BLUEBELL session information
how to get the best from your Bluebell session
Congratulations on booking your Spring Bluebells portraits session!
We’ve chosen a lovely little spot called Hornecourt Wood, which is quiet, easy to find, and very pretty, with plenty of opportunity for some gorgeous portraits.
For the best portraits, we generally recommend choosing light colour tones that will go well together, and avoiding anything too dark/blacks. Please avoid strong colours, patterns or logos which can be distracting to the eye in the finished photos.
Once we meet, we’ll have a quick chat about what we’re doing, then start shooting as soon as possible.
As we shoot, we’ll guide you on where we’d like you to be, and offer help with any informal posing as needed. We tend to keep everything as relaxed and natural as possible. 🙂
For shoots involving young children, as a parent your job will be to keep our subjects (roughly) where we want them to be, and to generally help getting smiles and attention where necessary. And enjoy!
How to find us
Your bluebell portraits session will take place in Horncourt Wood, in Outwood, Surrey.
This is located at the top of Scott’s Hill, close to Outwood windmill…
How to find us – details
As you enter Outwood, you can’t fail to notice the windmill located at the top of Scotts Hill. If the windmill is on your right, you’ll turn (right) into Grayhouse Lane immediately before the windmill… then just a few yards along, you’ll turn right again, by the white cottage. Keep an eye open because it’s easy to miss this small lane (which looks rather like a driveway).
You can usually park in the lane – but if not, there’s generally some space back in the layby opposite the windmill.
Park up, cross the lane and go through the metal gate to follow a footpath crossing a ploughed field until you reach, and then follow the tree line on your left…
Very shortly, you’ll the entrance to Horncourt Wood – which is just where we’ll be. The entire walk should take no more than about 5 minutes or so – but be aware that it may not be suitable for buggies.
If you want exact locations, you can use a very clever smartphone app called What 3 Words to pinpoint exactly where to meet us for your portrait session. Download the W3W app from the app store then enter the codes below to navigate to our exact location – down to the nearest 2 square metres!
You can also click on the links below to see details:
Car park location: ///tribal.clots.lamps
Exact shoot location: ///rings.rider.shuts
If you need to change the date of your session
Each year, the optimal time for bluebell portraits varies somewhat, depending on the weather… and to allow for this, we’ve made your booking editable so you can change the date of your shoot anytime up to one day before the session itself.
If you need to change the date of your portrait session please refer to the link inside your confirmation email.
Other information to get the best portraits
Your photoshoot will generally take no more than around 30 minutes or so to complete.
We’re not generally too strict on times, but please note that arriving late may lead to reduced shooting time – so we recommend allowing a minimum of an extra 15 minutes to reach the exact location for your portraits after you’ve parked your car.
Choosing the right outfits…
We recommend dressing anyone being photographed in something you’d be happy to see for many years on a framed print or canvas, on the walls of your home.
A pretty dress for girls (not too short) or a smart but casual outfit for boys is perfect. If you have more than one person being photographed (or if you also want to be included in some family portraits) you’ll also want to think about how other outfits work together in terms of colours.
We recommend avoiding anything with large lettering, clashing colours, logos or bold striped patterns – all of which can be distracting to the eye.
Please also keepmin mind that the ground may be muddy, so you may want to bring along spare shoes and appropriate clothing in case the ground is wet.
Keeping the kids happy
The most important thing from our point of view is that everyone is happy to enjoy the session… so we recommend giving kids a good breakfast (hungry kids are grumpy kids) and bringing along a few snacks/drinks just in case. If you have very young children, try to ensure they’re well-rested before the session. During the session, we’ll shoot fast and keep things as natural as possible – to get the best images before they get too bored!
After your session…
Once we’ve taken your pictures for you, we’ll edit them and upload them to a personal online gallery so you can choose download them directly.
From the gallery you’ll also be able to buy additional images, cards, prints, frames, canvasses and more if you choose to – so start eyeing up those bare walls to see where a beautiful portrait from your session would work best!
We’ll usually have your images all ready for you within about 2 weeks after your photoshoot, and will send all the details you’ll need along then.
See you soon!
