With the onset of Covid-19 i’ve been spending a lot more time outdoors at the moment. A fairly mild, cloudy winter day meant it was perfect conditions to do a little Christmas shoot with my daughter. Luckily living in Brighton means we are spoilt for choice with natural locations for this, and we chose to visit Coldean Woods for the first time. This is a small woodland joined with the larger Stamner Park/Great Wood area in Brighton, East Sussex.

When a customer books a shoot I will find out what they are looking for and any locations they were thinking of. I often suggest using woodlands as they are great locations for outdoor family shoots for lots of reasons:

• Children love woods! There are many things to climb, pick up and generally have fun with

• Lots of natural features for leading lines and framing, such as paths and tree canopies

• They are perfect for a nice wintry Christmas themed photo shoot

• Not too many people around due to abundance of open space - no one wants strangers in the background of their photos

• Clear surroundings means nice clean, non-busy photos

• Trees scatter and soften harsh natural light, providing more flattering lighting on subjects

I specialise in candid natural photography which lends itself well to photographing toddlers, as they like to run! I like to get a mix of more guided shots with candid ones, so I try to get the guided ones early on in the shoot while I have the child’s attention. The photo above by above with my daughter resting on the tree branch created some nice framing and pose from her. As a child’s attention inevitably fades, I go for more candid shots. Below was a nice one of her running away down the path, creating a strong leading line drawing the viewers attention to her along with the tree canopy framing the shot.

The great thing about outdoor locations is that these are places familiar to young children - if the child is relaxed and having fun then this is reflected in the quality of the photos. Sussex has an abundance of these areas to choose, near Brighton alone there is the South Downs, under cliff walk, Stamner Park/woods and of course Brighton & Hove’s beaches to name a few.

In terms of editing the photos, I wanted slightly cooler colours to emphasise the winter and Christmas theme. So I adjusted the white balance in post editing to a cloudy setting. The Sony 85mm lens is great for producing smooth bokeh, so this meant very little editing was needed in trying to draw out my daughter from the background. I added a little vibrance and saturation to the reds to bring a richer colour to her dress, making sure it didn’t get lost in the photo but without making it look unnatural. This is always a fine line with editing and is often down to the taste of the photographer and/or client. I was extremely pleased with the results and am looking forward to more Christmas themed photo shoots!

If you would like to book your own family Christmas shoot in Sussex, drop me a message here