2025 was a year of transformation and growth for me, both personally and creatively. After losing myself a little in the early years of motherhoodI felt a real return to who I am - rediscovering my confidence, creativity and sense of purpose.
Now, with a little more time to establish myself as a Buckinghamshire family photographer, I'm enjoying connecting with new clients, meeting new families and refining how I document family life. I'm excited to see where this next chapter takes me- and to meet more families.
Awards
I began 2025 with some exciting news: one of my photographs was chosen as a Click Choice in The Voice competition. This was my first ever competition entry (outside of Marlow Camera Club). I knew when I entered that there are over 40,000 entries to this prestigious annual competition, so I was thrilled to be shortlisted.
Shortly after I discovered that I had won my first Fearless award. Fearless is a highly respected international directory of leading photographers, and its recognised as celebrating bold, creative and emotionally powerful photography. This week I found out that I am listed in the Top 10 Family Photographers globally of 2025! Fearless awards are highly coveted in the industry and notoriously difficult to achieve- I won six over the course of the year- and was placed 9th in their ranking- truly a dream come true!
I also won 11 inspiration awards and received 3 honourable mentions from Inspiration Family, an international association. I was shortlisted for a Golden Lens Award in the Breakthrough Family Photographer category and end the year in their Top 20 Family Photographers globally.
I've been featured in two local newspapers:
CLIENT SESSIONS
I feel incredibly honoured to have been trusted by so many families to document their lives throughout 2025. I've photographed local families based within Marlow and the surrounding areas, but I also worked with families from further afield including some who visited Marlow from abroad. I am sharing some of my favourite sessions of the year below, from photo shoots in Marlow Common, Higginson Park, and Hambleden.
And some of my favourite kind words:
remember my baby
In 2025 I became a volunteer photographer for the charity Remember My Baby, who gift photo sessions to families who have lost babies before, during or shortly after birth. It has been a profound honour to support families during such an incredibly difficult time, and I feel so grateful to part of this compassionate organisation. This year I covered sessions at John Radcliffe Hospital and Helen & Douglas House Hospice in Oxford and Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire.
features
My work has been featured in advertising campaigns for Bob's Books, beautiful, high quality photobooks made in the UK.
I was also thrilled to have my images featured in Photography for Life, a new course from Erika and Lanny Mann of Two Mann Studios. They are internationally renowned photographers, who have consistently been listed among the best wedding photographers in the world. Having taken one of their courses a few years ago, it was a real pinch me moment when they reached out to ask if they could feature my work in their new course.
personal projects and courses
Throughout the year, I continued to invest in my growth as a photographer through personal projects and education. Telling Stories II with Michelle Mckay was a real highlight, pushing me creatively and emotionally.
My p52 project with The Framed Focus was also a favourite. It's important to me to continue to document my boys' childhood, even though I'm now shooting a lot for other families, so this project ensures I produce at least one good personal photograph a week. My completed grid is below.
Personal documentation
All of these achievements have grown from a love of documenting my own family and a desire to write visual love letters to my boys through my photographs.
I understand my clients' desire to capture the fleeting, every day moments- to grasp onto each stage before their little ones grow out of a loved expression or habit - because I feel that pull so strongly.
I know how meaningful it is to hold a tangible photograph that shows a child just how loved they are, and to create a home filled with images that celebrate ordinary family life. My favourite images of the year are often not the awarded images or the most clever images, they are the ones that remind me of my own beautiful, ordinary life with my family.
Looking Ahead
2025 brought new confidence, clarity and creativity in my photography. My youngest starts school in 2026, so I'm excited to build on this momentum and invest more time into growing my business and capturing memories for other families.
I'm making a personal commitment to be in more family photos myself in the next years. Looking back, I realise how few images I’m in with my eldest, and although I did better during my youngest’s first year, I’ve slipped again. It hurts when my children ask where I was when they look through our albums.
This year, I'm determined to book a photographer to document my own family- as it's my story too.
If you are also resolving to be in more photographs with your family in 2026, I'd love to hear from you. Even if you're not quite ready to book, getting in touch early will allow us to talk through options and timing, and figure out what will work best for your family.
