LGBTQ+ STYLED SHOOT AT BARRINGTON HALL

I planned the Barrington Hall styled shoot during the second winter of Covid

(Dec ’21 – Jan ’22). In the depths of the darkened days – darkened by both the weather, the early nights drawing in, and the grey clouds that hung over us all from Covid - I needed to focus on something bright and colourful and beautiful.

Being my third shoot in just under 12 months, I wanted and needed this one to be bigger and bolder than anything I’d planned before; I needed this shoot to literally ooze love and happiness and convey a celebration of love – heaven knows how much ‘we’ needed this at the time - and so, with this in mind, I knew it was time to give my ‘love is love’ ethos a push and make this an LGBTQ+, fully inclusive shoot! The gloves were off!

I always planned for this shoot to epitomise everything elegant and beautiful, and when I secured Barrington Hall as the host venue – a gorgeous Victorian manor, in the heart of a Cambridgeshire village - the scene was set for a classical and timeless 1920s-themed shoot.

My supplier list was a no-brainer; having worked with some of my partners before, I knew that I had to have them on board for this shoot, but there were a few gaps in the list too, so I turned to social media to help me ... and it did!

I truly believe that for this shoot, I bagged the best in the business – from the award-winning florist, to an amazing second shooter photographer, a groom stylist and stunning bridal dresses, a gifted makeup artist and a hairstylist with vision, musicians, a celebrant, a cake designer, a stationery designer, an on-the-day assistant, and drone operator and videographer, and then there were my models – two real-life couples who just embraced my vision and gave all of my image ideas life!

Everyone involved bought their own individual piece of magic to the shoot, but when it was all put together – it was just seamless! And I am still in awe when I look back through my gallery at the levels of talent and vision and superior professionalism that the team bought to the table!

In a world where we are still working on acceptance and inclusivity, my couples – Sam & Samuel and Sarah & Charlotte – accepted me without hesitation. They were open to all my ideas, embraced my visions, were patient with my reservations and encouraged me to be brave with my shots! A day in their company and I learnt so much about so many different things, and I hope that my images have done justice to the trust they placed in me!

For me, this shoot was about capturing something timeless and classical with a modern twist! The images that both Will and I captured are bold and bright and a no-holds-barred on telling the story of love! I didn’t want ‘light and airy’, fairy tale images; I wanted full-on, in-your-face vibrant and strong – and I think we nailed it!