Ely
Newborn and baby photographs for families in Ely
Forty minutes across the fen, to a studio with parking at the door — and, for later, the most photographed skyline in Cambridgeshire on your own doorstep.
From Ely, my studio in Papworth Everard is about forty minutes: out across the fen by way of Earith and St Ives, then south through Hilton. On a clear morning the cathedral stays in your mirror for half the journey.
If you would rather keep to bigger roads, the A10 and the A14 take about the same time. Either way you finish at the studio door, not in a city car park.
The studio is within easy reach of the whole Isle — Ely itself, Soham, Littleport, Sutton, Haddenham — and newborns have been my work since 2010.
Why drive forty minutes for a newborn session?
Because the studio is built for it. The room is kept warm for a baby who will spend some of the session unwrapped. There is a sofa for you and a separate playroom for older brothers and sisters. And the session is not squeezed into a slot: it follows your baby, with as many pauses for feeds and cuddles as the morning needs.
Most Ely babies are born at the Rosie, in Cambridge. The earliest weeks at home are ideal, and if they slip by, there is still no wrong age.
From Ely I would suggest the Total Newborn Collection if you want the whole morning remembered — every image, and a heART Fusion film — or the Classic Newborn Collection for two hours with the family. The Mini Newborn Collection is one hour. All the details.
Ely for outdoor photographs
Family sessions and outdoor maternity sessions are normally photographed in the countryside around the studio. But Ely is one of the few places where I would suggest staying at home instead, because the town itself is the backdrop.
Cherry Hill Park and the cathedral. Open grass and old trees right beside the cathedral, with the cathedral rising over the top of the photographs. Early evening, when the stone turns warm, is the time.
The riverside. The Great Ouse below the town, with the boats, the Maltings and Jubilee Gardens. Easy walking for small legs, and plenty to look at.
Wicken Fen, twenty minutes south. The National Trust's oldest nature reserve: reed beds, boardwalks, wide skies and, if you are lucky, the wild Konik ponies. It is the one I would choose for a maternity session at sunset.
The cathedral and the National Trust each have rules for professional photographers. I deal with them; you choose the evening, and the travel appears in your quote.
Babies and birthdays
The studio is where baby sessions happen — sitting up, crawling, standing — and the cake smash for a first birthday. A morning session, lunch in St Ives on the way home, and the day has gone nicely.
Questions from Ely
Cambridge is closer. Why not a studio there?
Cambridge is a little closer on the map, and a lot further in parking. The studio in Papworth has a space at the door and no city on the way. Look at the photographs first, though: they matter more than ten minutes either way.
Can you come to us in Ely?
For newborns and babies, yes. The journey is added to the quote, so there are no surprises.
We have two older children at school in Ely. Can the session fit around them?
Let me know the school hours and I will work the morning around them. The Classic Newborn Collection includes brothers and sisters, and the family photographs can come at the end of the session, so they miss as little of the school day as possible.
Send the due date, and I will suggest a few mornings. Get in touch.