It’s difficult to know where to begin.. it’s not the easiest task putting an ‘end of year’ post together but it’s joyous looking back at how much my camera and I have been part of – going back through hard drives and blog posts to find the images that stick out on my mind from this year’s body of work is wonderful, and makes me eternally grateful that my job brings me as much joy as it does.

This year has seen me go FULL TIME. I have put my freelance journalism work firmly on the back burner for now, towards the end of this year my workload just seemed to grow and grow – and next year is looking to be my busiest yet too. It’s a great feeling, and such a blessing to be able to work for myself doing something I love this much. We also moved house slap-bang in the middle of wedding season in August, which was as chaotic as it sounds, and now I have a designated ‘home office’, which makes a huge difference.

My work has seen me travel all over the country and beyond, which really is the best thing ever. From beaches in Scotland to the banks of the Thames in London, rural Staffordshire to the hills of Italy, the peaceful Lake District to Las bloody Vegas. I’ve also taken bookings for Italy, France and Marrakech next year.. It’s not what I expected in my wildest dreams and I really can’t wait.

I’ve been lucky enough to see families from shoots last year and see their children at the next stage in their lives, I’ve begun to do maternity portraits as well as newborn sessions, and amazingly enough I’m seeing couples whose weddings I photographed become parents, as well as meet their beautiful babies. Each step is a moment in their history and my heart melts to be part of each one. I’ve also carried on doing a little commercial work here and there, and there looks to be much more of this next year too.

And I’ve also managed to do a little more personal work this year too, which is something I was really aiming for when I made some new year resolutions in January. It’s harder than it sounds sometimes to pick up your camera on ‘days off’, especially in the thick of wedding season, but I’m always glad I did, and I hope to create even more ‘just for me’ next year too.

I have much more to share and blog from this year, but there just isn’t time, and I’m really looking forward to clocking off for a few days now and catching up with everything in the new year. A huge, huge thanks again to all my wonderful clients, past and present, and for everyone who has helped make this year one to remember. I had a blast and hope you did too.

Here is my 2013..