The Raven Princess {Southside House, Wimbledon}

I’ve been doing quite a few styled shoots lately, and they’ve got me really excited. Mostly because they’re different to weddings, while still having the same prettiness (which, apparently, I crave) to work with. A styled shoot is so much more planned and less spontaneous than a wedding day, but at the same time you can still spot something and go, “I have a clever idea..what if we tried THIS?” And there’ll be time to do it, and willing participants, because a styled shoot is all about getting creative and creating a “wow” image, which often there isn’t time for, or interest in, on a wedding day. My favourite moment at this shoot was scouting locations at Southside House, Wimbledon, with fellow Photographer Hugh Miller, and seeing a child-sized doorway, and knowing exactly what I wanted Helena to do in it! The words “broken-down doll” were used a lot, I recall (I watch a lot of America’s Next Top Model, and it’s one of the Jay’s favourite expressions!)

I also loved that Sabrina and Charlotte created so many different looks: some bridal, some not at all. It was so much fun, and a great change, to work with a look that wasn’t supposed to be “pretty”, so I could get more edgy, angular expressions and poses from Helena. She looks so completely different in the beauty shots as opposed to the darker, raven-inspired shots, and it was fascinating to work with those looks to create a different style of photo to match.