Little talks #1
Purity, exquisiteness, tenderness & dreamy. That’s how Hannah’s imagery is. If you haven’t heard about her before let me tell you that she is super lovely and absolutely talented! Let’s chat a little…
Meet Hannah
Hi Hannah! For those that haven’t read your Blog or come across your gorgeous photography before, tell us a little about yourself.
Hi Patricia, thank you so much for having me, it's a pleasure to be featured on your beautiful blog.
I'm Hannah, I'm married to Adam and mum to Oscar and Max, aged 5 and 3. We live in a Victorian terraced house in Northampton, we moved here around 10 years ago, following job opportunities and cheaper property, and never really intended to stay! However friendships, businesses, children and school places have all happened and Northampton has become the place we feel at home. I run a picture framing business which I began around 8 years ago, and I now work from home with my workshop in the basement of our house. More recently I have added my photography business, which is now where my passion really lies and what takes up most of my time.
Please do a little resume of your background, for instance, your graduation on History of Art and Architecture and where your interest for photography started.
My first love was for drawing and painting, but really I lacked confidence in this area and always felt my work wasn't good enough. I gained a university place to study Fine Art, but actually changed course at the last minute and studied History of Art. I have no regrets, I loved my degree, but doing something practical is really where my heart lies hence training to be a picture framer after I graduated. My love for photography arose after my youngest son was born, and my husband who was really enjoying Instagram persuaded me to download the app! Instagram opened my eyes and my mind and awakened my creativity again. I began to love thinking about pictures I could take and soon became frustrated with not being able to create what I could see in my mind with my mobile phone camera. I picked up our point and shoot and learned how to use it in manual mode, and soon after upgraded to a second hand DSLR and 50mm lens. I was hooked and found photography far less frustrating than I had found drawing and painting, things were turning out more like I wanted them to look!
I upgraded my camera again to a full frame DSLR and began taking photography commissions around a year and a half ago, and things have progressed from there.
I know that you love to photograph babies. When did you realize that you had that passion? Which are the main challenges?
I do absolutely love working with babies! My first newborn session was with a good friend of mine, I asked her if I could photograph her baby as I realised it was work that could carry on throughout the winter, and also there are a lot of Mums looking for photographers. I didn't realise then how much I would love photographing babies, and how fulfilling I would find it. I suppose it helps that I just love babies, and I now realise it's a very special honour to spend that time with a brand new person. I love chatting with the parents too, bring on the birth stories, we've all got them! Every baby is completely different, and every parent has varying levels of confidence with their new baby, so I find the challenges are to find a way to help the parents and baby to relax. Some babies take longer than others, but we always seem to get there in the end!
You share amazing “little pieces of your world” on Instagram and also with your partners in crime your beautiful kids. Who and which are the things that inspire you?
Ah thank you so much, I try! My kids are my main inspiration and honestly the reason why I became a photographer. My only regret is that I couldn't take pictures when they were babies, and I have very little from those days others than blurry phone snaps. I love taking pictures of them and I have some really treasured moments recorded from the last two years. My other inspirations are flowers, the countryside around me, and the seasons. Photography has taught me to take pleasure in the little things and to notice the way my surroundings change with the seasons or in the light. I am pretty obsessed with light, and I always try to capture things when the light is most magical. I am always looking for beauty, and beautiful ways to capture it!
What does a normal day looks like and feels for you? Tell us a little about your everyday.
A normal day for me starts bright and early when the kids get up! We usually walk the dog, and drop the kids off, Oscar goes to school and Max goes to a childminder three days a week. Some days I go to see my horse too, and maybe ride. Then I start work, on whatever it might be that day! Framing, a photoshoot, editing, or creating something for Instagram. We walk the dog again in the afternoon, and I am always at home with the kids in the evening. My husband works long hours and is often abroad, but if he's working from home he comes and helps put the kids in bed. Then we have a glass of wine and watch TV! Very dull really! I love the two days when Max is at home with me, and I always try to take him out to do something fun, the playground, or the forest for a walk, or the park to feed the ducks. He's very sociable and chatty and I love his company.
What’s next for you? What you have in mind for the future?
This year I hope to build up my blog, I am really enjoying having somewhere to share a little more. I do find that lack of confidence creeps in though with writing, hopefully it'll get easier! Instagram is providing lots of exciting opportunities at the moment too, and I have many ideas for projects and series there. I would love to travel a bit more, and my husband is hugely supportive of that if the opportunity arises. I hope to work with lots more lovely families, and newborns, and I am also doing a lot of product photography now. It's an exciting time for me and I will keep working hard to learn as much as I can about this art form that I adore, and I will try and make the most of every amazing opportunity that comes my way!