So what exactly is a Beloved portrait session?

I believe that portraits should not just be reserved for your wedding day, and then later once kids come along. There’ s a whole big gap of time where you and your other half just don’t fit into this cookie cutter mould of when you ‘should’ have your portrait taken.

What about celebrating the anniversary of your first kiss? Or when you first moved into your new home? Or how about even just because you want to have updated gorgeous photos of you and your partner, being you?

This partly tells you why Beloved exists.

Mike and I have been together for close to 8 years, and over this time, I have definitely wanted portraits that are more emotive than the self timer selfies taken in our flat a few years ago.

Now for the approach. Beloved is a bit fuzzy to explain, and easy to demonstrate. If you have had a session with me, most likely, you have seen a little bit of Beloved come into play, without even realising it.

To quote from Beloved Collective who brought this concept about: “Beloved is an emerging portrait based photographic genre that celebrates and emphasises the importance of relationship. Blending the visual aesthetic of portrait photography with the authenticity of photojournalism, the Beloved Technique gives photographers a simple way to create meaning-rich, fulfilling and valuable experiences and imagery for those they photograph and themselves.”

In short it’s about (capital letter!) Love, and the experience of togetherness. Beloved used what they have called ‘Invitations’ to bring about a natural interaction between the people being photographed. Essentially, we do a few exercises (no push ups I promise!) to break the ice and get you in the right head space for your portraits. I am not going to ruin the surprise of the details of each exercise (and there are lots of variations), but some are plain ol’ fun, and some call for for a more heartfelt approach.

And the result? An experience you will never forget. And then, some incredibly beautiful, honest and emotive images which you will love more than I can begin to explain. Heard enough? Good. Now go book yours in!