I haven’t yet decided on an official ‘return to work’ date (I suspect it will depend on how long this baby will let me leave them in between feeds, and how I adjust to being a mum to two!), but I will still be taking enquiries and am more than happy to chat about future photo sessions – so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are interested in a family photoshoot.

In the meantime, I will be sharing some of the photoshoots that have kept me very busy over the past few months, as well as images I’ve been taking of my own family.

Today, I want to share some images from an impromptu maternity session featuring me and my toddler. I used a tripod and remote for some shots, and roped in my partner to help with the shots that needed more precise framing.

I avoided taking many photos at all when I was pregnant with my first, which is something I’ve since regretted. Speaking from personal experience, I think that even if you don’t feel particularly at your best when pregnant, it can be good to ‘force yourself’ to take some photos – I always find that there will be at least one or two ‘keepers’ in amongst the images that I don’t like of myself. I recommend having a gander at this link if you are feeling self-conscious about taking photos of yourself during pregnancy – let’s face it, you will never look as bad as this!

Stay tuned for an update on baby number 2′s arrival at some point in the next few weeks!

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Here are a selection of shots from a photoshoot with a little eight month old girl from back in February when we had all that snow. Amusingly enough, there is another blizzard blowing outside the window as I’m writing this blog post. (I don’t know about you, but this snow in March has not really been welcomed by me… hurry up Spring!!)

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There definitely seems to be a stage with toddlers when they learn how to smile on cue -  But a prompted smile tends to be overly-cheesy, and it’s the genuine, spontaneous smiles and laughter that we all want to capture on camera.

This is my son, Arlo, showing off his recently adopted ‘camera face’.

Arlo has my camera put in front of him at least once every other day, and as a result, I’m constantly having to think of new ways to get a big genuine grin.

This time I let him do his own thing – he thinks he’s doing such a great job of smiling for me, it’s quite sweet really. These are perhaps not images that I will ever find myself wanting to print to hang on my walls, but they are the perfect little memento of his funny personality at this stage in life and it always makes me smile to look at them.

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I don’t think I’ve yet mentioned here that I am currently five months pregnant, and expecting baby number two in May!

I would love to make the absolute most of the next few months by meeting lots of new families and providing many more lovely photo memories before I take a reluctant break from the world of family photoshoots and have some some self-imposed maternity leave. So I’m offering a whopping 40% discount on my session fees for all photoshoots booked to take place between now and the end of April.

Image prices are currently £10 per digital file (which you can print as many times as you like), and there is no minimum order – combined with the current special offer on session fees, this makes for a really affordable, great quality, fully edited images of your family. Please feel free to share this blog post on Facebook, or email the leaflet above if you know a family in South London, Surrey, or Croydon areas who might be interested in having a photoshoot in the next few months.

I’m very happy to report that this pregnancy has been an entirely relaxed experience so far (aside from a few weeks in the first trimester when I felt sick every time I looked at my computer screen – not the best when you spend 80% of your time editing images!) Two-year-old Arlo seems to have caught on to the excitement and talks about his little brother or sister every day – he mainly wants to know when the baby is coming out of mummy’s tummy to give him a present, ha!

In the meantime whilst we await baby 2′s arrival, I purchased a remote for my camera and have been concentrating on taking some family portraits of us as a three (although I really must learn that you don’t need to point the remote at the camera like it’s a TV control!)

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The family had previously had photos taken of their daughter at eight months old, and wanted individual images of their son at around the same age. And of course we got lots of shots of the rest of the family too, including some lovely moments of the children with their Grandad.

If you are looking to get images of your new baby with their older sibling/s, a great time to book in a photoshoot is from when they are sitting up on their own – of course, it can be done before this point (I always take a couple of sibling shots on a newborn shoot, for instance), but poses are more limited, and some poses will only work if an older sibling is happy and confident holding a young baby, and if the baby is happy to be held by a sibling. Once your baby is sitting on his or her own, a whole number of posing possibilities open up, and older children are generally happier to sit next to their younger sibling.

If you have any queries about when might be the best time for your family to have a photoshoot, I am always happy to offer advice and have a chat via phone or email.

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Now that the hectic festive period is well and truly over and it’s back to work as usual in January, I’m finally getting around to sharing some of my pre-Christmas photoshoots.

This late-November shoot involved two-and-a-half year old and seven month old sisters and their parents. When I realised that the family live just round the corner from Clapham Common, I was keen to get some lovely autumnal shots in amongst the fallen leaves on the common.

On the day of the shoot I woke to grey skies and non-stop rain. But as luck would have it, just as we finished  up taking photos at home, the sky brightened and the rain took a break.

This photoshoot is the perfect mixture of classic, personal shots taken in the family home, and playful outdoor shots against a colourful, natural backdrop.

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These shots were all taken within the space of half an hour, which is about the usual time limit before both Arlo and his Dad get very fed up with me directing them into certain positions and following them with my camera – every weekend involves some element of this when you live with a photographer!

The post An Autumn shoot with my toddler appeared first on Chloe Bridge.

You might recognise some familiar faces from this newborn shoot a few months previous. I’m very proud to say that this marks my first offical repeat client since setting up in business at the start of this year. The family had grandparents visiting all the way from New Zealand to meet their grandson for the first time, and they very much wanted to capture their visit with some lovely images of the whole family.

I really loved doing this photo shoot in such beautifully green surroundings – one benefit of all this rain we’ve been having this summer!

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Slightly different to my usual family photo shoots, I delved into the world of event photography when I shot this hen party in June.

The group had a really fun session learning how to make pasta at Jamie Olivers cookery school Recipease in Battersea. It’s a great idea for a social night out, you learn to cook a meal and then all sit down at big tables to eat the end result – a restaurant meal with a difference!

The bride-to-be is  a very good friend of my cousin – we were actually both bridesmaids at her wedding about ten years ago. It was a pleasure to document the hen night.

Enjoy your big day, Kate!

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Another of my photo shoots from May -  The family’s main aim was to capture that fleeting newborn stage during the first weeks of their son’s life, but we also fitted in some cheeky shots of this little man’s big sister too.

At just two weeks old, I think he had the best head control I’ve ever seen in a newborn.  He was very helpful and held that  top pose for at least ten seconds whilst I snapped away!

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