It seems to have been tradition that every Summer Jess, her parents and I meet up and do a photo shoot up on the Ashdown Forest! I am good friends with the family and it’s always great fun to do a shoot with them. This year we went for a spin on the normal fashion orientated shoot in the countryside.

Last year we did a shoot in the spring bluebells and this year we opted to meet up in one of the main areas of the Forest near Wych Cross. Before arriving at the shoot I had picked up some bunting for the Charity Barn Dance I was holding and had a series of ‘normal’ shots in mind. However, as soon as I got to the Forest, saw the outfits Jess had brought with her and how the natural light was soft but with a lovely glow, I grabbed the bag of bunting and ditched all my pre-planned ideas!

The bunting was to be used in the Charity Barn Dance I organised and Ella, who had kindly lent to me, handmade it for her wedding last year. Sometime the best photos come from ideas that appear out of no where, and this entire shoot was based around that concept! I knew I wanted to create a series of photos using the bunting in some way, so for the hour we had available we explored different ways of using and including the bunting in the photos.

It is so refreshing for a photographer like me to work with a model who can take a pose easily, is up for trying new ideas and enjoys having fun throughout. My equine & wedding work are most definitely my favourites areas to work in, but it’s lovely to be able to come up with more fashion orientated and creative photos like these.

I hope you enjoy seeing a different side to my work, Craig.