What an amazing site it was at the Bluebell woods here in Wrington Hill, Bristol last night.
I had my own bluebell woodland photoshoot in Bristol with another local photographer. She captured me and my daughter beautifully. I also took photos of her and her children too. It’s great that photographers can trade swap!
Bluebells come to the British woodlands once a year for about 2-3 weeks only! They make a beautiful backdrop for your family photos. Generally they make an appearance towards the end of April and beginning to mid May. Seasons seem to be changing though with climate change, so with that in mind, my dates for the mini sessions may chance, so if you do book in with me, be prepared the dates might change if the bluebells are not out yet or if they have come out early we may have to push forward on dates.
I tend to do my photos in Wrington Hill, Bristol in the afternoons and early evening. The bluebells tend to come out where there are trees, and the woodlands can be deceivingly chilly, so just bear this in mind when choosing what to wear for your bluebell photoshoot.
What to wear for a bluebell photoshoot
The bluebells are bright and colourful strong purple and green and apart from your family, they should be the main subject. This means any bold patterns and logos on your clothing might be a little too much, as there will be too much going on in the photos.
Avoid spots, stripes, and large logos
Avoid black for the bluebell woods shoots
Avoid large floral prints
Try to stick to a few colours and work on similar tones from same colour family. Such as Navy, light blues, white, light pinks, Cream, Tan, Brown, Mustard etc. Don't match your clothes, but try to coordinate them to be similar shades of complimenting colours
The weather can change easily in April and May time, April showers are quite common so the ground in the woods might be muddy, especially as there will be more people in the woods during bluebell season. Make sure you wear something that you are happy to get a little bit dirty as you will be sitting on logs and blankets and possibly the grass. Don't wear your Sunday best high heels!
Important things to know about Bluebell photoshoots in Bristol
When visiting bluebell woods you need to be respectful to the environment and not trample on the delicate flowers or pick them, as tempting as it can be, All my photos are taken with my clients standing on small pathways in-between the flower patches. They are looked after woodlands and maintained by a trust. It may looks as though people are standing on the bluebells but in fact they are on bark/gravel pathways and when you shoot down low the angle looks as though there is no pathway there at all so no damage is caused!
The bluebells woods are quite small and parking is on the side of the road. You need to drive through a small village and the roads are very narrow so please bear this in mind. There will be quite a few other photographers and people in the woods.
I tend to schedule my shoots towards the afternoon so sun spots through the trees are not an issue.
The colour of the bluebells are a more even, deeper, darker, richer, more vibrant colour towards the evening.
If you would like a MORNING shoot - please send me an email as the online system is for shoots at 2pm onwards.
If you would like to book in for one of my own bluebell photoshoots in Bristol then check out my main bookings page here https://www.katieforshawphotography.co.uk/bluebells