, hair curls and details. If you want a heavier focus on more journalistic and less posed images please check out our newborn lifestyle shoots!
How to Prepare For Your Session
Before your Newborn session we will have had a chat about what you love so that we can plan the styling for your session. We’ll discuss favourite colours and thoughts on accessories and set ups.
It’s always useful to think about what to wear, what can you imagine in a frame up on your wall?
White always looks beautiful and timeless. Why not choose colours that may compliment your home and surroundings and that you feel most comfortable and confident in.
As we will be in the comfort of your own home you will be able to rest and relax as we take your photographs. It is helpful for us to have a clear area to work in as we will be bringing our light and sets. If you feel there may be a more suitable space to shoot in please let us know before we set up. This may even mean having the shoot at a friend or family members home. We also love to take family portraits in the bedroom or by a large window so it is helpful to have these areas tidy and accessible on the day of your session.
As baby will sometimes be naked or wrapped it is very important that your home is warm and comfortable (sometimes a little warmer than what is comfortable for you is preferable)
What to expect on the day of your Session
On the day of your session we will arrive and set up. We will have a chat and show you some of our favourite outfits and accessories that you can look through and select whilst you feed and settle your baby. We will often wrap baby first and have you feed and settle rather than have to disturb your little one after a feed to change them. Once baby is happy, sleepy and fed we will begin to work our magic and work through the different set ups we have prepared.
Some babies take a little longer than others to settle but please do not worry! It may also be a wonderful opportunity to capture some beautiful wide awake shots! We will photograph your family together if you would like these as well as any sibling photographs you may like too. Our sessions can sometimes run over schedule and this is ok! We are mainly baby led so please do not worry at all.
We will always ensure that we capture the very best images for you. At the same time we are mindful that you are parents of a very teeny baby and we know exactly how this feels, there is a lot of patience involved in our sessions and the trust of you welcoming us into your home. We always try to be respectful and work through our set ups as efficiently as we can. Once we pack up we will prepare your gallery of images to view and these should normally be available one to two weeks after your session.
How do you choose your photographs after your session?
We will send you a link to a private, password protected online gallery that you can look through at your own leisure in the comfort of your own home. We will prepare a beautiful edited gallery for you to choose from including some beautiful ideas for wall art too. Your photographs will be edited in colour with some black and white choices too. We LOVE to hear how much you love your images so please do send us a text or message to let us know. We love reading them 🙂 We are always at the end of the phone if you need some additional assistance in choosing and selecting your favourite images. This includes tailoring frame and wall art to your tastes so always let us know if you would like to see a certain image built into a product or frame we are more than happy to help.
You will have seven days to select your images and we will liaise with you and finalise your choices and payment. Once payment has been made images will be available to download and we will begin the ordering process for any chosen Wall Art.
Wall Art may take up to 4 weeks for delivery and we will always endeavour to keep you updated should any unexpected delays arise. We ask that digital images that are downloaded within 7 days and are checked for quality upon download. We greatly advise these are backed up on multiple platforms, such as a hard drive, cloud and desktop. It’s so important to have extra copies and back ups.
I hope I have given you all a little more information on our lovely Newborn at Home Sessions and got you a little excited about getting ready to have your session! Please always feel free to message us or give us a call any time to go through any questions you may have! We always prefer to chat on the phone, after all you are welcoming us into your home to photograph your tiny new bundle of joy! We love to get to know our clients as that ensures we can do the very best job in capturing ‘You’ in our images.
I hope you all have a wonderful week and we look forward to meeting you soon!
What a wonderful start to our new adventure as Rock and Rose Photography takes to the road!
The sun has been beaming, children have been playing and flowers are blossoming. We have had the joy of photographing two beautiful girls amongst the buttercups,
a brother and sister under a beautiful willow tree and amongst a field of dandelions,
and a family in the sunshine with a handsome furry friend that would do anything for his small human!
If you are thinking about having a family session and your imagination has taken off or you need some inspiration please get in touch.
Surrey, West Sussex and Surrounding – Cate 07858450190
Surrey, Berkshire and Surrounding – Orli 07379329463
Eva -Hi,
I wonder whether you have availability for family photoshoot on Friday 9th Jul afternoon or Saturday 10th.
I Just thought it could be a nice birthday present for myself.
I would like studio shoot or possibly location. I haven’t thought of any specific location, but I like tall grass/meadow pictures.
Yes of course! We have availability this Friday, please do email us on info@rockandrosephotography.co.uk or telephone us directly on either:
Surrey, West Sussex and Surrounding- Cate- 07858450190
Surrey, Berkshire and Surrounding- Orli- 07379329463
Hello Friends, us girls are safely back in our Rock and Rose Studio! Hooray! We are both doing everything possible to get back up and running and maintain our lovely Surbiton High Street. We are working together to adapt the studio and make it work safely for everyone through this new situation that we find ourselves in until we reach some normality again.
It’s been a tough few months wouldn’t you say!?
Cate and I found it extremely daunting closing our doors in March, there were many tears and the sheer worry of what would be left for us at the end of this crisis. (Covid-19 to be precise!) It was the not knowing what financial situation the studio would be in after this and whether we could pull through, but with a little magic dust from the government we had some help for our small independent business and we have just about survived. NOW with a little help from YOU we plan to open our doors again next week.
What are we up to in the studio?
We are prepping the studio in line with the new Covid safety guidelines and making sure all risk assessments are completed to ensure our studio is fully compliant.
We are now open by appointment only- you may notice our new sign on the door from tomorrow. We are asking you to please knock for any assistance and wait outside or get in touch through our social media pages if the studio seems busy. We would love to see you but where possible please let us know if you plan on visiting us.
We have social distancing measures in place and a new rule of only one family in the studio at any one time. We will still be our usual bubbly, friendly selves – our aim is for you to have the most enjoyable experience in the studio to capture some amazing photographs.
Sessions may seem a little different and we will be relying on you to follow our posing guidance with us maintaining a social distance. We have plenty of creative ideas to make your session with us enjoyable and fun from a suitable distance… plus as you can see we get to model our new face masks! My mask is by the lovely Suzie at MonkeyPupSews
How can I help?
So this is where you come in, our local clients, Suburbitons, Londoners, our customers from France, Paris, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, the only way we can succeed is having you walk through our pretty pink door again! We have committed our lives to photographing people, families, pets, couples and most of all children and we would love the opportunity to continue. Family is more important than ever and we want to open our doors again to be here to capture your memories, your family life and your baby’s milestones.
This is our passion, our love and now our new beginning like many other small businesses to start again.
Can I book a session with you?
Yes! We will be opening limited slots so please keep an eye on our social media pages. You can contact us through the tab above here on our website, give us a call or send a facebook message. During this time of uncertainty we will be asking that sessions now booked in the studio are prepaid to ensure studio time is used efficiently and that we can reserve slots exclusively for those customers who are investing in us. This ensures that for the limited days we are reopening per week, until we can resume normality, that time in the studio is not wasted and everybody is able to access a slot.
Whilst the weather is on our side why not consider a location session? We are looking into scenic places for our location sessions and will be releasing some dates for photographs in the lavender fields so watch this space!
Above is my daughter Annabelle amongst the bluebells with a giant balloon and below are photos of Cate’s daughter Florence on photoshoots taken during the lockdown.
When you get these opportunities as a photographer you just can’t resist using your own child! If you have an idea for a location session do give us a shout!
Can I book a Maternity or Newborn session?
Pregnant women are considered to be a vulnerable group and should be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. Whilst we will do everything possible to maintain a safe social distance during your session anyone wishing to attend a maternity session would need to discuss procedures before coming in.
We are carefully following health and Safety guidelines to enable us to resume shooting newborns safely. We are happy to offer sessions where parents can handle baby and we can help guide and position. We can also now start to take bookings in advance for the coming months with the hope that we are able to resume full and normal hands on shooting.
Send us a message of when you are due and we will get in touch with all the relevant info.
To our existing customers
If you had a session with us before lockdown and are awaiting products, frames and photographs, we ensure you are at the top of our list and we hope to get everyone’s orders dealt with asap, thank you for your understanding, patience and kind messages through this time. We have tried to contact everyone but if you haven’t heard from us in a while please give us a little facebook message and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
So, what have we been up to during lockdown?
I won’t go in to the lows and the emotional rollercoaster that both Cate and I have been through during lockdown but I will talk about the positives and show you a few pictures of our family life and the arts and crafts that we have been up to!
It was certainly a new way of life to adapt to and having our children and loved ones by our side certainly helped us during lockdown. We were both fortunate enough to have loved ones that helped us through the lows and were there to show us there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Being a Mum is top of the list for both of us and making sure our babies were loved, safe and happy throughout this time was our number one priority.
Florence celebrated turning 4, enjoyed riding her new bike, had an art lesson with her Mum and had a beautiful photo session amongst bluebells!
Annabelle and Theo have been busy gardening, sowing seeds and planting veggies and herbs. We dried flowers from the garden and decorated a frame. I bribed them with lots of chocolate for a photoshoot in the garden and they have been feeding and caring for their guinea pigs! I got back in to crocheting and Theo turned 3 early in the lockdown!
Both Cate and I complied with the social distancing rules religiously and the hardest thing for both of us was not seeing our parents, family and friends.
My two enjoyed story time over FaceTime with both sets of grandparents and shared kisses over a screen!
and this photo by Cate totally left a lump in my throat when I saw it.
Both myself and Cate would like to thank everyone for your patience, particularly those who have existing orders with us or those who have enquired over the last few weeks. We are slowly catching up with everyone and really thank you so much for being so understanding during this time. With everyones help we hope to continue capturing all of your special memories for years to come.
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