I have always loved photos - a cliché I know - but it's true. I have so many photos and albums dating back to my university days when I bought my first compact digital camera and carried it everywhere that I went. I am such a sentimental person and could spend hours looking back at student nights out, backpacking adventures, my year abroad in France, as well as my family of course!

When my husband and I got married, we decided to buy a Digital SLR camera as a wedding gift to each other - the idea being that we could take photos to document our lives as a married couple and eventually as a family. Neither of us knew how to use it when it wasn't just set to 'auto' mode, but we still loved the quality of the photos that we (well, mainly I!) managed to take.

It wasn't until I posted the photos of a family party on a private Facebook group that people started commenting about my 'eye for photography'. At this point I knew very little about the technical side of photography, but I was still excited to learn! I spent countless hours watching YouTube tutorials and reading photography books, and was blown away by how much there was to know. It's safe to say that I quickly became hooked.

After a couple of months of practice with my camera and kit lens, it soon became time for an upgrade. I invested in a 50mm F1.8 prime lens (a 'nifty fifty' in photography speak) so that I could start taking 'dreamy' portraits of our daughter. I was in heaven, and loved that I now knew enough to take portrait-style photos of our little girl to have as keepsakes as she grew up.

My next challenge was to learn how to make the most of my photos using Photoshop. Once again I spent countless hours learning how to navigate my way around the art of photo editing. I had some real fun with this (not to mention a few disasters!) and it cemented my passion for photography.

A few years into my photography hobby (obsession) I remember saying to my husband that I had seen photographers online whose actual jobs were to do my two favourite things - cuddling babies and taking photos. He reminded me that people who do something that they love never work a day in their lives. This is when I decided to bite the bullet and invest in myself and my dream of becoming a professional photographer.

In 2021 I travelled to Bristol to complete professional photography training with Melanie East, one of the UK's foremost newborn photography experts. This one-to-one training was nothing short of magical. I left Bristol in no doubt that I had found my calling in life!

Since then, with the love and support of my family, I have my very own studio, professional cameras and photography equipment, and have built up Rebecca Elwell photography. I am so proud that I am now able to capture memories for my clients to treasure for years to come - as well as my own.