Yana Skakun
Yana Skakun
Birmingham Photographer
Celebrating your relationship milestones in Birmingham's most beautiful settings — Cannon Hill Park, Sutton Park, the Botanical Gardens, Brindleyplace, and Lickey Hills.
Book a SessionCouples Photography Birmingham
Birmingham is one of the UK's most underestimated cities for portrait photography. Its parks are remarkable — Sutton Park is one of Europe's largest urban nature reserves, Cannon Hill is a Victorian treasure, the Botanical Gardens are world-class — and the canal network that weaves through the city centre creates an atmosphere that has no equivalent anywhere else in the country.
Anniversary sessions here tend to be grounded in Birmingham's genuine character — the warmth of the Brindleyplace canalside at golden hour, the wild openness of Lickey Hills, the intimate enclosed atmosphere of Moseley Bog in spring. The city has enough variety to make every session feel genuinely different.
For couples celebrating significant milestones — particularly those who married in Birmingham and want to return to the places that shaped their relationship — these sessions are an opportunity to document who you are now, not simply recreate images from your wedding album. The result is something more meaningful for being honest.
Birmingham's most beloved park — the boating lake, the river meadows, the Japanese tea house, the formal rose garden, and the beautifully planted borders around the bandstand. Cannon Hill offers a warm, intimate character for anniversary portraits and an extraordinary variety of photographic scenes within a single location.
One of Europe's largest urban nature reserves: heathland, ancient woodland, seven pools, and 2,400 acres of landscape that feels genuinely remote. Sutton Park offers the most overtly natural portrait setting in the West Midlands — ideal for couples who want something wild and open rather than manicured.
The Victorian glasshouses, the rose gardens, the Japanese garden with its ornamental bridge, and the woodland garden in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens provide a curated and intimate botanical backdrop. Particularly beautiful in spring and early summer.
The canal network at Brindleyplace and the older Victorian narrowboat basin at Gas Street create a richly textured, waterfront character. At golden hour, the light reflected in the canal water and the warm brick of the warehouses make for some of Birmingham's most atmospheric anniversary portraits.
The forested hills above Rubery offer genuine elevation, panoramic views west towards Wales, ancient woodland, and wide bracken-covered hillsides. Lickey Hills feels surprisingly remote for a country park within Greater Birmingham, and the open plateau at the top photographs beautifully in clearing weather.
A genuinely atmospheric ancient woodland and glacial bog — the oldest woodland in Birmingham, with gnarly oak roots, mossy banks, wild garlic carpets in spring, and the kind of enclosed natural character that is extraordinary for intimate portrait work. A Tolkien-connected landscape with real depth.
£250
1 hour
£395
2 hours
£595
Half day
Prices shown exclude Birmingham travel supplement of £65.
Yes — a travel supplement of £65 applies for Birmingham sessions. The city's excellent train connections mean I can be centrally placed easily, and I regularly work with couples across the West Midlands. Birmingham is one of my most accessible destination locations.
Cannon Hill Park's rose garden and Botanical Gardens peak in June. Sutton Park is extraordinary in spring heather and early summer. Moseley Bog has its famous wild garlic carpet in April–May. Lickey Hills is spectacular in autumn colour. Brindleyplace and the canal basin work in all seasons — winter reflections in the canal water are particularly beautiful.
Yes — several venues in Birmingham are licensed for civil ceremonies. The Edgbaston Priory gardens, Winterbourne House, and some of the canal-side venues can all accommodate intimate renewal ceremonies. I can advise on venue choice alongside the photography booking.
Sutton Park rewards a slightly longer session — the scale means there's much more to discover if you allow 2+ hours, and the distance between the main pools and the heathland areas means planning a loose route is helpful. I'll send a session planning guide once you're booked.
Yes — and returning to your wedding venue for a significant anniversary creates photographs with particular emotional resonance. I can contact venues on your behalf to arrange access. Many Birmingham wedding venues welcome anniversary return visits, sometimes at no charge.
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