I live and breathe photography. I love the energy, the challenge, the creativity and the new friends I make along the way.
I’ve been a full-time family photographer for twenty years and am proud to be a leader in the industry I love
I’m the only family photographer in Europe to be an ambassador for Canon – the largest camera manufacturer in the world – in recognition of my place as a pioneer in the genre. My work is regularly published around the world, with the kind team at Canon describing me as “one of the most accomplished and respected family photographers in the UK”.
If you book me to photograph your children, you’re guaranteed to be working with the best.
I’ll dedicate myself to creating beautiful images of your family to treasure.
Since setting up Helen Bartlett Photography in 2003, my cameras and I have travelled the world from my base in North London. Photographing families and recording amazing memories for my clients brings me genuine joy. From your local park to your summer holiday by the beach, I’m here to document your family life in exquisite pictures for you to look back on with love.
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My work is based upon a passionate belief in the value and importance of photography
It’s a medium through which, in a fraction of a second, we can freeze time and record forever moments of joy, wonder, happiness, quiet contemplation and great good humour: all the myriad of emotions that create family bonds.
I believe good photography can hold a key to a memory and transport us back to a time and a place, to a person and a feeling.
Great photographs remind us how things were and make us value how things are now.
Looking back at my childhood photographs, I know this value at first hand. I often find myself picking up the phone just to check in with my mum or one of my brothers, after being reminded by a glance at a picture on the wall just how important they are to me.
I work exclusively in black and white
This ensures the images I take look as good when your children are adults as they do now. Black and white takes us to the essence of people and relationships and love, removing the distractions of currently fashionable clothes or bright plastic toys.
Taking away colour encourages us to look closer, to pay more attention and to fill in the blanks ourselves.
Think back to images of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Colour pictures have dated, while black and white images look classic yet cool.
Each one can be hung together over generations: a visual depiction of the ties we have to each other.
I was in my teens when I first took photographs of children. The young students at my mother’s nursery school were willing subjects and I hand-printed the black and white images in our darkroom at home before selling them to very pleased parents. I continued this job throughout my History undergraduate degree at Cardiff University and then during my MPhil in Medieval History at the University of Cambridge.
I set up my business after graduating and now specialise in natural pictures of children and families. Black and white images for a new generation of children that will be as important to them when they’re older as my pictures of my family are to me now.
As a leader in the industry, I regularly lecture on photography throughout the UK, training the next generation of professional children’s photographers. I’ve also presented my work to audiences at such prestigious venues as Apple’s flagship London store on Regent Street, the Canon stage at the NEC in Birmingham and Photokina in Germany.
Why I believe in bespoke family photography
I’m dedicated to making sure that each shoot captures each individual family in a way that is special to them. No two families are the same and no two photoshoots are the same. We work around your habits and your routines, including your favourite activities so your pictures reflect who you are and what your children enjoy.
I’m not the cheapest photographer in London but I believe that I offer great value with an excellent service. I take enormous pride in my work, producing beautiful imagery and delivering it using the finest materials to the highest standards.
I look after you every step of the way ensuring a peerless experience for each client. From taking beautiful photographs to helping you decide how best to display the images, you’ll enjoy a truly bespoke service.
I’m delighted to have a high return rate from clients, with many families returning year-on-year to update their pictures.
When I’m not working hard for my clients, I love to take landscape photographs and often travel around the UK with friends to create images of the wider world. Otherwise, I’ll be curled up with a book (I’m an enthusiastic Agatha Christie fan), or be found creating tiny paper animals using origami, cooking for friends or playing board games. I’m also learning to draw, exploring my passion for portraiture in new and interesting ways.
Helen is incredible. She has photographed our family every few years since our children were born, so for over a decade now. Her ability to keep every one relaxed, connect with the family, and above all to extract the most amazing photographs is really incredible.
