Yana Skakun
Journal
Photography Blog
Tips, guides, venue spotlights and behind-the-scenes stories from my photography sessions across England.
Family Tips
12 March 2026·7 min read
Documentary family photography: Capturing real moments at home
No posing, no backdrops, no forced smiles. Documentary family photography documents your family's real daily life — the messy, loving, irreplaceable texture of how things actually are.
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Family Tips
12 March 2026·9 min read
Best outdoor locations for family photos across England (2026)
A region-by-region guide to England's most beautiful outdoor family photography locations across Cambridge, Norfolk, Surrey, Cotswolds, Yorkshire, and the Lakes.
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Newborn Tips
12 March 2026·8 min read
Best outdoor locations for maternity photos in England (2026)
A regional guide to England's most beautiful outdoor maternity photography locations from Cambridge meadows and Norfolk coast to the Cotswolds and Yorkshire Dales.
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Newborn Tips
12 March 2026·6 min read
Maternity and newborn photography package: Book together and save
Combining a maternity session with a newborn session gives you visual consistency, priority scheduling, and a complete record of the bump-to-baby transition.
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Family Tips
12 March 2026·6 min read
6-month baby sitter session: What it is and why you will love it
The sitter session at 6 to 8 months is often parents' favourite photography milestone from the entire first year. Here is what it involves and how to prepare.
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Newborn Tips
12 March 2026·7 min read
Newborn photography poses: Safe, beautiful and timeless
A guide to the most common newborn photography poses with safety notes covering the wrap, froggy, side-lying, sibling holds, and parent arms.
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Newborn Tips
12 March 2026·6 min read
When to book a newborn photographer: Why you can't wait until baby arrives
The optimal window for newborn photography closes in the first 14 days. Here's why you need to book before your baby arrives and exactly when to start looking.
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Venue Spotlights
12 March 2026·8 min read
Windsor Castle & Town: Royal Wedding Photography in Berkshire
Windsor holds a unique place in the world's imagination — the largest inhabited castle on Earth, the Long Walk, and Windsor Great Park's 5,000 acres of royal parkland. For royal wedding photography in Berkshire, nothing compares.
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Venue Spotlights
12 March 2026·8 min read
New Forest Wedding Photography: Ancient Woodland & Wild Ponies
The New Forest National Park — ancient woodland, open heathland, and free-roaming ponies — is one of England's most atmospheric wild landscapes. For wedding photography, its wildness and deep natural character are genuinely extraordinary.
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Venue Spotlights
12 March 2026·8 min read
Highclere Castle Wedding Photography (Downton Abbey)
Highclere Castle — the real Downton Abbey, one of England's most magnificent Victorian Gothic palaces — offers wedding photography settings of extraordinary grandeur: Capability Brown parkland, a soaring Saloon, and rose gardens in full bloom.
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Engagement
12 March 2026·7 min read
Seven Sisters Cliffs Engagement Photography: Dramatic Coastal Beauty
The Seven Sisters chalk sea cliffs of East Sussex — almost vertical white faces rising directly from the Channel, surrounded by South Downs National Park — are among England's most visually dramatic landscapes for engagement photography.
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Venue Spotlights
12 March 2026·8 min read
Arundel Castle: A Fairytale Wedding Venue in West Sussex
Arundel Castle — England's greatest medieval fortress in continuous occupation, with walled gardens, ancient parkland, and the River Arun below — is the most photogenic castle wedding venue in Sussex.
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Photography Blog — Tips, Guides & Inspiration
Welcome to the photography blog by Yana Skakun — a professional photographer based in Cambridge, England. This journal covers everything from practical wedding planning guides and engagement session advice to family photoshoot tips, newborn photography guides, portrait session prep, and venue spotlights across Cambridgeshire, London, and East England.
Whether you're a couple planning your wedding, a family getting ready for a seasonal portrait session, or a professional preparing for a headshot shoot — you'll find honest, experience-based advice here. Every article is written from real sessions and years of capturing life's most meaningful moments across England.