Finally, I am writing this blog because it is official, the photos from this Styled Shoot that took part back in May is being published and we are now allowed to talk about it! WED magazine have published a feature on the shoot in their latest issue of their Devon magazine (available on 12th September ’23) and we couple not be more grateful!
It has been the hardest thing keeping it under wraps. I know that every supplier involved has been desperate to share some of the pictures and their part in this amazing collaboration! So, I am going to kick things off… this is my blog post on the concept of the shoot, how it came to fruition and also a spotlight on the incredibly talented suppliers that were involved.
At the beginning of 2023, I set myself some goals for the year ahead. I have always been under the impression that success is almost always achieved when goals are written down and so far this year, it seems to be working out well for me! I have met 4 of my 5 goals and have photographed a bride and groom in the sea, I have captured my girls with their little pony, Honey, and then had more clients approach me asking to take portraits of them and their horses. I have also got more photos of my own children and run a few family sessions which have worked out to be so dreamy. However, All Things Bright and Beautiful is perhaps the biggest success so far this year and the one that I am most proud of (and still exhausted by!).
I often find myself saying how lucky I am to be doing what I do now. I LOVE my job. Sometimes (a lot of the time) it doesn’t even feel like a job! I love being creative, I love making beautiful images, I love working with clients and the response I get from the images I make for them. I also love working with other suppliers, photographers and other, who I gain so much admiration and inspiration from. I also love always trying to be better – to try new things, to push myself and challenge myself and to try things that are perhaps outside of my comfort zone. This shoot was exactly that. I wanted to push and challenge myself to try and reflect me, and my branding, in a series of images that would most likely not be possible at a real wedding.
My business is named after some very special fluffy members of my family who are no longer with us but accompanied myself and Mr. Jenkins at our wedding. I don’t think the photographer was delighted on the day when I asked if we could get Bonnie and Rory out for some photos and he then realized that they weren’t in fact children, but rabbits! It probably would throw me if I had not had prior warning for something like this at a wedding but as he was, I would still be game! When the rabbits passed away I was left with a very large and empty shed which they had lived in. The idea came that we would turn their rabbit house into a studio for me to work from. It took months for me to think of a name for my business, Hannah Jenkins Photography just didn’t cut it and I had a list of about 10-15 names that just didn’t sit well with me. Over coffee one morning, a friend flippantly mentioned that Rabbit House Studio Photography would be a good name and that was it. It just stuck.
At the time I was doing mostly newborn, family and children shoots and the rabbit theme seemed quite appropriate. It seems that a large percentage of newborn and children’s attire is adorned with some kind of rabbit or bunny regalia – or at least the clothes that I dressed my two tiny children up in were anyway! It just worked. Then came a switch in the way I work. I gave up my teaching career and no longer was doing part time photography sessions but taking on weddings and working full time.
I am not going to lie, I had a wobble about my branding. It is a bit random. People might not get it. I mean, they can read the story on my website but how many actually will bother to get that far?! What does a rabbit house have to do with a bride and groom. Not much. It was what gave me the umph to either use it or loose it. I didn’t really want to loose it as I am starting to be recognized as ‘The Rabbit Lady’ – and I’ll take that! And to be honest, I just like the fact that it is so different, despite the fact it is a bit of a mouthful; it is memorable. I LOVE any animal at a wedding! I am desperate for more animals, dogs, cats, anything more exotic! And please more rabbits! I have had a couple of requests from couples who have booked with me to bring my rabbits to their wedding day! Imagine that!!!
And so, another plan had to be made… This shoot was a way of me promoting my business's origin and also showing what I can do with a little bit of magic and a whole bunch of talented suppliers!
