Training Day with award winning photographer Karen Wiltshire from KW Photography

Hi!  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I remember a couple of years ago sitting at my computer and looking at the work of Karen Wiltshire from KW-Photography.co.uk I have loved her work for many years now – and, even though I’m an experienced Newborn photographer, I’m always looking to push myself more. So, I took a deep breath and contacted Karen and asked if she did training – I will confess to being a little star-struck and nervous as I’m a big fan and was worried what the outcome would be!  Well – I needn’t have been – as within a couple of minutes I had a reply back. I did a little happy dance when I read her warm response  – it was just like talking to an old friend. I was gushing about her work and must have come across as a crazed fan! At the end of our exchange of messages I had a date and time and an address for her studio where the training was held.

A couple of weeks later with my car packed full of camera gear, I headed away from Whitchurch Hampshire down towards Poole where her studio is based. I found it easily and was greeted at the door like an old friend. I walked into her studio, admiring the set-up she has. Karen creates her own backdrops and it was lovely to see them in person being used. She’d arranged a couple of clients – who were lovely and had the cutest of babies – and we set to work.

Karen was fantastic, showing me the lighting set-up she uses, and giving tips on how to position and move around the baby with minimal disruption. We did multiple set-ups with props, outfits, headbands and more. I was getting excited at each click of the camera seeing these beautiful images appear.

Karen even took the time to give me some post-processing tips afterwards – the whole session was so much fun and relaxed I went home with a massive simile on my face and having gained a new friend!

As soon as I got back to my desk I had to download the newborn images taken, have a closer look and make a few final tweaks. I couldn’t wait to show off what I had put into practice. The three images shown below are just a few of the ones taken on the day…

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I stayed in touch with Karen and she has become a great friend who has helped me so much over the last couple of years. Last year I contacted her and I did one of her “Shoot With Me” sessions. “What is this?” I hear you cry!   

In a nutshell, you meet up with Karen on location and she takes you through how she works. Karen advises on what to look for in terms of styling, props, backlight – its just amazing to stand back and watch how she works and how she interacts and styles her clients.

The three images below were taken by me from her “Shoot With Me” sessions.

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I want to say a massive thank you to Karen Wiltshire who has supported me so much over the last couple of years. She’s  helped me get through the last lockdown of 2021, for which I will be forever grateful. Karen would check to see if I was ok and she asked if I could knit – well, I haven’t done that for years! She gave me some ideas for newborn outfits and I haven’t looked back. I would bore her daily with the bonnets and outfits I had knitted!

 Karen, thank you for your help and honesty over the last couple of years and thank you for being there for me. The image below is one of the outfits I have knitted and that I now use in the studio for newborn sessions (the pattern is Simply Sycamore and the bear is a pattern by Julie Williams vialovecrafts.com)

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you would like to know more please do contact me.