Marianne Taylor Photography | Portrait & Family Photographer in Cornwall
On-location portrait and family photography in North Cornwall. Siren of the Sea sessions, couples, families. Soft, romantic, coastal.
Eileen & Noel are both from New Zealand, but met while living and working in London. Now they are engaged and planning their wedding and move back to the homeland. To celebrate their engagement, and their time together in London, on a beautiful London afternoon we made the most of the sunshine and buzz of the South Bank.
Sometimes you don’t even need to have a language in common in order to learn about a couple and the happiness they share, as Lisa & Ben’s London Beloved session showed. We had such a lovely time walking around some of the places they’d seen on my blog and wanted to visit for their session. And afterwards, seeing Lisa’s daughter’s translations to some of my questions made me fall in love with these two all over again. Honestly, truly seeing and appreciating each other for who we are is just the best. The best.
Remember that one day when we saw the sun briefly in London? That’s the day I photographed Jess and Jin’s engagement session in Hyde Park. I loved spending time with these two. I also promised to give a shout out to the young man whom we recruited to blow some bubbles for us, and who turned out to be champion bubble-blower!
Nina & Ben are getting married in London in August, and I personally cannot wait for their wedding day! We had such a good time on their London engagement session that I just know their wedding is going to be absolutely brilliant. Sometimes (well, every time really!) when I look back on the pictures we’ve made together, and remember the nice times that were had, my heart just bursts with such gratitude and affection for the people I get to work with. My couples are just the most amazing ever. Fact.
Recently I was invited by Damian Burcher, a wedding photographer based in the Midlands, to come and give a little introductory seminar on Beloved to photographers local to him. We ended up having quite a nice turnout with people coming from further afield as well. It was such a lovely group, open to new ideas and clearly excited about how Beloved could help them with capturing authentic emotion in their subjects.
I also did a short demonstration with the beautiful Sharon and his Trevor, who both melted all our hearts. Thank you guys for being such good sports and for giving so much in front of a big group of people!
I am so happy and excited to see Beloved starting to make proper waves in the UK, and I just love the feeling that every photographer I can get excited about this interaction technique will go on to facilitate heartfelt moments for their clients, it feels like sowing little seeds of goodness into the world and getting to watch something beautiful grow.
This post comes a bit later than it should, as for some reason I just didn’t get around to sorting out my pictures from Life {as an artform}, which I hosted again this year, until now. Looking at the images of the frosty conditions we had at the beginning of April makes me feel like it all happened a lot longer ago still!
It may seem funny that, as someone who doesn’t really attend many workshops in general, I have now experienced four different Life {as an artform} journeys. And each and every time the journey is different, not only because a different group of people make it so, but also because every year I am different. What I love most is the recurring realisation that there’s always room to grow. Always. Our capacity for expanding our experience of life is limitless, we just need to be reminded once in a while that the choice is ours.
Thank you to Craven House for being the perfect sanctuary for our group of explorers. Thank you to Gabi & Chris for being our gorgeous couple to demonstrate Beloved techniques on. (By the way if you experience a dejavu when looking at Gabi’s beautiful laugh, it is because a couple of years ago I photographed her twin sister Lisa’s wedding!). Thank you to the amazing Message to Bears for one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. Thank you to all the attendees, including some of my beloved friends from across the ocean, you will always be in my heart.
Thank you Mark for this lovely Super 8 film of our time together.
And of course, thank you to my dear friend Jesh de Rox – for tirelessly helping others see beauty in the world, to face their fears, to live richer lives, to be better artists. Thank you.
P.S. if it is of interest to you, there are still a few places left at an introductory seminar on Beloved I’m giving in the Midlands next week.
On a windy day, one where spring was finally just starting to make it’s mind up, I got to spend some time with Nadira & Bakhyt in Green Park for their London engagement session. The many laughs and smiles shared helped keep us warm, and our time together just flew by. What a joy it is to be able to spend time with people in love and call it work.
It seems that it’s become a bit of a tradition to start many of my London engagement sessions at the Peggy Porschen parlour (the cute pink front is just the perfect meeting point), and that’s what we did with Marie & Jens, too. From there we wandered on to nearby streets and cute mews passages, and had many giggles and lovely moments along the way. Thank you so much Marie & Jens for being such a good sport and ignoring the chilly spring weather, it was such a pleasure to spend time with you two! x
A while back Photo Professional magazine interviewed me about the Beloved interaction technique for portrait photographers, and the issue with the finished article is out now. I feel like it’s the best, most concise explanation on Beloved that I’ve managed to convey through a magazine article yet, so I’m personally very pleased!
What would be more appropriate for Valentine’s Day than to sprinkle some love and laughter all over the blog in the form of Morgane & Nathanael’s together session. They travelled all the way from the South of France to windy and rainy London (madness, I know!), but nothing could have dampened the glow that these two have when they are around each other. The session was in honour of their seven-year anniversary, and judging by the way they look at each other, their love has just grown stronger and stronger every year.
It was such a pleasure spending a windy February afternoon with you two, I wish you are enjoying the sweetest of Valentine’s Days as we speak x
I can’t quite believe it’s been over a year since Alexis & Jack tied the knot at one of the most glamorous weddings I’ve had the pleasure of documenting. For their first anniversary they decided to do a Beloved session at their beautiful, colour-filled home, and I was more than happy to oblige. I simply love these two, and spending time with them is always so full of laughter and good vibes that my heart gets filled with joy. I also absolutely adore doing sessions at couple’s homes, I think it adds another layer to the story of who they are.
This post marks a slight change in the way I present my sessions. All engagement and Beloved sessions are now simply called ‘Together sessions’. I’ve had this feeling for a while now that it seemed artificial to separate them into different categories, since they are ultimately about the same thing, a couple, together.
Writing this post has taken far longer than anticipated. Every time I’ve sat down and started thinking about what, and how, to write about the first ever mnoo school workshop, words have quite literally failed me. For me, there are so many feelings, challenges and triumphs associated with teaching that it’s hard putting it into words just how scary/rewarding/amazing it feels to spend two days with incredible people willing to learn from me.
When I started writing the material for mnoo school I was thinking that the people who would sign up, would probably mostly be photographers who were in the early stages of running their own business. When the registrations started coming in, and I realised that there was actually a pretty wide spread of people coming, from a few still finding their feet to some very accomplished photographers, it felt like a huge responsibility to try to make sure that everyone would get value out of the workshop, no matter what level they were at. I really feel like we did achieve that during the two days, and that everyone (including myself!) gained new insights and inspiration. You can read what few of my lovely attendees – Polly Alexandre, Nick Ray and Justin Bailey – wrote about their experiences on their blogs.
It really was a special two days for me, and after all the stresses about timings and so forth, everything seemed to flow really well. It was also so very lovely to have my good friend Ed Peers guest speaking and participating at the first mnoo school, I think he definitely added value and a different point of view, which I personally found very exciting & inspiring.
Thank you so much to my first class of mnoo schoolers, you are a special bunch and have set a definite benchmark for things to come! Thank you to our lovely couple, Sophie & Henry, for giving so much during our shoot. I’d also like to thank our generous sponsors, Kelly Moore, Bob Books, moo.com and Beloved Collective, who donated to the goodie bags. And lastly, thank you to Craven House for being the perfect environment for our time together.
Below are a few images from the workshop, shot by me and Ed (depending on who you see in the picture! :D).
mnoo school Class of October 2012: Ed , Justin , Fiona R , Sophie, Polly, Lucy, Fiona K, Matt, Nick & Nick
I felt so sorry for Linda & Khoa when the weather decided to completely freak out on the day of their London engagement session. It just happened to be the only day in the week where there rain just would not let up! Linda & Khoa were real troopers though, and despite the freezing and wet conditions, they gave me so many beautiful moments to document. Take that, rain!
It was so lovely meeting you two, I hope your wedding in Australia next year will be absolutely amazing! x
Once a year I try to do something to help a charity with the work I do, and this year the opportunity came when Love My Dress teamed up with Oxfam to create a big old wedding auction. I donated a Beloved session to the auction (already married people should get to play too!), and the bidder who won a session with me was the lovely Janice from Essex.
On the day of Janice and Derek’s session the weather turned truly awful by the time we met, but since we had all travelled from different sides of the city, we decided to soldier on. I have to say I am quite surprised that Janice’s amazing energy and positivity didn’t literally stop the rain and bring out the sun, what a ray of sunshine this lady is! So even though the freezing rain didn’t make for ideal circumstances, I did have a thoroughly lovely time with Janice and Derek, and I think we managed to capture some of the joy that makes these two tick.
Thank you so much for bidding and helping with a good cause Janice, it was such a pleasure to spend time with you both! x
I do love an autumnal engagement session! Despite the persistent light rain, we had so much fun with Pavitra & Sunil walking the streets of London. Just goes to show that the weather doesn’t always need to be perfect (and rarely is in London!) in order to have a good time. Besides, I think Pavitra’s gorgeous smile, and the energy between these two, provided all the sun we needed!
What an amazing time I had at the Beloved Collective in Palm Springs! I feel like my spirit was nourished, my heart filled to the brim. It was so good to see old friends, to turn some long-time virtual friends into flesh and blood, and to get to know so many new and fascinating people. The talks were inspiring (hopefully mine included), and I came home with a strong feeling of needing to do more personal work. I was especially moved when Liz Arcus talked about her ‘Hear My Heart’ project. So so brave and beautiful. It made me feel like I’ve been just scratching the surface for too long.
I’ve been a long time advocate of using Beloved technique in my portrait work, and I love shooting Beloved sessions. But in the context of the festival and the Collective, to me, Beloved stands for honesty. For people who seek something real gravitating towards each other. I love the atmosphere of support and genuine care, of encouraging others to be vulnerable, of the Collective being a safe place to explore the limits of your comfort zone, and push beyond them. And most of all the feeling of a community where everyone has something to give. It’s not about some being more highly regarded than others, but rather about seeing that everyone is special, everyone has just as much to give.
While at the moment my heart feels like it’s been split into little pieces and left on the other side of the ocean, I am so happy and grateful to have such creative, incredible people in my life.
Jesh, Jesse, Katie, Jeremy, Nicole… you are my people, with you my heart feels at home. James, you are so very special, funny and beautiful, I hope you will stay in my life for a long time. Amy, for you, sky is the limit. You see the beauty and it overflows from you. I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you next. Jonas, thank you for a glimpse inside, I will treasure it. Everyone who was a part of the collective, keep following your hearts for they are gorgeous, giving, vulnerable, strong and so full of joy. I am proud to have met each and every one of you.
Some of my favourite moments included the many discussions with friends, even more giggles, being moved by the presentations, judging the Beloved training certification tests (which were a roller-coaster of emotions!), feeling the stretch at a night shoot we directed with Jonas (styled by Jill La Fleur), changing my mind about things, a sunrise concert with Jesh & Amy, an evening gig with Kye Kye, receiving an Ambassador award for my efforts in spreading the word of Beloved, and so many more…
Here’s a collection of snapshots from my time in California. Get ready for some palm tree action.
Remember way back in March when I shared some behind the scenes photos of Minna & Mike’s beloved session? Well, the looong wait is finally over, and I couldn’t be more excited to share these images with you!
The idea for this session was to see whether it was possible to combine an editorial style shoot, with the authenticity of a beloved session. We’d been toying with the idea with bridal wear designer Minna for some time, and when we got Steph from Fairy Nuff Flowers on board we were all set to go. The basis of the shoot was a beloved session with Minna and her husband Mike, but with the twist of Minna wearing her own creations and beautiful flower headpieces made by Steph. The lovely Grace Revington was in charge of make-up.
I have to say I really loved the whole experience, and I’m so happy that some of these pictures got published in the latest issue of You & Your Wedding magazine (the reason for the long wait), along with an interview of Minna. Thank you to the whole team for a gorgeous day, and especially thank you to Minna & Mike for trusting the process and getting so beautifully lost in each other. You are simply beautiful. x
As you might have already heard, there are some exciting things on the horizon for this autumn. I already told you about my workshop in the UK in October (there are still a few places left!), which I’m already looking forward to, but before that there’s something super cool happening on the other side of the pond.
I’m SO excited to be presenting at the Beloved Collective Photography Festival in gorgeous Palm Springs this September. It’s going to be an amazing, enriching experience, unlike anything else. There are only 200 spaces, and I’d love to see you there – especially if you live on the other side of the ocean! This is the only event I’ll be presenting at outside of the UK this year.
WHAT: The Beloved Collective Photography Festival is unlike any other gathering on the planet. No cliques, no high-school politics, just three days of non-stop connection, exploration, inspiration, education from leading photographers, visionary minds (even extraordinary trailblazers from other fields) and an entire years worth of fun! This is an experience that will feed your heart, supercharge your mind and push the boundaries of what’s possible in your business and life! (Join our Facebook community to keep in touch with the latest developments.)
WHEN: September 10-12, 2012
WHERE: Palm Springs, California, USA in an amazing resort, or join us online!
WHO: An incredible community of photographers from around the world who are as passionate about making meaningful portraits as you are.
WHY: Because this might just be the best thing you do for yourself (and your business) all year! You can check out all the other amazing presenters on the website… add in a live judging of our worldwide portrait competition, mentor sessions with thought leaders, community lunches, Beloved Certification, a live concert with *amazing* bands and plenty of intimate hang-time with friends, and you’ve got yourself three days you will *not* want to miss!
+ PLUS! as if that’s not enough… 1 of our lucky *in-person attendees* will be chosen to receive the GOLDEN TICKET (worth $5000!).
HOW: Visit BelovedCollective.
I personally CAN. NOT. WAIT. I hope to see you there!
Charlotte & Fai are just the sweetest couple. Florence, despite the rain, is one of my favourite places on earth. What that adds up to is a couple of pretty magical hours at the crack of dawn on a wet summer’s morning. So we might not have gotten that epic sunrise, but we got plenty of Italian magic that always speaks straight to my heart. I hope you’ll love these as much as I do.
Now that the weather has turned so cold and rainy again, it seems like forever ago since that scorching hot day when we traipsed around London for Sheryl & Eesin’s engagement session. The city was certainly showing us it’s best, and these two were as cute as a button, what more could a photographer ask for?
It was such a pleasure to get to know you Sheryl & Eesin, I hope you will have an uh-ma-zing wedding day!
