I had this shoot in my head…. long before I saw the tea set and cupcakes, and before I persuaded Nai Nai (Grandma) that’s what the girls really, really wanted for Chirstmas – it was somewhere in there, as a concept…. with the lanterns, and the clock, and the favourite teddybears and the girlyness, and the filtered sunlight, and the net canopy and the rag dolls, and the cute, yet slightly vintage clothes – the whimsical feel – it was all somewhere in there…..

And when it came togather one day in March (yes, it has taken me that long to blog these  -ugh, I’m bad) I just planted the ideas in the girls heads and sat back and watched, from a distance, and it evolved, and they play ate, and play fed, and read stories, and danced, and took walks with their bears, and did ballerina twirls, and arranged things, just right, and played their musical jewellery box, and had cups of tea, and made tea for me, and sang and laughed and ate and danced some more…..

This is my favourite kind of shoot – no pressure to perform, no lens in your face (when I said I watched from a distance I meant it – they’re almost all with my 70-200mm lens), no nagging, hovvering Mum, no awkward Dad, no fixed-for-the-camera-fake smiles, just kids, and some of their favourite things and time and space and unlimited imagination to enjoy them… and that kind of freedom makes for magical, whimsical images, that are true to them, and their personalities, and create a real, true memory of this place in time… and they’re not perfect, but neither am I, and neither are my girls but I love them…..

Kirsty xx