Now I don’t saddle kids, or feed them hay, but there is an element of being a kid wrangler about what I do. They have to trust you for it to work. They need to feel relaxed, at ease, to be themselves completely. Sometimes it is just a case of you letting them know they are allowed to be kids.

You have to engage them, know what makes them tick, judge the early signs of a tantrum or force 10 meltdown. It happens. It’s part of who they are, and you need the patience and the calm to ride it out, bring them down and back into the process again. But always willingly.

Kids are smart and very savvy judges of character. They know a fake without having to make eye contact.

BUT if you can do all of that, gain their trust, engage their imaginations, allow them the freedom to be themselves and have the confidence to capture it all as it happens, well then you find yourself indulging in a passion instead of a job.

When it all comes together you can create a image of pure joy – a moment in time with feet kicked up, eyes squeezed shut, roaring with laughter fun.

These are four toddlers who became little old friends before they were two.

On this day of being a kid wrangler, no sugar lumps were dished out, but the biscuit barrel got a hammering.

         

Whether you are 6 or 65, everyone enjoys a 99 by seaside.

Happy birthday Dad. It was absolutely worth £1.50 to see you deftly manage the drips on that 99.

That’s 65 years of wisdom right there.

         

You don’t even have to be engaged.

But it’s absolutely necessary to be in love.

Pick me up, swirl me round, pucker up and kiss me, in love.

When was the last time you looked at the one you love? Not just a sideways glance, or a “hurry up, we’re going to be late” borderline angry sort of look.

But a take your time, slow things down, step in closer and gaze sort of look.

Because he can give you a look that makes you smile, giggle, crease up with laughter. That’s absolutely worth looking at – that’s the type of look you want to return. And often.

So once we’ve established that this is a lovetwo session, and not a mildly-like one, it’s time to wander through the woods, up a Surrey hillside and into some seriously beautiful late afternoon light.

Give me two hours of your time.

Give me two people in love.

And let’s take pictures that tell your love story together.

         

So you wrap up warm, indulge in some very fetching striped knitwear and show the grown ups how to have a ton of fun.

Big hills are just the place for fast wheels and little boots to speed you on your way.

And, thankfully, stopping just short of the photographer, who was admittedly sitting in the middle of the track. But look at that cheeky grin. All is forgiven.

When mini McQueen dismounts from his motorbike, he stay just a while, staring into that big black lens, wondering what all the fuss is about.

Because he has rugged terrain to conquer, little tree stumps to climb.

And a Mum, waiting for him to come running to her and plant a big kiss. It’s a fine balance to strike – just adventurous enough, but always making sure Mum isn’t too far away when a cuddle is called for.

It’s not just adventure he’s after, he’s learning too. Everything he sees, he points out, investigates. So when he finds real, BIG tyre tracks in the sand, that is something to get properly excited about.

You’ve raced down hills, climbed tree (stumps), discovered wildlife and tyre tracks. Next stop – walking the beam. With, of course, a little light help from Mum and Dad.

When he screams with delight, it’s an infectious sound. Everyone joins in the giggles.

All that balancing is hard work. Time to take a little break and let all that cute out into the camera.

He loves planes. Just the sound of them was a promise of something wonderful to watch. He would look for them in the cloudy sky above and watch for the trails they left behind.

Luckily, Dad had a treat tucked away in his pocket.

Do you remember those polystyrene planes? They never lasted long in our house before one of the Griffin kids, rushing to grab it first, would crush the wing or break the end of it. But that didn’t stop it being amazing fun while it lasted.

All great pilots have to start somewhere. This one started in the woods, with his Mum and Dad cheering him on, and his own sheer delight at launching that airplane up into the sky, eyes squeezed shut, no idea where it would land.

Then it’s time to go home. You grab teddy for one last dash around the tall trees, laughing all the way, before being bundled up into Dad’s arms.

Sometimes I think that a Dad is the best form of transport. Even better than wheels or wings.

         

You’ll be learning to share your toys. Which is tough. But luckily you have that grace period, where your sisters can’t reach the best toys you have, and their little legs don’t stretch down far enough to ride your rocking horse. For a while, they have to stick to cuddles with Mum and Dad. This is not a bad option.

But it’s a good thing that Mum and Dad have arms and hearts big enough to cuddle their entire family. And those gorgeous twin girls – they have the benefit of a big brother to show them the ropes of growing up.

Maybe the girls can’t ride the rocking horse, but they can already enjoy the comfort of Mum on the rocking chair.

But you are the big boy of the house. You don’t have the time to just sit about. You have responsibilities. Like making sure that horse of yours is feed well. You can’t canter over hill and vale on air.

A big, juicy, red apple should do the trick. With or without your own little teeth marks on it.

Waste not, want not. If the horse can’t finish it, the boy rider can.

If he wasn’t hiding behind a cuddly bear, he was proudly showing me his toy collection. And with his stash, he has every reason to be proud.

In this family, Mum is a keen collector of beautiful things. So when I walked into his bedroom, it was like revisiting my own childhood – and my parent’s childhood too. I’m sure I remember a picture of my Dad pushing around a toy dog just like this one. I’m sure I remember playing with that same toy, dug out of the garage at my Grandparents’ house.

Just seeing that dog, tied with a ribbon and a bell, brought all of those memories back to me in a rush – the long drive through London, the afternoon teas, reading books to Grandma on the sofa, and picking apples from Grandpa’s trees at the bottom of the garden.

One look and they were all there – the warm comfort of the familiar.

I hope that these images bring the memories flooding back to this family – to when the kids were young and loved to cuddle. Each photograph is a little bit of the past made present – a moment made physical, to be held, relived and loved all over again.

For the twin sisters, they have a link back to a time before they can remember, to when their brother was big and rode wooden horses for fun.