But the working hard bit got shorter and the excursions out and about with Ella the Dog got longer. This equation was directly impacted by the appearance of the sun.

It’s been fantastic. Lovely to just be by the sea, fantastic to see Ella so happy and skippy, peaceful most days. I like the quiet. Those silences make the days stretch out longer.

And then the family turn up for the Bank Holiday weekend. And it’s obvious that these things do have a tendency to get better when shared. The selfish way you structure your day has to be compromised, but when something funny happens you have someone to turn to when you laugh. Laughs last longer, they roll round, come back to you, you laugh again.

Of course when you fall out of the caravan late at night, you’d hope for a little help. But the parents are old and deaf to everything, even their own spectacular snoring. So you lay sprawled on the ground, hoping you weren’t seen but knowing that a twitching curtain from the neighbouring caravan gives your shame away.

Nevermind. With family you have someone to check the bruises the next morning. And you forgive them the barely stifled laughter as you recount your tale of woe.

Born, blended, adopted – how ever your family comes to be, the time you spend together makes those ties tighter. Being a family is an activity. Making the time to be together is always worth it. You are more than just people sharing a home, passing by in the morning with schedules that casually overlap.

So being there to capture one very special family together, their youngest, their son now welcomed and wrapped in love, is a favourite part of what I do. Photographing them in the Guildford Castle Grounds, Kirsty told me she has a picture, treasured, of her as a kid, in a family portrait where she is the daughter, the sister, not yet a mother herself. So this session was about continuing that tradition, creating a gallery of images that celebrated them as parents, with two children of their own that they adore. A bright, beautiful daughter who fits the role of big sister perfectly. A brave boy, their wonderful son who loved to run, but who never ran faster than running back towards them.

I don’t think you could find prouder parents. They’re raising children with spirit, a sense of adventure, with warmth, with love. They knew they wanted that process, their family life together captured, treasured, a tradition continued. So when Megan grows up, a family of her own, she’ll have these images to look back on and really know what it is to be loved. To be a family. Like her mum does, of her family before.

If you want to make time together, I’d love to be there to photograph it for you. Smiles and cuddles and little hands outstretched, I’ll see all of those details and tell your family story in photographs that you can love and treasure and pass on to your daughters, your sons.

To check my summer availability and to book your session you can call me on 0784 147 9035 or email me on kate@kategriffinphotography.com.

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Ladybird, ladybird,
Fly away home,
Your house in on fire
And your children all gone;
All except one
And that’s little Ann,
And she has crept under
The warming pan.

My favourite fairytales and nursery rhymes are cut through with sadness. The best stories have light and shade.

But blimey. Her house has burned down and the kids have all gone? That is some serious shade. So best sing that little song every time a ladybird lands on you. Apparently it brings you luck if she does decide to fly off. To you, not her. We already know her luck has run out.

When I was young, blissfully unaware of the house fire situation, I loved to find a ladybird hanging out in the garden. Bright red with black spots, they looked like they’d fluttered straight off the spines of my Ladybird books. Finding them was special – an insect I didn’t run away from. A wuss, I know.

So all grown up, photographing a little redhead sat amongst the purple lavender, it felt like childhood revisited when a ladybird settled nearby. She tenderly set her in the palm of her hand and whispered a polite hello. I watched them get acquainted whilst the storm clouds gathered above and the early evening sun battled on behind us.

Eventually, she flew away home. I hope she had more luck than the ladybirds Mother Goose knew.

The rest of our session was spent running and dancing and dreaming up stories in the most amazing light. (Please note, all running and dancing undertaken by the younger legs present.)

Swirling around under that beautiful sunset red hair is an amazing imagination. I loved capturing those moments of quiet, creative reflection.

The black clouds broke apart, leaving a warm hazy light behind and we sat down to swap stories and tell tales.

I’d love to revisit these amazing lavender fields this year. So do you have a little storyteller in your family? Maybe you’d like to have an adventure together and I’m the photographer to capture that for you. Let’s meet up when the sun’s going down and talk to the ladybirds we find there.

To check my summer availability and to book your session you can call me on 0784 147 9035 or email me on kate@kategriffinphotography.com.

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Sounds idyllic.

Oh it was. But 25% of our party needed convincing of that fact. Just like her big sister did once.

When Sophie was younger and just toddling, we visited the seaside for a family session. What could possibly go wrong? Well not much, until we tried to get her on the wet sand. She screamed like it scalded her feet, lifted her legs, curled her toes just to avoid touching it. So all those lovely photographs I had planned, splashing in the sea, building sandcastles, they did not come to pass. No matter. As ever, Plan B was activated and the session still produced some of my favourite portraits of that family together.

Fast forward a couple of years, another little sister is on the scene and I want to photograph them together. Given that we once drove over an hour to find a bluebell patch to visit, I was delighted when Laura announced there were some considerably closer. 5 minutes walk in fact.

The kids are packed up, there’s even been a colour coordination attempt and we are off. Sophie skips along, on her own little adventure, leading the way. We find the perfect spot – a small circle of grass, under the trees, surrounded by bluebells.

But Lucy does not like the bluebells.

Lucy makes her profound disagreement known.

Laura jumps in to try and calm the situation. It helps. A little.

Sophie doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.

So Lucy takes a break – as much from the buzzing gnats as from the bluebells to be fair. And Sophie shows me round.

Lucy wants back in on the action but she remains unsure. Sophie steps up as big sister, whispering and soothing and kissing it better. And they both melt my heart a little.

There isn’t much that can’t be fixed by a rigorous round of row, row, row your boat.

And tickles…

…together with a smattering of “If You’re Happy And You Know It” ensures I manage to capture them together.

But when the bluebells and their accompanying flying insects prove too much for the little one, big sister sticks around to deliver some killer giggles for me.

It’s getting colder. Time for cardigans.

“Have you had fun Sophie?” I asked her.

“Yes!”

“Well you look pretty serious. Where is your fun face?”

Without missing a beat, she breaks out her fun face for me.

I love these kids. It’s so thoughtful of friends to produce them.

If you want me to photograph your kids on a little or big adventure, I’d love to lead the way. It’s easy to book a session – just call me on 0784 147 9035, or email me at kate@kategriffinphotography.com to check my availability and schedule a date.

We have tales to tell, you and I.

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Jasmine swirled and twirled and laughed around the grounds of Waverley Abbey in Farnham. When I saw a patch of buttercups in the rich green grass, she didn’t hesitate to help my little idea live outside of my head. It’s a different sort of child portrait – it feels otherworldly to me, like something from a fairytale. And that’s why I love it, why it resonates with me so much.

But she didn’t stay a sleeping beauty for long. Soon Jasmine was up and exploring, loving the adventure she found herself on. And it was wonderful to follow her, watch her discover the ruins, tell the time with dandelion clocks, dance in the old great hall with no roof, flooded in warm light as the sun set over the meadow.

It’s a magical place, the Abbey. I’m so lucky to have locations like this to photograph in and explore with like-minded little adventurers.

The summer months are approaching, the days are stretching out in front of us, and I got a little bit sunburnt yesterday. It’s a great time to get outside and create some beautiful images of the kids you love.With the correct amount of suncream applied, obviously. So if you have an adventurous spirit you want captured on camera, I’d love to meet them.

Booking your session couldn’t be easier – you can call me on 0784 147 9035, or email me at kate@kategriffinphotography.com to check my availability and start planning your portrait experience.

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And I’ve always loved Brighton. It’s settled on the seafront, with enough British kitsch to keep everyone happy and plenty of fish and chip shops to keep me full. So it was ever so kind of friends to settle there, giving me excuses to visit, sofas to surf.

The plan was quite simple and was as follows:

• make use of Dad-to-be in his lunch hour
• wander the lanes
• slurp a milkshake
• promenade on the beach

We followed that plan.

And added to it. Because I also decided to create a human hazard by stretching out on the pavement during the midday swarms. In my defence, it was to get a couple of my favourite maternity portraits when a bright red sofa and an amazing light fitting took my fancy. Louise, heavily pregnant, appreciated the sit down.

Later, when the sea breeze cooled and the early evening light warmed a little, we also managed a fly past of local seagulls to carefully match her cardigan.

You see? Nature and knitwear in perfect harmony.

And just so you know – the boy that was hanging out in that bump is glorious. And now, nearly 1.

I call him Bertie Button. His parents refuse to rename him.

If you have a family story brewing and would like me to capture the first chapter for you, give me a call on 0784 147 9035, or email me at kate@kategriffinphotography.com. We’ll make a plan.

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