Princesses and Pirates

These seven children have been friends since they were all tiny so they are like family. But two families were leaving the island so they wanted to capture the children all together doing what they love most and that is enjoying time together. Their favourite memories are of Friday evening get togethers where the kids and adults hung out and catch up after their busy week, most often ending with the kids putting on a show for the grown ups! Being that they all love to dress up and often do so when they are together, having a photo shoot of all of them doing what they love most was the perfect way to capture the special memories before the group splintered to different areas of the world.

We started the shoot in the back garden where I keep the boat. It is wonderfully wild and over grown back there and the kids fully fell into the imaginative mode as they dreamed up a whole world of pirates and princesses.

Siblings Rory (6), Callie (3) and Cameron (9) are from Bermuda so happily are not going anywhere.

Amy (6) and Emily (9) are leaving Bermuda at Easter. I have photographed these two ever since they were very little and I will miss their family and their creative ideas for shoots.

I have also photographed Isabelle (6) and Jack (8) since they were small so was very thankful to be able to see how beautifully they had grown up one last time before they left the island.

The kids are all friends and mix up in different combinations but little Callie loves getting to spend time with the older girls and doing girlie things with them, especially since she has two older brothers.

When the kids tired of the boat, we moved to my front garden where I had set up the antique bath tub to also seem like a dreamy sailing vessel which they loved.

The three younger kids are very close. Rory is constantly flipping back and forth as to whether or not he will marry Izzy or Amy.

Jack and Cameron have lots of fun doing "boy" stuff together but always seem to find a way to include Emily as well.

Sweet little Callie is on her own in the age category but the older kids all really look out for her and she has a blast all the same!

 

Thank you to all of you and your very patient mummies! The shoot was chaos but the photos hopefully don't reflect that at all and I am so happy you were able to capture some special times all together before the sad day came to say good bye. Wishing you much luck and happiness in the new homes but Bermuda will always be here for you to come back and visit! xxx

Pirates of Bermuda

This boat has been in my garden for almost a year and I have been dreaming of sessions I will do in it but not had the time for doing personal shoots with the kids. I had a shoot in the autumn with a group of children which was so fabulous and am working on that shoot right now so can't wait to share that session, but as Christmas presents, I printed up a few pics, including these three in a triptych which looked adorable. I had Loris at Colourlab print them on metallic paper which looked divine and framed them in a single frame with three windows.

We did this shoot in about 10 minutes as the light was fading fast. It was almost dark and I was shooting on a 2500 ISO at 1.8 so the images are seriously grainy but I actually think they added a romantic feel to the photos, though facial features were a little unclear. But the boat was set up and the outfits all out from the shoot I'd just finished so I couldn't pass up the chance to capture my little loves. Oslo tied Indigo up with a vine which added so much character to the image and I love that the ruffle sleeve I'd sewn on a shirt from when he was three was ripping off but still fit! So many memories tied up in this photo, from the bamboo mast that was once take from the Botanical Gardens after Hurricane Fabian the week we moved back. It was lovingly sanded and varnished my Ben and my mum and then made into a four poster bed that never quite stood straight. Ben now uses the poles for propping up his tomato plants but looks just as elegant as the mast for this pirate ship! Oslo bought with his own savings from working crazy hard the pirate hat which was misshapen before even making it back to the house. The sail was a curtain in the first house I lived in by myself as an adult and Indigo's crown was made by my mum out of yogurt pots, foil and beads for one of her birthdays. So much in just a couple photos - a thousand words isn't even close to what this photo says - they just make me happy happy happy.

Here is how the triptych looked:

 Oslo and Indigo - thank for always being up for my mad ideas - it was late, getting dark and way past dinner time. Thank you for dressing up and playing to make these memories - made me so very happy. xxxx