Not when you arrive at the studio. The moment you get in touch, we begin. A conversation - by phone, Zoom, or in person at the studio if you would like to see the space first. This is not a booking call. It is the beginning of a connection - we listen to what you need, what you hope to feel, what would make this afternoon feel entirely worth it. Everything that follows is built around what we learn here. There is no obligation and no clock. Some of the most meaningful sessions we have ever produced began with a conversation months before we agreed a date. Take the time you need.

Once you have booked, we will send you a short guide covering everything you might want to think about - wardrobe, accessories, skincare, that sort of thing. It is genuinely short, and nothing in it is mandatory. A few practical things that make a real difference: eat well, drink plenty of water in the days before, and get a good night's sleep. Your skin will thank you, and so will we. Everything else is detail - we will take care of the rest on the day.

The studio sits within the grounds of Blackburn House Equestrian Centre - a rural setting with a genuinely calming effect on almost everyone who arrives. When you get here, come straight in. There will be tea, or coffee, or whatever you would prefer, and we will take our time settling into the day before a single light goes on - talking through what you have brought, how you are feeling, what you would like the afternoon to look like. The nerves that arrived with you will not last long. Everyone here is entirely focused on you, and that tends to make itself felt very quickly.

We will spend around four hours together - though there is no rigid timetable and we will not be watching the clock. Every session is entirely bespoke. We will talk you through each setup, show you what we are seeing, and adjust everything based on how things feel rather than a predetermined plan. Everything in the studio happens at your pace and on your terms. If something is not working, we will change it. If something is working brilliantly, we will stay with it. The portraits you leave with are the ones that felt right, not the ones that followed a formula.

Before you leave, we will sit down together and book your Design Consultation - usually one to two weeks away, which gives us the time to carefully select and prepare your portraits while the experience is still fresh for you. It is something to look forward to, and it means you leave the studio with the next step already in place.

We will carefully select and give a working polish to the strongest portraits - typically somewhere between thirty and fifty, depending on the day. This is not the finished article; think of it as the portraits at their most compelling before the final, painstaking work begins. You will hear from us to confirm everything is ready ahead of your Design Consultation.

Your portraits are projected - because projection most closely resembles the quality of print, and we want you to see them as they are truly meant to be seen. We will take you through them in a considered sequence, beautifully presented. Take as much time as you need. There is no pressure and no script. You choose what moves you, and we will advise on products, sizes, and layouts. Wall art and portfolio boxes are typically ready to collect within four to six weeks. Keepsake books involve a more detailed design and review process and will take a little longer - but the extra time is entirely in service of getting every detail right. Many clients plan ahead for this moment - saving or using a pre-payment plan so that when they see their portraits, the only question is which ones they love most, not what they can afford. If you would like to bring someone whose opinion matters to you, you are very welcome to.

Every chosen portrait receives a meticulous final retouch. We will not send a portrait to print until it is, in our own judgement, exactly right. Before anything is produced, you will be asked to review and approve proofs of every finished portrait. For keepsake books, there are additional review stages to ensure the layout, sequencing, and print quality are exactly as they should be. Nothing goes to print without your sign-off.

We will ask you to return to the studio to collect your portraits - this allows us a final quality check, but please do not underestimate the joy it gives us to present your finished work and see your reaction. Your reaction matters to us. It is, genuinely, part of what makes this worthwhile - and it is never quite the same when we have to send an order out. Wall art and portfolio boxes are typically ready within four to six weeks of your final approval. Keepsake books can take a little longer - the process is more involved, and the extra time shows.

Some clients arrive knowing they would like to include artistic nude work. Others arrive certain they will not, and quietly change their mind partway through the afternoon. Many never go there at all and have a session they love completely. All of these are equally fine, and none of them need to be decided before you walk through the door.

We may suggest it - because occasionally people leave wishing they had been a little braver, and part of our job is to gently open doors that a person might not open for themselves. But we will always take no for an answer, immediately and without question, and it will not change a single thing about the afternoon.

For what it's worth: a naked woman in the room is perfectly natural - Barrie doesn't have a problem holding a conversation with a naked woman whilst maintaining eye contact.

If you are curious about nude work, the conversation is worth having. Done thoughtfully, it is some of the most powerful portraiture we produce - not because of what is visible, but because of what it says about a woman's relationship with herself. Many dare to do it on the day, having never planned to. Some of those portraits are the ones they treasure most.