Guess who’s back, back again. Sandy’s back, tell a friend. Guess who’s back. Guess who’s back. Guess who’s back. Guess who’s back. Guess who’s back.

You get the picture, right? :)

The summer holidays are drawing to a close, so I thought I’d pop in here and share this fun extended family photo session from last month. When the mom, who has booked several Jolly sessions the past few years, got in touch and told me she wanted to book a surprise photo session for the grandad who was having a big birthday, I jumped at the chance. I LOVE being involved in a sneaky surprise ;). So, I did all my usual pre-shoot prep work, then make sure all my lenses were squeaky clean and all batteries were charged. Off to bed I went the night before feeling pumped to be involved in a surprise shoot...

Stumbling out of bed the next morning (I never arise gracefully after slumber), I made my way to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and screamed loud enough to be heard in the Outer Hebrides. I probably woke the dead. The left side of my face looked like I’d taken a round-house kick from Conor McGregor. My eye was almost swollen closed and my cheekbone was buried miles beneath puffy, tender skin. I probably made Quasimodo look like a complete babe. Somehow, I had developed a nasty eye infection (damn you a million times over eye infections). Crying/going back to bed wasn’t an option, however, as I had a client waiting and ain’t no way I was going to let her down. I donned the biggest pair of sunglasses I had and made my way south of Stockholm.

For fear of making the family run screaming for their lives, I left the sunglasses on for the entire shoot, not my usual modus operandi, I can assure you. I even managed to leave all my self pity at home and had a cracking time with this fun and fabulous family. Just look at these photographs (priceless family heirlooms) - you’d never think the photographer was functioning with only one good eye and a massive pair of sunnies, right?

If you are planning a cunning surprise for a loved one, don’t, for the love of God, forget to book a photographer. If you’re looking for a fun one, then I’m your woman ;)

Now, be a darlin’, and let me know (down below in the comments) what you think of this session.

Peace and love :)

P.S Can you believe one of the girls found a little bird on a twig. She carried him around for ages and he just sat there on the twig, loving the limelight.