Meet Emma - Emma Challinor Photography | Marlow Family Photographer

A family and newborn/ baby photographer based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. I live here with with two school-aged boys (My youngest has just started Reception this month!)

Emma holds her second son in a rose garden.

I began learning more about photography when I had children because I felt too awkward to book a session myself. Seeing some friends' perfect, posed photos with their kids just didn't feel right for me...

I knew that I would feel too self-conscious. So I figured out how to capture our life together myself- and I found myself gravitating toward documentary photography, creative and heart-felt images of real life moments.

I soon realised other families wanted the same thing: photos that aren’t polished or posed, but real. My style of photography is to capture how you typically interact as family- no awkward posing or fake smiles.

(Though I can get one more traditional family portrait at the end of our session if you'd like one!

Life with children captured as it actually is-

messy, joyful, chaotic, and beautiful.

Emma with her own family, sitting on a log in Burnham Beeches not long after her second child was born.

With my own family, a few months after we welcomed our second son.

I was lucky enough to have a truly amazing welcome when I set up my business. I'm now an international award-winning family photographer, recognised by Fearless Photographers and Inspiration Family as one of the top family photographers in the world.

More importantly, I’ve been trusted by many local families who want their experience to feel positive, and fun - and for their photographs to be meaningful and to capture them as they really are.

A father carries his daughter in Hambleden valley.

Testimonials

"The kids were laughing and having a great time! The photos turned out absolutely beautiful- natural, warm and full of personality."

Ashley

1 / 3

A family and their dog walking in Marlow Common in the autumn.

Testimonials

"Our outdoor fmaily session was so relaxed it felt like we were simply enjoying a walk with a friend which allowed {Emma} to capture the most beautiful, natural photos."

Clare

1 / 3

A mother with her son in Higginson Park in Marlow.

Testimonials

"Emma is an incredibly passionate photographer and it truly shows in every photo. She made the whole experience so comfortable and enjoyable."

Reema

1 / 3

Losing my Nan out of the blue when my eldest was nearly two made me even more aware of the importance of family photographs.

As she started to lose her short-term memory, she loved talking about the past- we poured over her albums from the 50s and 60s when her children were young.

My son still talks regularly about his Great Nanny. He doesn't remember much from his first two years of life, but he brings her up often. I'm almost certain that this is because I regularly show him photographs of her. We know that memory is imperfect, reconstructed and susceptible to distortion. Photographs allow us to capture moments forever, to freeze time.

Human life is so fragile, you truly never know what is around the corner. Leaving a legacy for my children, something that will show them how much I loved them when I'm no longer around to tell them, is so important to me.

Fun Facts about me

I'm Welsh

I've pretty much lost my accent (though it occasionally comes out when I'm upset). I regularly take my boys to the beautiful beaches of South Wales.

a Book Worm

I read English at uni and love stories and collecting old books (although I def. find it harder to finish them now I have little ones! I find myself re-reading the same paragraph over & over!)