Wisley Common Winter Lifestyle Portrait Session with Zoe

I first met Zoe at a business workshop with a group of other creatives and photographers last summer. She does some great studio and event photography and is branching out into weddings, but said she feels much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of one (a common feeling amongst photographers, I feel!) As I was going to be meeting some people close to where she lived, I had the idea of catching up over a mini portrait session with Zoe so she would get some lovely photos of herself and perhaps even try her hand at a bit of modelling, too. We had some gorgeous late autumn/early winter sunshine (once it came up!) around a part of the country I rarely visit and it was pretty spectacular!

It was a pretty chilly morning when I met up with Zoe again at the end of November at Wisley Common in Surrey. As I got there a little early, I had a quick look around and found a few spots where the sun was just peeking through the trees and gave a lovely warm glow to the ferns and bracken for the first set of photos. Taking inspiration from my autumnal portrait session with Mel, I brought some extra lighting with me to really make these photos pop and give Zoe a bit of light from the front. The golden tones really accentuated the warm sunshine as the mist started to lift and the temperature started to rise.

We headed out into the open heathland of the common and found a lovely little pathway surrounded by tall trees on the way - it was just crying out for a few photos! Out in the open the sun was lovely, but it made it challenging too, as the best backdrops meant Zoe was being blinded by the sun. This is where having your own lighting really helps, as you can have the sun behind people and make sure they're not totally in the dark!

Lastly we found a few lone trees that made great backdrops for Zoe without compromising on the vibrant warm colours and tones as the sun shone from the side. Working with harsh sun and little shade can be difficult for photographers, and often it means the backgrounds or sky are completely lost. That's why having your own light makes it easier to control the situation and get some lovely results!

If you'd like your own portrait session this spring or summer, head over to my portrait photography page for more details, or get in touch over on the contact page for more info and a chat!