Horsham Lifestyle Newborn and Family Photoshoots with Pets included!

Dogs and cats enrich our lives and become part of our families, so telling real life stories through photography, isn’t complete without their inclusion. We have the most beautiful countryside environment around us in Sussex and I am always happy for my families to include their dogs in their newborn or family photoshoots.. It works beautifully, whether the settings are in-home or out in nature and this is why….. I have been an animal lover my whole life.  From a menagerie of the usual pets including to monkeys, snakes, lizards and a huge crossbreed goat, called Willis..

My first experience of photography was naturally centred around my pets and I got off to a wobbly start, at the age of 10, while living abroad, roaming the tropical countryside with my first camera and terrier Trixie.

While I was living a dream life, very reminiscent of Gerald Durrell’s in “My Family and Other Animals’, (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Animals-Macmillan-Collectors-Library/dp/1909621986/)  I was obsessed with the local lizard life and determined to capture a photo of them displaying their brightly coloured throats. Something they seemed to do almost constantly, except whenever my camera was pointed in their direction!

My little dog and I had a finely tuned system of tracking down my reptilian subjects. We crept quietly up to their potential hiding spots and Trixie would point with her stance, if a lizard was home. I would then ready the camera and quickly pull back the protective object, prompting the lizard to display in alarm. The idea was a brilliant one but rarely worked! In fact, I don’t remember it ever working! hence the endless collection of headless or, indeed, lizard-less photos for my parents to stash away.

The photographs I produced from those early explorations into photography were, by everyone else’s standards, pretty rubbish! And, not surprisingly, my parents kept none of the jauntily angled, out of focus, works of debatable art for prosperity!. When we left the island and returned to England, my attentions turned towards less exotic animal life and I began my foray into dog and cat photography. My parents drew a huge sigh of relief but, strangely, I can’t find any of those photos either! Over the decades, my photography skills improved dramatically! and I spent a little time as a dog photographer. However, my love of people and babies in particular, drew me back to portraiture and, now I specialise in newborn and family photography, I am delighted to get the opportunity to combine both of my passions. Just like the new parents in Disney’s ‘Lady and The Tramp’ (one of the movies I share a love of with my own children), a lot of young couples start their journeys towards parenthood by committing to joint ownership of a dog or cat.  Or in my case, a hamster!

It wasn’t until my husband and I had accumulated 3 children and 10 rabbits, that he realised our kids were probably a dog substitute and he finally let us have one!   And so, when young couples’ relationships progress to the next rung of the ladder – real parenthood of a human baby, their dog, (or cat) naturally takes up a new position in the family hierarchy, that of protector and follower. The beginning of that growing family story, is where I step in to capture the memories. Babies aren’t little for long and these early moments are so precious to keep. It never ceases to amaze me, the way that dogs interact with new family members. The capacity for gentleness and obvious love that our animal companions possess is incredibly moving.

During my in-home newborn photoshoots, I capture these interactions and connections by photographing with my ‘lifestyle’ approach. This way I keep the atmosphere relaxed and make use of the natural lighting within the room. Dogs, cats, babies and everyone seems to feel more at ease within this environment and we can let the real life moments play out. The relationship between babies and the family dog grows from these early moments and fosters deep connections. As children grow into thinking individuals, these relationships support them and nurture their caring instincts. When we take the newborn shoots out into the environment, around Horsham or Sussex, the dogs can have freedom to display other elements of their nature. Capturing a few shots of these moments, is always part of my family storytelling. I maintain my natural, candid photography style, while photographing newborns and their families in nature, using the available light and shade and encouraging everyone to relax and just spend a little time being together. Family stories aren’t complete without every family member. So, no matter whether you are looking for an in-home or environmental newborn, family or portrait photography shoot, we absolutely can include your dog, cat, hamster or horse in it. In fact, I am happy with every animal under the sun, so get in touch and we can chat about capturing your family memories completely CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH