Basildon Studio Build

March 31, 2022

The big studio build


Every photography studio is different depending on the photographers style and what they shoot. Once we bought our first home in Basildon, I knew I wanted my own space for photography. My home studio was purpose built with a focus on newborn photography, cake smash, maternity and family portraits.


Our original garden consisted of an old grey patio (which actually happened to be cream) this ran along the back of the house, half a collapsed wall and two falling down sheds.

So we designed the studio to combine a place of work and a small shed with a wide path to double up as a patio seating area. Preparing the area meant clearing the two sheds, removing the old wall and patio and preparing the ground for a new base for the studio.


The building itself was designed by my husband and my dad, once I told them how I needed the space to work for me I let them do all the hard work.

Building supplies started to arrive and the garden was soon a messy building site. We hired machinery to turn over the garden, and flatten it again ready to turf and lay the patio. My gorgeous hydrangea bushes were moved from the edge of the old patio and luckily took to their new place in the border and bloomed a beautiful pink in the summer and continue to change throughout the year to a dark red.


Extra man power was brought in with my father in law and Harrison’s god father and soon enough the garden was transformed. The new patio was laid, along with a matching pathway in the front garden. We were due to have a family event in the May so we had around 2 weeks to complete everything and allow the patio and turf to settle.


With the structure finally finished it was time for the internal decoration. I opted for white walls with one light grey wall and light grey wood flooring keeping it light and airy. The studio was fitted with under floor heating, double glazed windows and a bespoke storage bench seating area. My mum handmade the cushions for my seating area in a mixed grey fabric in keeping with the interior, the whole build really was a family affair.


As my studio was mainly used for newborns and cake smashes, I had a variety of props to use and every colour wrap you can think of. I have a small addiction to buying Love Rosalie headbands as they’re the most beautiful handmade ones to buy! I’ve invested a lot into my hand dyed wools and stuffers which mainly come from Cwtchicoo and have recently purchased some wonderful faux floors and backdrops from Graceland designs.

Along with the investment in props, I have invested in newborn and maternity training. The training covers a wide range of posing and how to safely handle and pose a newborn. Being a mum myself it’s so important to me that new mums feel 100% confident in my ability to handle their little one as their newborn photographer.


I loved that I can adapt my studio to accommodate larger families and offer seasonal sessions such as Christmas themed shoots. The studio could easily fit several set ups ready for newborn and siblings in a safe cosy environment for your family.

Beautiful framed images are on display consisting of newborns, cake smash and weddings that I have photographed over the last few years.

I'm now about to start re building a new photography for my new location in Newquay, Cornwall I'll be sharing the transformation of that soon!