Set three of four. This one is Elf Works.
A toy workshop, mid-job. There are half-finished toys, tools, wrapping supplies and a workbench at exactly the right height for small people who like to get stuck in.
The other three sets this year are places you sit. This one is a place you do something, and that difference matters more than it sounds. Some children arrive at a photo shoot and freeze the moment they’re asked to sit still and look at the camera. Give the same child a job and they forget all about me within a minute.
Who it suits
Elf Works is for the busy ones. If your child can’t sit still, doesn’t want to be told to smile, and would rather be handling something than posing, this is the set that will get you a real expression rather than a polite one.
It’s very good for children who find eye contact hard work, because there’s always somewhere else to look and something else to do.
And it’s a favourite with siblings, because there’s enough going on for two to be doing different things at once, which is usually when they stop performing and start behaving like themselves.
What to wear
This one can take more colour than the other sets. Reds, greens, mustard and denim all work. Dungarees are perfect here, and so is anything you don’t mind getting slightly rumpled.
I would avoid anything stiff or formal, because the whole point of this set is that your child moves around in it.
Booking
Elf Works is one of four sets, and your session includes all of them. Sessions run from Friday 13 to Sunday 22 November at my studio in Crawley Down, and cost £35 including your favourite digital image.
Booking opens at 8am on Thursday 1 October. If you’re on my Christmas VIP list, you can book from 7am. Weekend slots go quickly, so that hour is your best chance of the time you want.
