Yana Skakun
Yana Skakun
Dorset
Natural family photography across Dorset — the World Heritage Jurassic Coast, Durdle Door, Studland Bay, the Purbeck Hills, Cranborne Chase and the county's ancient heathlands.
Dorset is one of England's most photogenic counties for outdoor family photography. The World Heritage Jurassic Coast — 95 miles of fossil-bearing limestone and chalk cliffs from Exmouth to Studland — provides a coastal family photography setting of geological grandeur found nowhere else in Britain. The Purbeck Hills — the chalk ridge running east from Corfe Castle to the Foreland — provide dramatic ridge-top walking and photography above Poole Harbour and the Channel. The Dorset heathlands (Wareham Forest, Canford Heath, Upton Heath) preserve one of the most intact lowland heath ecosystems in Europe, with Sika deer, nightjars, and heath ponies alongside family portrait settings of purple-heather moorland character.
I photograph families naturally — no forced poses or matching outfits required. Sessions are planned around your family's energy and your chosen location's specific light and character, and the best images come from real interactions between real people in beautiful places.
I cover the whole of Dorset — Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester, Weymouth, Bridport, Sherborne, Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, and Swanage — and I travel into south Somerset, west Hampshire, and east Devon for Dorset-based families.
Durdle Door — the natural limestone arch on the Dorset Jurassic Coast between Lulworth Cove and Ringstead Bay — is the most recognisable coastal landform in southern England and one of the most photographed family photography locations in the country. The turquoise water and chalk-white beach at the beach below the arch, the ridge walk along the coast path above, and the views east to White Nothe and west to Bat's Head provide family photography of coastal Dorset grandeur. The Jurassic Coast between Lulworth and White Nothe provides the most varied geology and coastal form of any 5-mile stretch of the English coast.
Studland Bay — the 4-mile white-sand National Trust beach at the mouth of Poole Harbour, looking across to the Sandbanks peninsula — is Dorset's most family-friendly beach portrait setting. The dunes (Shell Bay, Middle Beach, Knoll Beach), the dune heath behind the beach, and the views across to Old Harry Rocks and the Foreland provide family photography with the quality of light specific to the wide, open Solent bay. The Purbeck Hills above Studland — the chalk ridge rising to Ballard Down — provide family portrait settings of ridge-top elevation above the coastal panorama.
Corfe Castle — the ruined 11th-century Norman castle on its chalk knoll in the gap in the Purbeck Hills — is Dorset's most dramatic architectural family photography setting. The silhouette of the castle ruin against the Purbeck Hills, the village below (one of Dorset's most photogenic stone villages), and the surrounding heathland combine to give Corfe a family photography backdrop of medieval-landscape drama unlike any other in southern England. The Purbeck Valley (the clay vale between the chalk ridge and the coast, with Swanage at its east end) provides pastoral family portrait settings below the castle backdrop.
Cranborne Chase — the ancient royal deer park on the chalk plateau of north Dorset and south Wiltshire, now the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB — provides family photography settings of intimate chalk downland character distinct from the dramatically coastal south Dorset locations. The ancient yew woods of Cranborne Chase (at Rushmore, at Tollard Royal), the Norman church at Cranborne, the chalk trackways, and the escarpment views across the Blackmore Vale provide family portrait settings of a gently historic Dorset countryside character.
The Dorset heathlands — the fragmented lowland heath of the Poole Basin (Wareham Forest, Canford Heath, Upton Heath, Arne RSPB Reserve) — provide Dorset's most distinctive ecological family portrait settings. The purple-heather moorland in August is one of the most visually extraordinary natural landscapes in southern lowland England. The heathland ponies, the bog pools, the pine plantations at forest edge, and the wide heath horizons combine to give Dorset heathland sessions a wild, open character that contrasts productively with the coastal sessions. Arne — the RSPB reserve on the Purbeck peninsula looking across Poole Harbour to Brownsea Island — is particularly fine.
Lyme Regis — the fossil-hunting town at the west end of the Jurassic Coast — provides a more intimate family photography setting than the open Dorset coast further east. The Cobb (the 13th-century harbourwall featured in The French Lieutenant's Woman and Persuasion), the fossil beach below Black Ven Cliff, and the Georgian seafront combine to give Lyme family photographs a coastal-town character distinct from the open cliff settings. The Golden Cap — the highest point on the south coast of England, above Charmouth — provides a summit family portrait setting with a 360-degree coastal panorama.
£275
45 min
£445
90 min
£645
Half day
All seasons work well in Dorset. Summer — June to August — provides the warmest beach sessions and the heather on the Dorset heath is at its purple peak in late July and August. Autumn — September to November — gives golden light on the woodland sessions and the coastal light is often exceptional on clear October days with low sun. Spring — April to June — brings the wildflowers on the cliff path and the most vibrant green on the Purbeck hills.
Yes — Durdle Door is one of my most photographed Dorset locations for family sessions. The beach below the arch requires a walk down steep steps (pushchairs are not suitable) but the photographic quality of the setting is unmatched. I recommend arriving at dawn or late evening to avoid the tourist crowds and get the best light on the arch and beach.
The coast path along the Purbecks is steeper and more exposed than the Studland beach, so it is better suited to older children (5+) who are comfortable walking. For families with toddlers and babies I generally recommend Studland Bay, the Corfe Castle village area, or the Dorset heathland terrain, which provides a varied landscape without steep cliff paths.
For summer (June–August) and the heather season (August), I recommend booking 3–4 months in advance as Dorset sessions fill quickly. Autumn and spring are typically more available. Complete the form below and I'll confirm your preferred date.
Tell me about your family and your preferred Dorset location — I'll reply within 48 hours.
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