Lily, Minnie & Woody

A Christmas Present With a Difference

When Lily unwrapped a portrait session from her mum for Christmas, she was given something rather more lasting than the usual Christmas present.

At 14, Lily is at such an interesting stage of life. She's no longer a little girl, but she's not quite an adult either — and these teenage years can pass surprisingly quickly.

For her mum, gifting a portrait session was a chance to celebrate Lily exactly as she is now, alongside the ponies who are such an important part of her life.

And that's one of the things I love about giving a portrait experience as a gift. Unlike something that gets used, put away or eventually forgotten, photographs become more meaningful as time passes. They can be enjoyed immediately, displayed at home and then looked back on years later, when the person in them has changed and grown.

It's a gift that keeps giving long after the wrapping paper has gone in the recycling.

For Lily's session, we headed to a beautiful woodland location in Cannock Chase, chosen especially for its lush greenery and beautiful trees.

Minnie and Woody are eventing ponies, so keeping the session moving and giving them plenty to do was particularly important. Anyone who has worked with competition horses will know that standing around waiting for photographs isn't always their idea of a good time!

I'm very used to photographing fit competition horses, and a big part of my job is knowing how to keep a shoot flowing while making sure everyone stays safe and comfortable. I don't expect horses or ponies to simply stand perfectly still for an hour while I take photographs. Instead, we keep things varied, move around the location and work with their energy and personalities.

It means we can create natural, relaxed photographs without losing sight of the fact that we're working with animals who have their own ideas about how the afternoon should go.

And of course, we couldn't leave Frank the sausage dog at home!

He came along for the adventure and was an absolute little star. We captured photographs of Lily with Minnie and Woody, as well as some lovely moments with Frank, creating a collection that brings together the animals who are such an important part of her life.

Photographs of the Years That Go So Quickly

I think the teenage years are one of the most overlooked times to have professional photographs taken.

When children are small, there are birthdays, first days at school and endless little milestones that naturally make us reach for the camera. Then suddenly they're teenagers, they're growing up incredibly quickly, and we're not quite as good at documenting the everyday moments.

But 14 is worth remembering too.

The ponies they adored. The dog who followed them everywhere. Their favourite place to ride. Their face before adulthood arrived. The relationship they had with their animals at this particular age.

These photographs aren't about making a teenager look posed or overly grown-up. They're about giving them something beautiful to look back on and giving their family a way to remember this version of them.

If you have a daughter, granddaughter or someone special in your family who is growing up around horses, a portrait session can be such a meaningful way to celebrate this chapter of her life.



Whether you're looking for a memorable gift for a birthday or Christmas, or simply want to make sure you don't let these years disappear without documenting them, I'd love to create something personal and beautiful for you.