Chelsea Ashwell Photography

30/08/2026

A little change around here 🤍

I’ve made the decision that I’m no longer going to share children’s faces on my Instagram grid.

I’ve also removed the images of children’s faces from my existing posts, so if my grid has suddenly got a few more gaps than usual, that’s why!

Since my daughter was one, I’ve chosen not to share her face publicly online. As my business (and family) has grown, I’ve realised I want my photography to reflect those same values too. It didn’t feel right to have one rule for my own children and another for the children I photograph.

Keeping children safe online matters hugely to me. The internet is very different from when we were growing up, and with AI and the ways images can now be copied, altered and reused, I’m increasingly uncomfortable with children’s faces being publicly available.

When we were growing up in the 90s, our photographs lived in albums. They were ours - brought out years later, looked through with family and treasured.

There’s something about returning to that more organic idea of childhood that really resonates with me, especially as a home educating mum.

And that’s what I want my photography to capture too.

The muddy hands. The cuddles. The wild hair. The little details. The chaos. The connection.

Childhood doesn’t need a face to tell its story.

Your galleries will still contain all those beautiful smiles and expressions. They’re yours to keep, print and treasure. I’m simply choosing not to share them publicly myself.

This feels like a really natural step towards making my business truly aligned with my values. 🤍

It does mean I’ve removed a LOT of my previous work, so if you love what I’m creating here, I’d really appreciate you sharing this post or sending my page to someone who might connect with this approach. It genuinely helps.

And finally, a huge thank you to the lovely family behind Ffi & Ollie | Life at The Lodge 🌳🌿 for welcoming me in and allowing me to photograph their beautiful space. I’m so grateful to have these gorgeous images to share. 🤍

Chelsea x

16/07/2026

I’m so excited to be joining this beautiful space tomorrow evening to photograph their open day ✨

As a fellow home educating mum, this feels especially special - we’re just beginning our own home ed journey and I’m so looking forward to connecting with families, capturing the atmosphere, and celebrating the incredible alternative education options available locally.

If you’re exploring a different path for your child’s education, come along and say hello - you might even spot me with my camera 📸

I’ll be sharing more from this wonderful provision soon. 🤍

🌿🎣 HOME EDUCATION OPEN EVENING – DISCOVER MINDFUL WATERS EDUCATION! 🎣🌿

We are delighted to invite home educating families to the Mindful Waters Education Open Evening as we prepare to open our doors this September!

📅 Friday 17th July
🕕 6:00pm – 7:30pm
📍 Chigborough Farm & Fisheries, Heybridge, Maldon

Come and discover our unique therapeutic outdoor learning environment, where children are encouraged to learn, grow and thrive through nature, creativity and meaningful hands-on experiences.

✨ On the evening you'll have the opportunity to:
🌿 Explore our dedicated woodland learning area
🎣 Try our private fishing lake
🔥 Visit our bushcraft and campfire area
🎨 Take part in therapeutic creative arts activities
🦎 Meet some incredible reptiles
💬 Meet the Mindful Waters team
❓Ask questions about our September provision and curriculum

Our home education provision is designed for children aged 5–16 and offers small group learning in a calm, nurturing environment. We combine outdoor education, creative arts, wellbeing and practical life skills with personalised learning opportunities that build confidence, resilience, friendships and independence.

Children will also have opportunities to work towards recognised awards, including AQA Unit Awards and other accredited pathways, while developing English, maths and science naturally through engaging real-life experiences.

Whether your child loves being outdoors, would benefit from a different approach to learning, or simply needs a place where they feel safe, valued and able to flourish, we'd love to meet you.

💚 Places are limited and booking is essential.

To reserve your family's place, simply send us a message

We can't wait to welcome you and show you everything Mindful Waters Education has to offer. 🌿✨

15/07/2026

There are some “lasts” that arrive so quietly you don’t realise they’re a big deal until they’re over.

The last preschool class.
The last time they’re one of the little ones.
The last post-class cuddle before they race off to the next adventure.

For so many families, this season is filled with excitement, pride, and maybe a few tears as little ones prepare for school. It’s another reminder that childhood never stands still.

Whatever your family’s next chapter looks like, I hope you pause long enough to soak in these ordinary moments. One day, they’ll be the ones you miss the most.

These are the memories worth holding onto. 🤍

28/06/2026

I’m looking for a handful of families to help shape something I’ve dreamed of creating for a long time… 🤍

There is something so beautiful about the ordinary days.

The slow mornings in pyjamas. Pancakes made together. Tiny hands reaching for yours. Stories read for the hundredth time. Laughter echoing through the kitchen. Quiet cuddles before bedtime.

These are the moments we miss the most as the years pass.

I’m creating A Day in Our Life – a relaxed half-day storytelling experience that captures family life exactly as it is.

Rather than posing for the camera, I’ll spend time with you in your home, quietly documenting the connection, the chaos, the calm and the little moments that make your family unique.

Before officially launching this experience, I’m looking for a small number of families to help me build this collection.

I’m looking for:
🤍 Expecting parents
🤍 Families with newborns
🤍 Babies (6–12 months)
🤍 Toddlers
🤍 Families with young children

I’m especially drawn to homes with beautiful natural light and warmth, but most importantly, I’m looking for families who are happy to simply be themselves.

I also know every family feels differently about sharing their children’s images online, and I completely respect that. Whether you’re happy for images to be shared or prefer to keep your children’s identities private, you’re warmly invited to apply. If privacy is important to your family, I’ll intentionally create beautiful connection-led images that celebrate your story without revealing your children’s faces.

Selected families will receive an exclusive thank-you for taking part, with the opportunity to purchase their full gallery afterwards.

If you’d love to be involved, send me a DM with:
✨ A recent family photo
✨ Your children’s ages (or your due date)
✨ A few photos of the rooms where you spend most of your time
✨ Tell me what a typical Saturday morning looks like in your home.

I can’t wait to tell your story. 🤍

30/05/2026

Golden hour is my favourite time to photograph families.

Soft light, slower energy, and the kind of natural connection that doesn’t need directing - just space.

These sessions are relaxed outdoor shoots at sunset, focused on natural, unposed moments together.

Summer golden hour sessions are now booking for June & July.

Weekend dates only, limited availability.

Email me at [email protected] (or feel free to DM) to book.

Let’s make something beautiful of this season.

15/05/2026

She picked every dandelion she could find… holding them so carefully, like they were something rare 🤍

Lately I’ve been leaning right into slower days with my children… the kind that feel a little bit like the 90s. Less rush, more outside, more noticing.

Pockets full of tiny treasures, wandering where the light feels good, coming home when it’s time rather than when the clock says so… the kind of childhood that doesn’t need much, but somehow becomes everything.

As I step back into my work from maternity leave, I want to create a small collection of images that feel like this in a beautiful new location.

I’m looking for a few new families or mamas, (bonus if you’re a fellow home edder), who feel aligned with a slower, more connected way of living and who would be happy for their images to be shared across my website and socials.

These sessions will be relaxed and child led, held outdoors in soft evening light or gently at home for newborns, and always focused on connection over perfection.

As a thank you, you’ll receive a complimentary session and a selection of edited images.

If this feels like your kind of rhythm, I’d love to hear from you 🤍

When you get in touch, feel free to share a little about your family and a photo if you have one. I’d love to get a sense of you and your story.

✨ Photography in Colchester, Essex and Suffolk for Families and Founders ✨

01/05/2026

I want to remember this side of it too.

The way they fit so easily in your arms,
how you reach for them without thinking,
how close everything still is.

Not wild and free,
but held, steady, and instinctive.

It changes so quickly, this part.
So quietly you almost miss it.

This is what I want to hold onto as well,
and what I want to capture for you 🤍
•
•
•

30/04/2026

I want my little loves to remember a childhood that felt wild and free. 👣 🌞

The kind of evenings where they could run as far as they liked, and still come back in close.

This is what matters to me.
This is what I want to hold onto.

And it’s exactly what I want to photograph more of 🤍
•
•
•

24/04/2026

A little quiet here lately - life with my own little ones has needed me more 🤍

But in between the everyday moments, I’ve still been creating… just a little more slowly, a little more intentionally.

This beautiful maternity session was captured at the end of winter, and it feels really special to finally share it. There’s something so powerful about this season - the waiting, the softness, the anticipation of everything about to change.

If you’re in this chapter, I’d love to document it for you in a way that feels calm, natural, and completely yours.

I’m easing back into sessions over the coming weeks, feel free to message me if you’d like more details ✨
•
•
•

15/04/2026

✨ While everyone’s finding out their school places this week… ✨

… We (my other half and I) didn’t apply 🤍

We’ve known for a while that home ed makes more sense for us - it fits how we want to raise our kids and how we want our days to look.

We’ve both never really followed the crowd, and we like the idea of our children having more time together, and with us, while they’re little.

So I guess this makes it official - we’re a home ed family now 🏡

Looking forward to doing things our way, taking it at our own pace, and having the freedom to just get up and go when we want. 🌳 📚 🎨 📸

If you’re reading this and you’re a home educator, please do message, I’d love to connect! Grateful to have been welcomed into such a wonderful local home ed community already. 🫶
•
•
•
•