Portrait photography Archives - Marianne Taylor Photography | Portrait & Family Photographer in Cornwall

Solo Portraits: Johanna on Crantock Beach in north Cornwall

June 22, 2026 · Leave a Comment

As I dust off the corners of this blog, I keep finding little sessions that I’ve done here and there over the years that I never blogged. It seems that I wasn’t THAT dormant after all, it’s like I’ve been regularly getting hits of portrait sessions to keep my need for working with humans satiated!

Johanna is a photographer based in Finland, and one of my oldest dearest friends. When she was updating her materials, she needed new portraits, so when she came to Cornwall for a visit, it seemed obvious that we needed to head down to the beach for this session.

If you’re looking for a portrait session in Cornwall, Crantock beach with its gentle dunes and magical evening light never disappoint!

Brand Portraits for Jo & Co lifestyle store in north Cornwall

June 10, 2026 · Leave a Comment

I never blogged these images, as life kind of got away from me at the time. There are way too many images from this shoot with Jo from Jo & Co to choose from, so I’ll just share a small selection here. It seems appropriate while I’m in the midst of updating and reshuffling (or should we say resurrecting :D) this website!

Shot at Jo’s beautiful store in Hawksfield Artisan Village, it was such a pleasure to spend time picking out pretty details and making portraits of Jo and some of her staff members at the time.

If you’re in north Cornwall and would like me to come take portraits and lifestyle shots of your business, you can find more information on brand portrait sessions here.

Harju Family: family & portrait session in Newquay

February 27, 2026 · Leave a Comment

Ok, the truth is, it’s been a little while since this session! But as I started dusting things off on the website and blog, I realised there were things I hadn’t blogged yet, as this part of my business has been on a bit of a hiatus. For the past few years, I’ve been focusing on product and lifestyle photography, but lately I’ve been really missing work that feels more, well, human. So, I’m warming up this blog and seeing where it takes me.

The first time I met Sirpa and Timo, was all the way back in 2011 when I photographed their London elopement! Then, in 2017, they returned to London but now with their son, for a Southbank family session. That brings us back to the last time we got together, when the family travelled all the way from Finland for a session by the sea in Newquay. This was partly a portrait shoot in honour of Sirpa’s birthday, but I did get to capture the whole family together on some blustery cliffs as well.

After the session, I designed a book that included all three of their sessions from over the years. It really feels special to get to play a little part in people’s lives over so many years. It also makes you realise how fast years fly by!

Brand portraits: Bloomtown founder Preya

September 11, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Preya founded Bloomtown, a sustainable skincare brand with her husband Med from their kitchen table. She needed some portraits for her social media surfaces, and came in for a brand portrait session. The studio session gravitated towards pink, but we made sure to also capture some outdoors images that echoed the two years she spent in Indonesia where the idea for Bloomtown was born.

Brand Portraits: Kasha from Snapsha Photography

August 28, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Photographers need brand portraits, too! It was so lovely to meet Kasha and traipse around Newquay and the colourful houses of Nansledan with a bunch of balloons in tow. Colour was very much on the agenda for this Cornish brand portrait session. And before you ask, the ‘ugly/funny’ faces animation was very much Kasha’s idea and requested specifically! :D

Hilda : Siren of the Sea solo portrait session at Watergate Bay

June 5, 2019 · 2 Comments

It had been a few years since I’d seen Hilda last, and when she told me she wanted to do a solo Siren of the Sea session in Cornwall I couldn’t have been happier! Springtime is so magical around here, and we got really lucky with a beautiful evening in the middle of a rainy week.

‘Everything happens for a reason… If it wasn’t for Marianne I wouldn’t have thought of coming to Cornwall. I’m so glad I did, as I was totally stunned by the beautiful scenery – the beaches, the cliffs… I had the most amazing time. For twice now when Marianne did my shoot, the punt we took always paid off. Last time – the beautiful skies during the shoot and the pouring rain the second we’re done; and this time – the discovery of a beautiful path covered in lovely flowers when we slowly climbed up the ‘other’ cliff. It made me realise how important it is to count my blessings; and always be grateful for all the wonderful things that happen in life…‘

– Hilda

It was so lovely to spend time with you, Hilda, and I think everyone will agree you looked just as gorgeous as the scenery!

{P. S. Hilda’s makeup was done by Sally Orchard, and her hair was perfectly tousled by Ro Hair.}

Brand Portraits for Creatives in Cornwall

September 15, 2017 · 2 Comments

Carrie runs Jewelbox Cornwall, a small creative business where she hand paints beautiful frames for people’s heirlooms. It was a joy to take some brand portraits for her new website, even if we were experiencing the strongest winds Cornwall had seen in a while, which made our trip to the beach a literal whirlwind!

If you run a creative business in Cornwall, do get in touch to ask about brand portraits and headshots!

Living is easy : country sunset portraits

September 15, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I’m pretty sure you’re beginning to recognise this girl. Since moving to Cornwall, Lucie has become a muse to me, and she really helped me rekindle my love for photography. I’m so happy to get to work with her, both on commercial projects, but also on personal projects and inspiration shoots like this one.

I’ll never forget what a lovely evening we spent capturing these leisurely images under the candy sky. These kind of evenings and shoots make me feel like my heart is bursting with love for Cornwall, and for being able to make a living with the camera in my hand.

Editorial portraits : it’s a surfer’s life

August 24, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Lucie is a new ‘Flavour Enthusiast’ and brand ambassador for Little’s Coffee, and recently we shot some editorial portraits of her for the flavoured coffee brand. You can see Lucie’s introduction interview over on their blog.

THE TEAM

Photographer: Marianne Taylor
Model: Lucie Rose Donlan
Coffee: We are Little’s
Surfboard: Adam’s surfboards

Editorial portraits : On a summer’s day

August 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment

On a lazy summer’s day, on a field above the sea in Cornwall. These are the days you’ll remember.

THE TEAM

Photographer: Marianne Taylor
Dress: Sailaway Dress Company
Model: Lucie Rose Donlan

Day as a ballerina : a styled portrait session

August 2, 2016 · 2 Comments

I’ve been shooting a LOT lately. I feel like an old flame has been rekindled and I want to be doing so much more with photography again. One of the ways of shaking things up is by combining client work with projects that are inspirational to me. These ballerina lifestyle portraits of dancer Rose Hartigan are an example of such a collaboration. I had such a clear idea in my head of how I wanted to portray her and her strong dancer’s physique, and I’m so happy with the way these images came together .

I really hope you’ll like these portraits, and feel inspired to celebrate whatever your particular strength may be with a photo shoot. Also, keep an eye out for a pretty special Siren of the Sea session we also shot with Rose, coming up later on!

THE TEAM

Photographer: Marianne Taylor
Hair: Severin Hepburn of Hepburn Collection
Make-up: Tamsyn Siddiqui

The Siren of the Sea : Elli

May 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I met Elli for the first time when she was just 3 months old. A few years later, she was the subject of one of my favourite portraits I’ve ever taken. Now, at thirteen, she is turning into such a beautiful and gentle young woman, and I couldn’t be happier that I had the chance to photograph her here in my beloved Cornwall! I don’t know what it is, but my soul is at its happiest doing these shoots, feeling the wind and hearing the roar of the ocean.

If you want to have your own Siren of the Sea portrait shoot down here in North Cornwall, do get in touch! (Likewise, if you have a woman or a girl in your life you’d like to treat to a beautiful experience & some pretty magical images!)

The Magic of Cornwall: The Siren of the Sea

March 31, 2016 · 12 Comments

Ever since I moved to Cornwall, I’ve yearned to do a shoot that incorporated some of the stunning scenery here, from the beautiful beaches to the magnificent cliffs with views over the majestic Atlantic Ocean, combined with the kind of portrait photography I want to do more of in the future. When I came across Lucie, who’s a local surfer and a model, I knew she was a ready-made Siren of the Sea, and I couldn’t wait to photograph her!

Putting this shoot together was also a chance to get to know and work with some of the incredibly talented suppliers in the local area, and I really couldn’t have been happier with our little team. Here’s to creating many more beautiful things together in the future!

I hope you’ll enjoy these images, and perhaps even get inspired to travel down to the breathtaking North Cornwall to have your very own day as a Siren!

The Team

Photographer: Marianne Taylor
Model: Lucie Rose Donlan
Hair: Joanne Einnis of Gold Bird Hair Design
Make-up: Chloe Drew
Flower crown: Elle Grime of Inspire Hire
Gowns: Minna

Bridal Musings styled shoot

July 18, 2014 · 5 Comments

Here’s a dose of pretty for your Friday afternoon! I did a super cute little shoot for the Bridal Musings girls Elizabeth & Claire. We wanted to capture some portraits for their fabulous website, and capture some prettiness styled by Louise of B.loved Weddings weddings. You can see lots more pictures on Bridal Musings today. In the coming weeks they’ll be revealing some cute DIY tutorials that we also shot on the day.

P.S. if you want to see some behind the scenes photos of our team at work, pop over to Her Lovely Heart to see what Sophie got up to.

Stylist: Louise Beukes of B.loved Weddings / Venue: The Institute of Contemporary Arts / Hairstylist: Hepburn Collection / Makeup Artist: Mariam Jensen / Flowers: Blue Sky Flowers / Cookies: Nila Holden Artisan Cakes and Cookies / Cake Baker: Olofson Design / Macaroons and Marshmallows: Anges De Sucre / Linens: The Sweet Hostess / Elizabeth’s Shoes: Faith at Debenhams / Behind-the-Scenes Photography: Sophie of Her Lovely Heart

Jani in Welcome to Finland Magazine

March 29, 2010 · 2 Comments

Welcome to Finland magazine

This is really rather old news now, but it took me forever to get a hold of the magazine, so even I hadn’t seen the issue until very recently. Probably some of you may remember that late last year I flew to Zurich Switzerland on a very short notice. The purpose of that trip was to take some shots of Jani Penttinen, the founder of XIHA Life. He was being interviewed for several magazines and needed some pictures of himself to go with the interviews. Some were used in this online article, but the main interview was for Welcome to Finland magazine, as seen above. Below are a few other shots from the shoot, which I quite liked myself.

Portrait shoot Zurich Switzerland

This one of Jani with his family was published in an interview with a Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat at the end of last year.

Michelle – The Undrowned Child | Portrait

July 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment

You may remember that I took author portraits of Michelle Lovric back in May. Well her new book, The Undrowned Child, will be published tomorrow 2nd of July. It’s Michelle’s first foray into children’s literature, but it’s definitely not just for the young ones. In her own words the book is for:

“everyone who might be interested in a book about Venice,
rude mermaids, baddened magic,
hot chocolate and curry.
And books, of course. (Isn’t that everyone?)“.

Go check out the fun website, complete with some excellent sound effects. :D You can order your own copy of The Undrowned Child through Amazon.

We love… Rock ‘n Roll Bride

June 4, 2009 · 5 Comments

A while back I asked Kat, of Rock ‘n Roll Bride fame, to take part in a personal photography project of mine. She was all up for it, and I’m really pleased with the results (which can be seen in my personal portfolio). Somehow Kat managed to persuade me to also take some portraits of her with balloons (despite me protesting about balloons having been done to death :P), and these shots are what came out of that session. It was a blindingly bright and super hot day, not really ideal for an afternoon shoot, but I do like how a fair few of these came out, and I guess I’ll have to admit that the balloons are pretty cute. :D Also, doesn’t her hair just kick some serious ass!

Michelle | Author Portrait

May 9, 2009 · 1 Comment

On Friday I had the pleasure of taking portraits of author Michelle Lovric. Taking author portraits was a new experience for me, and it was interesting trying to approach the task from a perspective of ‘what does the portrait convey to the reader’. It did add another aspect to taking a portrait, and I must say I quite enjoyed the challenge.

It was also a great experience to be able to shoot in Michelle’s absolutely beautiful flat, and to hear about her life, which sounds pretty enviable to me seeing that she divides her time between London and Venice – my two favourite cities!

Magali & Jeff | Engagement

January 19, 2009 · 5 Comments

Phew. This is probably the fastest I’ve ever gone through editing a shoot! I just kept on seeing images that looked lovely and made me want to get a closer look. :D Magali and Jeff were real troopers, braving the ice cold wind sweeping over Hampstead Heath, and succeeding in looking like they didn’t mind! They were such a lovely couple to shoot and were up for all of my ideas. As creative people themselves (Jeff is one of the forces behind Cherry Ekko and Magali is a designer), they seemed to instantly understand what I was trying to do with any particular pose, which made the whole shoot so nice and effortless.