They rarely do — and in my experience, that's not a problem worth solving. Some of the most honest photographs I've ever made have come from a child refusing to sit still, a toddler mid-meltdown, a baby who would only settle on one particular shoulder. Those moments are real, and real is exactly what we're here for. I've spent years working with children of all ages and temperaments, and I've learned to be patient, unhurried and genuinely unbothered by chaos. I won't direct, I won't rush, and I won't try to manufacture smiles. I'll simply stay present and keep watching — because the photographs worth keeping almost never come from the moments anyone planned.

Sessions are unhurried and typically last around one to two hours, though I follow your family's pace rather than a clock. If a baby needs feeding, we stop. If a child needs ten minutes to warm up to a stranger in their home, we take them. There is no schedule to keep and no sense of time running out. This is one of the things that makes the work feel different — the session isn't something to get through, it's simply time spent together, and the photographs reflect that ease. For London families with busy lives, I find that this unhurried quality is often what people value most looking back.

Almost always in your home. That's where your family is most naturally itself — the particular quality of light through your windows, the objects that tell your story, the corners of rooms that your children have claimed as their own. A home session produces photographs that feel specific to you in a way that a park or a studio simply can't. I work across London and am familiar with all kinds of homes, from small flats in Hackney to larger houses in Richmond — the space doesn't need to be grand or photogenic in any conventional sense. Any home works, because what matters is the people in it. For longer sessions I'm happy to travel beyond London.

The most useful guidance I can give is to wear what you actually wear. Not your smartest clothes, not an outfit chosen because it looks good in photographs — just comfortable, familiar things that feel like you. Children especially photograph better when they're not restricted by something new or formal. I'll share a few practical notes when we speak, around colour and layering and a handful of things worth avoiding, but the intention is always that you look back at these photographs in ten years and see yourselves as you were, not a dressed-up version of the occasion.

Your full gallery of high-resolution images will be delivered within two to three weeks of your session. Every image is carefully edited to reflect the light and atmosphere of the day — nothing is rushed, and the editing is as considered as the photography. You'll receive your gallery via a private online link, from which you can download, share and order prints directly. The images are yours to keep, in full resolution, with no expiry date on the gallery.

Yes, and I'd encourage you to consider them. There is a particular value in photographs that exist as objects — that live on a wall or a coffee table rather than in a folder on a phone. I offer hand-bound fine art albums, fine art prints and handmade framed prints, all produced to a standard intended to last. These are not afterthoughts; they're the form in which photographs become part of a home's history rather than something viewed once and forgotten. If you're interested, we can talk through the options once your gallery is delivered.