I had a client reach out to me about doing a surprise sunset photoshoot recently. I of course said yes, that’s right up my alley and super cute that he would think about doing that for his girlfriend. We went back and forth with the emails, had a video chat, planned everything. We planned that the sunset would be behind them, backlighting them and that the lighthouse would also be behind them as a backdrop. Totally romantic. The main thing, I said, is that I need to see her face when he gets down on one knee.

A location is not just a backdrop. It sets the mood, gives texture and depth, and gives people a feeling to react to. The right place can give you multiple looks in one session, and it affects how comfortable you feel in front of the camera. Photographers and brands treat location as a storytelling tool because it influences colour, light, and the way people feel.

North Wales likes to pretend it’s behaving, but give it a minute and it will change the entire atmosphere of the landscape before you’ve even finished your thought. You can start a shoot in soft, gentle light and end it in a scene that looks like the opening of a fantasy film. I like places with moods, and this one has plenty.

My style didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s been influenced by the places I’ve lived, the things I’ve seen, the places I’ve been, and the people who’ve let me photograph them when they were being completely themselves. It’s a mix of coastline, city life, mountains, folklore, and a lot of slightly unhinged ideas that arrive at inconvenient times. All of it feeds into the way I shoot now.

A lot of photographers will tell you to wear neutral colours, avoid big patterns, and make sure everyone matches or at least looks like a coordinated paint chart. I have no idea who came up with that rule, but it has sucked the life out of more family photos than I can count. It’s the fastest way to turn a group of interesting humans into a beige catalogue advert.

People tell me all the time that I’m basically Miranda Hart from the sitcom, in real life and I completely agree. If someone says a phrase that happens to be a lyric, I will burst into song. If I’m eating something good, there will be a happy dance. If romance enters the chat, I turn into a Victorian child who’s never made eye contact before. I’ll break into dad dancing at the most inopportune moment. I’ve accepted it, I’m weird and proud.

North Wales spoils you for choice. You can point your camera in almost any direction and find something dramatic, ancient, moody, or downright whimsical staring back at you. These are the places I keep returning to because they give you atmosphere without trying and they make people look like they belong in a legend.

Classic cars aren’t just machines. They’ve lived. They’ve been driven, repaired, sworn at, polished, shown off, and occasionally coaxed back to life with a mixture of hope and questionable language. They carry history in their paintwork and personality in every noise they make. If you own one, you already know it’s more than a vehicle. It’s part of your life.

There is no shame in being nervous before a photoshoot. Most people are. Having a camera pointed at you can feel strange at first, but the whole point of working with me is that we make this fun. You will settle in faster than you think, and you will probably end up booking another shoot before you have even seen the final gallery.

People always ask what a photoshoot with me is like, usually with the same slightly panicked expression people get when they’re about to have their passport photo taken. So let’s clear that up. It is nothing like that.

Location is one of the biggest ingredients in a photoshoot. It sets the tone, shapes the story, and has a huge impact on how you feel in front of the camera. As a photographer working across North Wales and Cheshire, I see this every week. The right place can bring out parts of you that you didn’t even realise were waiting to be seen.

For a long time, I stayed behind the lens.

Photography was my quiet place—structured, safe, full of rules I could follow without ever being seen. I loved helping others show up confidently in front of the camera, but I never imagined I’d do the same for myself.